Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Season 3)
by SF64Rules
Summary: On Emily's 16th Birthday, the poor girl gets kidnapped by...REAL DUEL MONSTERS! How could that be? One answer... Those creatures are from the Duel Monsters Spirit World! Thomas's next big adventure is into the heart of the world of the card game itself... In the process, can our teenage hero resist the growing darkness within his own heart while rescuing the girl he's in-love with?
1. A 16th Disaster

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Special thanks to AaronCottrell97 for the flashback idea. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: This story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

Genre(s): Game, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Romance

* * *

(Thomas stood alone over a desert alone. As he looked up, a tear falls from his eye to the ground. From behind him are his friends, Percy Avonside, James Hughes, a taller Emily Stirling, Toby Holden, Edward Stewart, Gordon Gresley, and Henry Stanier. With them are also Molly Russell, Mavis Drewry, Rosie Vulcan, and Stanley Hudswell.)

 **As you hang your head and smile with your joyful soul,**

 **a single tear of hope lands on your cheeks**

(Appearing as well, standing opposite of each other, were two groups of Duel Monsters. One with a dark purpose, while the other were trying to stop what the evil ones have planned. A male monster called Vampire Lord was among the evil group, along with a few other monsters (Vampire Lady, Airknight Parshath, Earl of Demise, and Darkbishop Archfind) and a human male. The screen changed into the main title.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**

(Thomas again stood alone as some of his monsters appear behind him; Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician's Valkyria, the Poker Knight trio, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Big Shield Gardna, and five multicolored Kuribohs. It then showed Emily with some of her own monsters; Wingweaver, Kuribon, Petit Angel, Shining Friendship, Happy Lover, Maha Vailo, and Gemini Elf.)

 **You pretend to be strong and brave but we know the truth**

 **Underneath you are hiding sighs through a cloudy smile.**

(Percy and James are both then shown with their own monsters; Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Flame Swordsman, Gearfried the Iron Knight, Gilford the Lightning, Baby Dragon, Elemental HERO Neos, Winged Kuriboh, Yubel, some Elemental HEROES and Neo-Spacians. Then, to James and Percy's surprise, Mavis, winking, suddenly came in with some of her own monsters; Cyber Tutu, Cyber Gymnist, Etoile Cyber, Blade Skater, Cyber Blader, and Cyber Prima.)

 **It sticks to me like the shattered glass of your soul**

 **Never fault. For hope's all you need.**

(Thomas looked forth at the sky as Emily appeared beside him. Both of them were ready for what's coming.)

 **It's OK to talk about the pain that dwells inside your heart**

(Spencer Gresley then appeared with some of his own monsters; the three legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Maiden with Eyes of Blue. Rosie and Stanley both then looked out as the latter gasped as a vision of his late father stood before him.)

 **Cause your smile has always saved me**

 **From the cold of the heartless realities.**

(Pan to Thomas and his friends fighting off some evil Duel Monsters with some assistance of a new ally; Maiden of the Aqua.)

 **Through that dark times, we will always strive**

 **I'll be here right beside you through all the grief.**

(Thomas eventually summoned the three Egyptian Gods (Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra) against a figure cloaked in darkness with glowing red eyes.)

 **Together, we'll shine the light forever**

(Thomas shouted to the sky as his Millennium Puzzle glows, shooting a beam of golden light into the air. Final shot showed Thomas and his friends standing together as the title comes back again.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**

* * *

July...that's what it finally was on the Island of Sodor; July 2nd. But it wasn't an ordinary day. No way! It was a certain dark green-haired girl's 16th Birthday today... Thomas Billinton, Percy Avonside, and James Hughes were each walking down the streets of Knapford City towards the Sterling residence.

Thomas, 15-years old, had short bright blue-hair, and very commonly wore a black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans with a belt, a blue jean jacket over the shirt, and black sneakers. Recently, he had won the Battle City title of Duel King. Percy was a 14-year old boy with short light green-hair, and was wearing a white t-shirt with a big green stripe in the center, blue jeans with a belt, and green sneakers. James Hughes, now 16-years old, had slick red hair, wore a red jacket (a black sleeveless shirt was underneath) with the number five on the left side, along with bright blue jeans.

"Oh boy! I can't wait to get to Emily's place!" chirped a very excited Percy.

"You and me both, Percy!" agreed James, grinning widely. "Our friend is finally turning the big 1-6!"

Thomas, meanwhile, was holding onto something in his hands while looking nervous.

"I really hope Emily likes the present I got her." he thought only to himself with a blush.

"You alright, Thomas?" came Percy's voice.

Thomas snapped out of his thoughts and looked to his green-haired best friend.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah..."

But James, knowing much better, had caught onto the blue-haired boy pretty darn quickly...

"You were thinking about Emily again, weren't you?" The red-haired boy asked, although not in a teasing way.

"W-What?" Thomas gasped, turning red in the face. "N-No, I-"

"Come on, man, you've had a crush on Emily for almost five years, now." continued James. "And judging from the nervous look on your face, you're afraid to give her the present you got her."

"James's right, Thomas." Percy agreed. "It's time to sink or swim."

Thomas looked down. "I don't know..."

"It's your choice if you want to or not." James pointed out, before smiling kindly. "If you want our advice... you should go for it."

Thomas remained silent all the way to the Sterling residence.

* * *

 **Title: A 16th Disaster**

* * *

An hour later, inside the Sterling residence...

"Our daughter's sweet sixteen..." Mrs. Sterling cried happily, carrying towards the table in the dinning room a large chocolate cake.

"I've never been so proud of her." smiled Mr. Sterling.

Around the table was Thomas, Edward Stewart (17), Gordon Gresley (18), Henry Stanier (18), James, Percy, Toby Holden (16), Mavis Drewry (16), Stanley Hudswell (15), Molly Russell (16), and Rosie Vulcan (15).

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!" cheered much of the gang.

"Sixteenth, that is!" added James.

At the head of the table was the Birthday girl herself... Emily Sterling, now 16-years old.

"Thanks, everyone." Emily smiled, just after blowing out her candles.

Thomas, meanwhile, was blushing almost crimson red as he nervously stood up and approached the dark green-haired girl with something behind his back.

"Um... Emily?"

Emily looked to the blue-haired boy. "Yes, Thomas?"

Thomas was shuffling his feet a bit bashfully as he struggled to find the right words.

"I, err, got this for you." he finally said, taking a small box from behind his back.

Curiously, Emily took hold of the box, unwrapped it, opened it up, and gasped.

"Oh, Thomas..."

Inside the box were two things; a Spell card called Swing of Memories, and a heart-shaped locket.

"Happy Birthday, Emily." said Thomas.

Emily curiously held the card up. "What is this card, Thomas?"

"It's called Swing of Memories." explained Thomas. "I found two of them in a booster pack, and I thought you would like one of them."

Emily had another curious look on her face. Thomas immediately cleared his throat and decided to explain something about that card... Not its effect... but something about it.

"This card actually represents the precious memories we've shared together." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "From we first met, and especially after you were saved from yourself."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In a classroom within Sodor Middle School, the teacher, Mr. Perkins, was calling out the register.

"Percy Avonside?"

"Here." said the 8-year old green-haired boy.

"Thomas Billinton?" asked Mr. Perkins.

No one replied.

"Typical." sighed Mr. Perkins. He figured Thomas was running late...again.

"Late as usual." laughed 10-year old James.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Middle School, 9-year old Thomas was running as fast as he could. He was late, and knew it full well.

"Oh man, I'm late again!" The young blue-haired boy wailed.

He ran through the main school entrance...without looking in front of him, and thus ran into someone else This caused both Thomas and the other person to fall back on the ground.

"Ow..." groaned Young Thomas, rubbing his head. "I'm so sorry about that! Are you alri-"

The young blue-haired boy stopped mid-sentence when he looked at the person he bumped into. In front of him was a very pretty 10-year old dark green-haired girl with a yellow headband. The girl didn't look to be in too much pain, as she had a reassuring smile on her face. This made Thomas's heart skip a beat, as well as make him blush.

"Don't you worry, I'm perfectly fine." reassured the girl, in a sweet voice. "Are you okay?"

"U-U-Um... y-yeah, I'm okay." mumbled Young Thomas nervously, as he and the girl both stood back up.

The girl was only a little bit taller than Young Thomas, but he didn't take much notice of that. The young blue-haired boy was more focused on how pretty the girl was, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Umm... I've never seen you around before."

"I've only just moved to the Island of Sodor. As you can see, this is actually my first day in this school." The girl pointed out. "I'm Emily, by the way. What's your name?"

"M-My name is Thomas. Welcome to Sodor, Emily." Young Thomas kindly held his hand out, to which Young Emily accepted and shook hands with him.

Thomas started blushing again he felt Young Emily's hand touching his. Young Emily saw that and, admittedly, thought Thomas looked cute with a blush on his face.

"Late again, are we, Thomas?" A new voice spoke up.

Young Thomas gulped, looked aside, and saw the school principal, Mr. Arkwright, walking towards him and Young Emily.

"M-Mr. Arkwright, sir!" Young Thomas stuttered nervously. "I was just on my way to class w-when I ran into-"

"So you've acquainted yourself with our new student already." said Mr. Arkwright, smiling. "Well, Mr. Billinton, young Emily here will be joining your class with Mr. Perkins... where you should be right now. Please show Ms. Sterling the way to your classroom. I hope you will help her settle in with the rest of the students... And try not to be late to school in future, will you?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Young Thomas promised, before turning back to Young Emily. "You'll like Mr. Perkins; he's a really nice teacher."

"Really? Well, you'd better show me the way then, you're already late enough. I don't want to get you into trouble." said Young Emily.

"O-Oh no, it's fine, don't worry about me. How about I show you around during lunch?"

"Oh, that's so sweet of you, Thomas." The young dark green-haired girl gushed happily with a warm smile, making Young Thomas blush again.

"It's no problem." The young blue-haired boy said nervously - but kindly.

With that said, Young Thomas began to lead the new girl to class.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I...remember..." Emily muttered, recalling those good times.

Thomas smiled. "I've never forgotten those special times... and I bet you haven't either."

Emily smiled as she embraced Thomas in a hug.

"It's wonderful, Thomas." The dark green-haired girl said happily. "Thank you so much."

Thomas remained silent as he blushed harder than ever before. Soon after more presents were opened, Emily excused herself to go to her room and try on one of the shirts her parents got her. As soon as the dark green-haired girl was gone, Gordon, James, and Henry each started whistling and hooting loudly for Thomas.

"What is it?" asked Thomas.

"You lucky dude!" cheered Gordon.

"Nicely played, Thomas!" added James.

"I think you've earned a girlfriend in Emily!" finished Henry.

"W-We're just friends!" protested Thomas, blushing. "I can't ask her to be my girlfriend."

"And why not?" asked James.

"I'm... I'm too afraid."

"Afraid?" scoffed Gordon. "How can you be afraid, little Thomas? I mean, for crying out loud, you're a champion Duel Monsters player!"

"I hate to have to say this to you, Thomas..." Mavis spoke up. "But I have to agree with Gordon here. You're one of the best duelists on the Island of Sodor, have been in several life-and-death matches, and yet you're afraid of confessing your feelings to Emily?"

The blue-haired boy still didn't let up with excuses. "What if she laughs at me and/or rejects me?"

"Somehow I doubt that will happen." Mavis replied, folding her arms. "I should know - I've confronted her a couple of times on her feelings-"

"She's older AND taller than me." added Thomas, interrupting the blonde-haired girl. "Compared to her, I'm still a kid."

"Older?" coughed James. "You both were born in the same year! ...just a couple of months apart. Besides, come November, you'll be the same age as Emily."

Before anything more could be said, a familiar scream was heard from upstairs.

"That sounds like Emily!" exclaimed Stanley, racing up the stairs.

"Emily!" Thomas cried out, racing behind his gray-haired friend.

"We're coming!" added Rosie, standing up from the table.

The duelists ran upstairs down the hallway. Some voices could be heard coming from the dark green-haired girl's room.

"What do you want with me?" The voice of Emily seemed to demand. "Let me go!"

Thomas, Stanley, and Percy each immediately burst into the room. There, they saw some Lizard Soldier monsters trying to pull Emily into a portal.

"Lizard Soldiers?!" gasped Stanley.

"REAL Lizard Soldiers?!" added Percy.

"Get your hands off my friend!" screamed Thomas, racing to rescue Emily.

One of the Lizard Soldiers noticed that lowly human attempting to rescue the girl and immediately whipped its tail, striking the blue-haired boy and knocking him into both Percy and Stanley, thus sending all three boys out of the room.

"Thomas, no!" screamed Emily, before feeling one of the Lizard Soldiers tugging at her long hair. "OW! Watch my hair!"

The Lizard Soldiers, with the dark green-haired girl in captive, turned towards the dark portal...watching as a Witty Phantom walked out.

"Ah, you lizard boys got the girl." The Witty Phantom praised his minions. "Well done! Vampire Lord will be very pleased."

"Y-You're a Witty Phantom!" Emily said in realization.

"Correct you are, my dear." said Witty Phantom, briefly removing his hat and giving a quick bow. "Now, be a good girl and come along. The Court of Darkness has very important plans for you."

"Let her go!" demanded Thomas, getting back into the room.

The Witty Phantom eyed the blue-haired boy, while also noticing several more of his friends entering the room.

"A Witty Phantom?" Edward blinked.

"And it looks real!" added Toby.

"Quite right, lad." replied the Witty Phantom politely. "I, as you have said, am very much real."

"What do you want with our daughter?!" asked Mrs Sterling tearfully.

"Please let her go!" demanded Mr. Sterling in terror. "I'll pay you anything you wish!"

"Pay?" The monster gave a laugh. "Of course you'll pay... Pay up with this girl, that is!"

With that said, the Lizard Soldiers started to take the screaming Emily into the portal.

"Hold it!"

The Witty Phantom smiled as looked towards one of the humans glariing at him angrily. Thomas was seething with anger... The blue-haired boy had nearly lost Emily to that Shadow Game not long ago, and he would be forever damned if he lost her now, forever.

"What is it?" The monster sighed in annoyance. "My partners and I are behind schedule right now, so make your statement quick."

"I won't let you take her away from me!" shouted Thomas. "Take ME instead!"

Witty Phantom started to laugh. "You humor me, kid. I kinda like that. I think I'll give you some more of my time."

"What does he mean by that?" Molly whispered to James, who just shrugged.

"For that time... I think I'll play a game with you." continued Witty Phantom, making a Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"Duel Monsters?" blinked Gordon.

"Ah, so you know of it." teased Witty Phantom, laughing softly. "That is correct. The game is Duel Monsters, and I'd like to make a wager for this match."

"What kind of wager?" asked Thomas.

"Quite simple... If you win... me and my partners will leave here forever, while not hurting a single hair on the girl's head. I win? Well, I'll let the Lizard Soldiers here demonstrate what will happen." The monster turned to one of the Lizard Soldiers in his party. "Proceed."

The Lizard Soldier nodded and, with a snarl, used its sword to slice the nearby table clean in half. Witty Phantom chuckled and looked back over to the group.

"So... do we have a duel?"

"We have a duel." said Thomas firmly, activating his Duel Disk.

"Ah, but this place has too little space." Witty Phantom claimed. "Is there somewhere with...wider space?"

(elsewhere...)

Minutes later, everyone was atop the roof of the apartment building. It was big and had plenty of space for the two duelists.

"Quite large and wide open." Witty Phantom muttered in disgust, but then smiled darkly. "I love it!"

"Enough talk!" exclaimed Thomas angrily.

With that said, both duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"Let's duel!" They both said at the same time.

With the audience...

"I hope Thomas can save our daughter..." whispered Mrs. Sterling.

"Me, too..." agreed Mr. Sterling. "Me, too."

"Man, I REALLY hope Thomas can win this match." Percy pleaded.

Back in the duel field...

"I'll take the first turn, if you don't mind." said Witty Phantom, preparing to draw. "If I remember correctly... a new rule had been added not long ago, correct?"

"Yes." nodded Thomas. "Now the player going first may draw a card from their deck."

"As I expected." smirked the monster, drawing his card. "Watch closely!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Witty Phantom (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Negative Energy, Witty Phantom, Dark Chimera, Fiend Castle, Witty Phantom, and Fiend's Twin(!)

* * *

Looking to his hand, Witty Phantom gave a low chuckle.

"My, oh my... what a good hand I've drawn so soon." he said to himself, taking a card.

Thomas braced himself, watching as a Spell card called Fiend's Twin materialized face-up on the field.

"Behold the Spell card Fiend's Twin!" announced Witty Phantom, taking a small life point hit (LP: 3500). "By coughing up 500 life points... I can special summon two copies of Witty Phantom from the hand onto my side of the field in attack mode."

Suddenly, two more Witty Phantoms appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"You like them? They're my good buddies." chortled the real Witty Phantom.

"Just what we need..." muttered James. "Witty Phantom triplets."

"Thomas'll take care of them, easy." said Percy confidently.

"Now, I want to introduce you all to another special card of mine." continued Witty Phantom, taking and slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Negative Energy!"

"Negative Energy?!" cried Thomas.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"This handy Spell card doubles the attack points of all dark attribute monsters on the field." explained Witty Phantom.

Both Witty Phantoms gained considerable strength (ATK: 1400 - 2800) x2.

"Two 2800 attack point monsters on the first turn?!" Thomas thought to himself.

"That can't be legal!" objected Gordon.

"Oh, but it is, my friend!" teased Witty Phantom. "Both my monsters are of low level and low attack! ...so I merely gave them a helping hand."

He then gave a cackling laugh. Nearby, Emily, with some Lizard Soldiers guarding her to make sure she didn't try to escape, could only watch with worry.

"I believe that's all for me. Let's see if you can do better."

"My turn!" announced Thomas, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Alpha The Magnet Warrior, Polymerization, Gamma The Magnet Warrior, Beta The Magnet Warrior, Sage's Stone, and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior

* * *

The blue-haired boy saw that the cards he needed to win were already in his hand. He then added the drawn Valkyrion the Magna Warrior monster card to his hand.

"You're going to regret ever coming here." Thomas growled aloud. "Prepare to experience real teamwork!" He then held out his three Magnet Warrior cards. "I call forth the three Magnet Warriors!"

Beta The Magnet Warrior, Alpha The Magnet Warrior, and Gamma The Magnet Warrior each materialized face-up.

"Alpha, Beta, Gamma! All three of the Magnet Warriors have gathered!" The blue-haired boy held his hand out. "Here we come! Join together, my monsters!"

The three Magnet Warriors came apart and, upon reaching the sky, began merging together.

"Together, they create the all-powerful Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

The light in the sky faded away and revealed the powerful combined form of the Magnet Warriors (Level: 8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 3850).

"Oh my! Such a powerful monster!" Witty Phantom exclaimed, obviously sounding very sarcastic. "Take your best shot, my friend!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Thomas fiercely accepted. "Valkyrion, attack one of the Witty Phantoms with Magnet Saber!"

Valkyrion the Magna Warrior was more than happy to obey, sword slashing one of the two Witty Phantom monsters and causing that phantom to shatter into pieces. The real Witty Phantom grimaced from the damage he took... but immediately smiled to himself afterward (LP: 2800).

"I can feel your growing anger..." The phantom-like monster thought to himself. "I'll just try to push your buttons a bit further, now..."

With that thought on hand, he drew a card and begun his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Witty Phantom (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (3): Dark Chimera, Fiend Castle, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

"I think I'll play this Spell card." Witty Phantom said as soon as he saw his drawn card. "One that I think you might like."

"What?!" Thomas asked suspiciously.

"The Spell card Card of Sanctity!" The mentioned card materialized face-up before the phantom-like monster. "Watch its magnificent power activate!"

A beautiful light filled the sky and shined rays upon both duelists.

"Now, we both must draw until we hold six cards in our hands!" Witty Phantom explained, drawing four cards. "Well now, I've helped you, didn't I? A thank you would be most appreciated, you know!"

"A thank you?!" Emily called out. "You liar!"

Witty Phantom smirked to himself. Suddenly, a Lizard Soldier slapped Emily across the face, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Leave her alone!" roared Thomas.

"Oh my! Don't tell me you have feelings for that girl...!" Witty Phantom asked in mock drama.

Thomas growled in response, but said nothing. With his hand refreshed, Witty Phantom took a card and placed it sideways onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Meet the Castle of Dark Illusions in defense mode!" he announced gleefully.

Appearing to the field was a large floating castle (Level: 4/DEF: 1930).

"A defense of 1930?" quizzed Percy.

"That's a bit unusual." added Mavis.

"You've said it." agreed Toby.

"But it's still much weaker than Valkyrion the Magna Warrior." Edward pointed out.

"Unless he's planning something big." Gordon put in.

Back over with Witty Phantom; it would seem he already had a scheme cooked up.

"That boy has no idea what he's in for." The phantom-like monster thought to himself, taking a card from his hand. "This should be useful..."

"What will his next play be?" thought Thomas. "It likely has something to do with his Castle of Dark Illusions."

Witty Phantom then slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Now I shall combine my Castle of Dark Illusions with another castle-like card!" he announced. "The Fiend's Castle, that is!"

Suddenly, the Castle of Dark Illusions became much more powerful looking.

"Thanks to the efforts of Fiend's Castle, Castle of Dark Illusions has not only gained a solid 30% attack and defense bonus, but now has transformed into something completely different!"

Witty Phantom started to laugh aloud as his castle-like monster gained both attack and defense points (ATK: 930 - 1196/DEF: 1930 - 2509).

"Now that thing's invincible!" complained Percy.

"Now, don't you all fret!" smirked Witty Phantom. "My castle only got a 30% power bonus. Meaning it still isn't a match for Valkyron the Magna Warrior...yet."

"It won't be standing for long!" retorted Thomas.

"So you say..." Witty Phantom took two cards from his hand and slotted them into separate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk. "But maybe I've said too much already, let's move on with the match."

Two facedown cards materialized on the field.

"I'll set these two lucky cards facedown and end my turn."

"He didn't even switch his only remaining Witty Phantom into defense mode!" remarked James. "Dumb move if you ask me."

"He must want Thomas to attack it." said Henry.

"Oh, why the long face, chump?" asked Witty Phantom teasingly. "My Witty Phantom and Castle of Dark Illusions are both far weaker than your all-powerful Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

Thomas just drew his card silently.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (7): Polymerization, Sage's Stone, Dark Magician, Dark Renewal, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Dust Tornado, and Mystical Elf

* * *

Finally, after deciding on what to do, he spoke... "You want an attack? You've got one!"

"Oh dear! I've made you angry!" cried Witty Phantom in false shock.

"Valkyrion-" commanded Thomas, entering the battle phase. "-attack the second Witty Phantom, now!"

Valkyrion the Magna Warrior obeyed and leaped into the sky... and Witty Phantom gave a laugh.

"So brave, yet so naive!" he hissed. "I'll activate my Trap card!"

The monster's first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Dark Energy Shield(!)! This activates when you declare an attack. Now any fiend-type monster I have on my side of the field that has a defense stat of 2500 or greater will go and take the blow instead!"

A large shield appeared before Witty Phantom, redirecting the attack to Castle of Dark Illusions.

"And now my second Trap card comes into play!" Witty Phantom continued, laughing as his second facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Fiend's Chaos Shield(!)!"

"Fiend's Chaos Shield?" blinked Henry.

"Look out, Thomas!" called Edward. "As long as that guy possesses a fiend-type monster at anytime, none of his monsters can be destroyed by battle!"

Valkyrion the Magna Warrior struck the Castle of Dark Illusions, but the attack was rebounded.

"Your attack has been cancelled out!" called Witty Phantom.

Thomas scowled before taking two cards from his hand. "I place one card facedown and summon Mystical Elf in defense mode."

A facedown card materialized, followed by the appearance of a blue-skinned elf with long blonde hair and green clothing (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 2000).

"Oh, how cute! An elf... defending you?" teased Witty Phantom. "I'm so deeply touched!"

Despite keeping her eyes closed, Mystical Elf surprisingly scowled a bit at Witty Phantom's remark.

"It's my turn, now." continued the phantom-like monster, drawing a card.

"Reveal Trap card!" Thomas suddenly announced, holding his right hand up. "Dust Tornado!"

The blue-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Oh no! Not Dust Tornado!" cried Witty Phantom sarcastically.

"This allows me to destroy one Spell or Trap card on your field!" explained Thomas. "And I know which one I'd like to eliminate..."

A tornado started to materialize and approach Castle of Dark Illusions.

"Say goodbye to Fiend's Chaos Shield!"

The Witty Phantom smiled to himself. The tornado soon struck the castle... but quickly fizzed out while leaving the face-up Continuous Trap card standing.

"What the-!?" exclaimed Thomas in surprise. "It's still standing!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention one detail about my Trap card?" laughed Witty Phantom. "One per turn, during yours or mine, I can also negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card and destroy it!"

"Oh, come on!" complained Percy.

"Now, where were we?" asked Witty Phantom mockingly. "Oh yes, my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Witty Phantom (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (3): Dark Chimera, Negative Energy, and King of Yamimakai

* * *

"Now I sacrifice my buffed up Witty Phantom!"

The second Witty Phantom disappeared.

"He sacrificed a perfectly powerful monster?" quizzed Toby. "Why do that?"

"Our answer will come soon." replied Edward.

"I now call forth my King of Yamimakai" announced Witty Phantom.

Appearing from a black fog was a brown and green fiend-type monster (Level: 5/ATK: 2000).

"What an idiot." snorted Gordon. "Valkyrion can mop the floor with that thing."

"An idiot, am I?" Witty Phantom raised an eyebrow. "Tell me something, lad... what would you do if you were the one facing me and I made a play like this?" With that said, he held up a very familiar card. "Negative Energy!"

Gordon went pale. "A second copy?!"

"Nice going!" James snapped at the tall, blue-haired boy in annoyance. "Way to jinx our friend."

King of Yamimakai then became twice as powerful (ATK: 2000 - 4000).

"And now, my king of the dark!" called Witty Phantom. "Attack Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

King of Yamimakai obeyed, and started charging an electric shock between its bands.

"Electro-Shock Attack!"

The shock was the fired, striking and destroying Thomas's monster in an explosion.

"Valkyrion!" cried Thomas (LP: 3500).

Witty Phantom laughed joyously. "Oh, this is so much fun!"

"Thomas lost his most powerful monster..." thought Emily.

"I'm not giving up!" said Thomas defiantly. "I WILL rescue Emily, even if I have to lose my life in the process!"

"Oh? Then let me see it. But, first..."

With a snap of his fingers, two of Witty Phantom's Lizard Soldiers went and punched Emily hard in the stomach, causing her to fall to her knees while clutching his stomach in pain...before being backhanded across the face by a third Lizard Soldier.

"Emily! No!" cried out the rest of the gang.

Unfortunately, someone else was taking it even worse...

"STOP IT!" screamed Thomas, feeling his anger awakening further. "STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!"

A dark aura was now beginning to glow all around him. Witty Phantom grew very excited upon seeing this.

"Yes..." he cackled quietly. "Give into your rage, young lad!"

Over with the gang...

"Anyone sensing some deja vu here?" asked Percy nervously.

"Thomas did this when he dueled against Marik's dark half." said Toby. "This usually happens when Thomas becomes deeply outraged!"

"But how is he letting darkness out?" exclaimed Mavis.

"I don't know... but it might have something to do with him seeing Emily in grave danger." Edward suggested.

The intelligent, blue-haired boy was sadly right... Thomas was blinded by darkness and his fury over seeing Emily be harmed by those monsters. He was gonna make them pay here and now!

"I will crush your bones into dust!" bellowed Thomas. "I will destroy anybody who dares to harm Emily in front of me!"

Witty Phantom merely chuckled to himself, watching as the furious blue-haired boy drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Polymerization, Sage's Stone, Dark Magician, Dark Renewal, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and Graceful Charity

* * *

Instantly, Thomas held his drawn card out.

"I activate Graceful Charity! This allows me to draw three cards from my deck in exchange for sending two cards from my hand to the graveyard!"

The three cards he drew were Monster Reborn, Fiend's Sanctuary, and Obelisk the Tormentor. From there, Thomas sent Sage's Stone and Dark Renewal both to the graveyard.

"Next I activate Monster Reborn to revive my fallen Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up! From there, emerging from a hole in the ground near the card was Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.

"Next I activate a Spell card that supports me in the summon of a God!" Thomas went on, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Fiend's Sanctuary!"

A magic circle appeared onto the field.

"This allows me to special summon a Metal Fiend Token!"

The Metal Fiend Token quickly appeared on the field.

"Now, I will have my Magna Warrior disassemble back into the three Magnet Warriors used to summon it!" continued Thomas, motioning his hand forth. "Separate at once, Valkyrion!"

Valkyrion the Magna Warrior vanished, and Alpha The Magnet Warrior, Beta The Magnet Warrior, and Gamma The Magnet Warrior each returned.

"I now sacrifice my three Magnet Warriors to summon the last monster you'll ever see!" shouted Thomas, holding the card up high as his Millennium Puzzle began to glow all gold. That meant one thing was coming... "The Egyptian God - Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Then, with that being shouted, the clear, sunny, sky started to go all dark with thunderstorm-like clouds gathering around.

"Weird, it was sunny just a minute ago." commented Mr. Sterling.

"Sir, you have no idea." Toby responded nervously.

Suddenly, Alpha The Magnet Warrior, Beta The Magnet Warrior, and Gamma The Magnet Warrior each vanished in streaks of blue as a bolt of lighting hit the ground before them.

"ARISE NOW, GREAT GOD OF THE OBELISK!" boomed Thomas, slamming his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk and generating tons of electricity.

Appearing from gathering particles of light was the huge, blue Egyptian God, roaring furiously upon arrival (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"I will warn you one last time..." Thomas seethed further. "Surrender, and never return to this world!"

Witty Phantom's response? He merely turned towards his Lizard Soldiers and snapped his fingers.

"Hurt the girl some more!"

Just as one of the Lizard Soldiers attempted to strike Emily again... it was suddenly grabbed by Obelisk the Tormentor. The poor Lizard Soldier screamed in pain as it was crushed to death, turning into light and vanishing.

"Never...!" thundered Thomas, while the dark aura around him grew stronger and stronger in response to his growing anger. "Ever! Hurt Emily! ...in front of...ME!"

Obelisk the Tormentor then took hold of both Mystical Elf and the Metal Fiend Token.

"Now, to crush you for good! I activate Obelisk's hidden ability of Soul Energy MAX!"

"Soul Energy MAX?" blinked Stanley. "What's that?"

"It's one of Obelisk the Tormentor's most powerful of abilities." explained Edward.

Rosie noticed something happening to Obelisk the Tormentor. "Oh my gosh! Look at Obelisk!"

The gang all looked to see Obelisk the Tormentor growing stronger and changing color.

"Thanks to the offering..." Thomas boomed some more. "Obelisk's attack has now become... INFINITE!"

Obelisk the Tormentor gave another angry roar in response.

"FIST OF FURY!"

Obelisk the Tormentor, more than happy to obey the command, fired both of its fists at Witty Phantom and his monsters. One-by-one, King of Yamimakai and Castle of Dark Illusions both fell to the impact of the fists, and Witty Phantom also got hit by the flying fists, thus causing him to scream in agonizing pain (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

Witty Phantom was thrown back to the railing of the rooftop. Everyone started to cheer for their friend's win! ...but the cheering didn't last long.

"You think you've really won?" laughed Witty Phantom, despite being fatally wounded.

"Let the girl go, or else your minions will meet the same fate as you!" demanded Thomas. The dark aura around him fading a little bit.

Witty Phantom, the right side of his face was bleeding profusely, only laughed harder than ever before.

"Oh yes... our wager." The phantom-like monster snickered deviously. "My partners and I will leave here as promised."

The monster then snapped his fingers and a portal opened up.

"However..."

The Lizard Soldiers started to leave...with Emily in tow.

"The girl will be coming with us!" Witty Phantom cackled madly.

"What?!" cried Emily's friends.

"You doublecrosser!" screamed Emily's parents.

"I've never mentioned that I would let her go if you've won the duel!" laughed the phanton-like monster. "She's much too important to our plans of revival."

Poor Emily was dragged into the portal.

"Emily!" cried Thomas, racing towards the portal.

"You want her back?" taunted Witty Phantom. "Then go get her! The Duel Monster spirit world will be waiting for you!" With a psychotic laugh, the dying monster aimed his opened hand towards Thomas. "And now, a final gift from me to you!"

"Watch it, Thomas!" called Percy.

Too late. Whatever it was the dying Witty Phantom was doing, it seemed to be unlocking the darkness in Thomas's heart even moreso.

"Enjoy my parting gift!" Witty Phantom cackled louder and harder before...finally fading away to his death, turning to light as he vanished.

"I'm coming, Emily!" cried Thomas, diving towards the portal.

Unfortunately, by the time he reached it...the portal had closed down. Thomas had failed to make it in time...

"NO!" he screamed, banging on the wall repeatedly with his fists. "Emily! EMILY!"

"Thomas!"

The rest of the gang ran over to their despairing blue-haired friend.

"I was too late to save her." whimpered Thomas, sinking to his knees as tears streamed down his face.

"Oh, Thomas..." Rosie whispered, looking like she wanted to cry, too.

"Poor Emily..." came from Stanley.

"Emily..." came from Thomas, but not of sadness...and more of growing anger.

Everyone saw that Thomas was no longer crying... but was growing angry. _**VERY**_ angry. To the point the dark aura returned, stronger than ever before. He was shaking with heavy emotion before going and letting out the biggest skyward scream of rage, frustration, and grief he could ever hope to give.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

* * *

(A young Thomas of 9-years old stood by a makeshift swing as the sun started to set. He looked rather lonely.)

 **Sweet, Sweet Memories**

 **Bring me comfort in my saddest dreams.**

(He felt a hand on his shoulder and turns around to see a young Emily of 10-years old smiling, as if asking if she could play with him. Thomas smiled as he allowed Emily sit down and began to push her on the swing.)

 **Light flickers as you think of happiness**

 **Brightening your dark and dreary world.**

(As Emily comes back down after a couple of swings, she grew to 11-years old... while Thomas grew to 10-years old.)

 **When the life you know seems cold and bitter**

 **Blank it out with thoughts so sweet and pure.**

(Another few swings... Thomas was now 11, and Emily was now 12)

 **But sometimes darkness seems so**

 **Powerful and strange.**

(More swings later... Emily was 13, while Thomas was 12)

 **It warps our minds, makes us cruel**

 **and turning our lives strange!**

(Emily was now 14, while Thomas was 13)

 **But no matter what comes**

 **We will never shake our strongest bonds.**

(Emily was now 15, while Thomas was 14)

 **We will stay strong and true**

 **and keep our thoughts so pure and fond.**

(Emily was now 16, while Thomas was 15. Emily got off the swing and took Thomas by his hands, making him blush.)

 **Life is too pure for doubt**

 **And fear that ruins duality...**

 **But know**

 **that we strive for happiness.**

(Emily brought Thomas in for a kiss, but stopped when they noticed the rest of their friends were watching with smiles on their faces. The two teens then chuckled while blushing.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**


	2. Into the New World

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

It had been two whole hours since Thomas had defeated the Witty Phantom, but had failed to save Emily and prevent her from being taken to who knows where, and everyone was in the dining room thinking everything over. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were both very upset over their daughter being kidnapped, but Thomas was even more upset. The poor blue-haired boy was blaming himself for what had happened.

"It's all my fault!" he cried, still beating himself up. "I should have been faster! Emily! Come back! They should have taken ME, not HER! It's not fair!"

Everyone felt very sad for their friend.

"Poor Thomas..." Molly whispered.

"Emily meant the world to him..." said Percy. "Why would those evil Duel Monsters try to take her?"

"And what did that Witty Phantom mean by ' ** _Duel Monsters spirit world_** '?" questioned James.

No one else said a word...at least until a voice called to them from the living room.

"GUYS, COME QUICK! SPENCER'S ABOUT TO SPEAK ON TV!"

It was Gordon. He was signaling everyone into the living room.

"Spencer is on TV?" quizzed Henry.

"Probably just to promote his upcoming theme park..." grumbled James. "This is something we don't have the time-"

"No, I think it's for something else." Gordon interrupted, watching the TV carefully.

In Atlanta - Georgia, two news reporters (male and female) were both currently busy speaking about something about some monster sightings around the country.

"Many Duel Monsters have appeared around town." said the female reporter. "We are here today with current Boxford Corp President Spencer Gresley with questions on this phenomenon."

The scene switches to 18-year old Spencer Gresley about to speak before dozens of reporters. The silver-haired boy was wearing a long purple trenchcoat, a black turtleneck shirt and matching pants, and steel wristbands on both of his wrists.

"People of the United States of America-" The silver-haired boy began. "-I assure you that Boxford Corp has nothing to do with any of the monster sightings around the country..."

Outside the TV...

"Yeah right." huffed James.

"Shhh!" hushed everyone else.

"We've no idea what's causing this to happen-" continued Spencer. "-but we will try to look into the matter. Until this mystery has been solved, we want you to know that we of the UK would never harm our American friends and allies."

The scene switched back to the two news reporters.

"You heard it here, folks." The male reporter said. "The monsters are not because of a glitch in the holograms of Boxford Corporation's technology."

"Then what could be the cause of the sightings?" asked the female reporter.

"Nobody knows for certain." The male reporter replied.

The news story ended. Almost everyone in the living room was speechless.

"Monster sightings...around the United States?" Edward said thoughtfully.

"Looks like we're not the only ones to experience it." added Toby.

"Just what in the world is going on?" asked a confused Mavis, bracing a hand to her forehead. "All of these...dangerous situations...we seem to be getting into are giving me a headache!"

"Apparently, Duel Monsters have been appearing in the United States." said Rosie.

"And just now, the Island of Sodor." added Stanley.

"Yeah, the Witty Phantom incident." agreed James.

"What I want to know is why those monsters came here to take Emily away!" exclaimed an angry Thomas, slamming his hands down on the table. "And how we're suppose to ever find her again!"

"Calm down, Thomas." said Edward calmly. "We'll find a way to save Emily. Besides, didn't that Witty Phantom give an idea of were she would be?"

Thomas suddenly remembered what the monster had mentioned. "The Duel Monster spirit world awaits..." he murmured.

"Okay, so we know where she is." James commented. "The question now..."

"...is how do we even get to that place?" finished Gordon.

Everyone sighed in defeat... Suddenly, a new voice could be heard...

"I believe I may be able to help."

"Bubbling Sodas!" cried Rosie.

"Is that-?" added Percy.

Appearing before them out from Thomas's Millennium Puzzle was a small yellow ball. The ball grew larger, filling the room with light. When the light faded, in place of the ball was none other than the Dark Magician Girl.

"Hello, everyone." greeted the female spellcaster-type monster sweetly.

"Dark Magician Girl..." said Thomas quietly.

"She's real?" Stanley walked forth.

To make sure, the gray-haired boy reached over and touched the female monster's face in three spots, causing her to giggle and push his hand back.

"H-Hey, that tickles!" Dark Magician Girl squirmed.

Everyone gasped, while Stanley stumbled backwards a bit, for this Dark Magician Girl was real.

"You're...real." James stammered.

"Oh my..." Molly whispered.

* * *

 **Title: Into the New World**

* * *

After a long silence, the female spellcaster-type monster started to speak up...

"I know you're all surprise to see me, but that will have to wait." Dark Magician Girl said seriously. "Now, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"First some Duel Monsters kidnapped Emily." Gordon pointed out. "Now more are popping up around America. Do you know why this is the case?"

"I'm afraid I do know why this the case, and why Emily has been..."

Thomas then approached Dark Magician Girl, gripped his hands on her exposed shoulders, and started to shake her rather hard.

"If you do know, then please tell me!" he begged. "Emily's been captured, and we need to save her!"

"Thomas, calm yourself!" exclaimed Mavis.

"I can't keep calm!" screamed Thomas, feeling the darkness awakening within him once again. "I'll never forgive myself if we never see Emily ever again! I can't live without-!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Suddenly, Thomas was forcefully turned around, letting go of Dark Magician Girl in the process, and slapped across the face by the blonde-haired girl.

"Mavis!" cried Toby.

Thomas got back up, having calmed down, rubbing the part of his face that had been slapped.

"Thanks." The blue-haired boy muttered quietly. "I needed that."

"I know you want to save Emily more than anything." said Mavis calmly. "But losing your head is a very poor way of doing so."

It was then Dark Magician Girl resumed her explanation...

"The Duel Monsters spotted in America-" she began. "-came to your world because they are after those with darkness in their hearts."

"Darkness?" blinked Thomas. "What do you mean?"

Dark Magician Girl sighed. "I hope you all have some time on your hand, because this explaination could take some time."

No one said a word... This allowed Dark Magician Girl to speak again...

"This is the story about...the ' ** _Evil One_** '."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In a peaceful village somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world many, many years ago, all was quiet... Various humans and Duel Monsters were roaming around, and the children were busy playing.

"Thousands of years ago-" narrated Dark Magician Girl. "-our world was peaceful. No evil, no greed, and no war..."

Suddenly, a childmonster looked up and notices a huge, dark cloud approaching.

"But one day... that all changed."

From the dark cloud came a bolt of red lightning, striking the ground.

"It was then the ' ** _Evil One_** ' showed up." narrated Dark Magician Girl some more.

From the red lightning, a demonic looking version of Thomas stood up from his kneeling position. Various humanoid monsters all gathered around the new arrival.

"At the time, we weren't sure of his intentions...or even aware if he was a friend or foe."

"What business do you bring here?" A monster (Big Shield Gardna) asked at last.

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' didn't say anything at first and merely spread his right arm out.

"Speak!" demanded another monster (Blade Knight).

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' soon turned around silently, giving a cold, calculating smirk. Everyone in the area didn't say a word...until a female monster called Mystical Elf started to walk forth.

"Why won't you speak?" asked Mystical Elf gently.

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' still remained silent. The Mystical Elf got closer and closer to the creature! ...when it happened...

 ***STAB!***

The monsters gathered around gasped in horror. This unknown creature had suddenly used his right hand to impale the female monster through her chest and heart. The Mystical Elf, gagging and coughing, then collapsed on the ground and faded away into light. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' looked to his bloodied hand and laughed quietly.

"Bow before me-" he said quietly. "-or you will meet the same fate as her."

Now knowing that this creature was a very dark foe, the warrior-like monsters prepared for battle to defend their village and country.

"Never!" shouted a Jack's Knight defiantly.

The ' ** _Evil One_** ', not losing his smirk, responded by spreading his arms out - causing more and more red lightning bolts to strike the ground all around, creating various demonic monsters like Vorse Raider, Slate Warrior, Gil Garth, Lizard Soldier, etc.. Soon, he had thousands of those monsters under his command and ready to invade this pitiful land.

"Get them!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' commanded. "Take this village! Leave no one alive... Especially the children!"

Approaching their lord, a Witty Phantom, an Airknight Parshath, a Vampire Lord, an Earl of Demise, a Vampire Lady, and an Darkbishop Archfiend all gave menacing smiles.

"As you wish of us, my lord." obeyed Vampire Lord.

The evil monsters then charged into battle.

"A great battle ensured between the forces of the Duel Monsters spirit world-" narrated Dark Magician Girl. "-and the forces of the ' ** _Evil One_** '."

"How terrible." said Thomas's voice.

(new scene...)

Over the next several years, villages belonging to the peaceful Duel Monsters spirits fell to the forces of the ' ** _Evil One_** '.

"We've lost lots of good spirits and villages over the years." narrated Dark Magician Girl.

"Disgraceful!" said Gordon's voice.

"Disgusting!" put in James's voice.

"Despicable!" finished Henry's voice.

Dark Magician Girl continued to narrate. "But then one day, before the forces of darkness decided to attack the land's capital, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was vanquished."

(new scene...)

Emerging from the gates of his beloved city was a young, blue-haired humanoid male who also seemed to resemble Thomas. He was carrying a longsword in his hand. It would seem the lad was gonna fight to protect his city and world.

"For our world!" The boy bellowed in defiance.

The leader of the band charged out of his city to face the evil army on his own, to the surprise of some of the good spirits.

"He fought vigorously by himself. Slaying various monsters before...he came face-to-face with the ' ** _Evil One_** '."

After defeating a Vorse Raider, the boy found himself facing off against the leader of the dark forces.

"So, you wish to challenge me?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' asked mockingly.

"Yes, I do." confirmed the boy bravely. "If I am to die, then I will at least take you down with me!"

"You humor me. Let's see if you can truly back up your words!"

The boy steadied himself and charged at the ' ** _Evil One_** '. The battle was fierce, destructive, and almost a stalemate.

"They fought and fought... but the ' ** _Evil One_** ' and the younger warrior were evenly matched." narrated Dark Magician Girl.

"Had enough yet?" asked the ' ** _Evil One_** ', looking highly wounded.

"Only if you're ready to give up." retorted the boy, looking just as wounded.

"Ha ha ha ha! Brave words for a boy who's about to fail!"

He then extended his right arm and lunged at the boy, intending to impale him alive like he did with Mystical Elf. The boy bravely stood his ground, aiming to see this fight to the bitter end. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' yelled and stabbed his hand forth...and impaling the young boy he did...but also got himself impaled by the boy's spear in the process. Now armed with a spear, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' cried out in rage and charged directly for his hated enemy.

"DIE!" he roared.

Readying his sword, the blue-haired boy bellowed a war cry of his own and charged towards the vile demon. Closer and closer and closer the two enemies got. Who was going to win? The answer was simple; it was going to be...

 ***BOOM!***

The combined power of the teenage boy and the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was so great, that it rocked the whole world. When the smoke faded away, it was revealed that both the the teenage boy and the ' ** _Evil One_** '...both had used their weapons to impale each other right through their respective chests fatally.

"I...told you..." The blue-haired boy coughed. "I'm taking you...down with me. Even if...you'd struck me first... you would still die..." He shivered like a leaf. "All because our life forces...are linked."

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' cursed weakly. "S-So...be...it..."

With that said, the two warriors finally collapsed onto the ground, dead. With their leader dead, the army of darkness was on the run.

"He's dead!" wailed a Slate Warrior.

"Retreat!" cried a Gil Garth.

"Retreat!" added a Vorse Raider.

Before long, the whole army of darkness was running for their lives (which also included the Court of Darkness)! ...well, not before Vampire Lord turned to look towards the main capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"Don't think you've seen the last of us!" The Court of Darkness leader shouted. "One day, we will return! ...along with our master!"

The Court of Darkness leader then fled with the rest of the army. Meanwhile, the hero spirits all began to cheer over their victory...

(new scene...)

A few years later, a statue of the late young blue-haired warrior was built within the town square of the spirit world's capital city in his honor.

"In the years, a statue of this brave warrior was constructed in his honor for saving us all..." narrated Dark Magician Girl. "And peace had finally returned to our land... For now at least."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Wow." muttered Thomas quietly.

"Just one thing I don't get..." said James. "Why did the ' ** _Evil One_** ' and the warrior look identical?"

"Many believe they were twins separated at birth." explained Dark Magician Girl. "Others believe the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was the warrior's evil in its own individual form. Otherwise, no one knows for sure."

"But now-" Edward spoke up. "-why are people from the United States that are claimed to have darkness in their hearts, along with Emily Sterling of the United Kingdom, being kidnapped by evil Duel Monsters?"

"That's something you said you knew why." added Stanley.

"Thousands of years after the fall of the ' ** _Evil One_** '-" said Dark Magician Girl "-his followers have resurfaced and have been doing what they can to revive him. So they've been gathering as many people with darkness in their hearts to aid in their goal. However, another group formed as well to prevent his revival."

"And who leads this ' _Resistant Group_ '?" asked Rosie.

All of a sudden, Thomas's Millennium Puzzle started glowing. Soon emerging from it was another small-yet still bigger yellow ball. The ball grew larger, filling the room with light. When the light faded, in place of the ball was...

"THOMAS'S DARK MAGICIAN?!" exclaimed the group.

The sight of real Duel Monsters finally became too much for Mrs. Sterling to handle, and thus she fainted right there and then.

"The leader of the resistant army is both me and my master." Dark Magician Girl pointed out.

"We have done what we could to prevent the ' ** _Evil One_** ' from returning." added Dark Magician. "However, now the dark forces have begun to grow stronger."

"What's more-" Dark Magician Girl spoke on. "-is that they believe Emily has more than enough darkness in her heart to help with the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' revival. Which is why they came here to capture her!"

"How could Emily have darkness in her heart?" quizzed Stanley.

"Yeah, she's one of the nicest girls here on the island." added Rosie.

Thomas suddenly remembered his discussion with Shadi during the Battle City Finals.

"The incident from Middle School!" he cried. "The darkness in her must have been from when Gordon and James bullied her."

"WHAT?!"

From there, all eyes were gazing angrily at Gordon and James.

"It wasn't our fault!" protested James, backing nervously into a wall. "We didn't know what it would have caused! We were just having fun!"

"Fun?!" Thomas spat, feeling his anger resurfacing. "FUN?!"

He then grabbed James by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"You call bullying someone until they become a jerk fun?!" Thomas roared in his rage. "This is all your fault!"

"Thomas, knock it off!" bellowed Gordon. "We're sorry for-!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas, turning his fury to the taller blue-haired boy. "THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT!"

More and more darkness was awakening within the furious blue-haired boy.

"How is that darkness-" A frightened Molly began, but got cut off.

Stanley and Percy both grabbed Thomas off of James and held him back long enough for Mavis to deliver another slap.

"GET A GRIP!" The blonde-haired girl screamed angrily.

However, unlike the last time he was slapped, this one only seemed to make Thomas even angrier.

"LET! ME! GO!" he bellowed, struggling.

Suddenly, with a scream and use of greatly enhanced strength, the blue-haired boy suddenly managed to knock Percy and Stanley off of him, knocking them both onto the ground. Before Thomas's emotions could spiral further out of control... a voice in his head could be heard calling out to him.

"Thomas! Please calm down!"

Thomas heard the familiar voice... "Emily...?"

Suddenly, his vision started to become clear... and the blue-haired boy saw that most of his friends were looking and feeling fairly terrified of him. Both Percy and Stanley were also on the ground with looks of hurt and surprise on their faces, and James was coughing and hacking from briefly being choked. Realizing what he had done, Thomas felt awful.

"What's happening to me?" The blue-haired boy thought sadly, before speaking aloud. "Everyone, I'm... I'm so sorry!"

Thomas then turned and raced out of the Sterling residence to head for the rooftop of the apartment. Everyone watched their troubled friend leave with sad and/or worried expressions on their faces.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked a worried Rosie.

"I think he needs some time alone." sighed Edward.

(elsewhere...)

For a long time now, Thomas remained outside on the rooftop of the apartment building. It looked like he was in serious thought over his behavior earlier.

"Why is this happening to me?" Thomas mentally asked himself. "Why is my anger getting out of control to the point where I attack my friends?"

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

All eyes were gazing angrily at Gordon and James.

"It wasn't our fault!" protested James, backing nervously into a wall. "We didn't know what it would have caused! We were just having fun!"

"Fun?!" Thomas spat, feeling his anger resurfacing. "FUN?!"

He then grabbed James by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"You call bullying someone until they become a jerk fun?!" Thomas roared in his rage. "This is all your fault!"

"Thomas, knock it off!" bellowed Gordon. "We're sorry for-!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas, turning his fury to the taller blue-haired boy. "THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT!"

More and more darkness was awakening within the furious blue-haired boy. Stanley and Percy both grabbed Thomas off of James and held him back long enough for Mavis to deliver another slap.

"GET A GRIP!" The blonde-haired girl screamed angrily.

However, unlike the last time he was slapped, this one only seemed to make Thomas even angrier.

"LET! ME! GO!" he bellowed, struggling.

Suddenly, with a scream and use of greatly enhanced strength, the blue-haired boy suddenly managed to knock Percy and Stanley off of him, knocking them both onto the ground. Before Thomas's emotions could spiral further out of control... a voice in his head could be heard calling out to him.

"Thomas! Please calm down!"

Thomas heard the familiar voice... "Emily...?"

Suddenly, his vision started to become clear... and the blue-haired boy saw that most of his friends were looking and feeling fairly terrified of him. Both Percy and Stanley were also on the ground with looks of hurt and surprise on their faces, and James was coughing and hacking from briefly being choked.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"If the voice of Emily didn't call out to me, who knows what I could have done?" Thomas sighed sadly. "Maybe they'd be safer if I left and never came back."

Suddenly, he was approached by his two spirit monsters.

"Thomas..." whispered Dark Magician Girl.

"Why are you two up here?" The blue-haired boy asked quietly.

"We came to see how you were doing." said Dark Magician.

Thomas gave a depressed sigh. "I want to be alone for now."

"Don't you want to rescue Emily?" asked Dark Magician Girl.

"Yes, I do." nodded Thomas sadly. "But she might not want to be rescued by someone who can't even control his anger. It would only scare her away."

"Are you willing to at least make an attempt to rescue her?" Dark Magician questioned.

Thomas remained silent to that question. From there, the two spellcasters decided to leave their friend alone to think about it, and they both proceeded back down into the apartment.

(elsewhere...)

Percy and the others were waiting in the dining room when they saw Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both return.

"Well?" asked Henry anxiously.

"Any luck?" added Molly.

"I'm afraid it will be entirely up to Thomas now." Dark Magician pointed out.

"And I've decided to make an attempt." came Thomas's voice.

Everyone looked to the kitchen.

"Thomas?" muttered Gordon in surprise.

Yes, there was Thomas Billinton, all calmed down and smiling a bit.

"Hey." he greeted.

No one said a word, and thus Thomas continued...

"I'm really sorry for how I acted earlier. I don't know why, but my anger's been getting out of hand lately."

"We understand." Edward reassured. "It's because Emily means the world to you."

"Especially after all that has happened to the two of you in the last while." added Mavis.

Thomas nodded slowly.

"So, let's go save her." put in Percy.

"One problem..." James piped up. "How do we even get to the Duel Monsters spirit world?"

Everyone fell silent again. Yes, that was gonna be a problem... Well, at least until a certain female spellcaster spoke up.

"I believe we can help with that." smiled Dark Magician Girl.

"We can use our magic to send all of you to the Duel Monsters spirit world." added Dark Magician.

"You can?" James blinked.

"Yes." confirmed Dark Magician Girl.

It was then Dark Magician spoke up in a very serious tone.

"This world is quite different from yours." The purple-haired, male spellcaster went on. "If you end up in a duel, the monsters you summon will automatically become real. Meaning the damage will be real, as well."

"It will be a very long and dangerous journey." Dark Magician Girl added. "Are you sure you all want to go?"

"Not all of us play Duel Monsters." Henry pointed out. "Namely me, Edward, Gordon, Toby, Molly, and Mavis."

"Not exactly me..." Mavis spoke up all of a sudden.

"What's that suppose to mean?" quizzed James.

Reaching into her pocket, the blonde-haired girl pulled out a deck of Duel Monsters cards, causing everyone else to become shocked.

"Y-You play Duel Monsters now?" gawked Percy.

"Emily's been teaching me how to play the game." explained Mavis, nodding confidently. "So you guys can certainly count on my skills to help all out."

Using some magic from her wand, Dark Magician Girl created a Duel Disk for the blonde-haired girl to use.

"Thanks."

Dark Magician Girl nodded while smiling kindly. It was then Edward spoke up on behalf of himself, Gordon, Henry, Toby, and Molly.

"Despite the danger-" he said. "-we want to accompany you in the Duel Monsters spirit world."

"You sure?" asked Percy.

"Friends look after each other." Henry pointed out.

"Darn right!" agreed Gordon.

Deep down inside, Thomas was against the thought of his friends going with him. What if he lost control of his anger again? What if he came dangerously close to killing them? That was something the blue-haired boy would never forgive himself for. But as the rest of the gang clearly wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, he gave in.

"Alright." Thomas finally nodded. "But be careful. I don't want to lose you guys, too."

Once everyone was ready to leave (Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, upon the latter waking up, both had provided food and supplies for the party of teenagers), the gang approached the two Duel Monsters spirits.

"We have everything we need." said Thomas.

"Food, camping supplies, Duel Disks, Duel Monsters cards, etc.." added Percy.

"Now let's get this show on the road!" finished James.

Mr. and Mrs. Sterling both approached the band of teenagers about to leave for their new journey in a new world.

"Please save our daughter." begged Mrs. Sterling.

"We'll try our best." Thomas reassured.

Once the talking had finally ended, those who were going to the Duel Monsters spirit world gathered around both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl.

"We're ready." Thomas stated seriously.

"We have a friend to rescue!" added a confident sounding Percy.

"Take great care, Thomas." warned Dark Magician Girl. "I couldn't bare to think of losing you."

She then gave the blue-haired boy a quick kiss on the cheek for good luck.

"I won't let you down." Thomas whispered back.

With that, the two spellcaster-type monsters crossed their weapons and began the spell.

"What's going on?" asked a frightened Rosie.

"I don't like the looks of this..." muttered Stanley, feeling the spell taking effect.

Suddenly, the teenagers and Duel Monsters spirits all disappeared in a burst of Dark Burning-like magic.

"Thomas..." whispered Mrs. Sterling.

"Everyone..." added Mr. Sterling.

It was official... Thomas and his friends were about to embark on their biggest adventure yet. Will they be okay in this new world? ...that's hard to say.


	3. Braving the Spirit World

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Thomas began narrating the events of the previous chapter:

"It started off pretty normal for us - today was Emily's sixteenth Birthday, and we were all excited to celebrate it."

Around the table was Thomas, Edward, Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Molly, and Rosie.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!" cheered much of the gang.

"Sixteenth, that is!" added James.

At the head of the table was the Birthday girl herself... Emily Sterling, now 16-years old.

"Thanks, everyone." Emily smiled, just after blowing out her candles.

"Shortly after I gave Emily her gift... Well, I get this as a response from a few of our friends..."

As soon as Emily was gone, Gordon, James, and Henry each started whistling and hooting loudly for Thomas.

"What is it?" asked Thomas.

"You lucky dude!" cheered Gordon.

"Nicely played, Thomas!" added James.

"I think you've earned a girlfriend in Emily!" finished Henry.

"Despite my protests, Mavis told me that Emily likes me just as much as I like her... But then, our day got rudely interrupted."

Before anything more could be said, a familiar scream was heard from upstairs.

"That sounds like Emily!" exclaimed Stanley, racing up the stairs.

"Emily!" Thomas cried out, racing behind his gray-haired friend.

"We're coming!" added Rosie, standing up from the table.

"There we encountered Lizard Soldiers and a Witty Phantom attempting to kidnap Emily. Someone attempting to kidnap my friend? Not on my watch!"

"Hold it!"

The Witty Phantom smiled as looked towards one of the humans glariing at him angrily. Thomas was seething with anger... The blue-haired boy had nearly lost Emily to that Shadow Game not long ago, and he would be forever damned if he lost her now, forever.

"What is it?" The monster sighed in annoyance. "My partners and I are behind schedule right now, so make your statement quick."

"I will not let you take her away from me!" shouted Thomas. "Take ME instead!"

Witty Phantom started to laugh. "You humor me, kid. I kinda like that. I think I'll give you some more of my time."

With that said, a Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"Duel Monsters?" blinked Gordon.

"Ah, so you know of it." teased Witty Phantom, laughing softly. "That is correct. The game is Duel Monsters, and I'd like to make a wager for this match."

"What kind of wager?" asked Thomas.

"Quite simple... If you win... me and my partners will leave here forever, while not hurting a single hair on the girl's head. I win? Well, I'll let the Lizard Soldiers here demonstrate what will happen." The monster turned to one of the Lizard Soldiers in his party. "Proceed."

The Lizard Soldier nodded and, with a snarl, used its sword to slice the nearby table clean in half. Witty Phantom chuckled and looked back over to the group.

"So... do we have a duel?"

"We have a duel." said Thomas firmly, activating his Duel Disk.

"Surprisingly, he put up a good fight... But then he made the fatal mistake of hurting Emily before me! That is something I'll NEVER forgive!"

With a snap of his fingers, two of Witty Phantom's Lizard Soldiers went and punched Emily hard in the stomach, causing her to fall to her knees while clutching his stomach in pain...before being backhanded across the face by a third Lizard Soldier.

"Emily! No!" cried out the rest of the gang.

Unfortunately, someone else was taking it even worse...

"STOP IT!" screamed Thomas, feeling his anger awakening further. "STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!" A dark aura began to surround him. "I will crush your bones into dust! I will destroy anybody who dares to harm Emily in front of me!"

"From there, I called upon Obelisk the Tormentor and made that Witty Phantom wish he was never born!"

Obelisk the Tormentor let loose an angry roar in response.

"FIST OF FURY!"

Obelisk the Tormentor, more than happy to obey the command, fired both of its fists at Witty Phantom and his monsters. One-by-one, King of Yamimakai and Castle of Dark Illusions both fell to the impact of the fists, and Witty Phantom also got hit by the flying fists, thus causing him to scream in agonizing pain (LP: 0).

"But even though I've won, the Lizard Soldiers still took Emily away... Not to mention Witty Phantom, before dying, did something to me."

"Enjoy my parting gift!" Witty Phantom cackled louder and harder before...finally fading away to his death, turning to light as he vanished.

"Later on, we were visited by Dark Magician Girl, who had some news on where Emily was taken! And that is to the Duel Monsters spirit world. Unfortunately, I completely lost my cool when I found out the reason she was captured...!"

"What's more-" Dark Magician Girl spoke on. "-is that they believe Emily has more than enough darkness in her heart to help with the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' revival. Which is why they came here to capture her!"

"How could Emily have darkness in her heart?" quizzed Stanley.

"Yeah, she's one of the nicest girls here on the island." added Rosie.

Thomas suddenly remembered his discussion with Shadi during the Battle City Finals.

"The incident from Middle School!" he cried. "The darkness in her must have been from when Gordon and James bullied her."

"WHAT?!"

From there, all eyes were gazing angrily at Gordon and James.

"It wasn't our fault!" protested James, backing nervously into a wall. "We didn't know what it would have caused! We were just having fun!"

"Fun?!" Thomas spat, feeling his anger resurfacing. "FUN?!"

He then grabbed James by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"You call bullying someone until they become a jerk fun?!" Thomas roared in his rage. "This is all your fault!"

"Thomas, knock it off!" bellowed Gordon. "We're sorry for-!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas, turning his fury to the taller blue-haired boy. "THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT!"

More and more darkness was awakening within the furious blue-haired boy.

"How is that darkness-" A frightened Molly began, but got cut off.

Stanley and Percy both grabbed Thomas off of James and held him back long enough for Mavis to deliver another slap.

"GET A GRIP!" The blonde-haired girl screamed angrily.

However, unlike the last time he was slapped, this one only seemed to make Thomas even angrier.

"LET! ME! GO!" he bellowed, struggling.

Suddenly, with a scream and use of greatly enhanced strength, the blue-haired boy suddenly managed to knock Percy and Stanley off of him, knocking them both onto the ground.

"I don't know why my inner darkness and anger have gotten so much stronger than ever before... but I can't let it stop me from rescuing my true love..."

"We're ready." Thomas stated seriously.

"We have a friend to rescue!" added a confident sounding Percy.

"Take great care, Thomas." said Dark Magician Girl. "I couldn't bare to think of losing you."

She then gave the blue-haired boy a quick kiss on the cheek for good luck.

"I won't let you down." Thomas whispered.

With that said, the two spellcaster-type monsters crossed their weapons and began the spell.

"What's going on?" asked a frightened Rosie.

"I don't like the looks of this..." muttered Stanley, feeling the spell taking effect.

Suddenly, the teenagers and Duel Monster Spirits all disappeared in a burst of Dark Burning-like magic.

"Thomas..." whispered Mrs. Sterling.

"Everyone..." added Mr. Sterling.

It was official... Thomas and his friends were about to embark on their biggest adventure yet. Will they be okay in this new world? ...that's hard to say.

* * *

 **Title: Braving the Spirit World**

* * *

Thomas took a step forth.

"Wow..." he breathed admiringly.

Where the blue-haired boy and his friends stood was a huge, wide open meadow with mountains, forests, etc., and there were various Duel Monsters spirits roaming around minding their own business.

"So this is the Duel Monsters spirit world." Edward remarked.

"I've never seen a place so amazing." breathed Henry.

"Do we even know where we're going?" asked James.

"We have a map." Edward pointed out, taking something out of his backpack. "That way we won't be lost."

The intelligent, blue-haired boy read the large map very carefully.

"Anything?" asked Stanley.

"Hmm..." muttered Edward thoughtfully. "According to the map..."

"Yes, YES?" exclaimed an impatient James.

"Does it say where we are?" added Gordon.

"Easy, you two." said Edward calmly, still looking at the map. Finally, he looked up ahead. "There should be a village six miles straight forward."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Rosie.

"Let's get moving!" added Percy.

And so, the long walk began. It was, as expected, very, very long. The hot sun was beating down on everyone.

"Are we there yet?" asked James.

"You asked that five minutes ago." replied Mavis in an irritated tone. "And now you get the same answer!"

"And that is...?"

"NO!" The blonde-haird girl shouted.

"Aww, but this is taking forever!" James complained.

"Why couldn't we have brought some video games to entertain ourselves?" added Gordon.

"This isn't a vacation." Toby pointed out.

"We're on a serious rescue mission." added Rosie.

"Still no excuse for us to be in everlasting boredom." The tall, blue-haired boy retorted.

A bit fed up with James and Gordon's complaining, Thomas turned around and glared at them, hard.

"Pay attention!" he snapped. "Don't you even remember why we're here?"

"To rescue Emily." James and Gordon both answered.

"Exactly... So keep focused, you guys!"

Gordon and James both sighed, and the walking resumed. Eventually, it had been almost one full hour. Of course...

"Are we there yet?" asked James again.

"For goodness sake, no!" came the reply of Mavis.

"We've been walking for about an hour and a half." Gordon pointed out. "Perhaps we can take a break now?"

"We can't." argued Thomas. "The longer it takes for us to get there, the longer it will take to rescue Emily."

"Maybe a quick break wouldn't hurt." Henry spoke up.

"I agree." added Stanley.

"But-" Thomas tried to argue.

"We can't rescue Emily if we're too tired, Thomas." interrupted Rosie. "We need some rest."

The blue-haired boy finally gave up and agreed.

"Okay." he sighed. "We'll take a ten minute break, and then move on."

The friends were relieved to have a rest. Minutes later, everyone was having a little picnic of some of the food they took with them. For a reason, only Mavis wasn't eating.

"Mavis?" questioned Toby. "What's wrong? Why aren't you eating right now?"

The blonde-haired girl looked up. "Oh, sorry. I'm just looking through my new deck."

"Mind if I see them, too?" asked Edward, looking over to the couple.

Mavis nodded and handed Edward her cards. The intelligent blue-haired boy cycled through the deck carefully before stopping.

"I've heard of these cards." he said at last.

"What are they?" asked Percy.

"The Cyber Girls series." Edward stated. "It comprises of monsters that are based around dance-related sports."

"Whoa! Since when were you interested in dance-related sports, Mavis?" James spoke up with interest.

Mavis blushed a little bit as she tried to explain the reason.

"I thought these cards seemed rather cool." she said. "Not every day you see a series of cards that involve only girls..."

Stares from everyone gave the clue there was something more, and the blonde-haired girl knew this.

"...that and my mother enrolled me in some dance-related classes shortly after I turned 14, after Toby and I became friends, and after I broke up with Diesel."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" asked Thomas.

"Only Emily knew of my little secret. It was also she who helped me choose these cards for my deck." Mavis explained.

"That was nice of her." smiled Percy.

"I'll say." agreed Thomas.

"We're sure you'll do a great job of dueling, Mavis." said Toby positively, hugging his girlfriend.

"Oh, you're so sweet, Toby." Mavis then kissed her boyfriend's forehead.

"Get a room, you two." joked James.

Before anything more could be said, a loud scream could be heard from the distance.

"What was that?" asked Rosie, surprised.

"Not sure." Percy answered, pointing to nearby. "But it's coming from over that hill."

"Let's go!" declared Thomas, racing to the rescue.

Percy and James both immediately followed. Upon climbing the hill, the three teenagers could see a large squad of Vorse Raiders, Lizard Soldiers, and Battle Oxs doing battle against a Gilford the Lightning, who was protecting a female humanoid monster with blue hair, wearing white robes, and wielding a rod of a sort.

"Those Duel Monsters look like they're in trouble." gasped Percy.

"Then let's go help 'em!" declared James, rushing to the rescue.

"Wait for us!" called Thomas, as he and Percy both followed suit.

Although Gilford the Lightning was slaying the other monsters successfully, he was getting tired out due to the large numbers of weaker monsters.

"Had enough?" asked a Vorse Raider teasingly.

"You scoundrels!" bellowed Gilford the Lightning, swiping his sword forth.

Two Vorse Raiders, however, blocked the blow with their weapons. This allowed a Battle Ox to swing its axe and strike Gilford the Lightning across the chest.

"GAHH!" The warrior-type monster exclaimed in pain, dropping his sword and stumbling back.

"No!" cried the blue-haired female monster.

Gilford the Lightning fell to the ground while clutching his chest. Just before the opposing monsters could deal the finishing blow...

"Dark Magic Attack!"

Suddenly, some of the monsters were destroyed by a blast of black magic.

"Who?" whispered the blue-haired female monster, turning to the left.

Three humans were approaching the battle. One of them had Dark Magician hovering beside him.

"Come forth - Elemental HERO Neos!" called the red-haired boy, drawing and holding out a card.

"Help us out, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" added the green-haired boy, drawing and holding out a card.

The mighty black dragon and the Ultraman-like Elemental HERO appeared.

"ATTACK!"

The two monsters along with Dark Magician attacked the evil ones.

"What matter of creatures are-?" Gilford the Lightning started to speak, but the stinging pain in his chest cut him off.

"You think it's fun ganging up on two people like that?" asked James to the evil monsters. "It's time we taught you some respect! Take 'em down, Neos!"

"Go, Red-Eyes!" called Percy.

"Join forces, Dark Magician!" added Thomas.

In no time, the remaining evil monsters were destroyed.

"That's that." James said proudly, brushing his hands together.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked the two monsters he and his friends have saved.

The blue-haired female monster looked a bit scared of those three humans, and Gilford the Lightning stood up to try and defend the female.

"Who are you three?" he demanded defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" cried James. "How about simple words like ' _Thank you_ '?"

"We just saved your lives!" added Percy.

"They speak the truth, Gilford." said the blue-haired woman, realizing that the creatures were friends. "They have rescued us from certain doom."

Gilford the Lightning eased up and sighed. "I apologize. There had been some monster sightings around our village most recently, and I don't know what matter of creatures you three are."

"We are humans." explained Thomas. "From the human world."

"Hu-m-an!" added James, stretching the word out a bit.

Gilford the Lightning and the female monster both gave blank stares... before the former fell to a knee in pain once more.

"Gilford!" cried the female monster.

"He looks badly hurt." Thomas remarked, and then looked to the female monster. "Is there a village nearby?"

"Yes." confirmed the blue-haired female monster. "But we may not reach it in time."

"We have to at least try."

"We'll go back and get the others." Percy stated, getting onto Red-Eyes Black Dragon's back.

Thomas gave a relieved smile. "Thanks, Percy."

As soon as James got onto Red-Eyes Black Dragon's back, the dragon gave a roar, took off, and flew back towards the nearby hill. Thomas and the blue-haired female monster both took the wounded Gilford the Lightning's arms and began to help him.

"Even though this is the first time we've met-" said the female monster to Thomas. "-I can't help but feel I've seen you somewhere before."

"Hmm? Weird." Thomas replied, grunting.

Soon, as Thomas and the blue-haired female monster helped Gilford the Lightning along the road, the rest of the gang arrived.

"How much further is the village?" asked Henry.

"A few more miles down the road." said the blue-haired female monster.

Despite that bit of important info, the gang wasn't going to give up.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a new location (or inside a castle it would seem), Emily was being taken somewhere by a bunch of Lizard Soldiers.

"Where are you taking me?" The dark green-haired girl demanded.

The Lizard Soldiers only hissed in a hostile manner.

"No need to be so rude." muttered Emily.

Eventually, the girl was brought into a throne room of a sort. There, stood Airknight Parshath, Earl of Demise, Vampire Lady, Darkbishop Archfiend, and the second-in-command of the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' - Vampire Lord.

"Ah." The monster said in satisfaction. "I see that you succeeded in bringing the girl."

"But I don't see Witty Phantom." snickered Vampire Lady.

Earl of Demise gave a creepy laugh. "Looks like someone did him in."

"That's right!" said Emily defensively. "And unless you guys want the same thing to happen to yourselves, you'll let me go this instant!"

One of the Lizard Soldiers attempted to strike her in response, but Vampire Lord held up his left hand and stopped it.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it is unkind to strike a lady?" he scolded.

"Unkind?!" Emily spat. "Just who do you think you guys are?"

Vampire Lord gave a cold smile. "Allow us to introduce ourselves."

It cut over to Earl of Demise.

"I am the Earl of Demise." he began.

It cut over to Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Darkbishop Archfiend, at your humble service." he said in a false polite tone.

It cut over to Airknight Parshath.

"My name is Airknight Parshath." he greeted calmly.

It cut over to Vampire Lady, who was giggling malevolently.

"Call me Vampire Lady..." she remarked, ending with a hiss.

Emily shuddered a bit at this.

"And I'm Vampire Lord." The final monster stated. "And we five-"

"Are the Court of Darkness." The other four monsters finished at once.

"Our ultimate goal-" began Darkbishop Archfiend. "-is to conquer the Duel Monsters spirit world."

"To do so, we must revive our fallen leader." added Earl of Demise.

"The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' himself." concluded Vampire Lady.

"The ' _ **Evil One**_ '?" repeated Emily.

"The supreme ruler of darkness!" explained Airknight Parshath.

"The one who will lead us to victory in this great war!" added Vampire Lord, hissing fiendishly.

"War?" quizzed Emily again. "Just what is going on here?"

"My, oh my, you certainly have lots of questions for us, don't you?" asked a new voice.

Enter the throne room was a lab-coated man looking to be in his fifties. He had a small smile on his face.

"Professor Melvin?" Vampire Lord questioned. "What brings you here?"

"You're suppose to be in the lab doing research on the darkness in people's hearts." added Vampire Lady sternly.

"I needed some fresh air." explained the Professor, smiling at the 16-year old girl. "But I can see you brought in my latest experiment."

"Experiment?" Emily thought to herself. "What does he mean by that?"

"Why yes, we did." Earl of Demise grinned.

Professor Melvin suddenly took a great whiff from the dark green-haired girl from head-to-toe and sighed pleasantly to himself.

"Darkness... I can smell sweet darkness from this girl!"

Emily felt very creeped out and violated by that man being so close to her.

"Bring her to my lab at once." Professor Melvin ordered.

"But we don't have the necessary technology yet." Vampire Lord reminded. "We're no where near ready to truly begin."

"Well, hurry it up!" Professor Melvin demanded impatiently. "How do you expect me to accomplish anything if you're not intelligent enough to bring me what I need?"

Growing very cross, Vampire Lord hissed in a pretty hostile tone.

"You would be wise when speaking to your superior, professor." The Court of Darkness leader warned.

Professor Melvin snorted. "Yes, yes, I know."

"For now, until we get all of the technology we need, the girl will need to be locked away." said Darkbishop Archfiend, turning to the Lizard Soldiers. "Take her to one of the towers at once."

The Lizard Soldiers, obeying, began to take Emily away.

"Just you wait!" The dark green-haired girl shouted, whilst being dragged away. "My friend Thomas will come and rescue me! And when he does, you'll all be in big trouble!"

"Oh, I know Thomas will come for you, my dear." said Professor Melvin quietly, turning around. He then added in a dark tone to himself... "I am also hoping for his eventual arrival."

Once Emily was gone, Professor Melvin looked back towards the Court of Darkness.

"With over ten thousand humans captured so far, my experiment will have to begin very soon. When will the device be ready?"

"We can't say for sure." replied Vampire Lady. "The technology of the Duel Monsters spirit world, while extremely advanced, likely won't be enough."

Professor Melvin growled. This was one experiment he was not gonna abandon at any time. No way! The human was gonna get the technology he absolutely needed, no matter the cost.

"Keep the monsters busy with building the device." The evil man stated. "And one more thing..."

"What?" hissed Vampire Lord.

Professor Melvin smiled. "That boy the girl spoke of... keep an eye on him, too."

"Witty Phantom did a good job in getting the boy to release the darkness in his heart." remarked Earl of Demise. "A very good job, indeed."

"Quiet, Earl of Demise." hushed Darkbishop Archfiend, before looking back at the human male. "Why do you want us to keep an eye on the boy? He's what he is... a mere boy."

"Let's just say something about him will ring a bell once you see him." said Professor Melvin snidely. "Oh, and do the same for his friends, too..."

With that said, the mysterious man walked out of the throne room.

"What do you think he meant by that?" asked Vampire Lady.

"Don't ask me." said Vampire Lord. "But he is extremely intelligent, and we should respect that."

"Huh! I don't trust him." grumbled Earl of Demise.

"We'd be better off doing that old timer in." protested Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Enough!" argued Airknight Parshath. "If Professor Melvin says for us to keep an eye on that boy and his friends, that is what we shall do."

"Agreed." Vampire Lord nodded. "If things go accordingly... our master will be reborn once more!"

"Then this world will be ours!" added Vampire Lady.

At that point, Darkbishop Archfiend looked towards a large crystal globe nearby.

"Time to see where they are at..."

The globe glowed purple for a second before showing Thomas and his friends in the middle of a meadow-like field near a village.

"So, there they are..." grinned Earl of Demise.

"Shall we go get them?" asked Vampire Lady.

Vampire Lord shook his head. "I've got a better idea..." he chuckled.

"What idea?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend curiously.

"An ambush..."

And the villainous second-in-command began to explain his little plan...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the real world at the American branch of Boxford Corp in Atlanta, Spencer was alone in his office typing away at his laptop when a knock came at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened, and Skiff walked inside.

"Spencer, there's someone here to see you." he said immediately.

"I'm busy right now. Tell the person to come back tomorrow." Spencer replied, not taking his eyes off his work.

Skiff grew nervous upon hearing that. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

Suddenly, a new, and rather pompous sounding, voice spoke up... "Because this voice happens to be the current President of the United States!"

Spencer jumped out of his seat in surprise upon hearing that voice.

"Y-You...!" The silver-haired boy stuttered.

An important looking man, looking to be in his sixties, with short graying hair, and also wearing a blue business suit, red tie, and fancy black shoes entered the room. He had a look of pompous arrogance on his face.

"P-Presenting President Douglas Crump." stuttered Skiff uneasily.

Spencer, despite strongly disliking the man, suddenly felt himself bowing in respect before him.

"And here you didn't want to see me." Douglas Crump snorted, folding his arms.

"Wh-what brings you here, Mr. President?" asked Spencer, trying his hardest to be polite.

Douglas Crump got down to business. "I'm here because I have a complaint to file... a BIG one!"

"It wouldn't happen to involve the sudden appearance of Duel Monsters in the United States, would it?"

"Correct!" exclaimed Douglas Crump. "The last thing we need around here is having the people of America getting snatched up by these creatures... Especially as that one company used to be a weapons developing based company."

Spencer felt his temper rising, but remained cool. "I've already made a statement to the press - Boxford Corp has had nothing to do with any of this."

"Blasphemy! I just know your parent's company has something to do with all of this!" argued Douglas Crump. "I bet it's all because you can't stand that I'm richer than you are."

"Now see here!" snapped Spencer, finally getting angry. "Just because I can easily grow jealous of anyone greater than me doesn't give you any right to accuse me of attempting to kill all these people! Besides, our technology isn't that advanced enough to make the monsters 100% real."

"Lies! I KNOW it's the fault of Boxford Corp, and I will prove it to the whole world one way or another!"

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" asked Spencer coldly. "There is no evidence that my company is responsible for this! Innocent until PROVEN guilty!"

"Mark my words, Spencer Gresley..." growled Douglas Crump. "I will expose your company for what it really is; a gaming menace bent on world domination! I'll ensure that its reputation sinks deep into the ground!"

The silver-haired boy glared at the man hatefully in response. Douglas Crump, upon fixing his tie, then turned and left the room.

"That young man will do anything to make himself look important." he thought bitterly.

Finally, as soon as the door closed, Skiff looked over to his seething Big Brother.

"Spencer, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"How dare that old coot march in here and accuse my family's company of something it didn't even do!" shouted Spencer, turning and slamming his fists on his desk. "If he weren't the President, I would ring his neck until blubber oozed out!"

Just then, another knock came at the door.

"WHAT?!"

"Spencer, honey..." came the calm voice of Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

Skiff went over and opened the door. Entering was Spencer and Skiff's Mother and Father.

"Is everything okay?" asked Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

Mr. Gresley (Boxford) could see his elder son was in a very bad mood. "I...guess President Douglas Crump was here to see you?"

"How could you tell?" asked Spencer sarcastically. "He's blaming Boxford Corp for what's going on."

"And he also promised to ensure that we're exposed for it." added an unhappy Skiff.

"Just ignore him." suggested Mr. Gresley (Boxford). "The public at least knows we're innocent. Crump's just too stubborn to know when he's in the wrong. I'm sure he'll let it go soon."

Spencer and Skiff both hoped with all their heart and soul that their Father was right.

(elsewhere...)

Back somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Thomas and his friends were helping the same Gilford the Lightning and humanoid female monster with aqua blue hair back to their village.

"Nearly there." said the female monster.

"By the way..." Thomas spoke up. "We never got your name."

"My name is Maiden of the Aqua."

"Wait a second..." Rosie suddenly spoke up, drawing a card from her deck. "I have you in my new deck."

She showed the card to everyone.

"Wow!" breathed Toby.

"Amazing!" said Gordon.

"Astonishing!" put in James.

"Not bad." finished Henry.

"So you have heard of me." said Maiden of the Aqua.

"A little bit." answered Rosie.

Finally, the blue-haired female monster spoke up with a new question on hand.

"Why did you all come to this land?"

"First, some monsters kidnapped my friend, Emily." explained Thomas. "Then others started appearing all over America. We were sent here by my Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl."

"D-Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl you say?" Gilford the Lightning spoke up.

"You know them?" added Maiden of the Aqua.

"We do." Thomas nodded, holding out two cards. "They're my two ace monsters."

The two cards were shown to be the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl monster cards.

"Those two are the ones who lead our resistant group." explained Maiden of Aqua.

"Do they live at the village we're going to?" asked Henry.

"No, they live at the capital city of this world."

At long last, as everyone walked and spoke, the village Maiden of the Aqua spoke of came into sight.

"There it is!" cried Stanley. "Our first stop!"

"Thank goodness..." panted Molly. "All this walking..."

"Now we can get this guy some help." said Gordon, referring to Gilford the Lightning.

(new scene...)

Thomas, his friends, Maiden of the Aqua, and Gilford the Lightning arrived outside the gate to the village.

"Hello?" called Thomas. "Is anyone here?"

It was then a baby Watapon approached the group.

"Oh, hello there, little one." greeted Maiden of the Aqua sweetly.

She picked up the baby Watapon with her free hand and held it gently. Suddenly, more and more humanoid (or cute) monsters started to approach everyone.

"Our High Priest has returned!" rejoiced a Gemini Elf.

"High Priest?" asked Thomas.

Suddenly, the monsters took one look at the blue-haired boy...and froze at once in surprise.

"Did...I say something wrong?"

"Must be your breath." snickered James.

But that wasn't the reason at all. Oh no, not even close.

"It's him..." whispered a Magician of Faith.

"But how?" asked a Big Shield Gardna.

The atmosphere made everyone in the group feel very uneasy.

"I think we'd better run." whispered Percy. "Before things get ugly."

The monsters all started to approach...before bowing respectfully.

"Um... what's up with that?" Gordon blinked.

"I don't know." shrugged Henry.

"You've returned to us from the dead." A King's Knight spoke up.

"We've all been waiting for your return..." added a Mystical Elf.

"What're they talking about?" quizzed Mavis.

Maiden of the Aqua smiled. "They're talking... to you."

She was referring to Thomas, who then gasped in complete shock.

"Me?!"

More and more humanoid monsters gathered around the blue-haired boy. What could this mean? Well, we'll just have to wait and find out.


	4. Village Duties

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Thomas and his friends were deeply shocked.

"Uh... could you repeat that one more time?" asked James. "Most of us...didn't exactly catch what you said."

"The Great One has finally returned to us." said a Mystical Elf.

"The hero who vanquished the Evil One!" added a Gemini Elf.

Thomas remained stunned. Gordon, Henry, and James looked to each other.

"Anyone getting this?" asked Gordon.

"Nope." James shook his head.

"I'm lost." added Henry.

It was then Edward remembered something.

"Thomas, do you remember what Dark Magician Girl told us about the 'Evil One'?" he asked.

"Yes, I remember." Thomas nodded.

"She mentioned that a hero who looked similar to the Evil One was able to vanquish him at the cost of his own life." explained the intelligent blue-haired boy. "And from the way these monsters seem so happy to see you... I believe that hero looked just like you."

"That's because that IS our great hero!" came the voice of a Gearfried the Iron Knight.

Not one teenager said a solitary word over the matter...at least until James's stomach started grumbling.

"So, um... is there anywhere in this village where we can grab a bite to eat?" he asked aloud.

Silence... which was quickly followed by Thomas and most of the other teenagers falling down, anime style.

* * *

 **Title: Village Duties**

* * *

Minutes later, the gang was inside a house and seated at a large table. Also present was Maiden of the Aqua, a few baby Watapons, a bandaged Gilford the Lightning, and two Gemini Elves cooking for everyone.

"So let me get this straight..." said Gordon. "Not only is Thomas the descendant of an Egyptian Pharaoh, but he's also the descendant of a hero from another world?" He turned his attention to the 15-year old blue-haired boy. "How much more famous can you get?!"

"He's certainly more famous than you are, Gordon." joked Toby.

The older blue-haired boy groaned and buried his face with both hands.

"I wonder what life in a village like this is like?" Rosie asked aloud.

"It seems rather like Medieval Villages you'd see from the Middle Ages." said Stanley.

"I agree." peeped Percy.

Just then...

"Meal time!" came the voice of a Gemini Elf.

"Oh, goodie!" exclaimed James, rubbing his hands together.

"Bring it on!" dared Gordon.

The Elves both brought plates of food to the table.

"Soups! Meats! Vegetables!" drooled James.

"Porridge! Slices of bread! And even fresh fruit!" added a hungry Gordon.

"LET'S DIG IN!"

And the two teenagers started to eat rather messily.

"So embarrassing..." groaned Mavis, sweatdropping.

"Who's complaining?" asked Percy, also eating rather messily.

Thomas just ate his food politely, trying not to be bothered by a few of his friends' sloppy eating.

"Thank you." came from Gilford the Lightning all of a sudden.

Thomas looked over to where the warrior monster was seated, enjoying his drink.

"Huh?"

"I never got the chance to properly thank you and your friends." said Gilford the Lightning. "You saved me and the High Priest from those demons, and I'm eternally thankful for it."

"You're welcome." smiled Thomas, drinking some of his water.

"So you're the High Priest of this village?" Molly asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I am." The blue-haired female monster confirmed.

"That's amazing. What is it you actually do as that?"

"I try to keep the peace in this village as best as possible." explained Maiden of the Aqua. "My powers of bringing water also comes in handy in case of fires or droughts."

"So why were those other monsters after you?" asked James.

Maiden of the Aqua sighed in dismay. "This land is at war right now."

"We were told about that." Thomas pointed out.

"After the Evil One was killed, our land became peaceful once more...until a thousand years later. The Evil One's Court of Darkness have resurfaced and rallied a massive army of evil-like monsters, and are raiding villages all around this beautiful land, killing the monsters, taking the children as prisoners...you get the idea."

"That's awful." said Rosie, cuddling with a baby Watapon.

"As the Evil One's forces raid the villages-" continued Maiden of the Aqua. "-they steal all sorts of technological devices there are in any houses, temples...again, you get the idea."

"What could they need them for?" asked Mavis.

Maiden of the Aqua closed her eyes. "We believe they plan to revive the Evil One."

"Agreed." spoke up Gilford the Lightning. "The only problem is that the technology here in the spirit world, while advanced, is no where near enough."

"Then perhaps they'll just keep raiding villages until they get all the technology and things they need?" suggested Toby.

Suddenly, Thomas remembered the invasion of monsters in America. "Or what if they're also taking technology from our world to quicken the process!"

"There has to be more to it than that." Percy pointed out.

"They could also being going after those with darkness in their hearts." added Edward, recounting what Dark Magician Girl had said.

Yes, this was quite serious. With this knowledge on hand, the gang knew they had lots on their plate (so to speak).

"So, what do we do now?" asked Henry.

"We can offer you all a place to stay for the rest of the day." offered Maiden of the Aqua. "Your journey is bound to be very dangerous, and you'll need all the help you can get."

"That's very nice of you to offer." smiled Stanley.

"And we'll take it, too!" added James.

"But what about Emily?" protested Thomas. "We have to save her as soon as possible!"

"Calm yourself." soothed Maiden of the Aqua. "This...Emily... she seems to be very special to you."

"I'll say." muttered James, earning him an elbow to the side by Molly. "OW! What?"

The black-haired girl immediately hushed her boyfriend.

"However..." Maiden of the Aqua continued. "I wouldn't worry about anything happening to her right now."

"Why not?" asked Thomas.

"The technology needed to revive the Evil One will be very, very hard to gather. Not to mention it will also require almost thousands of people with darkness in their hearts."

"She's right." agreed Edward. "It could take a very, very long time for those creatures to accomplish their goal."

"Especially with their plans with Emily." added Stanley.

Thomas finally gave up. "Alright." he sighed.

"Trust us, Thomas-" Edward said kindly. "-we'll rescue Emily."

"Our Inn has four rooms for each of you." explained one Gemini Elf.

"We'll let you stay for free, too!" added the other Gemini Elf.

"Sweet deal!" grinned Henry.

"But there is one thing we'd like some of you to do." spoke up Maiden of the Aqua.

"I knew this was too good to be true!" moaned James irritably.

"Shut it!" hissed Gordon.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Molly more kindly.

"We were wondering if a few of you with those...devices on your arms could help our village guardians patrol the village for a few hours." offered Maiden of the Aqua. "A few of you could also help some of the villagers with some outdoor chores...and the rest of you could help with some chores around or inside the Inn."

"Sounds like fun." said Rosie.

Eventually, even James agreed to the favor. This is how it was set up:  
-Patrol: Thomas, James, Percy, Mavis  
-Villagers: Rosie, Toby, Henry  
-Inn: Edward, Gordon, Molly, Stanley

"Don't worry." said Thomas positively. "We'll help keep this place safe."

"Darn right!" boasted James. "Those vile monsters will have to get by me if they want to sack this village!"

He then made muscles and flexed his arms to make himself look tough.

"Oh sure." said Gordon sarcastically. "So says the guy who's got his butt kicked in duels back home loads of times before."

In an instant, the red-haired boy lost his cool and tough facade and fell down, anime style. Thomas, Henry, and Percy each chuckled a bit.

"Quite the interest bunch, eh?" chuckled the first Gemini Elf, speaking to her twin sister.

"I agree." agreed the sister, looking amused.

Maiden of the Aqua, Thomas, James, Percy, Mavis, Rosie, Toby, and Henry all left the Inn to go to the center of town. This left Edward, Gordon, Molly, and Stanley behind with the Gemini Elves.

"So where do we start?" asked Edward.

"Right. Can we get you...um..." began the first Gemini Elf.

"Edward."

The first Gemini Elf nodded. "Edward... to help with washing the dishes?"

"Sure thing." agreed Edward. "I often do the dishes when mother or father are late running home."

"Great!" smiled the first Gemini Elf, turning to both Gordon and Stanley. "And can we get you two... um..."

"Gordon." said the taller boy.

"And Stanley." added the gray-haired one.

"Stanley, could you help my sister with making the beds upstairs, please?"

"No problem." Stanley smiled.

"What about me?" asked Gordon.

"Could you dispose of the garbage in the basement?" offered the second Gemini Elf.

Gordon was most indignant. "G-Garbage?" he spluttered.

"Is...that a problem?"

"Of course not." said Stanley hastily, covering his friend's mouth before he could argue. "Gordon would love to do it, wouldn't you?"

Gordon's protests were muffled out and eventually he gave in.

"Alright..." The tall blue-haired boy grumbled muffledly, although he had but one thought over his job... "Oh, the indignity!"

Finally, the two Gemini Elves glanced towards Molly.

"Is there anything for me to do?" she asked hopefully.

"Let's see..." said the first Gemini Elf, beginning to think. "Are you good at caring for a garden?"

"Oh yes." Molly nodded eagerly.

The two Gemini Elves smiled upon hearing this.

"Well then, could you water the garden?" offered the first Gemini Elf.

"I'd love to." smiled Molly.

With the jobs assigned, everyone set to work.

(elsewhere...)

Edward was busy washing the dishes. Sure, there were a lot of them...but the intelligent blue-haired boy didn't mind that.

(elsewhere...)

Stanley was with the second Gemini Elf in one of the guest rooms, and they were busy making the beds.

(elsewhere...)

Gordon was busy grumbling to himself as he emptied the garbage from the basement.

"Phew! What a pong!"

Soon, after ten long and hard minutes of cleaning the entire basement, he finished his little job.

"Finally..." Gordon sighed in relief.

...or so he thought. The first Gemini Elf could then be heard, and seen, tapping her foot on the ground while having both hands by her sides.

"Yes?" asked Gordon sheepishly. "As you can see... I'm finished!"

"Yes, you are..." The first Gemini Elf remarked deadpanly. "But you happened to miss the second room!"

"Second room?!"

The first Gemini Elf nodded firmly. "Come with me."

Gordon sulked as he followed.

(elsewhere...)

Molly was humming a little tune to herself as she filled a watering can to the limit. Soon, the black-haired girl was watering the flowers in the garden.

"This garden is going to look so beautiful." she smiled.

It was then a voice spoke up...

"Very nice work."

Molly turned and saw a smiling Gemini Elf walking over.

"Thank you." bowed the black-haired girl.

"Despite the war, our village can still be a busy, yet peaceful, place to live."

"I can see that." Molly agreed. "I wonder how everyone else is doing?"

Good question... let's go find out.

(elsewhere...)

Rosie and a bunch of baby Watapon, Kuriboh, and Winged Kuriboh were shown to be leaving the village for the nearby forest.

"Come along, you cute little things." called the pink-haired girl sweetly. "We're gonna go and play."

The adorable little ones were very happy to be going to play with Rosie. Unfortunately, they were all unaware they were being watched...

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the village, Henry was helping a shieldless Big Shield Gardna with carrying fire wood to a nearby shed.

"I feel bad for those poor trees." said Henry quietly. He remembered doing something similar when he was younger after a tree he cared for was destroyed in a storm. "Beeing chopped into fire wood..."

"I've a feeling you love nature." remarked the Big Shield Gardna. "But not to worry. Trees grow pretty quickly in this world."

Henry felt better hearing this.

(elsewhere...)

Toby was helping a couple of whaleless Legendary Fishermen with gathering the vegetables from the garden at the townhall.

"This brings back some memories." thought Toby. "Back when I lived on the farm before moving to Knapford City."

Years ago, Toby's family owned a farm, but it soon went out of business when his father passed away. This lead the brown-haired boy moving to the big city of Knapford. Just then...

"Hey, you!" called a Legendary Fisherman.

"Huh? What?" Toby snapped out of his daydream. "Something the matter, gentlemen?"

"You're suppose to be helping us, right?" asked a second Legendary Fisherman.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

The brown-haired boy resumed his job gathering vegetables from the garden.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere near the entrance to the village, Thomas, Percy, James, Mavis, and Gilford the Lightning were standing outside and looking into the distance.

"So, uh... what is it we're suppose to do?" asked Percy.

"Stand guard for anyone coming." said Gilford. "If anyone approaches, ask they identify themselves."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Mavis quizzed.

"With the war going on, we can't afford to take any chances."

"Good point." agreed Thomas.

A full hour passed...but no evil monsters came storming to the village. James was beginning to get bored with keeping watch.

"Nothing yet." he complained. "We're wasting our time."

"I'd rather be bored than to let this village be overrun by the enemy." Mavis retorted hotly.

James said nothing more. It was then Gilford the Lightning spotted something, or someone, in the distance and approaching the village.

"Someone approaches." he said.

Thomas, Percy, Mavis, and James all looked out...and gasped at who it was.

"That's Rosie!" Mavis exclaimed.

"And she's hurt!" added Thomas.

Yes, it was Rosie...except she was on her stomach, her face was bruised and bleeding, and was slowly and weakly crawling alog the ground in an attempt to make it back to the village.

"Tho-mas..."

Thomas raced out of the village until he made it to his friend.

"Rosie, who did this to you?" The blue-haired boy demanded, craddling her in his arms.

He got no answer - Rosie had collapsed into unconscious-city.

(elsewhere...)

An hour later, Rosie opened her eyes...and found she was in bed back at the Inn.

"Where am I?" she asked, before looking into a nearby mirror and saw that some bandages were applied to her face.

The door opened and the gang, plus Maiden of the Aqua, entered.

"Oh, thank heaven." sighed Mavis in relief.

"Are you okay, Rosie?" asked Stanley. "We were all worried over what had happened to you."

"Where are the kids?" asked Maiden of the Aqua. "You were suppose to have kept an eye on them."

"We were attacked." explained Rosie sadly. "A bunch of monsters came out of nowhere. I tried to fight them off, but they took the children anyway."

"Oh no..." Maiden of the Aqua was very upset.

Thomas, meanwhile, was furious...

"Those swine!" he growled. "It's bad enough that they beat Rosie up, but to kidnap innocent children, too?!"

"Where did this happen?" Edward asked more calmly.

"Out in the forest." sighed Rosie.

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Rosie and the baby Watapon, Kuriboh, and Winged Kuriboh were all playing a game of tag near the forest's edge.

"I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna get you!" Rosie laughed playfully.

The cute baby creatures ran from her. The chase continued...but then the Watapon, Kuriboh, and Winged Kuriboh all vanished.

"Where did they go?" asked a confused Rosie, whilst looking around.

Suddenly, the pink-haired girl was tackled to the ground...by the very happy baby monsters.

"You little rascals." giggled Rosie, hugging the small monsters.

Unfortunately, the fun was about to come to an end. Why? Because a loud roar was heard.

"Huh? What?" gasped Rosie.

The baby Watapon, Kuriboh, and Wing Kuriboh all huddled together and whimpered in fright. The bushes and trees around the area rattled about...and several Vorse Raiders, Battle Oxs, and Slate Warriors leaped down from the branches or emerging from the bushes. Soon Rosie and the baby monsters were surrounded.

"I don't know who you think you are-" said Rosie, activating her Duel Disk. "-but I won't let you hurt these little ones!"

Upon drawing her card, the pink-haired girl held it up high.

"Go Guardian Angel Joan!"

Appearing before them was a blonde-haired female angel in white.

The battle began. Because Guardian Angel Joan was stronger, she was wiping out the Vorse Raiders and Battle Oxs without any trouble...but then made the mistake of destroying three of the Slate Warriors.

"Alright, Guardian Angel Joan!" cheered Rosie.

Suddenly, Rosie's monster became weaker. The baby monsters were scared to see this happen.

"I forgot that when Slate Warrior is destroyed, the monster that did the deed loses 500 attack and defense points... and I slayed three of them!"

At that point, a Vorse Raider leaped up and sliced its weapon across Guardian Angel Joan's torso, shattering her into pieces.

"Guardian Angel Joan!" called Rosie.

Just then, a baby Watapon's eyes widened as it made sounds like it was trying to warn Rosie about something.

"What is it?" asked Rosie, looking to the little monster.

The warning came much too late. Suddenly, the pink-haired girl was shoulder bashed in the back by a Battle Ox, sending her flying until she landed on the ground and facedown. As the baby monsters started crying that their guardian was hurt, they were scooped up by some of the remaining Vorse Raiders and Slate Warriors. Rosie weakly looked over...and noticed a new figure walking in.

"Well done..." The figure hissed.

"What shall we do with the girl?" asked a Vorse Raider gruffly.

The figure gave a sinister smile, barring his vampire-like fangs.

"...do with her as you please."

From there, some of the Battle Oxs and Vorse Raiders, without their weapons, began to beat the living tar out of the poor pink-haired girl to the point of near unconsciousness, while all of the remaining monsters left with the screaming and crying baby Watapon, Kuriboh, and Winged Kuriboh in tow.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I should have been stronger." Rosie then broke down crying. "I'm so sorry!"

Everyone was silent... just then, Thomas turned and stormed out of the room.

"Thomas?" blinked Percy.

"Where's he going?" asked James.

In the hallway, one of the Gemini Elves was carrying a tray of soup for Rosie, when Thomas came by. The Gemini Elf saw that the blue-haired boy didn't look too happy.

"They'll pay for this!" he shouted.

The Gemini Elf blinked, before proceeding to the room. She entered the guest room and saw the looks on the other teenagers' faces.

"I saw your friend a few seconds ago." she said. "He isn't too happy looking right now."

"Let me ask you something." began Stanley. "If your sister were attacked by an army of monsters while innocent little ones were taken away as prisoners in the process, how would you react?"

"I'd...be pretty angry myself." answered the Gemini Elf.

"Well that's exactly what Thomas is feeling right now." Mavis pointed out. "And considering how mad he's been getting lately, I'm worried something might happen if we don't go after him."

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" asked James.

"Let's go after him!" added Toby.

Rosie started to get out of bed...but was stopped by the Gemini Elf.

"You're in no shape to be doing anything right now." she said sternly, carefully placing the tray of soup on the pink-haired girl's lap. "You need your rest."

Rosie was about to argue...but Stanley then spoke up.

"She's right, Rosie." he agreed. "You have to stay here and rest."

"Alright..." A defeated Rosie sighed. "Just please save those kids for me!"

"We will."

The rest of the gang, including Maiden of the Aqua, but minus Rosie, left the room.

Soon Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Molly, Mavis, Stanley, Gilford the Lightning, and Maiden of the Aqua all made their way to the village entryway.

"Over there!" Percy shouted, pointing nearby.

Thomas was at this moment racing out of the village grounds.

"I'm coming for you!" he thought angrily. "Nobody attacks me friends and gets away with it!"

"After him!" Gordon exclaimed.

The rest of the gang raced after their friend...but Thomas was running surprisingly fast for some strange reason.

"Why's he so fast?" asked Molly.

"No clue." replied Henry. "But we still can't lose sight of him!"

"You're right." agreed Edward. "Let's go!"

The gang continued to try and follow their blue-haired friend.

(elsewhere...)

After over half-an-hour, the gang arrived in the forest...but they had lost Thomas.

"Where is he?" asked James.

"Don't ask me." answered Gordon unhappily.

"I think we might be lost." moaned Henry.

Before anyone else could speak up, the sounds of the nearby bushes begin to ruffle.

"Did you guys hear that?" asked Toby.

"Sounds like we're being hunted." said Mavis quietly.

The ruffling grew stronger. James prepared to draw a card from his deck.

"I'll handle this!" he announced, drawing.

Just before the red-haired boy could call his monster out, a terrified baby Winged Kuriboh popped out of the bushes.

"Wait, James!" called Molly. "It's one of those children monsters!"

James quickly stopped what he was doing.

"Hey there, little fella..." he greeted.

James approached the frightened little monster...but then the Winged Kuriboh shifted past the red-haired boy and hugged Maiden of the Aqua while shaking like a leaf.

"Oh, it's alright, little one." she hushed, comforting the poor creature. "You're safe now. Where are the others?"

The Winged Kuriboh looked up with tears streaming down its eyes, making a few tearful *Kuribi* noises.

"Well?" asked Gordon.

Maiden of the Aqua sighed. "Apparently this little one was so scared when it managed to escape that it forgot where the others are being held captive."

"Poor little thing." said Molly with sympathy in her tone, petting the Winged Kuriboh.

Just then, a loud scream of rage with heard echoing.

"That sounds like Thomas!" cried Percy.

"But where is it coming from?" demanded James.

"It sounds like it came from that way!" said Stanley, pointing in a direction.

With that said, the gang took off to find Thomas.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the forest, the gang entered a clearing...and found Thomas surrounded by darkness and commanding his summoned Archfiend of Gilfer to battle the attacking Vorse Raiders and Lizard Soldiers.

"Strike them down like the pathetic worms they are!" commanded Thomas fiercely.

Archfiend of Gilfer obeyed and breathed fire all around the area, destroying the monsters and almost setting fire to the trees. One by one, the evil monsters turned to light and vanished.

"Thomas will burn this forest to the ground if he keeps this up!" Henry panicked.

"Thomas, calm down!" called Maiden of the Aqua. "You've won! Please, stop!"

Hearing the female monster's voice made Thomas suddenly calm down.

"Huh?"

The darkness around the blue-haired boy faded away. From there, he turned and saw the rest of the gang watching him.

"Guys?" Thomas blinked.

"Thank goodness..." sighed Molly.

"Man, what were you trying to do? Burn the whole forest down?!" demanded James angrily.

"I didn't mean to!" protested Thomas, looking around the area.

Before anything more could be said, more and more evil monsters were appearing.

"Aw man, not more of them!" groaned James. "Can't you guys take a hint?!"

Just then, a new voice echoed throughout the area...

"We meet at long last...fallen hero!"

"Bubbling Sodas!" cried Percy.

Everyone looked on ahead to where the source of the voice was coming from... and what they saw entering the area...was a vampire monster.

"A vampire!" added a scared Molly.

"No..." Gordon spoke up. "That's a Vampire Lord."

"Vampire Lord?" gasped Edward.

And indeed it was. It was the exact same Vampire Lord who was a member of the Court of Darkness and also the second-in-command of the Evil One's forces. And the way he was smiling...well, it meant things were about to go downhill for our heroes.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	5. The Warlock of Darkness

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Special thanks to AaronCottrell97 for the duel idea. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in one of the forests of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, Thomas and his friends had just met up with one of the member of the Court of Darkness... the group leader; Vampire Lord.

"You must be the leader." Thomas calmly, but deeply angered, claimed.

"Indeed I am." said Vampire Lord, full of smugness. "So glad you received my little ' _ **invitation**_ '."

"Invite?" quizzed Henry.

Maiden of the Aqua gasped. "Then you were the one who ambushed Rosie, beaten her, and captured the kids of my village!"

"Correct!" laughed Vampire Lord. "You may know me as Vampire Lord... but I'm also the leader of the Court of Darkness!"

"How dare you attack an innocent girl and kidnap children!" snarled Thomas, growing enraged once more.

"Oh ho!" The vampire monster chortled. "You must be that Thomas-boy! Your friend we captured told us all about you!"

Thomas gasped angrily. "You have Emily? Where is she at?! TELL ME!"

"Thomas!" groaned James. "You know the bad guys will never tell you where the damsel in distress are being held captive!"

"Yeah!" agreed Gordon. "What do you think this is? ...a fanfic?"

But Thomas ignored his two friends. "You tell me where she is right now or I'll ram garlic down your throat!" he demanded.

"You...threaten me?" Vampire Lord suddenly sounded very cold. "You will regret it!"

Angrily, he summoned forth his most elite of soldiers - Summoned Skulls. Eight of them in total.

"Attack!"

The Summoned Skulls charged bolts of lighting and fired at the teens.

"Look out!" called Mavis.

Everyone dove out of the way of the lightning attacks. Quickly, Thomas and Percy both drew their Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster cards respectively.

"I call forth MY Summoned Skull!" announced Thomas.

"And I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" added Percy.

Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes both materialized, growling and roaring respectively.

"Now I'll throw in Polymerization!" Thomas continued. "Fusing the two monsters together!"

The two monsters merged together.

"Behold!" declared the two boys together. "The Black Skull Dragon!"

The fusion ended...and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's body became bone-like, and two horns emerged from the dragon's head. The new monster gave a demonic roar.

"Molton Fireball attack!"

Black Skull Dragon obeyed, firing a blast at the Summoned Skulls, striking and destroying them.

"We got 'em!" grinned Percy.

When the smoke cleared...Vampire Lord was gone.

"Where'd he go?" asked James.

Vampire Lord's sinister laughter echoed the area of the forest the gang was in.

"If you ever want to see those kids ever again... follow me!" he taunted echo-like.

Thomas raced off in the direction of the voice.

"Thomas, wait up!" called Toby...a bit too late.

And too late right! In just a few short seconds, the blue-haired boy was gone yet again.

"I wish he would stop doing that." sighed Mavis.

"Let's go after him." added Edward.

"Again." finished Henry.

And the chase was on once more.

* * *

 **Title: The Warlock of Darkness**

* * *

Thomas continued to run through the woods in search of Vampire Lord.

"Vampire Lord!" he roared. "Show yourself!"

More Gil Garths and Lizard Soldiers suddenly appeared from the trees. Angrily, Thomas didn't stop running as he drew from his deck and held his card out.

"Buster Blader!"

The purple clad swordsman appeared and did away with the evil monsters.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" screamed the enraged Thomas.

In his continuously growing anger, darkness was emerging from the blue-haired boy. The voice of Vampire Lord continued to taunt him.

"Run, run, run!" he mocked. "You'll never catch me at this rate."

Yelling in a frustrated, primal rage, Thomas kept going...just as the rest of the gang managed to catch up.

"Thomas!" called Percy. "Slow down!"

His words were ignored. Why? Because Thomas yet again disappeared into the distance.

"T-This is getting ridiculous!" James panted, out of breath.

"Why does he keep running from us?" Molly asked.

"His darkness..." mumbled Maiden of the Aqua. "I can feel great... powerful..." The female moster looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "...f-frightening... e-evil...!"

Mavis could see that Maiden of the Aqua was looking distressed.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

But Maiden of the Aqua continued to speak...and grow more and more to the point of a breakdown.

"Such... terrible... darkness!"

Suddenly, the female monster took off after Thomas in a hurry.

"M'lady!" cried out Gilford the Lightning.

"We have to save Thomas!" Maiden of the Aqua shouted. "Before it's too late!"

"Save Thomas?" muttered James.

"What does she mean by that?" added Stanley.

"I don't know." said Percy. "But it can't be good."

Quickly, the rest of the gang began to follow both Thomas AND Maiden of the Aqua.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere inside the White House in Washington D.C. back in the United States (and the real world), President Douglas Crump was busy in the main office getting ready to begin his campaign against both Duel Monsters and Boxford Corp...which was a big press speech..

"They think they can use their card game as a front for their plans of world domination?" he thought. "Not on my watch."

Suddenly, one of the White House staff suddenly opened the door to the main office and entered.

"Mr. President!" called the woman. "We begin the announcement in five minutes."

"I'll be there." Douglas Crump said, fixing his tie a bit.

(elsewhere...)

Five minutes later, Douglas Crump was outside the White House, on stage, standing before hundreds to thousands of American citizens and reporters (and also TV cameras filming the speech). Finally, the president began his speech.

"My fellow Americans." he began. "As many of you already know, lately, millions of these... Duel Monsters have invaded out country and taken away many people."

Silence filled the air, and Douglas Crump continued to speak.

"It's a conspiracy! All because of the people from that blasted company on the Island of Sodor! They care nothing for the people of this country!"

Many people gasped and/or murmured to each other. Surely this couldn't be right! ...can it?

"Sure they may look like they care-" went on Douglas Crump. "-but do they really? Or is it mainly a cover of sort? That gaming company, Boxford Corp, was at one time a company that developed war machines! And at this moment, it can be assumed that they're going back to their roots - using an innocent card game as a pawn in their quest for world domination!"

Many people gasped! Boxford Corp was once a weapons development company? That just couldn't be true! ...but the way the president was saying it, it really looked to be true.

"Now are we going to just sit around while Boxford Corp walks over us?" asked Douglas Crump. "Or are we going to take action?"

Lots of the citizens were looking to each other. It was then some reporters approached with some questions for the president.

"President Crump." said one reporter, holding a mike up to the man. "Earlier, we did an interview with Spencer Gresley on the matter. He claims that his company is not responsible for what is happening. He even goes as far as to denouncing the company's former leader, Gozaburo Gresley, as a monster. What do you say to that?"

"Hmph! So he says..." replied Douglas Crump. "Deep down, he probably has some of that man's DNA in him. He'll do anything to look better than anyone else."

"But word also has it that Gozaburo merely adopted Spencer's parents." said another reporter. "And that he was a cruel tyrant over them until the day they turned the company against him, resulting in his suicide."

"Suicide..." muttered Douglas Crump. "That's outragous! None of you were there to know of it yourselves. So perhaps it wasn't suicide. Perhaps, out of anger for the cruel treatment, Gozaburo's children murdered him and made it LOOK like suicide?"

More gasps from the ground, and even the reporters were a bit stunned to hear that.

"The Boxford family has been nothing but trouble for this country! Now they're using their technology to create those real Duel Monsters to capture us! Kill us! Whatever seems to work for them!"

More silence filled the area...aside from some scattered gasps.

"And are we going to let them get away with it?" asked Douglas Crump.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, a male voice spoke up in the crowd.

"Down with Boxford Corp! Down with Boxford Corp! Down with Boxford Corp!" he chanted in a hostile tone.

Slowly, more and more people started chanting with him.

"Down with Boxford Corp! Down with Boxford Corp! Down with Boxford Corp!"

As the crowd chanted and chanted, Douglas Crump smiled to himself.

"Well done, Crump." he thought to himself. "You've opened their eyes to the truth."

Just then, a loud roar from a dragon was heard.

"What the devil?!"

Everybody looked to the skies.

"A DRAGON!" screamed a woman in the crowd.

It was a Tri-Horned Dragon. The monster roared loudly and swooped over the crowd.

"Quick! Someone get a shot of that thing!" called Douglas Crump.

Many people took out their cameras and took pictures of the dragon, while TV cameras filmed the attack.

"Do you see now?!" demanded Douglas Crump to the crowd. "Do you all see where I'm coming from?! Boxford Corp is a global-wide menace!"

Suddenly, the dragon fired a breath of fire at one of the nearby buildings.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Boxford Corp's American office in Atlanta, many of the TVs were brodcasting the speech/attack.

"If this keeps up, all of the United States...no, the world, could fall to those monsters!" Douglas Crump spoke on. "We must do something about! We must get rid of that menacing company!"

Inside the boardroom, Spencer, Skiff, their parents, and various board members were watching the news...and Crump's speech.

"I don't believe this!" gasped Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"He's going through with it!" added Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"That lying bastard!" snarled Spencer, slamming his hands on the table.

Skiff immediately turned the big screen TV off.

"This is awful..." he said sadly. "What are we going to do now?"

"Is this the end of Boxford Corp?" asked Mrs Gresley (Boxford).

No one had an answer to the question...at least not at first. It was then Spencer spoke up.

"I'm not gonna lose Boxford Corp!" he declared. "Whatever it takes... I'll fight Douglas Crump in every way and any way I can!"

Everyone in the boardroom gasped in complete shock at the silver-haired boy's statement.

"It's bad enough he badmouths my family's company-" went on Spencer. "-but he went too far by accusing my parents of murder!"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Some reporters were asking questions to Douglas Crump.

"But word also has it that Gozaburo merely adopted Spencer's parents." said another reporter. "And that he was a cruel tyrant over them until the day they turned the company against him, resulting in his suicide."

"Suicide..." muttered Douglas Crump. "That's outragous! None of you were there to know of it yourselves. So perhaps it wasn't suicide. Perhaps, out of anger for the cruel treatment, Gozaburo's children murdered him and made it LOOK like suicide?"

More gasps from the ground, and even the reporters were a bit stunned to hear that.

"The Boxford family has been nothing but trouble for this country! Now they're using their technology to create those real Duel Monsters to capture us! Kill us! Whatever seems to work for them!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I never liked that man..." Spencer growled, clutching his fist with anger. "And I'll do anything in my power to stop him."

"Spencer..." whispered Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"Mark my words..." continued Spencer, looking out the window. "When I'm through with that son-of-a-bitch, he will never smear the name of Boxford Corp ever again!"

It was then Skiff spoke up... "I guess this means Boxford Land...will be put on hold for a while?"

"No. It will continue to be built...no matter what."

"But, Master Spencer!" protested a board member.

Spencer glared. "What?"

"What about the protesters?"

"I know someone who can help with that problem." Spencer stated.

"Who?" asked Skiff.

Spencer didn't answer. He was too busy glancing towards the nearby phone.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the headquarters of Industrial Illusions in San Francisco, and the main office of company CEO Discord J. Crawford, the man himself was very busy...playing with Funny Bunny action figures?

"I got you now, Funny Bunny!" Discord growled as Ruff-Ruff McDogg, holding the toy towards the Funny Bunny toy and speaking as the rabbit. "Oh no! I'm cornered! Whatever shall I do?"

Just then, a suit came in.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Discord hastily put his toys away and rested his hands on the desk.

"Y-Yes?" he asked sheepishly.

"You have a call from the American branch of Boxford Corp." said the suit, not looking annoyed at all.

Discord had a feeling who it might be. "Put it on view screen, please."

The suit pushed a button on the TV monitor... and appearing on-screen was an angry looking Spencer.

"Spencer-boy, hi!" greeted Discord cheerfully. "What's with the surprise call? Aww, is it because you miss little old me?"

Spencer didn't say a word. He only kept his cold look.

"Is...something the matter?" asked Discord, now sounding a bit worried.

"In fact...there is." sighed the silver-haired boy. "That fool Crump is spreading lies about my company and blaming it for an invasion of real Duel Monsters!"

Discord looked surprised. "Real Duel Monsters?"

"Yes. There have been attacks all around the United States over the last week."

"Oh dear." said Discord worriedly. "Do you know who's responsible for it?"

"Unfortunately, we don't. The people of the US are pointing fingers to Boxford Corp since we develop the holographic technology."

"That's awful." The creator of Duel Monsters commented, getting a serious look on his face. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You've worked with Boxford Corp for a while, yes?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." nodded Discord.

"And you know we're innocent, right?"

"Maybe not." Discord muttered jokingly. Seeing the upset look on Spencer's face, however... "I'm only kidding! But yes, I know, without a doubt, that you, Skiff, and your parents are completely innocent."

"Then do something to prove it to these people!"

Discord immediately nodded. "Don't worry, Spencer-boy, I, and all of Industrial Illusions, will ensure that you, your family, and company are proven to be innocent." he promised.

Yeah, that was gonna be easier said than done...

(elsewhere...)

Back in one of the forests of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, Thomas was still running through the area in search of Vampire Lord. Along the way, he encountered Vorse Raiders, Gil Garths, and Lizard Soldiers...but nothing Thomas's own monsters couldn't handle.

"Black Luster Soldier!" he called, holding up his card.

The red-haired warrior appeared in an instant.

"Chaos Blade attack!"

Black Luster Soldier obeyed, slashing at the enemy monsters with his scimitar-like sword.

"I will find you, Vampire Lord!" shouted Thomas. "I won't rest until I find you, and make you pay!"

"You will?" came the voice of Vampire Lord. "Then why not just look upward?"

Thomas looked up... and atop a tree branch, wearing a Duel Disk, was Vampire Lord.

"You've found me!" chuckled the evil monster.

"Come down from there so I can destroy you!" demanded Thomas.

Vampire Lord leaped off the tree branch and landed perfectly on the ground a small distance away from Thomas.

"You'll find that I'm not so easily destroyable." teased the evil monster.

The two activated their Duel Disks and drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"So we'll settle this the old fashioned way! Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Thomas nodded, pointing forth. "If you're done talking, make your move!"

"As you wish!" Vampire Lord drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Vampire Lord (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Zombie Soldier(!), Vampire's Grave(!), Magic Formula, Wasteland, Megamorph, and Virus Containment(!)

* * *

The evil monster selected a card from his hand.

"I summon Zombie Soldier in attack mode!"

An undead skeleton wearing battle armor and gear, while wielding a sword and shield, materialized from the ground (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"That's all for me!" smirked Vampire Lord.

"Now it's my turn!" declared Thomas, preparing to draw from his deck.

"Go right ahead."

With that said, the blue-haired boy drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dark Effigy, Double Summon, Pot of Greed, Dark Magician, Emergency Provisions, and Chain Destruction

* * *

Thomas immediately chose one of the cards in his hand.

"I summon Dark Effigy in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a large dark cube with several smaller cubes poking out (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"Next I'll activate this Spell card!" continued Thomas, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Double Summon!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Thanks to this Spell-" said Thomas crossly. "-I can perform a second normal summon this turn. So I'll go and sacrifice my Dark Effigy!"

The monster faded away in a blue streak.

"Thanks to its effect, if I'm tribute summoning a dark attribute monster, then Dark Effigy counts as two tributes instead of one!" the blue-haired boy held up his next card. "Meaning I can summon my faithful servant! ...Dark Magician!"

The large cube vanished. And in its place was the purple clad magician (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"Ahh...your faithful Dark Magician." sighed Vampire Lord. "This should be good indeed!"

"Yes indeed!" sneered Thomas, feeling darkness all around him. "Dark Magic attack!"

Dark Magician was more than happy to obey. He fired a blast of black magic from his scepter at Zombie Soldier, destroy it and causing Vampire Lord to grunt (LP: 3000).

"My turn is over."

"Pity, I was expecting more from you." Vampire Lord teased, drawing his card. "Oh well...more fun for me!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Vampire Lord (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Vampire's Grave, Magic Formula, Wasteland, Megamorph, Virus Containment, and Vampiric Blood Suck(!)

* * *

"This Spell card... I think I'll play it!" The evil monster slotted his drawn card into his Duel Disk. "Vampiric Blood Suck!"

The mentioned card materialized face-up.

"This Spell inflicts the same life point damage to you from what I took on your turn! Meaning you'll be taking a good 1000 points of damage as well!"

Both Thomas and Vampire Lord started glowing. While the former yelled in pain as he took damage (LP: 3000), the latter watched with a sadistic smile on his face.

"And now..." cackled Vampire Lord. "My surprise!"

A large cage with the remaining baby Kuriboh, Watapon, and Winged Kuriboh was shown being carried in by two Vorse Raiders.

"The kids!" cried Thomas.

"Very right! Once you lose...my minions here and I will take them all back to the castle...and, how should I say...dispose of them."

"Let them go!" roared Thomas. "They're just children!"

"Hmm...I wonder how 'Watapon Pie'...or 'Kuriboh Steak' would taste?" taunted Vampire Lord. "The rest of Court would have to decide on that!"

A Vorse Raider roughly tapped the cage with its fist, terrifying the baby monsters even further.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" screamed Thomas, the darkness growing stronger around him to his fury.

But then...something started happening to the blue-haired boy. He gripped his head and howled in pain.

"W-What's...?"

It was then Percy and the others ran in.

"Thomas!" called the green-haired boy.

"What's happening to him?!" demanded Mavis.

"We're too late!" wailed Maiden of the Aqua. "'He' is about to take over your friend!"

"Who's 'He'?" asked Edward, before remembering something. "The 'Evil One'?"

"How on Earth did this happen?" demanded Stanley.

"Why's the 'Evil One' trying to take over our friend?" added James.

"And how is he doing it?" finished Toby.

"It must be feeding off of the anger in your friend's heart." explained Maiden of the Aqua.

Suddenly, Edward remembered something else...

"Guys! Remember Witty Phantom's 'final' gift he left before dying?"

"What about it?" asked Gordon.

And so a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Poor Emily was being dragged towards an opened portal by a bunch of Lizard Soldiers.

"Emily!" cried Thomas, racing towards the portal.

"You want her back?" taunted Witty Phantom. "Then go get her! The Duel Monster Spirit World will be waiting for you!"

With a psychotic laugh, the dying monster aimed his opened hand towards Thomas.

"And now, a final gift from me to you!"

"Watch it, Thomas!" called Percy.

Too late. Whatever it was the dying Witty Phantom was doing, it seemed to be unlocking the darkness in Thomas's heart even moreso.

"Enjoy my parting gift!" Witty Phantom cackled louder and harder before...finally fading away to his death, turning to light as he vanished.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"He must have done something to Thomas before he died!" cried Henry.

Maiden of the Aqua closed her eyes. "Again... I can feel it..."

"Feel what?" Molly asked...although she was dreading the answer.

"The darkness... it's trying to devour Thomas."

Suddenly, everyone heard Thomas give another scream of rage and pain. Finally, the blue-haired boy lowered his head a bit...and revealed his shining red eyes.

"Whoa!" cried James.

"What's happened to our friend?" asked Molly fearfully.

"The Evil One has taken control of him." murmured Maiden of the Aqua.

"So much darkness... Professor Melvin will be pleased." thought Vampire Lord, taking another card from his hand. "I'll use the Spell card Vampire's Grave! What this does is it allows me to special summon three monsters from my deck with 'Vampire' in its name and grant then 500 extra attack points!"

The evil vampire took out his deck and picked three cards.

"And what better thing than to-" Vampire Lord showed his three cards. "-special summon three copies of myself?"

Appearing to the field were three copies of Vampire Lord (Level: 5/ATK: 2000 - 2500)

"Rather unfortunate I can't attack the turn I special summoned these handsome vampires." sighed Vampire Lord. "But it can't be helped! I'll place one card facedown and end my turn. Time to see what you can do."

A facedown card materialized. Thomas (possessed) gave an incredibly angry glare in response.

"Release...those...kids...NOW!" he demanded, as the dark aura around him grew more and more stronger.

"I'm afraid I must decline your demand." retorted Vampire Lord. "Nice try though."

"If you don't set them free willingly-" growled Thomas (possessed) threateningly "-I'll MAKE you release them!"

He then drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (4): Pot of Greed, Emergency Provisions, Chain Destruction, and Dark Eradicator Warlock

* * *

The darkness thickened all around the possessed blue-haired boy.

"It's time..."

Suddenly, Dark Magician felt darkness surrounding him.

"I shall now evolve my Dark Magician into a form more powerful than you could ever imagine!" thundered Thomas (possessed). "Dark Magician! Evolve and become the mighty Dark Eradicator Warlock!"

Suddenly, Dark Magician screamed in pain as more and more darkness consumed him. Everyone watching the duel watched in horror at what their friend was doing.

"Thomas, stop!" cried Percy.

It was too late. Thomas (possessed) gave a savage smile as he watched Dark Magician become completely covered in darkness...when suddenly, the dark ball exploded...and revealed a new monster wearing a red and black version of the Dark Magician's clothing, broad shoulder-plates, purple cape, silver face, and a scepter with a purple orb atop (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"Dark Eradicator Warlock, eh?" Vampire Lord pondered.

Everyone gasped at the sight of Thomas's new monster.

"I've never seen a card like that before." said Gordon.

"But it seems...so dark." mumbled Henry.

"It's like that monster is the embodiment of darkness in Dark Magician's heart." Edward figured. "Either way, he has the same stats as the Dark Magician...but has gained an absolutely devastating effect."

"And what effect is that?" asked Mavis.

"Every time a 'Normal' Spell card is played by anyone, the opponent will take 1000 points of damage."

Over at the duel...

"I'm impressed with your monster." Vampire Lord remarked. "But it's tied with all three of my monsters in attack power."

Suddenly, Thomas (possessed) started to snicker a bit before laughing maniacally. Vampire Lord raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You little fool..." The possessed blue-haired boy retorted. "I'll win with just my new monster."

"We'll see about that." hissed Vampire Lord, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "I'll play this Trap card - Virus Containment!"

His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Now whenever you play a Spell card of any kind, you will take 1000 points of damage!"

"That won't stop me!" shouted Thomas (possessed), holding out a card. "I'll play Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. The life point counter on the blue-haired boy's Duel Disk started flashing the words 'draw', causing him to go and draw two additional cards from his deck.

"This lets me draw two cards." explained Thomas (possessed).

Vampire Lord smirked. "And now say goodbye to 1000 life points!"

The Trap card formed and fired a beam of energy, hitting Thomas (possessed) hard...yet he didn't budge an inch (LP: 2000).

"And you can say goodbye to 1000 of your OWN life points!" retorted the blue-haired boy. "Dark Eradicator Warlock, strike him down!"

Dark Eradicator Warlock was more than happy to obey, firing a blast of magic at Vampire Lord, causing him to yell (LP: 2000).

"But...how?!" The male vampire coughed.

"My warlock's ability!" shouted Thomas (possessed). "Whenever a Normal Spell card is played, my warlock will inflict 1000 points of damage to your life points!"

"That means we'll be harming each other!"

"True, but as I said...all I'll need is my warlock to win!" The possessed blue-haired boy insisted, taking another card from his hand. "Card Destruction!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Now we both must send all cards in our hands to the graveyard and draw from our decks the same number of cards we were holding prior to this card being played!"

Both players discarded their entire hands and redrew what they had discarded. Just then, Vampire Lord's Trap card activated...while Dark Eradicator Warlock's effect also activated. 1000 more points of damage was dealt to both players (LP: 1000) x2.

"They're tied!" exclaimed Toby.

"That means if one more Spell's activated, they'll both lose!" added Mavis.

Vampire Lord hissed threateningly. "You and I are both done!" he stated.

But Thomas (possessed) wasn't about to give up. "Not by a long shot."

"What?!"

"I still have one final Spell card to play." Thomas (possessed) began to slot it into his Duel Disk. "And this will decide everything!"

"It doesn't matter what he plays." thought Vampire Lord. "We'll both lose here and now!"

The Spell card materialized before them. Vampire Lord continued to smile...until he saw what Thomas's card was.

"NO! Not that!"

It was revealed to be the Warlock Medicines(!) card.

"Since I control Dark Eradicator Warlock-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-I gain 500 life points before any card deals me life point damage!"

The audience gasped upon hearing that.

"That means Thomas will survive that Trap card!" said Edward in realization.

Thomas's life points increased just as Vampire Lord's Trap Card fired a beam. Although the blast hit, and it obviously hurt, Thomas (possessed) survived (LP: 500).

"And now, Dark Eradicator Warlock!" The possessed blue-haired boy started cackling madly as more and more darkness surrounded him. "Wipe Vampire Lord out!"

Dark Eradicator Warlock was more than happy to do so. Charging his staff, he fired a powerful beam of magic, wiping out all of Vampire Lord's cards on the field, striking the male vamire and making him yell in agony (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

Vampire Lord was sent flying back into a cliffside.

"Victory is mine." smirked Thomas (possessed).

Vampire Lord hissed again. "Don't think you've seen the last of me!" he sneered. "We'll meet again!"

With a swish of his cape, the male vampire was gone. All of the remaining monsters faded away as well. The group watched their friend carefully...but then Maiden of the Aqua rushed forth.

"Maiden of the Aqua!" cried Molly.

"M'lady!" added Gilford the Lightning.

The female monster ran forth until she reached Thomas...and started to hug him.

"Please come back to us!" she sobbed. "This isn't you!"

Thomas (possessed) closed his eyes and struggled to get himself free. But alas, the Maiden of the Aqua's hold on him was too strong.

"Not me..." he winced, feeling the darkness leaving him. "Not me... NOT ME!"

Suddenly, Thomas opened his eyes, showing them back to normal.

"What...what happened to me? And...why does my head hurt so much?"

"He's back to normal!" cried Percy.

"Thank goodness!" added Mavis.

Although Thomas needed an explanation as to what had happened not long ago...the baby Watapon, Kuriboh, and Winged Kuriboh were safe and sound. That's all that mattered.

(elsewhere...)

Two hours later, everyone was back at the Inn. It was nightime, but everyone was gathered around the living room with a nice, cozy fire lit in the fireplace.

"What a day." sighed Henry, stretching his arms out in a tired manner.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." said a Gemini Elf.

"I'm all for dinner." smiled James.

"Me, too." agreed Percy.

Thomas just stared at the fire and didn't speak a word.

"Thomas?" came Maiden of the Aqua. "Are you okay?"

"What's happening to me?" asked Thomas sadly.

Maiden of the Aqua gave a sad sigh. "Your inner darkness has been growing more and more powerful."

"But why? Why is it getting stronger? Why can't I control it?"

"I...can't be sure about it...but has any feelings of anger been getting the better of you lately?" Maiden of the Aqua asked.

"A little bit." admitted Thomas. "I strangled James a bit when he made a comment about Emily...and when Percy and Stanley tried to hold me back I easily threw them aside."

He buried his face with his hands and sighed softly, falling silent for a few seconds.

"But you brought me back." The blue-haired boy continued. "You brought me back to the light when you hugged me."

"I couldn't let you be consumed by the darkness." said Maiden of the Aqua kindly.

Just then...

"Dinner's on the table!" called the second Gemini Elf. "You all must be hungry!"

"Heck yeah!" cheered James, running to the dining room.

Everyone else went to the table for supper. Yup, it was a long and tiring day...first day in the Duel Monsters Spirit World, that is. What more challenges away our heroes? Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	6. A Harpie Lady Wedding?

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

It was a new day in the Duel Monsters spirit world. After a long, hard day for the teenagers from the Island of Sodor, they were hoping for the new day to be far less eventful than normal... Yeah right! Near the village entrance, Thomas and his friends were preparing to leave. Much of the village's citizens were there to see them off.

"Thanks for letting us stay for a bit." said Percy gratefully.

"It was our pleasure." smiled one of the Gemini Elves. "Now, if you all follow this road, it will eventually lead you to a fork in the road."

"If you go down the right path-" added the second Gemini Elf. "-it will eventually lead you to the main capital of this world."

"What happens if you go down the left?" asked Rosie curiously.

The Gemini Elves, as well as many of the townsfolk, remained quiet over the matter.

"Did I say something wrong?" The pink-haired girl blinked, looking rather puzzled and worried.

"Let's just say it leads to a pretty dangerous area." Maiden of the Aqua replied cautiously. "And we'll leave it at that."

"Oh, okay."

"From here on out, Maiden of the Aqua and I shall accompany you all to the main capital city." Gilford the Lightning spoke up.

"But don't these people need you here?" asked James.

"True, but you all saved my life." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out. "That, and my kind are currently required at the castle in the capital city."

"There are more of you?" quizzed Edward. "I always thought there was only one of your kind?"

"Oh no, there are many more of my species."

The intelligent, blue-haired boy nodded. "Ah..."

A baby Winged Kuriboh floated sadly up to the female monster. It was very upset that Maiden of the Aqua was leaving the village.

"Oh, I know you want me to stay, little one-" said Maiden of the Aqua kindly. "-but I'm needed elsewhere. But don't you worry, I'll be back soon enough."

She hugged the baby monster goodbye. Rosie, meanwhile, found herself getting swamped by the remaining baby Kuriboh, Watapon, and Winged Kuriboh.

"I'll miss you all so much." sniffled Rosie sadly, hugging the baby monsters goodbye.

It was then Thomas walked forth and addressed the villagers.

"Duel Monsters of this village..." The blue-haired boy began. "We thank you for your hospitality, as well as the additional supplies we'll need for our big journey. We will never forget your kindness."

"I hope we may meet again afterwards." added Edward. "Goodbye."

Various cheers and/or roars came from the crowd of human monsters. Thomas, his friends, and new allies all waved goodbye to the villagers until they were far enough away from the village.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions somewhere in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Darkbishop Archfiend was alone in the throne room.

"It won't be long now." he said to himself. "Soon the ' ** _Evil One_** ' will return and this world will be ours."

Suddenly, the nearby crystal ball started glowing, catching the Court of Darkness member's attention... The glowing was followed by the squabbling of a trio of female voices.

"Now what?" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend.

The monster approached the crystal ball, and it revealed the Harpie Lady Sisters. Harpie Lady #2 and Harpie Lady #3 were both busy arguing.

"Looks like someone's gotten their feathers in a bunch." Darkbishop Archfiend seemed to chuckle.

"You wanna talk to him?!" exclaimed Harpie Lady #2. "Maybe I wanna talk to him!"

"He wants to talk to me!" argued Harpie Lady #3. "After all, I'm his favorite!"

"Enough, you two!" snapped Harpie Lady #1, causing her sisters to fall silent. She then looked forth towards Darkbishop Archfiend. "Master... We're sorry to bother you, but when will you get us our new husbands? We've been waiting for a very long time."

"I've much more important matters than to play matchmaker to a trio of angry chickens. " said Darkbishop Archfiend angrily.

"But you've promised us each a husband!" whined Harpie Lady #3.

"Like totally!" agreed Harpie Lady #2.

"Shut it, you two!" exclaimed Harpie Lady #1, looking back at her sisters again. She then looked forth again to speak to the ' _master_ '. "Look, master, us three have only agreed to work for you and the other members of the Court of Darkness so long as you find us three a husband. Right now, we're getting fed up with waiting."

"Do I look like a genie?" retorted Darkbishop Archfiend irritably. "If you're so tired of the wait, then why don't you go find a husband yourselves?"

Suddenly, the member of the Court of Darkness caught himself. He then remembered Vampire Lord telling him where Thomas and his friends were going, and got an evil idea. Darkbishop Archfiend suddenly smiled and spoke to the three Harpie Ladies more calmly and politely.

"I take back what I said, ladies." he said apologetically. "I just remembered that perhaps there's a husband for you three after all."

The Harpie Ladies Sisters each squeed in delight upon hearing that.

"There's a group of humans traveling to the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city. Along the way, there's a fork in the road with one path leading towards your domain. Perhaps if you were to...change the sign direction..."

"...they could come to us." finished Harpie Lady #1.

"Exactly." confirmed Darkbishop Archfiend. "Have fun now, you three."

The crystal ball ended its transmission. Darkbishop Archfiend chuckled darkly to himself.

"This is perfect..." The Court of Darkness member said quietly. "This will be another good way to get that Thomas boy to unleash more of his anger and darkness... thus granting us a step closer to bringing our master back..."

Darkbishop Archfiend member began to laugh maniacally over the possibilities.

* * *

 **Title: A Harpie Lady Wedding?**

* * *

Somewhere in a dark, rocky-like area, the sky was cloudy, little-to-no sun, and gloomy overall, all was pretty quiet... Inside one cavern, the Harpie Lady Sisters were each feeling very giddy.

"This is it, sisters." said Harpie Lady #1. "Our days of being single will be over."

"Eeee! I can't wait to try on my dress!" squealed Harpie Lady #2.

"I want my hair to look the best!" added Harpie Lady #3.

"Hold on!" interrupted the eldest sister. "There's something we're suppose to do first."

"Right." nodded the youngest sister. "We need to lure the humans here."

"We have ' _him_ '." put in the middle sister. "Although I don't know if he would cut it."

Just then, a Sky Scout scampered from around a corner and towards the Harpie Lady Sisters. He looked like he was out of breath.

"S-Sky Scout here!" The flying monster reported immediately.

"About time." scolded Harpie Lady #1. "Did you get a location of the humans?"

"Humans? Humans? Is that what they are?"

The Harpie Lady Sisters sighed to themselves. Sky Scout, despite being a wickedly fast monster, was a bit on the slow side at times.

"Yes, that's what they are." said an irritated Harpie Lady #2. "Now, did you see them anywhere?"

"Oh, yes! Yes!" confirmed Sky Scout, saluting. "They're currently traveling down the road. They'll reach the fork in a matter of hours."

"Great!" smiled Harpie Lady #3. "We'd best be going before we miss them."

"Oh no, we're not the ones going." Harpie Lady #1 pointed out.

"What?!" cried the two younger sisters. "But... but...!"

"They'll be the ones coming to us."

"Oh, yes! Yes! Yes!" agreed Sky Scout, again saluting. "A most excellent idea! Most excellent!" He suddenly faulted a bit. "Umm... How will they?"

All three sisters facepalmed in response to their follower's slow mind.

"By switching the signs on the fork to our direction, you birdbrain!" snapped Harpie Lady #1.

"Right, right, right! Must go switch the sign! Sign switching is the game! Games are for-"

"GET GOING!" screamed the Harpie Lady Sisters at once.

Sky Scout didn't have to be told twice. He took off in a flash.

"Why did we even let that idiot work for us?" asked Harpie Lady #2 unhappily.

"We have a need for a minion with speed... and Sky Scout is that speed." answered Harpie Lady #3. "Although I wish he had a brain."

The two younger Harpie Ladies giggled to themselves, but a glare from their elder sister hushed them up.

"Come along, sisters." ordered Harpie Lady #1. "We have preperations to attend before our big wedding."

The Harpie Lady Sisters walked away, giggling with excitement.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere else in the meadowy field, it was sunny and warm. Sky Scout had just arrived at the fork in the road. He was busy reading the two signs.

"Alright." Sky Scou was saying to himself. "Just switch the signs around."

The bird monster began to look around. Currently there was no sign of the humans anywhere.

"But I don't see anyone coming." Sky Scout suddenly yawned sleepily. "Maybe a quick nap should help pass some time." He spotted a bunch of large rocks nearby. "Aha! Perfect."

The humanoid bird-like monster hovered over to the rocks and settled down for a nap.

"A...little...snooze...should help...pass...some..."

Sky Scout fell asleep under the warm sun.

(later...)

An hour later, Sky Scout was still sleeping on some rocks when voices were heard...

"I think the fork is at the top of this hill." It was Toby's voice.

"That means we're just about there." added the voice of Gordon.

Suddenly, Sky Scout was wide awake and sitting up on his perch. He hadn't switched the signs yet!

"It's them!" cried Sky Scout. Quickly, he rushed towards the sign and switched the boards. "There! All done."

Now, originally the left sign lead to the capital city, and the right sign lead to the valley of Harpie Ladies. But because Sky Scout switched the signs around, now it said the left sign lead to the valley of the Harpie Ladies, and the right sign lead to the capital city.

"Mission accomplished!" chuckled Sky Scout. The voices grew louder at that point, and the monster knew he needed a place to side. "Gotta hide!"

He flew back and hid behind the rocks... just as Thomas, his friends, and two Duel Monster spirit allies finished climbing the hill.

"There's the fork!" James pointed forth.

They approached the fork and looked at the signs.

"One road leads to the capital city." said Maiden of the Aqua. "The other road..."

"Yes, yes?!" James pressured.

"Easy, James." Edward scolded a bit, before looking back to the female monster. "Go on."

"The other road leads to the ' **Valley of Harpie Ladies** '." finished Maiden of the Aqua.

"' **Valley of the Harpie Ladies** '?" blinked Mavis.

"I don't like the sound of that." said Henry, feeling uneasy.

"Oh no, you won't..." thought Sky Scout to himself, peeking out from behind the rock.

"Well, we'd better get going." remarked Thomas, walking in the direction of the sign for the capital city.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." sighed James, following close behind.

Everyone else followed close behind. Once he was certain he was all alone, Sky Scout showed himself from behind the rocks and laughed excitedly.

"They fell for it." he said triumphantly. "The sisters are going to be so happy!"

(elsewhere...)

"WHAT?!" The three Harpie Ladies exclaimed angrily.

Back inside one of the caves, Sky Scout was trying to calm the Harpie Lady Sisters down after he had told them what he did not long ago.

"I did exactly as you said to do." The winged beast-type monster protested. "I switched the signs around and they're coming here now."

"Yes, you did." agreed Harpie Lady #1, before raising her voice angrily. "But you did it WAY too late! You were suppose to switch the signs immediately and then return and tell us!"

"Instead you took a nap and waited until the last possible second to switch the signs!" added Harpie Lady #2.

"Now we don't have a lot of time left to get ourselves ready!" complained Harpie Lady #3.

"Want me to stall them?" asked Sky Scout.

"You've done enough! Now leave us to get ready!" ordered Harpie Lady #1.

With that said, Sky Scout soared off out of the cave.

"No respect." The bird-like monster muttered. "Well, I'll stall them, anyway."

How was Sky Scout going to do that? We'll just have to wait and see.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas and the others had travelled down the path they took. But soon they noticed that sky had gone cloudy and dull, little grass terrain, and there were rocks and cliffs everywhere.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Rosie.

"We followed the sign." Percy pointed out. "This should be the right way."

"I don't trust the look of things around here." muttered Stanley.

Everyone walked cautiously across the area, unaware they were being watched by a monster called Sky Scout. Speaking of whom, Sky Scout was atop a large cliff and behind a rock watcing the humans carefully.

"There they are." The humanoid bird-like monster said to himself quietly. "Now the sisters need more time to get things ready. So I've got to stall them somehow."

Down below, Thomas and the others walked carefully through the valley when Maiden of the Aqua suddenly stopped.

"Halt!" she ordered.

"What is it?" asked Thomas. "What's the matter?"

"I sense danger." The blue-haired female monster answered quietly.

"Umm... Danger, you say?" Henry repeated nervously.

"Yes." confirmed Maiden of the Aqua gravely. "We mustn't go any further."

"What?!" exclaimed Percy, James, and Gordon at once.

"Why not?" asked Rosie.

"We may be walking into a trap."

Atop the cliff...

"How right you are..." chuckled Sky Scout, about to show himself to the group down below. Just before anything more could happen, the ground started to shake all around the valley. "What the-?"

Down below, Thomas and the others felt the ground starting to shake as well.

"Fizzling Fireplaces! What's happening?" demanded Toby.

Maiden of the Aqua looked up...and gasped with shock.

"ROCK SLIDE!"

She was unfortunately right; rocks were starting to fall from the mountain cliffs.

"RUN!" wailed Percy.

Everyone began to make a run for it. They were dodging rocks left and right... Unfortunately, the gang got hit by some of the rocks. Although they weren't buried or killed by the remains of the slide, it did knock most of the humans out cold. Back atop the cliff, Sky Scout watched on in shock.

"Who did that?" he asked himself.

Suddenly, the humanoid bird-like monster heard a trio of laughs from nearby. Sky Scout turned around to the source of the laughing.

"Nice show, sisters." said the voice of Harpie Lady #1.

"The Harpie Lady Sisters?" blinked Sky Scout. "Wow. I guess they had this all under control, after all."

Back down below...

"Now we can pick our new husbands without any trouble." Harpie Lady #2 rejoiced.

The three sisters then soared down to where the unconscious humans were, and looked at most of the male humans. They eventually made a decision on who to choose.

"I'll take the handsome red-haired boy." gushed Harpie Lady #3, scooping James into her arms.

"That brown-haired farm boy is mine." remarked Harpie Lady #2, scooping Toby into her arms.

Harpie Lady #1 was in deep thought over which boy to choose from. Finally, she made a choice.

"I'll take the adorable blue-haired one." she said, scooping Thomas into her arms.

"What do we do with the others?" asked Harpie Lady #3, referring to Percy, Stanley, Edward, Gordon, Henry, the girls, Gilford the Lightning, and Maiden of the Aqua.

"Let's take the boys as prisoners." suggested Harpie Lady #2.

Harpie Lady #1 smiled to herself...

(later...)

Later on, Rosie's eyes slowly started to flicker open.

"My head..." she moaned. "Is everyone else okay?"

Mavis, Molly, and even Maiden of the Aqua each managed to slowly regain consciousness.

"I think so." Molly spoke up.

"Where are we?" asked Mavis.

The girls noticed they were still in the area where the rock slide occured.

"We're still here." sighed Maiden of the Aqua in relief.

Suddenly, Molly could be heard gasping at something.

"James is gone!" she cried.

"So is Toby!" came from Mavis.

"All of the males are gone!" Rosie exclaimed, looking around.

"Where could they have gone?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

Suddenly, the girls overheard a gloating male voice they never heard of before.

"Yahoo! That was great! Man, those three sisters sure know how to make a kidnapping count!"

They looked up to see Sky Scout flying about.

"A Sky Scout?" Mavis blinked.

"What did he say about a kidnapping?" asked Molly.

Rosie's eyes flared up. "He must've been in charge of the kidnapping of all our male friends!"

That was all the girls needed to know!

"Hey, you!" called Mavis to Sky Scout.

Sky Scout stopped gloating and flinched when he heard a female voice.

"Uh-oh... busted!" The humanoid bird-like monster thought to himself.

"What did you do with our friends?" demanded the blonde-haired girl angrily.

Hastily, the bumbling winged beast-type monster started to escape.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Maiden of the Aqua, raising her rod up.

Suddenly, she glowed in a blue aura as her rod shot something into the sky... but it missed Sky Scout and hit the clouds.

"Nah nah!" mocked Sky Scout.

"Who said I was aiming at you?" asked Maiden of the Aqua with a small smirk on her face.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang of thunder.

"Ulp..." Sky Scout's eyes widened in worry.

It started to rain. Sky Scout's wings were becoming wet from the water drops... and that meant one little thing for him...

"The rain!" The humanoid bird-like monster cried out, losing control of his flying. "It's making my wings heavy!"

Finally too soaking wet to fly anymore, Sky Scout dropped to the ground like a rock. He fell flat on his face with a loud ***CRASH!***. When the male monster looked up after recovering from his fall, he could see the very angry stares from three human girls, and one female Duel Monster spirit.

"Uh oh..." Sky Scout whimpered. "This is going to be painful."

"Alright, you!" Rosie grabbed the monster by his throat and pulling him up until they were seeing eye-to-eye. "Where are they?!"

"Where are who?" asked Sky Scout, trying fake innocence.

"Don't play innocent with us." snapped Mavis. "Tell us where our friends are, right now!"

"Those human males are your friends?" gulped Sky Scout.

"Yes!" nodded Molly crossly. "Where are they at?"

It was then Maiden of the Aqua realized something about this place.

"This is the ' **Valley of the Harpie Ladies** '...! No wonder I felt danger all around this place!"

"But then that means the signs were switched!" gasped Mavis.

All angry eyes were again aimed at Sky Scout, who smiled sheepishly in response.

"Really?" he asked innocently. "Who in their right mind would do such a thing like that?"

The glares from the human girls got more intense... Finally, Sky Scout caved in.

"Mercy! Mercy!" The winged beast-type monster wailed, falling to his knees.

"Oh, we'll show you mercy." growled Rosie, shaking her fist in anger. "But only if you tell us what the Harpie Ladies want with the guys!"

"They want to get married!" admitted Sky Scout.

"MARRIED?!" The girls all exclaimed at once.

"Yes! Yes! The Harpie Lady Sisters in this area each want a husband! And their master, Darkbishop Archfiend of the Court of Darkness, had promised them each a human male as a husband! He suggested three of the males of your band! ...and I said too much, didn't I?"

"The Court of Darkness?!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

"Didn't that Vampire Lord we encountered say he is a member of that group?" asked Mavis.

"Oh no!" cried Rosie. "We have to find our friends!"

"But where do we even start looking?" asked Molly, clealy worried for James's safety.

"Why don't we ask our friend here for directions?" suggested Mavis in a threatening tone, looking towards Sky Scout.

Sky Scout, despite looking like he wanted to refuse, knew he had no other choice but to comply.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one of the caves in the valley, Thomas, Toby, and James were each tied to a pole, while the rest of the males were likely in another part of the area. Slowly, the three boys began to regain consciousness.

"Oh, my head." moaned James.

"We were in a rock slide area..." Toby mumbled. "We should have been killed."

Thomas's vision was quickly regained... and he noticed that he and is two friends were no longer in that dangerous valley anymore.

"Any idea where we are?" The blue-haired boy asked.

James looked down...and saw he was tied up.

"I'm a little ' _tied_ up' at the moment." The red-haired boy remarked half-jokingly.

"So am I." added Toby, looking down.

It was then three new voices were heard.

"Ah, you three are awake now." came the first voice, which was female.

"Very good." added a second voice, also female. "We'd be very upset if our husbands-to-be were actually dead."

"Husbands-to-be?" asked Thomas.

"Oh yes." came a third female voice. "Husbands we three have been wanting for a long time."

"Where are you?" James questioned. "Show yourselves!"

"As you wish..."

Emerging from the nearby corner came the three Harpie Lady Sisters... And they had finished changing from their usual Cyber Shield armor and purple bodysuits into something WAY more revealing (as in the clothing the Harpie Ladies wear in the Japanese version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime), and they were each wiggling the hips of their voluptuous bodies in a very seducing manner.

"Well, hello there..." said Harpie Lady #1 in a sexy tone.

Thomas, James, and even Toby each blushed upon seeing those sisters.

"Harpie Ladies!" cried Thomas.

"Why look so shocked?" asked Harpie Lady #2, approaching the blushing Toby. "Be happy you're here with us now..."

The female monster soon got up close and personal with the brown-haired boy... At least until her exposed breast cleavage was pushing against Toby and barely within his eye sight.

"B-B-But I'm already taken!" flustered Toby, feeling the orange-haired female monster's cleavage pushing against his chest.

"Taken? Oh, don't be silly." giggle Harpie Lady #2. "That...other girl...you're speaking of is probably dead right now. Besides-" She then carefully moved her hand to behind Toby's head and tilted it down a bit until the increasingly uncomfortable brown-haired boy was staring at the orange-haired female monster's cleavage (she clearly did that action deliberately). "-I'm much sexier than that other so-called girl as you can see."

Toby honestly felt like passing out. The way this female was speaking and/or flirting with him was becoming WAY too much for the brown-haired boy to bear.

"What about the rest of our friends?" asked James.

"Oh, don't you worry, darling..." swooned Harpie Lady #3, walking behind the red-haired boy and wrapping her arms around his chest, resting her head on the boy's shoulder, and giving him a seductive smile. "They're all safe and sound somewhere... but now you three are with us..."

"T-This isn't right." protested Thomas, still blushing very hard. "Don't take it as offense or anything... I think you're all very beautiful, but it just doesn't seem proper. W-We barely even know each other."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that..." Harpie Lady #1 pointed out, getting up close and personal with the blue-haired boy in an attempt to seduce him (although not in the same manner as Harpie Lady #2 was doing to Toby). "We three know all about you..."

"You do? How so?"

"We were told about you by our master." answered Harpie Lady #1, gently stroking Thomas's face with her left hand while staring into his eyes and flicking her eyelashes seductively.

"But we shall not tell you anything more..." added Harpie Lady #2, still trying to seduce Toby in a very dirty manner.

"...at least not until the wedding of the century is over." finished Harpie Lady #3, still hugging James tightly.

"Wedding?" asked the three boys.

"Duh! We three are marrying you handsome boys!"

Thomas, James, and Toby were each in very big trouble. Unless help arrived soon, it would seem their lives were about to go to the underworld.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the cave, the rest of the males, as well as Gilford the Lightning, were all conscious and locked inside three large, separate cages. Percy and Stanley both didn't have access to their Duel Disks, and Gilford the Lightning's sword had been taken from him.

"What have we gotten ourselves into now?" groaned Percy.

"We're in a cave..." added Henry.

"Locked in cages..." put in Gordon.

"And aren't we missing a few members?" asked Edward.

"We are." Gilford the Lightning confirmed. "I believe your friends Thomas, James, and Toby... And I'm getting a nasty feeling about it... as well as where we currently are."

"And that is...?" asked Stanley, dreading the answer.

"' ** _Valley of the Harpie Ladies_** '..." said Gilford the Lightning grimly.

"' ** _Valley of the Harpie Ladies_** '?" quizzed Henry.

"Does anyone else here think we've also just been duped?" Gordon nervously spoke up. "Such as someone switching the signs around on where to go?"

"You're right." nodded Edward.

"What about the girls?" asked Henry. "Were are they?"

"I don't know." answered Stanley. "But I hope they're safe."

This looked like a grim situation for the all of the males.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the valley, Sky Scout, being dragged by his right wing by Maiden of the Aqua, was leading Mavis, Molly, and Rosie through the area.

"Are we getting closer?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"Yes! Yes! OW! OW!" winced Sky Scout. "The sisters' cavern is close by! OW! Watch where you're pulling!"

"They're going to pay for taking my Toby." said Mavis crossly.

"They had better not have hurt James!" agreed a fuming Molly.

"If they did anything to Stanley..." added Rosie, who was red-faced with anger.

Mavis had overheard the pink-haired girl. "Looks like she's gotten over her crush on Thomas." she thought to herself.

After half-an-hour of walking, and even scaling a cliff, the girls, Maiden of the Aqua, and Sky Scout all arrived outside a cave.

"This is the place." The humanoid bird-like monster monster sighed.

"You sure?" asked Mavis, giving a death glare.

"I'm sure!" cried Sky Scout. "Honestly!"

No more was said. The girls entered the cave to begin their search, while leaving Sky Scout outside. From there, enough was enough for the monster, and he began to fly away.

"I'm out of here." Sky Scout said to himself. He had had enough abuse for a life-time. "The sisters are on their own from here on out."

And thus, the humanoid bird-like monster flew away into the distance and was never seen again.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the cave, the girls were exploring the place. It was completely vast! As a result, they almost got lost. Eventually, Mavis, Molly, Rosie, and Maiden of the Aqua found the room with the cages... but they were empty.

"There's nobody in here." said Rosie.

Suddenly, Mavis spotted both four Duel Disks and a sword atop a large wooden table nearby.

"They were here."

"But where are they now?" asked Molly.

"They've gotta be here somewhere." Rosie insisted, folding her arms. "We just gotta keep searching."

"We'll take the Duel Disks and sword with us." suggested Maiden of the Aqua.

They picked up the belongings and continued looking for their friends.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a new room (which looked striking like a church), Thomas, Toby, and James were each still tied up near the altar. Percy and the rest of the guys were tied up and seated in chairs along with other monsters for the ' _wedding if the century_ '.

"We have to get out of here." said Henry quietly.

"I'm open to suggestions, people." retorted Gordon.

Sadly, no one had an idea. Meanwhile, over with Thomas, James, and Toby...

"I'm scared." whimpered Toby, still having not-so-good memories of being seduced by one of those Harpie Ladies (while wearing those stripperific clothing) not long ago.

"I'm too young to get married." said James. "Not that I'm complaining, but what would my Mom and Dad say if they learned I was marrying a Harpie Lady? What would our children look like?!"

"Don't give them ideas!" snapped Toby, shuddering at the idea.

"We can only hope help arrives soon before-" Thomas began, but got cut off.

Suddenly, the nearby doors opened... and the three Harpie Ladies (thankfully wearing their usual Cyber Shield armor and purple bodysuit-like pants once more). They were smiling either wickedly or in a lovestruck way... It was hard to tell.

"-before we become husbands." Thomas finished with a gulp.

"Mommy." whimpered Toby.

Suddenly, the crystal ball on the table of the altar began glowing... and soon revealed a very pleased looking Darkbishop Archfiend.

"I can see you did well in finding husbands." The Court of Darkness member remarked.

In the audience, Gilford the Lightning seemed to recognize the monster in the crystal ball.

"That's Darkbishop Archfiend!" The warrior monster bellowed. "A member of the Court of Darkness!"

"The COURT OF DARKNESS?!" exclaimed the humans in the audience.

"SHHH!" hushed the remains of the audience.

"We gotta get out of here!" cried Stanley, struggling.

"SHHH!" The audience hushed once more.

At that point, the three Harpie Ladies each approached their respective soon-to-be husbands ('Harpie Lady #1 - Thomas', 'Harpie Lady #2 - Toby', 'Harpie Lady #3 - James'), and Darkbishop Archfiend began to speak like a minister.

" **Dearly beloved** -" began Darkbishop Archfiend. "- **we are gathered here on this day to witness the rare union of these Harpie Lady Sisters with these three humans**."

Some of the female monsters in the audience started crying (which is usual at weddings).

" **If anybody here has any reason at all why these six should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace**."

There was silence, and Darkbishop Archfiend was very pleased...

" **In that case, I now pronounce each of you** -"

"WE OBJECT!" interrupted three female voices angrily.

Everybody looked to the back to see Maiden of the Aqua, Rosie, Mavis, and Molly all entering the church-like room. Yes, they were looking absolutely furious... but not with any of their male friends.

"And whom might you four be?" asked Harpie Lady #1.

"I happen to be Mavis Drewry." said the blonde-haired girl. "Toby Holden's girlfriend."

"My name is Molly Russell!" The black-haired girl announced, in a bold, confident tone. "I'm the girlfriend of James Hughes!"

"And I'm Rosie Vulcan!" The pink-haired girl declared. "I'm a good friend of Thomas Billinton! ...and the girlfriend of Stanley Hudswell - whom you've also kidnapped!"

Many gasps from the audience (except from Gilford the Lightning, Percy, Henry, Gordon, Edward, and Stanley) were heard. Darkbishop Archfiend, still in the crystal ball, was not a happy camper.

"I'm surrounded by incompetence!" he complained.

"Let our friends go right now!" demanded Maiden of the Aqua.

"Never!" growled Harpie Lady #1. "We're getting married no matter what!"

With that said, both Rosie and Mavis immediately drew a card from their respective decks and held them out.

"Ruby Dragon!" called Rosie.

"Blade Skater!" called Mavis.

"ATTACK!" The two girls finished at once.

A red dragon with ruby-like scales appeared with a roar. This was followed by a purple and silver-colored woman with skate-like blades coming out of her forearms. Very quickly, chaos ensured in the church-like room as various evil monsters were destroyed. But the Harpie Lady Sisters weren't about to give up their three ' **husbands** ' without a fight.

"If it's a fight they want-" said Harpie Lady #1, taking out a Duel Disk. "-then it's a fight they'll get!"

"I agree!" nodded Harpie Lady #2, readying a Duel Disk on her left arm.

"As do I!" finished Harpie Lady #3, putting on her own Duel Disk.

The three sisters drew two cards from their respective decks and held them out.

"Harpie Lady Sisters and Harpie's Pet Dragon!" They each called out at once. "Appear and attack!"

Appearing were many more Harpie Ladies along with three huge, pink dragons.

"Thanks to the extra Harpie Ladies-" smirked Harpie Lady #1. "-our pet dragons gain a considerable power boost."

The three Harpie's Pet Dragons roared fiercely and blew powerful flames, roasting Ruby Dragon and Blade Skater both alive.

"Our monsters!" cried both Mavis and Rosie at once.

Just then, without any warning, Molly hurled Gilford the Lightning's sword forth. The weapon soared past Thomas and into the nearby wall... but not before cutting the ropes around the blue-haired boy.

"I'm free!" he cried, successfully breaking free. "Thanks, Molly."

Very quickly, Maiden of the Aqua hurled Thomas's Duel Disk towards its owner. Thomas quickly and skillfully grabbed hold of it, re-equipped the device to his left arm, and drew three cards from the top of his deck.

"Black Luster Soldier! Valkyrion the Magna Warrior! Buster Blader!" he called, holding the glowing cards up. "Come forth!"

The two powerful warriors and fully combined form of the three Magnet Warriors soon appeared.

"Black Luster Soldier and Buster Blader; free the prisoners!" commanded Thomas. "Valkyrion; battle those Harpie's Pet Dragons!"

The three monsters obeyed, setting off to their duties. Black Luster Soldier went and freed Gilford the Lightning, Percy, Henry, Gordon, Stanley and Edward. Buster Blader, meanwhile, quickly freed both James and Toby.

"Thanks, Buster Blader." smiled James.

Meanwhile, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior was quickly punching and destroying the Harpie's Pet Dragons like they were nothing. The Harpie Lady Sisters were backing away from the altar and coming close to panicking.

"Now what are we doing to do?" asked Harpie Lady #2.

"It looks like we've got only one option left." said Harpie Lady #1 bravely. "Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation, now!"

With that said, the three Harpie Ladies began to glow in an aura of blue fire. The aura came together in the form of a huge phoenix.

"The Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!" wailed Percy.

"We're dead!" added a panicking Henry.

"Oh no, we're not!" Thomas quickly drew a card from his deck and held it out. "I'll use the power of my Mirror Force Trap card to cancel out the attack and wipe out the Harpie Lady Sisters!"

The large phoenix collided with a forming mirror.

"Now, be gone!"

In an explosion, the phoenix was destroyed as the three Harpie Lady Sisters were thrown across the chamber onto the ground. They were wounded quite badly from their failed attack (fatally wounded, that is). Thomas looked at the downed Harpie Lady Sisters firmly before gasping; they were looking up with sad looks on their faces.

"We... we only wanted...to be loved..." moaned Harpie Lady #1.

"That's...all we've...ever...wanted." added Harpie Lady #2.

"We...never...meant to...go...this far." finished Harpie Lady #3.

Despite having been kidnapped by the Harpie Ladies and almost being forced into marriage, Thomas actually began to feel sorry for them. He carefully approached the three and gently kissed each one on the cheek, causing each of them to blush.

"We understand." The blue-haired boy said calmly. "But kidnapping and seducing potential mates like that isn't the answer. Sometimes finding love just takes time. But I can guarantee that it will be worth the wait."

"We know that now." sighed the dying Harpie Lady #1, as she gently pulled Thomas in for a hug.

Despite blushing, the blue-haired boy returned the hug. Finally, the Harpie Lady Sisters faded away into light. Everyone watched silently and solemnly... just before a harsh laugh could be heard.

"Those foolish birdbrains got what they deserved." The voice belonged Darkbishop Archfiend.

Thomas frowned and looked towards the crystal ball. "Are you one of the five members of the Court of Darkness?"

"That I'd be." smiled the fiend-like monster. "And you, from what Vampire Lord told me, must be that human with the darkness in his heart, right?"

"Where is Emily?" demanded Thomas.

"I'll tell you...in due time. You know, after seeing much of you in action today, I'm looking forward to meeting and battling you in person... I'm especially looking forward to meeting the pretty blonde-haired one."

Mavis was surprised. "Me? Why me?"

"I take it that you are a beginning duelist, are you not?" smirked Darkbishop Archfiend. "I must say that so far, you show potential in that and leadership skills."

"Leadership skills?"

"Oh yes." continued Darkbishop Archfiend smoothly. "Like how you were able to take charge when your friends were in danger."

"Leave Mavis out of this!" demanded Thomas. "It's clear you want me! And when I do find you, I'll make you and the rest of your Court of Darkness pay for taking Emily away from me!"

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Ha ha ha ha! Very bold words, boy!" chuckled Darkbishop Archfiend, sniffing the air. "And I can smell the darkness, too! Oh yes, the darkness..."

Thomas clenched his fist as his Millennium Puzzle began to glow all gold.

"Mark my words." he said seriously. A Millennium Eye symbol appearing on his forehead. "I'm coming for you, Court of Darkness!"

"And we look forward to meeting with you all!" cackled Darkbishop Archfiend.

Laughing maniacally, the monster faded away from the crystal ball... before the crystal ball shattered itself into pieces.

"That was freaky." shivered James.

"I'll say that for certain." agreed Gordon.

"I think we'd better get out of here while we still can." suggested Stanley.

Everyone agreed to that. Because of the big delay due to the wrong turn, the rock slide, friends being captured, crashing a wedding, etc., the gang still had a long way to go before they reached the capital city. Can they make it there? Well... that's a tale for another day, eh?


	7. Sea Voyage

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

It was a gorgeous day on the Island of Sodor... and also a wonderful day for Thomas Billinton at Sodor High School. Why? Oh, let's see... he had just won a duel against the creator of Duel Monsters himself, Discord J. Crawford, in front of the whole school in addition.

"I've won!" cried Thomas happily.

Discord smiled. "Thomas-boy, I'm very pleased. I've never met anyone with such promise as a duelist like you. Congratulations for defeat yours truly!"

He and Thomas walked over and shook hands. Suddenly, Emily Sterling tackled her friend into a big hug.

"You were amazing, Thomas!" The dark green-haired girl squealed happily.

Before long, the blue-haired boy's face was littered with kiss marks.

"Man, I love my life right now." Thomas thought to himself with a big smile on his face.

The crowd continued cheering. Thomas honestly thought things could never go wrong... When all of a sudden, the clear, sunny sky started to turn all dark.

"What the-?"

The crowd grew all worried.

"It was sunny just a moment ago." remarked BoCo.

Just then, an extremely powerful roar was heard echoing through the schoolyard.

"What's going on?" asked Percy.

Suddenly, a Blaze Cannon attack was seen blasting the school, destroying it.

"The school!" cried James.

"It's been destroyed!" added a shocked Caitlin.

But worse was to come. Lowering from the dark clouds...was The Winged Dragon of Ra.

"Ra?" asked Thomas in surprise, taking his deck out of his Duel Disk.

To his great shock... his deck, while having both Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor, didn't have The Winged Dragon of Ra in it.

"This can't be right." The blue-haired boy gasped aloud. "What's going on?"

Just then, an insane and evil laugh echoed through the air. Thomas and Emily both recognized it... and wished it wasn't who they thought it was.

"That laugh..." whispered Thomas.

"It isn't possible!" exclaimed a frightened Emily.

Standing atop of the head of The Winged Dragon of Ra... was none other than Dark Marik!

"Thomas Billinton!" The supposed-to-dead evil man called out. "Your time has come!"

"This can't be!" protested Thomas, taking a step back. "You're supposed to be dead! Marik overcame you in our duel!"

"I'm the darkness, boy." snickered Dark Marik. "My weaker self can never truly get rid of me... but I can still get rid of you and your posse of friends!"

"Leave my friends alone!" demanded Thomas. Drawing two cards, he held them out. "Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor - Come forth!"

In a powerful blast of energy, the two remaining God monsters appeared and prepared to face off against The Winged Dragon of Ra... Unfortunately, Dark Marik wasn't looking worried in the slightest.

"Ra! Burn them all to ash... GOD BLAZE CANNON!"

"Attack!" ordered Thomas to his two monsters.

All three Egyptian Gods clashed. Obelisk the Tormentor attacked with Fist of Fury, Slifer the Sky Dragon attacked with Thunder Force, and The Winged Dragon of Ra unleashed a Blaze Cannon. To everyone's horror, however, the Blaze Cannon attack easily punched through the other two Gods' attacks.

"No way!" exclaimed Edward.

The Blaze Cannon struck both Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon, causing a massive explosion. Everyone down below braced themselves from the force of the explosion. When the smoke cleared...Slifer and Obelisk were both gone.

"Ra wiped them out!" cried Henry.

Dark Marik laughed maniacally. "You're no match for me, Thomas! And now for you and everyone around you to die!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra started glowing all gold as it gave off another powerful roar. The ground around everyone started to crack open like during an earthquake.

"Everybody run!" cried James.

"You can't escape!" taunted Dark Marik.

The ground gave out...and many of the teenagers and adults all started falling into the abyss below to their deaths. Only Thomas and Emily both remained on a single pillar, surrounded by fire and destruction.

"Why is this happening?" Emily asked in complete terror, holding onto Thomas.

"I..." Thomas tried to explain, but he himself was too scared to do so.

Suddenly, the pillar shook violently...and Emily suddenly let go of her friend, was pushed off the pillar, and started to fall into the abyss to her death.

"TTTTHHHHOOOOMMMMAAAASSSS!"

"EMMILLLLYYY!" screamed Thomas in horror.

He was all alone now... Thomas Billinton was soon face-to-face with both Dark Marik and The Winged Dragon of Ra.

"The time has come, my poor, pathetic friend!" laughed the evil man. "Winged Dragon of Ra... kill him!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra obeyed, charging another powerful blast of Blaze Cannon. Thomas could only look on in complete terror at what was about to happen. Seeing how there was no way out, he closed his eyes and prepared to accept his coming fate. Finally, the blast was fired! The Blaze Cannon got closer and closer...

(new location...)

Suddenly, Thomas instantly opened his eyes, shot up like a bullet instantly, and looked all around him. He was in a sleeping bag, inside a camping tent, and was also safe and sound. Thomas was in a cold sweat and panting heavily.

"What a horrible nightmare!" he thought to himself.

Quickly, Thomas checked his deck. Thankfully, all three Egyptian Gods were in there, causing the blue-haired boy to sigh with relief.

"Everything's...fine..." But Thomas was very puzzled. "Why did I have that nightmare?"

Unfortunately, Thomas would have to worry about that later. It was nighttime in the Duel Monsters Spirit World, and he needed some more sleep. ...too bad, it wasn't that easy falling back asleep.

* * *

 **Title: Sea Voyage**

* * *

It was morning now, and Thomas was still asleep in his tent. Gordon's voice was then heard...

"Wake up, little Thomas! Breakfast is ready."

The blue-haired boy stirred and woke up. He was still feeling very tired after having that nightmare. Regardless, Thomas was hungry and decided to get out of bed. Outside, there were other tents set up in a nice looking meadow, and it was bright and sunny. Thanks to that sidetrack to the ' **Valley of the Harpie Ladies** ' yesterday, it took the group quite some time to make it down the correct path, and it led them to setting up camp for the night. Edward was busy preparing breakfast, and everyone else was busy with some chores.

"Morning." yawned Thomas.

"Nice to see you, sleep head." joked James, carrying in a large tub of fresh water from the nearby lake.

"You don't look so good." Rosie remarked, looking worried.

"Well, if you had the nightmare I had-" sighed Thomas, motioning a hand to his forehead wearily. "-you'd look this way too."

"Maybe some food will help you feel better." Edward suggested. "I've cooked us all some strawberry and blueberry pancakes."

"My favorite!" smiled Percy, rubbing his hands together.

With that said, everyone began eating. Although Thomas ate very slowly He was still thinking about his nightmare.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the White House in Washington D.C. (the real world), President Douglas Crump was watching the news on the TV in his office. He was in a very good mood after yesterday.

"Take that, Boxford Corp." Douglas Crump chortled. "Once we're through with you, you'll never harm another person here in the United States ever again."

A knock came on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened, revealing one of the staff of the White House.

"Mr. President-" said the female worker. "-you have a visitor."

"Must be that Spencer Gresley." thought Douglas Crump, before speaking aloud. "Alright, send him in."

To the President's surprise, it wasn't Spencer... It was actually Discord J. Crawford of Industrial Illusions.

"Douglas Crump, I presume." he greeted.

"Mr. Crawford, I believe that's ' _President Crump_ '!" Douglas Crump corrected, sounding as arrogant as ever before.

"Right, right. My humblest apologies, Douglas-boy."

"What is it that you want?" demanded Douglas Crump, not in the mood for small talk.

Discord got down to business. "Now then, I've heard that there have been some Duel Monster-related attacks here in the US, correct?"

"You heard correct." confirmed Douglas Crump. "Ever since that blasted Boxford Corp came here, it's been happening!"

"Hmm..." muttered Discord thoughtfully. "Perhaps... they're innocent in the matter?"

"What?!" The pompous President exclaimed, before giving a harsh laugh. "Don't tell me that Boxford Corp contacted you about the matter?"

"As a matter of fact, Douglas-boy, they did." Discord pointed out. "I'm very good friends with the two Co-Vice Presidents AND President of Boxford Corp, and I know for certain they would never do something you claim they're doing."

"Lies!" snapped Douglas Crump. "You have no proof they're innocent!"

"Nor do YOU have proof they're guilty." protested Discord, losing his normally light-hearted persona. "Now either you leave them alone, or I will tell the world that you are nothing more than a filthy liar who is prejudice towards the British."

"Heh! Go ahead... but I'd take a look on the news right now if I were you."

With that said, the President turned the nearby TV on. It was a broadcast on the events that occurred not long ago... which included a bit of Douglas Crump's speech.

"See all those people out there?" The pompous President asked. "They all believe me. They know the truth."

Discord was positively speechless... and Douglas Crump knew he had won the argument.

"Mr. Crawford, you are dismissed."

Discord scowled. "This isn't over." he growled, leaving.

Douglas Crump watched the CEO of Industrial Illusions leave in a huff and merely smiled to himself.

"You know the truth will always set you free." The US President said to himself.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the American Headquarters of Boxford Corp in Atlanta, countless citizens were outside with signs and they were in the middle of a big protest.

"The people united will never be divided!" The people chanted.

Several suits were trying to calm the crowd down to no avail. Inside Spencer's office, the silver-haired boy was trying to work away on his laptop, but the voices outside were loud enough to break is concentration.

"Enough is enough." Spencer groaned, getting out of his chair.

No matter what, he was not going to give up everything. Discord attempting to talk some sense into the President failed, but was that going to stop Spencer? Not even close. The silver-haired boy stormed out of his office and walked down the hallway. Skiff met up with his Big Brother along the way.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Skiff.

"Continue to fight." replied Spencer crossly. "No matter what, we have to hold on."

"But listen to those protesters." Skiff pointed out. "They won't believe us. And even Discord wasn't able to convince them."

But Spencer wouldn't hear of it. He was more determined to protect his family and company than ever before.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Duel Monsters spirit world, camp had been packed away, and Edward was busy looking at the map. Maiden of the Aqua was standing beside him.

"Alright." Edward examined the map carefully. "Our next part of the journey is across an upcoming sea."

"There's a nearby seaport." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out. "Just an hour down this path."

"Well, let's get going." said Gordon almost immediately.

Once everyone was ready, the walk down the road continued. To help pass some time, James suggested a game of ' _ **I Spy**_ '.

"Who wants to go first?" he asked.

"I'll go." Henry volunteered, looking around. "I spy, with my little eye, something...blue."

James snorted. "Let me guess. The sky?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm..." muttered Gordon thoughtfully. "The nearby lake?"

Henry chuckled. "Close, but no."

"How about Maiden of the Aqua's hair?" guessed Toby.

"Correct, Toby!" Henry confirmed.

"That was an easy one, Henry." complained James.

"Okay, let's see you do a bit better, James." The tall green-haired boy dared.

James began to look around. "I spy, with my little eye..." The red-haired boy glanced at Mavis for a second and smirked a bit. "...someone who is a blonde."

"It wouldn't happen to be Mavis, would it?" asked Percy deadpanly.

Mavis suddenly got annoyed. "Who are you calling a ditz?!" she exclaimed hotly.

"What?" Percy commented innocently. "All I said is you're a blonde."

The blonde-haired girl looked ready to go postal on the green-haired boy when Toby spoke up.

"Um... sometimes that can also mean ' _ditz_ ', Percy." The brown-haired boy explained.

"Oh... oops." Percy smiled sheepishly, realizing his boo boo. "I'm sorry, Mavis."

James burst out laughing. "I can't believe you fell for that one, Percy!"

"Very funny, James." groaned Mavis. "Very funny..."

(elsewhere...)

In no time at all, the gang arrived outside a harbor.

"This is the port." said Gilford the Lightning. "We can borrow a ship to cross the waters."

"Better than swimming the whole way there." retorted Gordon.

"Obviously." put in James.

The harbor was busy. Humanoid monsters (Big Shield Gardnas, The Legendary Fishermen, etc.) and some friendly sea serpent and/or fish-type monsters (Amphibian Beast, Kaier Sea Horse, etc.) were carrying crates full of weapons and/supplies around the place.

"Busy place." Henry commented.

James sniffed the air. "Phew! And the smell of fish!" he remarked loudly.

Some of the monsters (mostly the Amphibian Beasts and Kaiser Sea Horses) stopped what they were doing and glared at whoever said that insult.

"Nice going, James." whispered Henry.

Glares filled the area... and the teenagers all felt nervous on what would happen next. Thankfully, Maiden of the Aqua stepped forth.

"Maiden of the Aqua!" exclaimed a Big Shield Gardna, kneeling politely.

"The boy didn't mean to insult anyone." said Maiden of the Aqua.

On cue, more monsters started to approach the blue-haired female monster.

"M-Madame..." stuttered a Kaiser Sea Horse. "Your appearance at this harbor is most welcome."

"Agreed." added an Amphibian Beast.

"Thank you." smiled the blue-haired female monster. "We wish to borrow a ship."

"A ship?"

Thomas stepped forth. "We wish to cross these waters. We're on our way to the capital city of this world."

Suddenly, the rest of the monsters turned and knelled in respect to the blue-haired boy.

"Again...?" thought Thomas.

"The hero who saved our land from the ' _ **Evil One**_ '..." added another Kaiser Sea Horse.

"He is back!" added another Big Shield Gardna.

"Guess your fame has gotten around." said James to Thomas.

(elsewhere...)

It took an hour or so, but the group was eventually able to secure a large ship going for the harbor across the ocean. One The Legendary Fisherman had kindly offered to pilot the boat.

"Now we're off!" declared Stanley.

"Before you go-" spoke up a Big Shield Gardna. "-we must warn you... A band of pirates under the command of the Court of Darkness have been sighted in the waters somewhere. You must all take care."

"Thank you for the warning." said Thomas.

"Pirates? We ain't afraid of no pirates!" snorted James.

"We even got to fight some in the past." added Percy.

Kaiser Sea Horse sighed. "If you're so sure... may the Egyptian Gods watched over you all."

With that all said and done, it was time to set sail.

"Hoist the sails!" called The Legendary Fisherman, taking command of the wheel. "Make ready to depart!"

"Aye aye, captain!" called Percy, earning him some stares from James, Henry, and Molly. "Always wanted to do that."

As final preparations were underway, Maiden of the Aqua found Thomas near the railing while looking out into the distance.

"Emily..." he thought to himself quietly. As the blue-haired boy stared out into the distance, he could almost swear he saw a faint image of his captured friend smiling at him. "I promise I will save you."

"Thomas?"

Thomas snapped out of his thoughts and turned around. It was Maiden of the Aqua, and she was looking worried.

"Are you alright?" The blue-haired female monster asked.

"Y-Yeah..." insisted Thomas, looking back out into the distance.

"You seemed to be thinking about something." said Maiden of the Aqua. "And...I want to help you."

Thomas gave a heavy sigh. After what seemed like forever, he started to explain.

"It's about Emily." The blue-haired boy said solemnly. "I love her and I can't live without her. That's why it's important that I find her."

"You love that girl?" asked Maiden of the Aqua. "I guess I can see why. You talk about finding her as soon as possible... However, as much as you want to find her, it won't be that easy."

"I don't care what it takes." continued Thomas. "Nothing will stop me from saving her."

Before anything more could be said, the ship rocked and started moving.

"We're sailing!"

And indeed they were.

"Come on." Maiden of the Aqua requested kindly, holding her hand out. "Let's go join everyone else."

Before Thomas could do anything, the ship suddenly swerved a bit, causing both him and the blue-haired female monster to fall to the ground. Maiden of the Aqua was now atop Thomas... with their lips almost touching.

"O-Oh!" Maiden of the Aqua blushed, getting back up hastily. She had a thought on what almost happened... "My goodness, I was so close to kissing him."

Just then, Percy showed up. He noticed that both his best friend and Maiden of the Aqua were both blushing.

"Umm... why are you two blushing?" Percy asked curiously.

"I accidentally fell atop him." explained Maiden of the Aqua.

"We almost ended up kissing." added Thomas.

Percy chuckled. "Best not to tell Emily something like that when we do find her."

The green-haired boy walked away. Soon, Thomas and Maiden of the Aqua both followed behind.

(elsewhere...)

Two hours later, the ship was sailing in the middle of the ocean. Inside a cabin, James was lying on a bed enjoying some Soda.

"Ah... life at sea." he sighed to himself. "Pretty cool if you ask me."

It was then Gordon entered the cabin and took a seat at the nearby desk.

"Got anymore Soda, James?" he asked eagerly.

The red-haired boy grinned and tossed over a full can to his friend. Gordon caught it, opened it up, and smirked back.

"Glad to see you didn't shake it first." The tall, blue-haired boy joked.

"Maybe I didn't feel like it this time?" James chuckled back.

The teenage two boys laughed and started to relax and enjoy themselves.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the dining hall, Edward was looking around the place. It was nice...but it did need some cleaning.

"Looks like it could use some T.L.C." The intelligent, blue-haired boy said to himself.

Thankfully, Rosie, who was exploring the ship a little bit, wandered into the kitchen.

"T.L.C.?" The pink-haired girl quizzed. "What does that stand for?"

"It stands for ' _Tender_ ', ' _Love_ ', and ' _Care_ '." explained Edward.

"Oh."

Just then, Stanley showed up. Looking around the kitchen, he gave a slight whistle.

"Need a hand with cleanig this place, Edward?" he offered.

"I would appreciate that." smiled Edward. "Thank you."

"I'll help, too!" Rosie spoke up.

"The more, the merrier. Let's get started."

With that said, the three friends set to work cleaning the place up so that they could start preparing the meal.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas was outside with The Legendary Fisherman, who was busy steering the ship.

"This trip... how long until we reach the next port?" asked Thomas.

"As long as we don't run into trouble-" said The Legendary Fisherman. "-it could take at most two days time."

Thomas hoped that was the case.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the open waters, another ship was sailing...a pirate ship. It was under the command of a Duel Monsters spirit named Captain Scurvy(!), and his band of pirates were a bunch of Duel Monsters called Pirate Soldiers(!). The band of pirates were all around the ship doing who knows what.

"We've been at sea for days." sighed the captain. "And not a single ship to pillage."

Deciding that he needed a nap, the pirate captain started to make his way towards his personal cabin. Along the way, he started to pass another cabin when...

"Sir!" called the voice of a pirate from inside the cabin.

"What is it?" asked the pirate captain, peering inside the cabin.

"Ship ahoy!" reported the pirate, gazing at a device on the table. "About three miles near us!"

Captain Scurvy smiled. "Excellent!"

And thus, rather than head to take a nap, the captain went to tell the rest of the crew to prepare for battle.

(elsewhere...)

Back in another part of the ocean, the heroes' ship was still sailing onward. Toby was atop the mast keeping a lookout.

"Anything?" called Percy from down below.

Toby squinted a bit to try and see in the distance... but all he saw was nothing.

"Nothing yet!" The brown-haired boy called.

"Aww!" moaned Percy.

The disappointed green-haired boy started to make his way to the galley for something to eat, when suddenly...

"Wait!" called Toby. "I think I spot something!"

In the distance was another ship sailing in the waters.

"I think it might be another ship of a sort!"

"Another ship?" Percy blinked.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a cabin, Gordon and James were both playing cards (not Duel Monsters related), when Percy's voice echoed all-around the room.

"Ship ahoy!"

The sudden shout caused James and Gordon to both toss their current hands up into the air in surprise.

"Bubbling Sodas!" The two boys exclaimed in unison.

Yes. It was indeed a ship, and it was sailing closer and closer to the gang's ship.

"You think it might be those pirates we were warned about?" asked Henry.

"Sure looks like it." answered Gordon.

"How can you tell?" Molly questioned curiously.

The taller blue-haired boy was about to answer...when his eyes widened with shock at what was coming.

"HIT THE DECK!"

Everyone ducked as a cannonball was fired. It missed them, but the cannonball did strike the wall.

"I guess that answers my question." gasped Molly, looking at the fresh hole in the wall.

"Prepare for battle!" called Gilford the Lightning.

The pirates on the other ship gave wicked laughs as three Pirate Soldiers proceeded to load the cannons.

"Fire!" commanded Captain Scurvy.

And fire did the cannons do so. More cannonballs rocked the opposing ship.

"What now, captain?" asked a Pirate Soldier.

"Prepare to board that vessel!" The captain explained. "Take any females aboard as prisoners!"

"Yes sir!" said the remaining Pirate Soldiers.

Back aboard the other ship...

"We gotta fight back!" shouted Thomas.

"Here they come now!" called Gilford the Lightning.

Several Pirate Soldiers swung over to the side.

Quickly, Thomas drew two cards from his deck and held them out.

"Come forth Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl!"

The two ace monsters of the blue-haired boy materialized. Quickly, Stanley and Percy both followed suit.

"I play Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Jinzo!" announced Percy.

The black-scaled dragon and the humanoid android monster both appeared. Stanley was just about to summon two of his monsters when one Pirate Soldier aimed his flintlock pistol and fired a shot, nicking the gray-haired boy in the wrist.

"AUGH!" he screamed, dropping his two cards and collapsing to his knees while holding onto his bleeding wrist.

"Stanley!" cried Thomas and Percy in unison.

"No!" cried out Henry, Rosie, Mavis, and Molly at once.

More and more Pirate Soldiers climbed aboard the ship. The monsters belonging to the humans fought well, but were getting severely overwhelmed by the pirates' sheer numbers. With that, Mavis and Rosie both sprung into action and drew two cards from their own decks.

"Go Cyber Prima and Cyber Blader!" called Mavis.

"Guardian Angel Joan and Luster Dragon #2!" added Rosie.

Appearing first was a humanoid female with long, flowing hair, a red and white color scheme for her body, and was also wearing figure skating-like heeled boots, followed by another female with long, flowing hair, two large rings around her midsection, and a white and almost mostly silver color scheme for her body. A large emerald green dragon and the familiar blonde-haired guardian angel also both appeared, ready for battle.

"Attack!" commanded the two girls.

Despite the added assistance of the four new monsters, and even Gilford the Lightning, the odds were becoming too great for the heroes.

"They just keep coming!" Gordon complained.

Finally, Captain Scurvy boarded the ship, arriving on the deck just as the humans and their allies got captured.

"Ahoy!" he called. "I be Captain Scurvy. Had over all your belongings and women and we'll let ye live. Refuse, and we will sink this ship and all of you with it."

"No way!" snapped Thomas, being restrainted by some Pirate Soldiers.

"Ye might want to reconsider." warned the captain. "We aren't what you would call lollipops and rainbows. We pirates can be quite nasty."

"We're not afraid of you!" said James defiantly. "We've faced pirates tougher than you before."

"Did ye now?" smirked Captain Scurvy. "Well then, lad... ye seem like a tough enough sea dog to me...why not join my crew and help serve the Court of Darkness?"

"You work for the Court of Darkness?" asked Stanley, still wincing in pain.

"Aye, we are." said Captain Scurvy. "More importantly... the lovely Vampire Lady."

"I'll join you guys when the underworld freezes over." James stood his ground.

"Very well, then." sighed Captain Scurvy, before smiling sadistically. "Perhaps we should settle this in a more simple way?"

"What?"

"A duel." The pirate captain explained, making a Duel Disk appear on his left arm. "We'll settle this in a duel. Win, and we'll leave and never return. Lose, however, and this ship will be sunk to the ocean floor, while the women aboard will come with us as our prisoners."

"Fine." sneered James, activating his Duel Disk.

The red-haired boy and pirate captain each took their positions on the main deck, while everyone else watched on.

"Please be careful, James." whispered Molly.

"Time to see what you are capable of, kid!" declared Captain Scurvy. "But know that I'm not one to be trifled with!"

"Keep talking!" huffed James, drawing his opening hand. "I don't need my Elemental HERO Neos or Neo-Spacians to beat the likes of you!"

From there...

"Let's duel!" The two duelists declared in unison (LP: 4000).

Immediately, James drew his first card. "I'll go first!" he announced.

* * *

 **Turn One** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mirror Gate, Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Sparkman, Divine Hero's Draw(!), Elemental HERO Clayman, and Elemental HERO Wildheart

* * *

It was his Elemental HERO Wildheart card. Immediately, James placed it sideways on a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Elemental HERO Wildheart in defense mode."

The wildman Elemental HERO materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"Shiver me timbers!" laughed Captain Scurvy. "I was expecting more from you."

"It's your turn now!" called James, while ignoring the insult.

"Very well." replied Captain Scurvy, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Captain Scurvy (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness, Cursed Waters Level 3, Torpedo Fish, Cannonball Spear Shellfish, The Shallow Grave, and A Legendary Ocean

* * *

Upon seeing his A Legendary Ocean card, the pirate captain made his Duel Disk's Field Spell slot open up.

"I think it be time for a change of scenery." he snickered, inserting his card into the opened slot. "Welcome to A Legendary Ocean!"

The ground started to glow all white...until everyone aboard the ship found themselves underwater. There was even a sunken ship nearby.

"Whoa." breathed Percy.

"Look at our surroundings." Toby commented.

"And now-" chuckled Captain Scurvy, taking a card from his hand and holding it out. "-time for the first of my many beasts of the sea to join the fight! Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness!"

A huge whale with a marine equipment mounted on its top appeared (Level: 5/ATK: 2100).

"But that's a five star monster!" James pointed out. "You need to tribute another monster to play something like that!"

"That's what you think." mocked Captain Scurvy. "With A Legendary Ocean out, all of my water monsters are downgraded by one level."

He was right; Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness had its level lowered by one, thus making it a legal play (Level: 5 - 4).

"In addition, my water monsters also gain a 200 attack and defense point power boost!"

The mighty whale grew stronger (ATK: 2100 - 2300).

"Attack Wildheart now!" commanded Captain Scurvy.

The whale obeyed, firing a blast from a cannon or two. The Elemental HERO was struck and destroyed.

"At least my monster was in defense mode." thought James.

"I'll end with one facedown." said Captain Scurvy, setting a card in an empty Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized.

"Man, what a way to go." thought James, looking to his hand. "Nothing I have will help me right now."

Over with the gang...

"Come on, James!" called Gordon.

"Don't let that pirate keep you down!" added Percy.

"I won't." said James, drawing and looking at his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mirror Gate, Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Sparkman, Divine Hero's Draw, Elemental HERO Clayman, and Emergency Provisions

* * *

"Nuts! This card won't help me."

James took two cards from his hand, placed one of them sideways on a monster field slot on his Duel Disk, and the other card was slotted into a Spell/Trap Slot.

"I place one card facedown." he said. "Then I summon Elemental HERO Avian in defense mode."

The avian-like Elemental HERO appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 3/DEF: 1000).

"That's all I can do..."

"Really?" Captain Scurvy grunted, drawing his card. "So that'd be."

James scowled bravely.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Captain Scurvy (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Torpedo Fish, Cannonball Spear Shellfish, The Shallow Grave, and Nightmare Penguin

* * *

Upon adding his drawn card to his hand, Captain curvy poked a button on his Duel Disk.

"I now reveal my Trap card - Cursed Waters Level 3!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Cursed Waters Level 3?" James quizzed.

"This Trap card allows me to summon more than one monster this turn." explained Captain Scurvy. "But their levels have to total three or less." He then held two cards up. "And, unfortunately for you, they do equal levels three or less."

The pirate captain turned the two cards over and revealed what they were...

"Torpedo Fish and Cannonball Spear Shellfish!"

The two monsters appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1000) x2. One resembled a fish and torpedo, while the other was a shellfish-like monster with a large horn.

"But my two new monsters won't be doing any attacking." said Captain Scurvy.

"Why not?" James asked nervously.

"They'll be my Orca's ammunition."

"What does he mean by that?" asked Rosie.

"So glad the lass asked." smiled Captain Scurvy. "It's very simple; I just tribute one monster..."

Cannonball Spear Shellfish faded away into a ball of light...and was loaded into a cannon.

"I can destroy one card on my opponent's side of the field! Fire!"

One of the cannons on Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness locked on...and fired. The blast struck James's set card and destroyed it.

"By tributing Cannonball Spear Shellfish I can wipe out a Spell or Trap card you have." said Captain Scurvy smugly. "And by tributing my Torpedo Fish..."

Topedo Fish was absorbed into another cannon, which fired. This time it struck and destroyed Elemental HERO Avian.

"...I can destroy any monster you control!"

James knew he was in for it now.

"Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness!" commanded Captain Scurvy. "Attack his life points directly!"

Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness obeyed, aimed its cannons, and fired a powerful blast.

"WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

An explosion clouded James's side of the field.

"James!" cried out Molly.

The red-haired boy slowly tried to get back up (LP: 1700).

"I think that's enough damage for now." Captain Scurvy remarked. "Hit me with yer best shot, me lad!"

James angrily drew his card in response. Oh, he would show that pirate a thing or two!

* * *

 **Turn Five** : James Hughes (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (5): Elemental HERO Sparkman, Divine Hero's Draw, Elemental HERO Clayman, Emergency Provisions, and Polymerization

* * *

Upon seeing his drawn Polymerization card, James knew he had a plan coming on.

"Now you're in for it!" he smirked, taking three cards from his hand. "I activate the Spell card Polymerization to fuse from my hand Elemental HEROES Sparkman and Clayman!"

Both Sparkman and Clayman briefly materialized before fusing together.

"I fusion summon Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!"

The mighty lightning wielding Elemental HERO appeared (Level: 6/ATK: 2400).

"Now for another Spell card." continued James, holding another card out. "Divine Hero's Draw! When I control a monster with 'Elemental HERO' in its name, I can go and draw two more cards from my deck!"

He drew his two cards...and subsequently discarded one of them.

"Now to use my Thunder Giant's effect!"

A large ball of lightning formed in Thunder Giant's hands.

"By discarding a card-" explained James, having already done so. "-he can destroy one monster on your field who's original attack is lower than his."

Thuner Giant fired the ball of thunder from his hands towards Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness.

"...like Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness for instance!"

"What?!" cried Captain Scurvy in shock.

The large whale was destroyed.

"Now, Thunder Giant!" ordered James. "Attack the good captain's life points directly with Voltic Thunder!'

"Shiver me timbers!" cried Captain Scurvy.

A large thunderbolt fired from the sky and struck the pirate captain, causing him to scream as he got electrocuted (LP 1600).

"The captain's been hurt!" exclaimed a Pirate Soldier.

"Had enough?" asked James, as he slotted two cards into his Duel Disk. "You might as well get out of here now while you have the chance."

Captain Scurvy only laughed. "Not a chance! The Court of Darkness would not be pleased if I failed to capture or skewer you lot."

With that said, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Captain Scurvy (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (4): The Shallow Grave, Nightmare Penguin, and Levia-Dragon - Daedalus

* * *

Almost immediately, the Spell card The Shallow Grave materialized face-up.

"First I play the spell card The Shallow Grave!" he said. "Now we can call forth a monster from our graveyards and put them facedown defense mode."

James chose his monster card and placed it facedown defense mode on a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. Captain Scurvy then did the same...but he wasn't finished yet.

"It's time for you to meet my most powerful monster." The pirate captain said, holding up a card. "I sacrifice my set Orca in order to summon Levia-Dragon - Daedalus!"

The facedown monster faded away...and the nearby sunken ship started to rock a bit.

"I don't like where this is going." mumbled Henry.

Finally, the sunken ship collapsed...and revealed a blue-scaled leviathan-like monster (Level: 7 - 6/ATK: 2600 - 2800).

"And thanks to my ocean Field Spell card, my monster's level was lowered from 7 to 6, meaning I just needed to tribute one monster to summon it." Captain Scurvy pointed out.

"Quite the beast." gawked James.

"And now to activate my monster's effect! To do so...I must give up my Field Spell card!"

With that, the scenery went back to normal.

"But why would you do that?" asked James. "Now your monster lost its power bonus!"

Levia-Dragon - Daedalus returned to its usual power level (Level: 6 - 7/ATK: 2800 - 2600).

"Because by doing so-" explained Captain Scurvy. "-Daudalus can destroy every other card on the field!"

"EVERY other card?!" James exclaimed in horror.

"Aye!"

The mighty sea-dragon charged a blast.

"I may lose my Thunder Giant-" said James, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-but I can still go and do this! I activate one of my facedowns - Emergency Provisions!"

The first facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"By tributing my remaining set card-" The red-haired boy gained life points (LP: 2700). "-I gain 1000 life points!"

The second facedown card vanished.

"Despite that, your Thunder Giant and facedown monster are both about to bite the dust!" declared Captain Scurvy.

Both of James's monsters (Thunder Giant and Clayman) were destroyed by the blast.

"I'm open for an attack!" James panicked.

"Aye!" laughed Captain Scurvy. "That you'd be! Attack the boy's life points now, my sea beast!"

Levia-Dragon - Daedalus obeyed, firing a blast at James as the poor red-haired boy watched on in horror. Finally, the blast struck and caused another explosion.

"James, no!" called Edward, Gordon, and Henry in unison.

"He now only has 100 life points left!" Thomas exclaimed.

As the smoke cleared, James was on one knee and wincing from the damage he took (LP: 100).

"Are ye ready to surrender?" asked Captain Scurvy. "Do so, and I may perhaps choose to spare your lives...well, except for this ship, of course."

James slowly got back to his feet. There was no way in heck he was gonna lose to that pirate. No way! The red-haired boy was gonna win this match!

"Forget it!" James refused. "You may have the upper hand right now, but I'm gonna win this duel regardless!"

"Brave words, lad." Captain Scurvy commented. "Then make your last stand if that is what you desire!"

"Fine!"

With that said, James drew a card from his deck, slashing a wave of color in the process.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : James Hughes (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (1): Elemental HERO Bubbleman

* * *

Upon seeing his drawn card, James gave a smile of satisfaction.

"Time to turn the tables!" he said. "I special summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!"

The water wielding Elemental HERO appeared and readied himself for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"Special summon?" Mavis questioned.

"If Bubbleman was the only monster in James's hand at the time-" explained Edward. "-he can special summon it to the field."

"Not only that-" said James, drawing two cards from his deck. "-but if he's the only monster out, I can draw two cards."

He had drawn both Pot of Greed and Bubble Blaster.

"And now-" The red-haird boy continued, holding out his Pot of Greed card. "-I'll draw two more cards using my Pot of Greed Spell card!"

He had drawn both The Warrior Returning Alive and Metamorphosis.

"And now I'll use The Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Sparkman."

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. Appearing came the familiar Sparkman Elemental HERO (Level 4/ATK: 1600).

"Finally...I'll activate the Spell card Metamorphosis!" James declared, slotting his card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Metamorphosis?" blinked Percy.

"It's a Spell that will allow Bubbleman to evolve." explained Edward. "And I think that's what James plans to do."

"Got that right." James confirmed. "And now... I'll tribute Bubbleman...to call upon his next level form from my extra deck."

Bubbleman disappeared as a much more powerful looking version of him appeared in his place...yet he had the exact same stats as the original (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"Meet the Elemental HERO Neo Bubbleman!"

"It looks cooler..." commented Gordon.

"But its stats are the same as the original!" Henry pointed out.

Back on the deck, the Bubble Blaster Spell card materialized face-up.

"And I'll give him more pop with Bubble Blaster!" said James. "This increases his attack by 800 points!"

The blaster materialized and Neo Bubbleman took hold of it.

"In addition, if my monster were to be destroyed by battle, I can tribute my Equip Spell to prevent its destruction and reduce all battle damage to zero!"

"But that makes no sense!" protested Captain Scurvy. "My monster is still stronger!"

"Attack points don't matter with Neo Bubbleman." said James. "When he does battle with a monster, no matter how strong that monster is, it's destroyed at the end of the damage step!"

"What?!"

"Neo Bubbleman-" commanded James. "-attack now!"

Neo Bubbleman obeyed, firing a blast at Captain Scurvy's monster.

"Fight back!" The pirate captain called out in a panic.

The sea-dragon fired a blast of its own. The bubble blast from Neo Bubbleman broke through Levia-Dragon - Daedalus's attack, striking, and destroying it in a massive explosion. The Bubble Blaster was then destroyed because Neo Bubbleman was weaker than the monster it battled, and should have been wiped out. In addition, all of the battle damage James would have taken had also been reduce to zero.

"Arrr! this can't be happening to me!" wailed Captain Scurvy.

"Oh, but it is!" smirked James. "Sparkman! Finish him off!"

Sparkman obeyed, charging himself with electricity and lunging towards the pirate captain, striking him and sending him flying (LP 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

Shouting in agony, Captain Scurvy was thrown overboard and into the water below, never to be seen again.

James the turned to the rest of the pirates.

"Now beat it before you end up just like your captain!" he commanded.

Gripped by panic, the rest of the Pirate Soldiers immediately began to retreat back to the safety of their own ship and sail out of the area. Once all the pirates were back aboard their ship, it began to sail away, far away, from those humans and their allies. Once everything was clear, James winked and point two fingers out into the distance of the fleeing pirate ship.

"And that's game!" The red-haired boy called out. "Come back again, and I'll do the same as before!"

"Well done, James!" praised Thomas.

"You've saved us all!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

"Without the need of Elemental HERO Neos, too!" finished Rosie.

"Think nothing of it." smiled James. "Isn't that what friends are for?"

Everyone all nodded in response.

"Now then, shall we continue with our voyage across this ocean?"

"As long as there is no more trouble." commented Edward.

And everyone agreed to that.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions, Vampire Lady was inside the throne room. She was being visited by two Vorse Raiders.

"So..." The female member of the Court of Darkness said calmly. "Captain Scurvy failed us?"

"Yes, my lady." said one Vorse Raider. "He failed you."

Vampire Lady closed her eyes and smiled to herself, like she didn't mind the failure.

"Leave, I must be alone for now."

The two Vorse Raiders bowed respectively and did as they were told.

"That James boy is quite quite intriguing." Vampire Lady thought to herself. "Like Darkbishop Archfiend seems to have taken an interest in that Mavis girl... I wonder just how much darkness we can get from anyone else in that group of humans?"

She then hissed in a sinister tone. This...could be bad in the future. How bad? We'll just have to wait and see. Won't we?


	8. Father and Son Reunion (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Life at sea... that's what it was like to Thomas and his friends right now. They were still crossing the ocean to reach the next port so they could continue their journey to the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city. They had just fought off pirate invaders under the command of the Court of Darkness. Regardless of that, those enemy monsters weren't exactly making our heroes' journey an easy one.

Thomas was currently alone in his cabin He was doing some serious thinking over the last couple of days of being in the spirit world... and the nightmare he had not long ago.

"So far-" The blue-haired boy gathered. "-we've been attacked by the Court of Darkness, kidnapped and nearly forced to marry a trio of Harpie Ladies, and fended off pirates... But there was also that nightmare..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Standing atop of the head of The Winged Dragon of Ra...was none other than Dark Marik!

"Thomas Billinton!" The supposed-to-dead evil man called out. "Your time has come!"

"This can't be!" protested Thomas, taking a step back. "You're supposed to be dead! Marik overcame you in our duel!"

"I'm the darkness, boy." snickered Dark Marik. "My weaker self can never truly get rid of me... but I can still get rid of you and your posse of friends!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra started glowing all gold as it gave off another powerful roar. The ground around everyone started to crack open like during an earthquake.

"Everybody run!" cried James.

"You all can't run!" taunted Dark Marik.

The ground gave out...and many of the teenagers and adults all started falling into the abyss below to their deaths. However, the worst bit was Emily suddenly let go of her friend, being pushed off the pillar, and started to fall into the abyss to her death.

"TTTTHHHHOOOOMMMMAAAASSSS!"

"EMMILLLLYYY!" screamed Thomas in horror.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Why did I have it?" Thomas asked himself. "I didn't have it until today, so why now, of all times?"

At that point, there was no answer to that question. Just then, a knock on is door was heard.

"Come in."

The door opened...and revealed Maiden of the Aqua, and she looked very worried.

"Thomas?" began Maiden of the Aqua.

For a reason, the blue-haired boy looked happy to see the blue-haired female monster.

"Hi." he grunted with disinterest. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes... you. You've been brooding since those pirates left." said Maiden of the Aqua. "I feel...very worried about you."

Thomas blushed to himself. The way Maiden of the Aqua said that...sounded almost exactly the way Emily would say to him if she was here right now.

"I'm just really upset about all that's been happening." Thomas pointed out unhappily. "Why is it that every time I feel like we're going to have a normal life, chaos has to throw a spanner into the works?"

Maiden of the Aqua smiled a bit. "You're a very special boy, Thomas. Someone who is destined to become famous one day for his heroic actions."

"So all this trouble is part of my destiny?" asked Thomas, a bit puzzled.

"At this point, I can't really tell you too much."

Thomas sighed and looked down at the floor. Maiden of the Aqua then approached...and took and held the boy's hand to comfort him.

"But what I CAN to you is that everything is going to be alright." The blue-haired female monster assured kindly.

Thomas looked at the female monster and smiled a bit. He and Maiden of the Aqua both stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever...and for two reasons:  
-Thomas saw Maiden of the Aqua as Emily  
-Maiden of the Aqua saw Thomas as her childhood friend - Autraius

Finally, they realized what they were doing and looked away bashfully.

"S-Sorry." stuttered Maiden of the Aqua, blushing.

"N-No... my fault." insisted Thomas, also blushing.

Oh boy, perhaps this means something between Thomas and Maiden of the Aqua could be forming? Who knows at this point. Let's...move on, shall we?

(elsewhere...)

Inside another cabin, Stanley was alone and looking over his Duel Monsters cards.

"I've used the cards you created for me me well, Dad." The gray-haired boy thought to himself. "I just wish you were here to see me."

He then started to fall asleep...when a new voice echoed the cabin.

"Stanley..."

"Who said that?" asked Stanley, sitting up and looking around.

Then, to the gray-haired boy's great shock, the ghost of a man suddenly appeared from the floor.

"Stanley, my son." smiled the ghost. "It's been so long."

Stanley was speechless beyond words. It just couldn't be! ...could it?

"D-Dad?"

* * *

 **Title: Father and Son Reunion, Part 1**

* * *

Yes, Stanley Hudswell was staring at the ghost of his long dead Father.

"Dad, is that really you?" stuttered Stanley.

"Stanley, my boy, you've grown so much." said Mr. Hudswell proudly.

Stanley looked like he wanted to cry. "Oh, Dad, I've really missed you... But why is your ghost here?"

"I'm here... to warn you."

Stanley was puzzled. "Warn me?" he questioned.

"The one who murdered me is somewhere in this world." said Mr. Hudswell.

Stanley grew shocked. This was a moment he had been waiting for over a very long time.

"Who is it?" begged the gray-haired boy. "Please! you have to tell me who it is!"

"I'm afraid I can't do so." sighed the ghost. "However, I can leave you a little something for the coming battles."

"What?"

The ghost of Stanley's Father suddenly made a card appear out of thin-air.

"This is something my murderer was after." The ghost then showed what the card was. "The Destiny HERO - Plasma."

Stanley gasped. "That's-!"

"I was planning to give this card to you for your twelfth birthday." continued Mr. Hudswell. "But I was never able to finish the card before my untiming demise."

Stanley took the card and looked at it carefully.

"Destiny HERO - Plasma..." he whispered.

"Use it well, my son."

Suddenly, the ghost suddenly started to fade away.

"DAD!" screamed Stanley. Unfortunately, the ghost was long gone... and the poor gray-haired boy looked at his card briefly before looking back to where the ghost of his Father was. "Dad..."

Stanley was greatly saddened that his Father was gone...again. Suddenly, a knock on the door came.

"Stanley? I heard you scream from outside." The voice of Rosie was heard on the other side. "Is everything alright in here?"

The door opened and Rosie came in.

"Oh... Rosie." Stanley sighed sadly.

"What's wrong?" asked Rosie.

Stanley quickly looked away. He didn't want the pink-haired girl to see him crying.

"I...saw my Father's ghost." The gray-haired boy said quietly.

"Your, what?" Rosie blinked, thinking she didn't hear properly.

"The ghost of my Father."

"Ghost...? You mean your Dad is...dead?" The pink-haired girl asked in surprise.

Stanley was silent over the matter. The murder of his Father when he was younger was one memory the gray-haired boy would never forget.

"He was murdered years ago." explained Stanley, his eyes beginning to water some more. "Ever since then, I've been trying to find out why."

He started to shake a bit, and from there... poor Stanley finally unleashed his inner pain.

"I miss him so much..." The gray-haired boy sobbed.

Rosie felt very sorry for Stanley. She walked slowly towards her friend, knelt down, and wrapped her arms around the poor boy in an attempt to console him.

"I'm so sorry, Stanley... really I am."

And, thus, Stanley continued to cry while Rosie tried to comfort him for at least a while.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the galley, Edward was reading from a cook book.

"I'll be getting ready to cook soon." he said to himself. "So many choices of recipes."

Thanks to the additional good and supplies the villagers gave him and everyone else before they embarked out into the ocean, Edward had enough food to try out all sorts of new recipes.

"Perhaps I should take up being a chef as a future career."

Just then, the intelligent, blue-haired boy overheard some footsteps.

"Anyone there?" Edward called out. He merely sighed to himself and resumed looking at the book when no answer came. "Must be my imagination. Or those guys playing a trick on me."

As Edward continued to read the cookbook, a familiar green-haired boy entered the galley looking for something to eat.

"I know I must wait until dinner... but I'm hungry!" Percy thought to himself. He looked over and saw a small basket of fruit. "Food..."

Percy slinked over and tried to grab an apple. Unfortunately for him...

"Not so fast, Percy!" scolded a voice, causing the green-haired boy to stop.

The voice came from Edward... yet he wasn't taking his eyes off the page from the cookbook he was reading.

"You have to wait until dinner is ready."

"Darn it!" groaned Percy, leaving the galley. "I was so close."

"I know you're hungry, but we must all wait." Edward pointed out, still not taking his eyes off the cook book.

(elsewhere...)

James was busy on lookout duty.

"Sure is getting boring up here." The red-haird boy yawned.

Alas, he had to continue with lookout duty despite being bored out of his mind.

"Wish someone could trade places with me so I could go catch some z's in my cabin."

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere on the bridge, The Legendary Fisherman was busy steering the ship. Gilford the Lightning was present, as well.

"So far, so good." said Gilford the Lightning. "No more pirates are in sight."

"That's a relief." sighed The Legendary Fisherman. "No more raids to worry about. Either way, we should be nearing the next harbor soon. Once we do that, it would be a three day walk to the Capital City."

"Good."

Suddenly, The Legendary Fisherman started to sniff the air. Gilford the Lightning noticed this.

"Something the matter?" The great warrior asked with concern.

"I smell a storm coming..." muttered The Legendary Fisherman.

"In that case, we had better batten down the hatches then."

It was true - the sky was starting to turn dark with lots of storm clouds, and the water began to become rougher.

"Storm ahead! Batten down the hatches!" called The Legendary Fisherman, ringing the nearby bell.

The rest of the crew began to prepare themselves to handle the coming storm.

(elsewhere...)

Up on the lookout mast, James quickly heard the warning and began to climb down.

(elsewhere...)

In the galley, Edward was still preparing dinner when several voices were heard outside.

"A storm is coming!" cried Henry.

"All hands on deck!" added Percy.

Edward, realizing that preparing for the worst was more important, immediately stopped cooking dinner.

"Dinner will have to wait." he thought to himself, beginning to leave the galley.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the Castle of Dark Illusions, a creepy laugh was heard coming from one of the rooms in the dungeons.

"Everything is going according to my plan."

Inside one chamber, Earl of Demise was observing a crystal ball on a nearby table. Nearby, several Slate Warriors and Headless Knights were busy mixing potions together near a few large cauldrons.

"I only wish those fools would hurry it up." Earl of Demise grumbled in annoyance. "I'm growing impatient." The member of the Court of Darkness then smiled to himself. "Regardless, the weather modifying device Professor Melvin supplied us is working wonderfully!"

One Headless Knight mixed two potions together and added the mixture into the boiling brew.

"And once the potion is ready, I will be ready to use it to create an army of super soldiers capable of stopping those annoying kids!"

With a laugh, Earl of Demise gazed back at the crystal ball.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the open sea, the storm had really picked up. Waves pounded the ship roughly, and it was raining hard.

"Everybody hold on!" called The Legendary Fisherman from inside the bridge.

"We have to make it through this storm!" Thomas bellowed in response.

"Mother Nature must be very angry with us!" cried Henry.

"But it doesn't make sense!" protested Mavis loudly. "Minutes ago, it was sunny. Now, we're in middle of a fierce storm!"

"What's going on?!" added Gordon.

Suddenly, James gave a loud yelp of surprise at what was ahead.

"INCOMING WAVE!"

A huge tidal wave was headed straight towards the ship...meaning the whole gang.

"Fizzling Fireplaces!" wailed Percy.

"Bubbling Sodas!" came from Toby.

Immediately, Thomas ran into the bridge to warn The Legendary Fisherman.

"We're heading for that Tidal Wave!" The blue-haired boy exclaimed. "Get us out of its path!"

The Legendary Fisherman didn't have to be told twice. He gave a quick turn of the wheel.

"Grr... she isn't turning fast enough!" The male monster grunted. "The wind outside...is too strong!"

"Now what will we do?" asked Toby, quickly entering the bridge.

Unfortunately, no one had time to answer that question. Everyone aboard the ship gave a horrified scream as the wave got closer and closer...and then everything went white...

(elsewhere...)

Thomas's eyes slowly flickered open...

"What..."

With his eyes opened, Thomas saw that at least some of friends were alive. He also notice that himself, Maiden of the Aqua, Gilford the Lightning, Percy, Toby, Stanley, and Edward had all washed up on a beach.

"What happened?" Thomas mumbled weakly.

Everyone else started to awaken around him.

"Whoa... what a rough ride." mumbled Percy.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I think so, m'lady." Gilford the Lightning replied, getting up.

"What was that white light about?" asked Stanley.

"Sort of something that happens in most cartoons, anime, or fanfics." explained Percy. "Like say...when we're about to be crushed to death or hit by a Tidal Wave-"

Everyone else glared at the green-haired boy, who chuckled sheepishly before becoming quiet.

"Aren't we missing some people?" asked Edward suddenly.

It was true - Mavis, Henry, Gordon, James, Molly, and Rosie were all missing from the group.

"Mavis is missing!" peeped Percy.

"Along with Henry, Gordon, James, Molly, and Rosie." added Toby.

"We have to find them." insisted Maiden of the Aqua.

"It won't be easy." Gilford the Lightning pointed out.

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas.

"That storm could have dragged your friends farther out to sea." The great warrior pointed out. "Not to mention we've been put very far off course."

"Well, we have to do something!" argued Thomas. "We can't just stay here scratching ourselves."

"Thomas has a point." agreed Toby. "But the question is; how can we get off this island? Our ship was destroyed."

"Maybe we could use Red-Eyes to fly off." suggested Percy.

"Um... look at your Duel Disk, Percy..." Edward gulped.

"What do you mean?" asked the green-haired boy, looking down.

He soon wished he hadn't... Percy's deck was not in the Duel Disk... It was gone!

"My deck!" he gasped. "It's gone!"

Thomas then looked and saw that his deck was present... but upon checking it, he saw that all of his flying monsters (Curse of Dragon, Seiyaryu, etc.) were gone.

"Oh no!" The blue-haired boy cried out. "Either they were stolen, or they somehow slipped out when we fell out."

"So, does this mean we're stuck here?" asked Toby in disbelief.

"Not quite." Edward spoke up. "We'll just have to build a raft."

Suddenly...

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" cackled a new voice (male). "Good luck trying that!"

"Who's there?" demanded Thomas. "Who are you?!"

"Oh? So you wish me to show myself?" mocked the voice. "I don't know about that..."

"When will you just get out here?" asked Percy, growing unhappy. "You're starting to annoy us."

"Oh, very well... I'll go for now. But we will meet in person soon enough! ...and I'm especially looking forward to meeting you, Stanley Hudswell."

"How do you know my name?" Stanley asked forcefully.

The voice only laughed in wicked delight before it became silent in the beach area.

"Just who was that?" asked Toby.

"Never mind that." said Percy. "We've gotta find our cards and get out of here!"

Stanley, for some reason, became silent after the unknown voice disappeared.

"What's wrong, Stanley?" asked Edward.

"Huh?" the gray-haired boy turned to look at his friends. "What?"

"You seemed rather quiet." commented Thomas.

"I-It's nothing, guys."

"Are you sure?" Maiden of the Aqua raised an eyebrow. "You can tell us. We're your friend."

"I'm fine." Stanley insisted. He didn't want them to worry over him.

Deciding to drop the subject, everyone began to explore the beach i hopes of finding some sort of supplies they could use to help build the raft.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the dungeon of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Earl of Demise was cackling up a storm.

"Excellent! Excellent!" he giggled. "Those fools have no idea what they are in for. I'm always eagerly to get people to unleash their inner darkness!"

Just then, the member of the Court of Darkness was handed a bottle full of that brew his soldiers were making.

"Finally, it's finished!"

Earl of Demise eagerly seized the full bottle and gazed at it admiringly.

"It's beautiful." The Court of Darkness member breathed.

The green-coloured brew shined in the bright light of the dungeon.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the American branch of Boxford Corp (in the real world) within the city of Atlanta, things weren't getting any better. Spencer, sipping a glass of water, was walking down the hall to his office.

"That Douglas Crump..." he grumbled.

Unfortunately, Spencer's day was about to get a whole lot worse.

"Big Brother!" called Skiff, running up to the silver-haired boy frantically.

"What's the matter, Skiff?" asked Spencer.

"You need to come see this! It's awful!"

"Slow down, Skiff." The silver-haired boy replied as calmly as possible. "Now, tell me what's going on."

"Follow me." spluttered Skiff, leading his brother away.

The boy lead the Spencer down the hall to one of the board rooms. Inside, both Mr. and Mrs Gresley (Boxford) were looking extremely upset.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked almost immediately.

"Take a look here." Mr. Gresley (Boxford) requested, gesturing to a computer.

Spencer did so...and stumbled back in complete shock.

"W-What the-?!"

"An unknown party is slowly but surely purchasing shares of Boxford Corp." explained Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"This is absurd! So far, 10% of Boxford Corp has been bought out, and the party is not stopping with the purchases! If this keeps up, they could take complete control of the company!" exclaimed Spencer in outrage. "Who is it?!"

"We don't know." answered Skiff.

Spencer clutched a fist in anger. "Crump!" he snarled. "I'll bet he's the one behind all of this. Just wait until I get my hands on him...!"

And the silver-haired boy furiously stormed out of the board room. He was NOT gonna let that President get away with this!

(elsewhere...)

Inside an unknown lab in the Castle of Dark Illusions, Professor Melvin was observing all of the sleeping humans inside the capsules. Those captured humans were for the man's eventual experiment in reviving the ' ** _Evil One_** '.

"So much darkness inside of these people." The evil man mused. "As soon as the technology is ready, I'll finally be able to extract the darkness from the and use it for the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' revival."

Professor Melvin then reached a large computer. Currently, it showed a large ' **10%** ' on it.

"Anyway, if you want something done more quickly, just steal the technology you need!" He pressed a few buttons on the console, and a picture of the Boxford Corp headquarters (the one from the Island of Sodor) was shown. "This...Boxford Corp is quite interesting. Its technology is more advanced than I first imagined it would be, and just might be what I'm looking for to complete my experiment!"

This... this really can't be good...can it?

(elsewhere...)

Back on the island in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Thomas and the others were all busy searching for anything around the shipwreck that they could use to help build their raft.

"Any luck?" asked Thomas.

Edward spoke up nearby. "I found some rope."

"There seems to be two forest axes buried over here." came from Stanley, moving some metal plates aside.

"Here's an old blanket we can use for a sail." announced Toby, picking a large cloth up.

"Good." smiled Gilford the Lightning. "All we need to do now is go gather wood and supplies."

"I sure hope the others are alright." thought Percy to himself. "And I hope we can find our missing cards soon."

(elsewhere...)

Ten minutes later, Thomas and Stanley both were in the jungle with an axe respectively.

"Sure is quiet in this part of the jungle." Thomas commented. "Anyway, we need enough logs to build our raft."

Stanley didn't say anything back. Thomas was growing more and more worried for his friend.

"Hey, Stanley! Are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." sighed Stanley.

Thomas immediately stopped walking and looked Stanley square in the eyes.

"You are lying through your teeth." The blue-haired boy said firmly.

"I told you I'm fine!" argued the gray-haired boy.

"Stanley, I'm your friend and I want to help you. Just please tell me what's on your mind!"

Before anything more could be said, a new, gentle voice could be heard...

"Stanley... Stanley..." echoed the voice (male)

"Dad?" blinked Stanley, looking around

From there, the ghost of Mr. Hudswell emerged from the sandy ground.

"Stanley..." The ghost began. "Why have you been keeping your encounter with me a secret from your friends? Don't they have the right to know what's bothering you?"

Thomas stared at the ghost in shock, while Stanley didn't say a word in response.

"Is it because you are ashamed of me?" asked the ghost of Mr. Hudswell.

Stanley shook his head. "N-No... it's just-"

"Why didn't you tell us anything, Stanley?" Thomas asked, looking a little disappointed. "I thought we were friends?"

"I just didn't want anybody to worry about me." confessed Stanley. "I have to be strong for you guys... Especially for Rosie."

"Rosie?"

"Y-Yes." The gray-haired boy confirmed. "Ever since I lost my Father, I promised myself that I would track down the killer and put him to justice. In addition... I also promised to never shed tears in front of anyone."

"Stanley..." said Thomas quietly.

"I want to be strong for Rosie... Especially since she was the only one who saw me cry."

A small tear rolled down Stanley's cheek as he said that. The ghost slowly floated over to his despairing son.

"My son..." Mr. Hudswell whispered. "Even those with the strongest of wills need the assistance and care of those they love."

Stanley looked up, but remained silent. Unfortunately...

"Oh, he's right, my young, Fatherless friend!" taunted a new voice (male).

All three looked up and around the area.

"Who goes there?" demanded Thomas.

"Just follow the sound of my voice..." insisted the voice (male). "Which is just north of your current location."

The two boys raced off in the direction of the voice, while the ghost faded away back into the ground. With Thomas and Stanley, the two boys moved through the jungle until they arrived at a large arena of a sort.

"Cinders and Ashes!" exclaimed Thomas.

"Ah, you both made it..." snickered the voice (male). "Very good! Just look right over here, now."

They looked over. Sitting on a make-shift throne was Earl of Demise.

"An Earl of Demise?" Thomas blinked.

"Oh no! You've caught me!" The fiend-type monster gasped mockingly. "Whatever shall I do?"

"Enough of that rubbish!" snapped Stanley. "You're a member of the Court of Darkness, are you not?"

"You're not as stupid as you look." Earl of Demise chuckled, standing up. "But yes... I am a member of the court." He looked at Thomas. "And I believe you want to know if that girl we captured is safe, right? Before you answer my question, I'll admit she is safe...for now."

"Where is she?" demanded Thomas. "You let her go right now or else!"

"Oh, it wouldn't be wise to threaten me." Earl of Demise warned. "The last time someone did that...paid dearly for it." He then turned his attention to Stanley. "Such a pity it happened to a man I visited in the real world several years ago."

"What are you talking about?" Stanley asked, sounding confused.

Earl of Demise grinned evilly. "That poor man...what was his name? Oh, yesssss... does the name ' ** _Aster Hudswell_** ' ring a bell to you?"

Stanley's eyes widened. "A-Aster...Hudswell?" he stammered.

"Oh, so you know of him?" asked Earl of Demise uncaringly.

"That was my Father's name!"

"No way!" Thomas gasped, looking back at the fiend-type monster in horror. "That just can't be true!"

"Oh, but it is true." laughed Earl of Demise. "I was the one who killed your Father, Stanley Hudswell."

Stanley's hand clutched into a fist as he began to grow deeply enraged.

"You... you were the one...who murdered my Father..." he mumbled darkly, just before raising his voice. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?! He did nothing to deserve it!"

"Not so. Three years ago, your Father was working for Discord J. Crawford, and he had come up with a new breed of Duel Monsters - The Destiny HEROES."

"What are you-?" The gray-haired boy started to say, but was cut off.

"The remains of the Court of Darkness thought the Destiny HEROES would make great soldiers of our army." continued Earl of Demise. "I was sent into your old home to steal the plans for those monsters."

A flashback to three years ago ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A squad of Lizard Soldiers, as well as Earl of Demise, had entered the home of the Hudswells.

"Find those plans." ordered Earl of Demise.

The Lizard Soldiers looked everywhere. But the plans were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they?!" Earl of Demise thought to himself, entering Mr Hudswell's study and looking through his paperwork. "They have to be around here somewhere!"

It was then a new voice was heard outside in the hallway.

"W-What on Earth are you things?!"

Earl of Demise turned and left the study. In the hallway, it indeed was Stanley's Father, Aster Hudswell.

"How did you-?"

"Get in?" interrupted a voice coolly. "That's my little secret."

The fiend-type monster then showed himself with a sinister grin on his face.

"The Earl of Demise?!" The man stuttered in fright. "You were one of my first creations for Mr. Crawford's Duel Monsters card game!"

"Glad to see I'm not considered a stranger then." said the fiend-type monster snidely.

"B-But how is this even possible?"

"I'm from another world..." explained Earl of Demise. "But enough chit-chat! We're here for the plans!"

Mr. Hudswell was confused. "What plans?"

"The plans you've made for the Destiny HEROES. They would make spectacular soldiers for our armies."

"They've already been delivered to Mr. Crawford!" protested the frightened man. "The only one I haven't quite finished yet...is Plasma."

"Hand it over then." demanded Earl of Demise.

"No! That would cost me my job!"

The fiend-type monster sighed. "I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way then."

He then started to walk forward with his sword drawn. Outside the house...

"N-No... No! Stay back! Please I have-" came the cries of Mr. Hudswell, followed by... "AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"

Inside the house, Mr Hudswell was now lying on his stomach in a pool of blood. Earl of Demise's sword was covered in blood.

"Grab the plans for Destiny HERO - Plasma." he said to the Lizard Soldiers.

The Lizard Soldiers bowed, hissed, and started to reach over for the slip of paper in the dead man's hand... when a duo of voices were heard happily talking outside.

"No!" thought Earl of Demise bitterly, and spoke aloud. "We leave at once!"

With that said, the monsters quickly vanished...just as Mrs. Hudswell and a younger Stanley all entered the house. They soon spotted something in the hallway that made them terrified.

"DAD!" screamed young Stanley.

His Father was lying on his front in the middle of a pool of blood. It was extremely clear Mr. Hudswell had been murdered by someone.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I've spent three years trying to avenge my Father's death." said Stanley in anger. "Now I will finally get the chance to do so! Earl of Demise, I am going to make you pay for what you've took away from me!"

"Is that the sound of a duel challenge I hear?" asked Earl of Demise in amusement, placing around a little bit.

"Prepare to lose it all!"

The fiend-type monster only laughed. "That IS a challenge!"

Stanley activated his Duel Disk almost instantly, just before...

"You fools! You've fallen into my trap!" announced Earl of Demise, snapping his fingers.

"What trap?" asked Thomas.

The blue-haired boy's question was answered...in forms of large spears popping up from the ground and surrounding the wide open area. This prevented the two boys from making any kind of escape.

"Now you're both trapped in my domain!" Earl of Demise proclaimed wickedly. "And once I win this little match, the darkness will successfully overtake you and supply more fuel for the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' revival!"

Thomas and Stanley both stared on in defiance.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	9. Father and Son Reunion (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Somewhere on the deserted island, Earl of Demise was still laughing at his two cornered prey.

"Now then, shall we start our duel?"

Stanley, still seething in finally learning the truth, nodded slowly.

"I'm ready whenever you are." he replied quietly.

"Then let us begin." Earl of Demise declared, making an activated Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"Stanley had better be careful." thought Thomas. "This guy doesn't seem very normal..."

"You're going to pay for taking my Father away from me." shouted Stanley.

Earl of Demise merely chuckled to himself. "Anger... that will lead to darkness being unleashed... allow me to provoke you further!"

Upon drawing their opening hands, the duel commenced (LP: 4000) x2.

"Watch and learn!" Stanley declared, drawing his card. "I DRAW!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): D - Counter, Over Destiny, Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude, Destiny HERO - Dogma, Destiny HERO - Malicious, and Destiny Draw

* * *

Looking at his drawn card (Destiny Draw), the gray-haired boy nodded and held it out.

"I'll begin with the Spell Destiny Draw!" he said. "By discarding a Destiny HERO from my hand to the graveyard, I can draw two more cards frm my deck."

Stanley immediately discarded Destiny HERO - Malicious to the graveyard and then drew his two cards, which were both revealed to be D - Spirit (Spell) and Clock Tower Prison (Field Spell). Immediately, the Spell card D - Spirit materialized face-up.

"Now I activate D - Spirit! If I control no Destiny HERO monsters, I can special summon one from my hand!" The gray-haired boy placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth, Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude!"

The hero with diamond fists appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"I now activate my Destiny Hero's effect! I can go and reveal the top card of my deck. If it's a Normal Spell card, I must send it to the graveyard."

"Such foolishness." insulted Earl of Demise. "It could be a useful Spell you're throwing away!"

Stanley smirked. "Whoever said it was foolish? The effect of my discarded Spell will automatically activate on my next main phase 1."

He drew his card...and it was shown to be Pot of Greed.

"Pot of Greed..." Earl of Demise muttered, noticing the card.

"That's right." said Stanley. "That means I'll get to use it next turn right away."

Thomas was impressed. "A good move, Stanley..."

The gray-haired boy didn't let up with his play. Next he slotted another card into his Duel Disk.

"Now I activate the Spell card Over Destiny!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Over Destiny?" blinked Earl of Demise.

"With this card-" explained Stanley. "-I can target one Destiny HERO monster in my graveyard, and then I can special summon one Destiny HERO monster from my deck with half of the targeted monster's level!"

A card slipped from the gray-haired boy's graveyard, and he took it and held it up to show Earl of Demise.

"And the monster in my grave is Destiny HERO - Malicious."

"Good! Because Malicious is a level 6 monster, it means Stanley can special summon a level 3 Destiny HERO from his deck." Thomas said to himself.

"And I choose Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious!" said Stanley, taking a card from his deck.

A muscular man with two large shields on his arms materialized (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"Are you done yet?" yawned Earl of Demise, while looking bored. "It was pointless of you to summon a monster with Over Destiny, as now it will be destroyed at the end of your turn."

"I'm not finished yet." Stanley insisted.

"Huh?"

"Now I activate the special ability of my Destiny HERO - Malicious." Stanley pointed out, taking another card from his deck. "By banishing him from my grave, I can summon another copy from my deck!"

The demonic-like Destiny HERO materialized (Level: 6/ATK: 800). Earl of Demise was still not all that impressed.

"Three weak monsters..." he snickered. "Such ones I can crush easily!"

"But they won't be out for long." retorted Stanley, taking another card from his hand while smiling widely. "Why? Because I will now sacrifice all three of my monsters in order to summon Destiny HERO - Dogma!"

The three Destiny HEROES faded away in blue streaks. The blue sky started to darken a bit.

"Destiny HERO - Dogma?" thought Thomas.

Stanley held up a card as a huge column of light hit the field.

"It's time for justice to be served!" he announced. "I now special summon the almighty Destiny HERO - Dogma!" The gray-haired boy placed his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

The light faded to show, hovering above the moon, a very powerful looking monster with two large wings (Level: 8/ATK: 3400/DEF: 2400).

"From what James told me, Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster was Stanley's strongest monster." thought Thomas. "I guess he and I were wrong... Now I can see clearly as to why Stanley earned his position as former Washington champion."

"I've been waiting to put the one responsible for my Father's murder to justice." said Stanley seriously, folding is arms. "And now me and Dogma are gonna do just that!"

A facedown card suddenly materialized.

"Now I'll place this card facedown-" Stanley continued, before taking his last card and slotting it into the opened Field Spell zone. "-and finally activate Clock Tower Prison!"

The scenery changed to a huge clocktower-like city.

"Now on each of your standby phases my tower gets a clock counter." explained Stanley. "And when it gets four counters or more I will no longer take battle damage!"

Earl of Demise smirked. "And I thought this duel would be boring... maybe it will be fun after all!"

Stanley grunted and waited for his opponent to make his play.

* * *

 **Title: Father and Son Reunited, Part 2**

* * *

Finally, Earl of Demise drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Earl of Demise (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Claret Note, Destiny HERO - Plasma, Fiend's Sanctuary, D - Force, D - Boost, and Drain Time

* * *

Looking at his hand after adding his drawn Drain Time card to it, Earl of Demise smiled wickedly to himself.

"Excellent." he grinned darkly.

"I activate Dogma's special ability!" cried Stanley. "During each of your standby phases, your life points get cut in half!"

Earl of Demise suddenly scowled as his life points got cut in half (LP: 2000).

"That makes no difference!" he sneered, just before smiling. "I already have everything I need to ensure your defeat."

"What do you mean?" asked Stanley.

"I won't say it just yet. ...instead I'll watch your Clock Tower Prison gain its first clock counter."

The hands on the clock spun into they read 3:00.

"And now I'll demonstrate what I mean!" Earl of Demise slotted a card into his Duel Disk. "I'll use the Spell card Claret Note!"

"Not that card!" winced Stanley.

"This allows me to summon a Claret token equal to the total level of your monster." explained Earl of Demise. "And for every four levels I can summon a token."

"My Destiny HERO - Dogma is a level 8 monster." said Stanley unhappily. "Meaning you'll be able to summon up to two tokens."

"How right you are! Now, come forth my two Claret tokens!"

A large notebook appeared as blood tripped from the pages to the ground. Within seconds, the blood turned into two humanoid figures.

"But I'm not finished yet!" declared Earl of Demise.

"Say what?!" Stanley exclaimed.

The Fiend's Sanctuary Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I activate Fiend's Sanctuary. This allows me to summon a Metal Fiend Token."

As the monster said, a Metal Fiend Token materialized from the ground.

"And now I sacrifice all three of my tokens!" said Earl of Demise.

"Sacrifice?" thought Thomas. "What could he be summoning that requires three tributes?"

The three tokens disappeared in a pillar of darkness.

"I call forth... Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

Thomas and Stanley, but the latter especially, both reeled in shock from hearing the card's name.

"D-Destiny HERO - Plasma?!" Stanley stuttered. "B-But I have that card!"

"How did YOU get your hands on it?" Thomas demanded.

Earl of Demise did not answer at first. He only laughed maniacally as a demonic Destiny HERO (not unlike Destiny HERO - Malicious) emerged from the ground (Level: 8/ATK: 1900).

"Where did you get that card?!" Stanley demanded. "Answer me! That card was given to me by my Father. You should have had no way of producing your own version!"

"That's where you're wrong."

"What?" Stanley quizzed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" added Thomas.

"Perhaps I've said a little too much already." Earl of Demise teased. "I'd suggest we just continue with our ' _friendly_ ' match."

Stanley stared on in defiance.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the spirit world, Rosie, Mavis, and Molly each had washed up on a beach. They were unconscious at the moment, but the girls were found by trio of goblins (Goblin Attack Force).

"What have we here?" asked one goblin.

The second goblin chuckled. "Three hot ladies, that's what."

"But they look hurt." said the third goblin. "What do you think we should do?"

"Let's take them back to our hut and tend to them." answered the first goblin, beginning to grin mischievously. "...our OWN way!"

The three goblins each picked up one of the three human girls and started to leave. Meanwhile, standing atop a branch of a big tree, a humanoid male wearing black and gray armor was busy watching the whole scene silently.

"Hmm..."

(elsewhere...)

Back on the island, Toby, Percy, Edward, Maiden of the Aqua, and Gilford the Lightning were all waiting for Thomas and Stanley to return with the logs they need to build the raft.

"What could be taking them so long?" asked Percy.

"Perhaps the wilderness is slowing them down." suggested Gilford, beginning to approach the jungle.

"Where are you going?" asked Edward.

"To look for them." explained the warrior. "I want all of you to stay here."

"I'm going with you." insisted Maiden of the Aqua, joining the warrior-type monster.

"It's too dangerous."

"I don't care." protested the blue-haired female monster. "Thomas may be in danger."

Finally, without any other choice, Gilford allowed the Maiden of the Aqua to come with him and find Thomas and Stanley.

"We'll be back soon." said Gilford to the remaining humans. "Until we do, try to gather the rest of the food and water we'll need for the long journey ahead."

"We will." obeyed Toby. "Good luck."

With that, the two Duel Monsters headed off into the jungle.

"Alright..." Percy looked around. "Food and water..."

"There are banana trees not far from here." said Edward. "And a lake should be nearby, too."

"I wish we knew where the others were, too." admitted Toby.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the clearing in the middle of the jungle, Stanley and Earl of Demise were both still dueling.

"And now, it's time to demonstrate my Plasma's special effect!" declared the fiend-type monster.

"Effect?" blinked Stanley.

"Plasma can absorb one monster on your side of the field and gain half of that monster's attack points." explained Earl of Demise.

"Absorb?!"

"That's almost like the effect of Thousand-Eyes Restrict!" added Thomas.

"That's right!" said Earl of Demise. "Destiny HERO - Dogma, come to me!"

Despite trying to fight it, Destiny HERO - Dogma was forced over to Earl of Demise's side of the field. Destiy HERO - Plasma then started to absorb half of Dogma's total attack points.

"Again, thanks to Plasma's effect it now gains half of Dogma's attack points!"

Destiny HERO - Plasma grew even stronger (ATK: 1900 - 3600).

"Plasma!" commanded Earl of Demise. "Attack his life points directly with Vengeance Rain!"

"What?!"

Destiny HERO - Plasma obeyed, raining down several orbs of darkness. Stanley was hit and thrown back towards the large spears (LP: 400).

"Stanley!" cried Thomas.

The gray-haired slowly got back to his feet. He was feeling the damage he took from the direct attack.

"That damage... it felt far too real." he said to himself.

"That's the nature of the spirit world!" laughed Earl of Demise. "In this world, the damage we take from the monsters...is real!" He then took another card from his hand. "And now I activate the card that will ensure my victory. The Spell card D - Force!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up...before returning to the top of his deck.

"D - Force?" Stanley asked, still grimacing from the damage he took.

"And why did it return to the top of your deck?" added Thomas.

"This is a very powerful Spell card." explained Earl of Demise. "By placing it on top of my deck, it protects my Destiny HERO - Plasma from being targeted by all of your cards effects. Monster effects, Spells, Traps, you name it!"

Stanley was worried. "I have to find a way to break through that combo." he thought.

"Finally, I'll place this card facedown." The fiend-type monster continued, slotting a card into is Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized behind Destiny HERO - Plasma.

"My strategy is complete! Nothing you do can get you past my Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

"We'll see!" insisted Stanley, drawing is next card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Greed Pact

* * *

"And now-" announced Earl of Demise. "-say goodbye to half your life points!"

Stanley grunted as half of his life points were taken away (LP: 200).

"But how did that happen?" Thomas questioned. "There had to be a reason for it!"

"Whenever Plasma absorbs another monster-" explained Earl of Demise. "-he also absorbs that monster's abilities."

"Meaning I'm now the target of Destiny HERO - Dogma..." thought Stanley bitterly. "No matter, I can't allow this murderer to get away with what he's done!" He spoke aloud. "Because it's still my standby phase, the effect of my late Diamond Dude will now activate! Meaning the effect of the Pot of Greed Spell card in my graveyard will activate on its own! Allowing me to draw two cards from my deck."

The gray-haired boy drew his two cards. One of which was a monster card called Destiny HERO - Doom Lord.

"Now I summon Destiny HERO - Doom Lord in defense mode!" said Stanley.

A monster card materialized face-up, followed by the appearance of a warrior-type monster wearing armor and cloak (Level: 3/DEF: 800).

"My monster has an effect...but because of your D - Force card preventing Destiny HERO - Plasma from being targeted by card effects, I can't use it."

"How right you are!" taunted Earl of Demise. "There's nothing else you can do!"

"You're right." Stanley frowned. "My turn is done."

"Stanley..." whispered Thomas.

"I have to find a way to beat that thing." The gray-haired boy thought to himself. "Otherwise, it could be the end for me... And my Father would never approve of that."

"It's my turn now!" declared Earl of Demise. "And thanks to my Spell card, I must skip my draw phase!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Earl of Demise (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (1): Drain Time

* * *

On cue, another clock counter was added to Clock Tower Prison.

"Now I reveal my facedown card!" declared Earl of Demise, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "D - Boost! Because I have D - Force face-up atop of my deck, I can draw two cards from underneath my card!"

He then drew two cards from underneath D - Force.

"While your Clock Tower Prison has two counters now, that doesn't concern me."

"Why not?" asked Stanley, wondering what on Earth that monster meant.

Earl of Demise responded by slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk, causing a Spell card called Drain Time to materialize face-up.

"Because I activate the Spell card Drain Time!"

"Drain Time?!" Thomas gasped. "That card allows you to pick any phase of a turn and force both players to skip it as long as it remains face-up!"

"Yes!" confirmed Earl of Demise. "And choose for us to skip...standby phases!"

"Oh no." thought Stanley. "That means I won't be able to get another counter for my Clock Tower Prison."

"Next I'll set one card facedown..." continued Earl of Demise, just as a facedown card materialized. He smirked darkly. "And now Destiny HERO - Plasma shall attack your only Destiny HERO!"

Stanley was worried. "No!"

"Vengeance Rain!"

Destiny HERO - Plasma obeyed, raining down several orbs of darkness. Destiny HERO - Doom Lord was hit and destroyed.

"Well, it looks like I was wrong." sighed Earl of Demise emotionlessly. "This duel isn't as fun as I was hoping it would be."

Stanley growled and draw his card. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Dark City, Greed Pact, and Eternal Dread

* * *

Because the standby phase was skipped, Stanley's life points were not halved. Not that it mattered, as he was still in a pickle. Just then, two facedown cards then materialized before the gray-haired boy.

"I set two cards and end my turn!"

"And here's where it ends!" declared Earl of Demise.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Earl of Demise (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (1): Unfair Judge

* * *

Both draw phase and standby phase were skipped...

"Destiny HERO - Plasma, go and attack Stanley directly!"

Plasma obeyed and started to rise into the sky.

"Now I'll activate my facedown Trap card!" The fiend-type monster announced, as he went and poked a button on his Duel Disk. "Dust Tornado!"

The facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This will go and destroy a Spell or Trap you control, and I choose your Clock Tower Prison!"

A large tornado formed out of the trap and made its way towards Stanley's Clock Tower.

"I activate two Trap cards of my own!" announced Stanley, holding his hand out as both of his facedown cards flipped face-up and revealed themselves. "Eternal Dread and Greed Pact!"

"What?!"

"First Greed Pact activates!" said Stanley, drawing a card from his deck. "This forces both of us to draw a card from our decks!"

Angrily, Earl of Demise drew his card in response...with it being D - Force.

"With D - Force added to your hand, its nullification effect is now null!"

"Why you...!" growled Earl of Demise.

"Now the effect of my Eternal Dread card activates!" continued Stanley. "It adds two clock counters to my Clock Tower Prison!"

The hands on the clock spun until they reached midnight, causing the clock bell to ring loudly.

"That gives my Field Spell four counters!" Stanley pointed out. "And now Dust Tornado will go and wipe out my Clock Tower Prison...!"

The tornado hit the tower, reducing it to mere rubble.

"Because of that-" smirked Stanley, as his deck began glowing. "-I can special summon from my hand or deck the Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster!"

The huge muscle-bound Destiny HERO with chains on his wrist appeared in defense mode (Level: 8/ATK: ?/DEF: ?).

"Now Dreadmaster's effect activates - every other monster I control is destroyed! ...but since I don't have anything else, that effect won't come into play! Next I must special summon a total of two Destiny HEROES from my graveyard and put them in defense mode."

Two cards slipped out of Stanley's graveyard and he took hold of them.

"I choose to special summon both Diamond Dude and Captain Tenacious!" declared the gray-haired boy.

The two mentioned monsters returned to the field.

"Dreadmaster'a attack and defense points are determined by the combined total of attack and defense my other Destiny HEROES possess!"

Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/EF: 1600) and Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800) transferred their power to Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster (ATK: 2200/DEF: 2400).

"My monster still might not be able to withstand your attack-" remarked Stanley. "-but at least I'll survive!"

Earl of Demise scowled. "So you say." He then went into main phase 2 and slotted a card into his Duel Disk. "I'll first reactivate my D - Force card!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up, just before turning into a burst of energy and shooting to the top of the fiend-type monster's deck.

"Now my Plasma is invincible again." Earl of Demise then slotted one more card into his Duel Disk. "Now I'll activate another Spell card called Unfair Judge!"

The mentioned card materialized face-up and began glowing.

"What does that do?" asked Thomas.

"By paying up 800 of my life points-" said Earl of Demise (LP: 1200). "-it allows my monster to conduct a second battle phase!"

"You can do that?!" blinked Stanley, quickly becoming shocked.

"But of course." confirmed the member of the Court of Darkness. "In addition, my monster is able to strike down ALL of your monsters!"

"Oh no!" cried Stanley.

"Attack now! Vengeance Rain!"

Plasma fired another blast of Vengeance Rain at Stanley's monsters, destroying all of them.

"You have no chance!" laughed Earl of Demise. "You were never a match for me from the very beginning!"

"I will never give up!" snapped Stanley. "You ruined my childhood and now I won't rest until I make you pay for your crimes!"

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A younger Stanley had just come home with his mother. As soon as they entered their house, something they spotted in the hallway made them terrified.

"DAD!" screamed young Stanley.

His Father was lying on his front in the middle of a pool of blood. It was extremely clear Mr. Hudswell had been murdered by someone. Mrs. Hudswell held the crying child close to her.

"Who could have done such a thing?" Young Stanley asked, sobbing.

Poor Mrs. Hudswell didn't have an answer, and could only cry, too.

(new scene...)

It was Stanley's eleventh Birthday. Stanley and his mother were both in San Francisco enjoying themselves at a pizza restaurant for lunch.

"Happy Birthday, Stanley." smiled Mrs. Hudswell.

"Yes, Stanley-boy." added a new voice...

Mrs Hudswell and her son both looked to a nearby table and gasped.

"Y-You're-!" stuttered young Stanley.

"Discord J. Crawford himself." smiled the then 20-year old creator of Duel Monsters.

"Oh my..." whispered Mrs. Hudswell.

"Oh, no need to be that formal or afraid of me." chortled Discord. "I'm just here to grab some lunch before going back to work."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, sir." said young Stanley politely.

"Oh, no need to be all formal. Besides, I know you very well, Stanley." replied Discord.

"Huh?"

The jolly man smiled. "Your Father used to work for me. In fact, he wanted me to give you a little something special..."

"What is it?" asked young Stanley curiously.

Discord responded by taking a neatly gift-wrapped card shaped box out of his coat pocket.

"My gift to you, Stanley-boy. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." smiled young Stanley, taking the box.

Unwrapping the box, the gray-haired boy opened it...and saw cards?

"Cards?"

"Not just any cards." explained Discord. "This is the famous Duel Monsters Trading Card Game my company has been creating for a little while."

The card currently shown was a monster called Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster.

"Wow!" cried young Stanley, looking very excited. "These look so cool!"

(new scene...)

A now 13-year old Stanley was dueling in a Duel Monsters tournament...

"Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster-" he commanded. "-direct attack now!"

Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster obeyed, attacking another duelist directly (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Stanley Hudswell wins**

* * *

"Aaaaand that's game! Stanley Hudswell is the winner!" cried an announcer, motioning his hand towards the new champ. "Behold the Washington state's newest champion!"

The crowd cheered for the gray-haired boy. Speaking of whom, jumped up into the air happily.

"I've won!" he exclaimed.

Unfortunately, despite being happy for becoming Washington's champion, Stanley was still hurting from losing his Father those few years ago.

"Despite me winning that tournament and becoming a great duelist in my own right-" narrated Present Day-Stanley. "-my hurt would never go away...unless I make that murderer pay!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"And now my chance has finally come..." Stanley finished, pointing at his opponent with fierce determination. "It's payback time!"

"Tsk! So stubborn." sighed Earl of Demise. "But if you really want to make a fool of yourself... then be my guest!"

"Insult me all you want-" seethed Stanley. "-but I assure you that justice will be met!"

Upon saying that, the gray-haired boy finally drew his card-creating a slash of colour in the process (Destiny Draw).

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (3): Dark City, Destiny HERO - Celestial, and Destiny HERO - Dark Angel

* * *

Stanley saw that his drawn card was a monster card called Destiny HERO - Dark Angel. Realizing what he could do, he grinned.

"Say goodbye to your Plasma's invincibility."

Earl of Demise raised an eyebrow. First, thanks to Dogma's effect, Stanley's life points got halved (LP: 100). Regardless, Stanley held out his drawn card.

"First off, I'll discard my drawn Destiny HERO - Dark Angel to my graveyard!" declared the gray-haired boy. "By doing so...it's placed atop YOUR deck!"

"What?!" gasped Earl of Demise.

Before anything more could be said, a new card was placed atop the fiend-type monster's deck.

"Blast! Now my D - Force's effect has been cancelled out!"

"That's right!" said Stanley, as he took out another card from his hand. "That means Plasma's now vulnerable to Spells, Traps, and the likes. And now for a little change of scenery with the Field Spell Dark City!"

The mentioned Field Spell card materialized face-up...before skyscraper buildings began rising around the area.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the jungle, Gilford the Lightning and Maiden of the Aqua were both still searching for Thomas and Stanley.

"Thomas!" called Maiden of the Aqua. "Where are you?!"

"Sir Stanley!" bellowed Gilford. "We've come for you and Thomas!"

Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound around the area.

"What's-?!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

"Up there!" exclaimed Gilford, pointing upward.

They could see the rising structures of Dark City.

"M'lady! That be a city!"

"But it can't be!" protested Maiden of the Aqua. "Cities like that are never found on deserted islands! ...unless-!"

Quickly she raced off in the direction of the city.

"M'lady, wait!" called Gilford, beginning to follow.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the wide area, Thomas, Stanley, and Earl of Demise found themselves within the middle of Dark City.

"Dark City?" quizzed Earl of Demise.

"This Spell card gives my Destiny HEROES a 1000 attack point boost whenever it does battle with a monster stronger than itself." explained Stanley, taking the last card in his hand and placing onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Now I summon Destiny HERO - Celestial!"

A warrior wearing all black, with hints of red, and razor-sharp armor materialized (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Attack now!"

Thomas was shocked. "Is he crazy?! Celestial is weaker than Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

"And now I activate Celestia's special ability!" announced Stanley. "Whenever he does battle, I can destroy one equipped card on the field and inflict 500 points of damage to you!"

"You what?!" exclaimed Earl of Demise (LP: 700).

"Say farewell to your Destiny HERO - Dogma power-up!"

With that, Dogma was freed from Destiy HERO - Plasma before disappearing, which also resulted in Plasma growing weaker (ATK: 3600 - 1900). And because Celestial was weaker than Plasma, the former was granted a power boost (ATK: 1600 - 2600).

"And now Destiny HERO - Celestial!" Stanley pointed forth. "Attack and destroy Destiny HERO - Plasma with-"

Just then...

"Look!" cried Thomas.

Stanley stopped his command and looked over to Destiny HERO - Plasma...before gasping in horror.

"Dad!"

Trying to reach out from Plasma's wings was what looked like Mr. Hudswell.

"My...son...!" The ghost groaned.

Stanley realized that if he attacked...he could potentially destroy the spirit of his late Father for good. Just then...

"What trick is this!?" came a new voice.

Thomas turned and saw Maiden of the Aqua and Gilford the Lightning both running up.

"Thomas!" cried Maiden of the Aqua.

"Maiden of the Aqua and Gilford the Lightning!" Thomas whispered.

The blue-haired female monster hugged her friend as soon as she and Gilford the Lightning both reached him.

"You and Stanley were both taking too long to gather wood." said Maiden of the Aqua. "So Gilford and I went to look for you two."

"Stanley's facing off against a member of the Court of Darkness." explained Thomas, looking over to Earl of Demise—who was also smiling. "...and Mr. Hudswell's killer."

"Killer?" blinked Gilford the Lightning.

"The boy speaks the truth." confirmed Earl of Demise. "I was the one who killed poor Stanley's Father."

"But why?!" demanded Maiden of the Aqua angrily.

"I wanted his Destiny HEROES to be added to our army of darkness, but he refused to give up the plans."

"You horrible wretch!" insulted Gilford the Lightning. "This is unforgivable!"

"Why's my Father inside that card?" demanded Stanley.

"I'm not one to give away details." shrugged Earl of Demise. "Defeat me...and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

Stanley glared at the fiend in anger.

"This is really cheap!" shouted Thomas. "Playing with your opponent's emotions like that!"

"Oh, are you gonna cry then?" teased Earl of Demise.

The blue-haired boy scowled. Stanley, meanwhile, was conflicting with himself over weither to attack or not.

"If I attack-" he thought to himself. "-I'll finally get revenge for my Father's death...but, what will happen to my Father's spirit afterward?"

Just then...

"Son..."

"Dad?" Stanley looked up at Destiny HERO - Plasma.

"You...have to attack..." said Mr. Hudswell. "Never mind about me."

"But...what if I never...see you again?"

"I'm already dead." The ghost reminded. "So it won't really matter. Besides, I'll always be with you in spirit!"

Stanley listened on. "Really?"

"Yes." nodded Mr. Hudswell. "Trust me."

Over with Thomas, Maiden of the Aqua, and Gilford the Lightning...

"Stanley..." said Thomas quietly. He felt sorry for the situation his friend was in.

"Sir Stanley is in quite the predicament." Gilford commented.

At last, Stanley made a decision.

"If you trust in me, Dad-" he said aloud. "-then I'll trust in you! Destiny HERO - Celestial..."

Everyone waited for a command from the gray-haired boy...

"...attack and destroy Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

Celestial obeyed, charging at Plasma. Thanks to Dark City, Destiny HERO - Celestial got a 1000 attack point boost due to him battling a much stronger monster than normal (ATK: 1600 - 2600).

"This is for my Father!" shouted Stanley.

Suddenly, without warning, the gray-haired boy charged forward and punched Earl of Demise square in the face just as Celestial slashed Plasma down the middle. Earl of Demise went flying back into some trees (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Stanley Hudswell wins**

* * *

The holograms all faded away.

"Way to go, Stanley!" cheered Thomas.

"Nicely done!" added Gilford the Lightning.

All of a sudden, Earl of Demise could be heard snickering quietly.

"Huh?"

The snickers grew louder before becoming maniacal laughter..

"What's so funny?" demanded Stanley.

The fiend-type monster ceased his laughter. "It would seem you are an interesting boy." he said smoothly. "You've defeated me and got revenge... but it would seem you also did something else in the progress."

"What do you mean?" asked the gray-haired boy.

Earl of Demise grinned. "You've shown anger! ...and some darkness in your heart."

"So what?"

"That is something the Court of Darkness needs!" explained the fiend-type monster. "In order to revive the ' ** _Evil One_** '. So long as we can make our targets angry enough, the more darkness we can get!"

Thomas suddenly became worried after hearing this.

"That means my other friends could become potential targets." he thought. "And since we're separated, this will give the Court of Darkness a chance to go after them..."

"Until we meet again!"

The Earl of Demise faded away into darkness, while everyone else watched.

"He's gone." muttered Stanley. "Hopefully for good."

"I'm afraid not." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "Earl of Demise has merely retreated. He'll be back at a later time."

"At least you finally avenged your Father's death, Stanley." Thomas commented.

"Thanks." said Stanley quietly. "I'm glad justice has been served... but I wish I knew how exactly that guy ended up with Destiny HERO - Plasma when I did as well."

At this point, who knows?

(elsewhere...)

A few hours had passed after food and supplies were gathered. Thomas and the others had finally gotten the raft all built.

"Finished." sighed Toby. "Now all that's left is to find the others."

"After that, we'll have to continue to the capital city." added Thomas.

"I only hope WE find them before the Court of Darkness does." said Maiden of the Aqua.

With the concern for their friends safety hanging over the balance, Thomas and the remains of the gang sailed off the island and began their journey across the ocean. Will everything turn out okay for them as they search for everyone else? Well, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out.


	10. Ultimate Anti-Hero

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Darkness... That was all Mavis could see at this very moment. Blackness, all because she was unconscious after the ship she and her friends were on got hit by a tidal wave (during a fierce storm) and sunk to the ocean bottom. Finally, the blonde-haired girl's eyes started to flicker open. Her vision was blurry, but she soon recovered it.

"Where... What happened to me?" Mavis asked wearily. Looking around, she noticed a lot of clubs, old-fashioned clothing, bones, etc. "Where am...I?"

Mavis looked over and saw Molly and Rosie seated next to her (unconscious).

"Molly? Rosie? Wake up."

Some pained moans came from the two unconscious girls as they started to come around.

"Rumble my legs..." groaned Molly.

"Are we dead?" asked Rosie.

"I don't think so." Mavis replied, beginning to look down. "We must be in a-" Before she could finish, the blonde-haired girl saw that she was tied up and her shirt had risen up enough to show her tummy (and bellybutton). "What the-?!"

"What's wrong?" Rosie asked...but got her answer when she saw that she was tied up with her shirt risen up, too. "Hey! Why am I-?"

"What's going on here?" asked Molly, tied up with her shirt risen up as well.

Three pairs of teasing snickers were heard from outside.

"It looks like our guests are awake now!"

"Who's there?" asked Mavis loudly. "Show yourselves!"

Entering the hut came the three goblins of...

"Goblin Attack Force?" blinked Molly.

"The one and only." said one of the goblins. "You could be thanking us right now, you know."

"Why?"

"We three found you girls unconscious on the beach." added the second goblin. "So we brought you to our humble pad to rest up."

"Well, we thank you for finding us." nodded Rosie, but then grew anxious. "But that doesn't explain WHY we're tied up with our shirts up and exposing our tummies."

"Oh, we were bored and thought about having our own little...fun...with you as a reward for rescuing you." snickered the third goblin.

The three smirking goblins then pulled out some feathers from behind their backs. None of the three girls liked where this was going.

"W-What are those for?" asked Rosie nervously.

Mavis was panicking. "Oh no! No, no, no, no! Stay back!"

Too late. One of the goblins approached, sat down next to the blonde-haired girl, and dipped the feather in and out of her navel, causing the poor girl to laugh hysterically.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" snickered the goblin.

"N-No, ha ha ha ha, n-not my, ha ha, bellybutton!" Mavis cried, mid-laughter.

Suddenly, Rosie started laughing after a second goblin approached and started dipping his own feather in and out of the pink-haired girl's navel.

"C'mon, give us some laughs!" teased the second goblin.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Rosie shrieked with laughter. Turns out that her tummy and navel were both just as ticklish and sensitive to touch as Mavis's. "TH-TH-THAT TICKLES!"

Molly, looking quite scared for her two friends, turned and saw the third goblin approaching her with a sneaky smile on his face.

"Oh, don't you worry." said the third goblin. "This won't hurt at all. This is all in good fun!"

Molly didn't say a word and just looked on in fright.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the hut in the middle of a small forest, it was somewhat quiet (minus Mavis and Rosie's laughter being heard)... At least until Molly's laughter came shrieking in.

"Ha ha... HA HA HA HA HA!" The black-haired girl wailed with laughter. As with Mavis and Rosie, Molly was just as ticklish on the tummy and navel. "Y-YOU GUYS ARE, HA HA, HORRIBLE!"

Up on a nearby tree, the same humanoid man wearing black and gray armor stood on a large tree branch listening to the noise coming from the hut.

* * *

 **Title: Ultimate Anti-Hero**

* * *

Back inside the hut, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly were still laughing up a storm. The three mischievous goblins continued to either dip their feathers in and out of the girls' navels, or just resort to gliding the tip of the feathers along their (the human girls) bellies, just barely flicking the tip of the navel.

"Ha ha ha, I need to, ha ha, find a way, ha ha ha, to, ha ha, resist!" Mavis thought to herself.

The blonde-haired girl took a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks as she tried to hold back the laughing. However, this wasn't very effective.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"You know something? Laughter IS the best kind of medicine!" chuckled the first goblin, clearly enjoying the pleasure of tickling a pretty human girl.

At this rate, it looked like the poor girls were going to laugh themselves to death.

"I, ha ha ha, can't take, ha ha ha, it anymore!" wailed Rosie, mid-laughter.

"I think, ha ha ha, think, ha ha ha, I'm going, ha ha ha, to explode!" cried Molly in between laughs.

Just then, there was a loud, angry roar outside the hut. The goblins immediately stopped with tickle torturing the three human girls.

"Did you guys hear that?" asked the first goblin.

"It...sounded like a dragon's roar." replied the second goblin.

"Let's go check it out." suggested the third goblin.

The goblins took their clubs off of the nearby table and left the hut. As soon as they were gone, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly each were able to finally managed to get some air back into their lungs.

"I'm glad THAT'S over." sighed Rosie.

Before either Mavis or Molly could say anything in response, they both saw a humanoid male wearing black and gray armor enter the hut.

"Who are you?" asked Molly, looking rather surprised and frightened by the male's appearance.

The man merely kept a cold look on his face and remained silent. Mavis, however, knew who it was.

"He must be the Knight of Dark Dragon." she thought. "One of Percy's cards!"

The mysterious Knight of Dark Dragon silently drew out a sword and immediately freed the three girls. Now cut free, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly each stood back up and fixed up their respective shirts.

"Um, thank you." said Rosie nervously.

"Best to thank me later." Knight of Dark Dragon replied coolly...yet harshly. "Now, follow me."

With that said, he left the hut.

"Whoa... Not the friendly type, is he?" asked Mavis to Rosie.

"At least he freed us." shrugged the pink-haired girl. "We'd best go before those mischievous goblins come back."

Quickly, the girls followed the armored man out of the hut.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, Knight of Dark Dragon, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly were all trying to make a clean get away, when...

"Stop right there!" called the voice of one of the goblins.

While the girls cringed as they froze in place, the Dragon Knight merely cursed quietly. Nearby, the Goblin Attack Force had found their targets.

"Why are you taking our playmates away from us?" demanded the first goblin.

"We rescued them first." protested the second goblin.

"Playmates?!" snapped Mavis in outrage. "Y-You tickled us without thinking about if we'd like it or not!"

"Aw, come on!" argued the third goblin. "We were only having harmless fun. Besides, we thought you ladies were really enjoying yourselves."

"And now that jerk wearing the armor is stealing you away from us!" complained the first goblin.

"Do you buffoons really want to mess with someone like me?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, sounding very menacing. "Because that would be an unwise move on your part."

"Heh! We ain't afraid of you, pal!" scoffed the second goblin. "We're the Goblin Attack Force!"

"And we're about to teach you some manners." said the third goblin.

"Goblin Attack Force style!" finished the first goblin.

Knight of Dark Dragon merely stared coldly at the three goblins as he began glowing all red. He would show those three idiotic goblins what happens when you mess with the wrong Dragon Warrior.

"What's he doing?" whispered Molly.

Before long, Knight of Dark Dragon had transformed himself into a fiery dragon-like spirit.

"What is this?!" screamed the first goblin.

"A very ticked off dragon spirit, that's what!" wailed the second goblin.

"Lets get out of here!" cried the third goblin.

The three goblins started to run back towards their hut... but Knight of Dark Dragon was not gonna let them escape...alive.

"You're not going anywhere!" he shouted.

With another fierce roar, the fiery dragon made a dive towards the hut the three goblins had entered. There was an explosion upon contact with the hut, and the three human girls each braced themselves from the force of the blow.

"Whoa!" cried Mavis.

When the force of wind died down, the three girls looked in the direction of the hut...and got a nasty shock at what they saw.

"Oh... my..." Molly whispered in fright.

The hut was completely destroyed. All that was left behind was a raging fire... which a now human Knight of Dark Dragon emerged from without flinching or caring that he caused death and destruction.

"My work here is done." The man said to the three girls without any care in the world. "Your welcome by the way."

Knight of Dark Dragon started to leave, just before...

"You killed them, didn't you?" Mavis asked quietly.

The dragon man stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at the three human girls he had rescued.

"So what if I did?" he asked bluntly. "They got what they deserved."

"It wasn't right!" argued Molly in an upset tone. "Those goblins may have been rather mischievous, but they weren't even close to being evil!"

"Who cares?" dismissed Knight of Dark Dragon. "They should have known better than to mess with the ultimate Dragon Knight."

"You..." said Rosie angrily. "You're-!"

Immediately, the man turned around fully and gave the pink-haired girl a cold stare.

"I'm what?" he threatened. "Go ahead and say it!"

"You're a monster!" The pink-haired girl snapped.

"A monster, eh?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon sarcastically. "Like I haven't heard that one before. You know something? You girls look and sound really pathetic right now! You three are almost like damsels just waiting to be rescued by your knights-in-shining armor, and if weren't for me showing up and saving your butts from those goblins, you'd probably be still inside that hut being tickled."

"Take that back!" squeaked Rosie.

"Heh! I'm not one to do so that easily. Why don't we settle this in a short and sweet duel? I kinda like to show you three a little something interesting if you accept."

"Fine by me." nodded Rosie, activating her Duel Disk.

Knight of Dark Dragon smirked and activated his own Duel Disk. Already, he could hear the call of the legendary dragon in his deck.

"Patience." The Dragon Knight said mentally to his deck. "Your time will come soon."

Both Mavis and Molly weren't sure what their pink-haired friend was getting into by dueling this mysterious Dragon Knight.

"Are you sure you can do this, Rosie?" asked Mavis. "Maybe I should duel him with you."

"I'll be fine." insisted Rosie. "Someone needs to teach Mr. Dark Knight over there some manners, and I'll be the one to do so!"

With that said, the two duelists drew their opening hands and gazed at each other spitefully.

"Time to duel!" They both said at once (LP 4000).

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, the Court of Darkness had gathered around a crystal ball.

"It would seem as though Knight of Dark Dragon has already found some of those humans." said Vampire Lady.

"Yesssss..." agreed Vampire Lord with a hiss. "Those three girls."

"Do you think it was wise of us to hire someone like him?" questioned Darkbishop Archfiend. "His reputation in the Duel Monsters Spirit World is infamous."

"That may be-" replied Airknight Parshath. "-but he at least knows how to get a job done."

"He may be good at his job-" huffed Earl of Demise. "-but he usually doesn't listen to our orders."

"Regardless, he was willing to serve us for a large fee." Vampire Lady pointed out.

"Agreed." said Vampire Lord, looking back at the crystal ball. "Now let's see what he will do to these fools."

(elsewhere...)

Back somewhere in one of the forests of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, the duel between Rosie and Knight of Dark Dragon had begun. And Mavis and Molly were both watching and cheering for their pink-haired friend.

"Come on, Rosie!" called Mavis. "You totally got this one!"

Rosie turned and flashed her blonde-haired friend a thumbs up, just before turning her gaze back towards Knight of Dark Dragon while preparing to draw her card.

"First turn goes to me!" she declared, drawing. "NOW...!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Adamantine Sword Revival, Guardian Angel Joan, Mirror Force, Ruby Dragon, Polymerization, and Silent Doom

* * *

The pink-haired girl added her drawn card to her hand and gazed at her opponent.

"Okay, this won't be easy." she thought to herself. "I don't know what his dueling style is like, and he obviously won't be showing any mercy towards me. I'll have to be careful."

Knight of Dark Dragon kept a calm, cold look on his face while remaining silent. Finally, Rosie made a play.

"I place one card facedown." she announced, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "Next I summon Ruby Dragon in attack mode!"

A red ruby-like dragon materialized with a roar (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Hey, Rosie's deck has changed!" Molly announced. "Didn't she used to have a Maiden in Love deck?"

"She stopped using it in favor of a copy of Thomas's deck." explained Mavis. "But ever since Rosie got over him, she decided to go with a Gem Dragon/Anti-Cure style deck."

"A Gem Dragon/Anti-Cure deck..."

"Let's see what else Rosie can do with it." suggested Mavis, looking back at the duel.

Back in the duel field...

"That ends my turn!" Rosie declared.

Not impressed by his opponent's weak play, Knight of Dark Dragon was very quick to criticize.

"A weak and simple move." he said harshly. "Made by a weak and simple duelist. And now, let's see what MY deck can do."

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon went and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mirage Dragon, Monster Reborn, Lightning Vortex, Inferno Fire Blast, Troop Dragon, and Dark Dragon Ritual

* * *

Smirking, the Dragon Knight took and placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a yellow dragon with whitish hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"But our monsters are tied in attack points!" protested Rosie.

"If you would be so kind as to shut up, I'll continue with my play." retorted Knight of Dark Dragon rudely, making the pink-haired girl scowl. From there, a Spell card called Lightning Vortex materialized face-up. "Now behold Lightning Vortex!"

"Not good!" Mavis winced. "By discarding a card from his hand, Knight of Dark Dragon can go and wipe out Rosie's only monster!"

"That's right." confirmed Knight of Dark Dragon, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "Now say goodbye to Ruby Dragon!"

Several bolts of lightning struck Ruby Dragon and vaporized it.

"My monster!" Rosie cried out..

"Hmph! Now you're wide open for a direct attack..."

The pink-haired girl was a little worried at first, but remembered the Mirror Force Trap card that was set facedown.

"That's what you think!" she said aloud. "I activate my facedown card!"

Nothing happened, much to Rosie's confusion.

"Huh?" The pink-haired girl blinked. "I said I activate my facedown card!"

Still nothing happened.

"What's going on? Why isn't my Trap card activating?"

"You're stupider than I first thought." sighed Knight of Dark Dragon irritably. "Your facedown card isn't activating because of my Mirage Dragon's effect."

"Effect?" Rosie blinked.

"Whenever Mirage Dragon attacks during the battle phase-" explained the Dragon Knight. "-you can't activate set Trap cards!"

Now Rosie was really worried. Over with Molly and Mavis...

"Rosie's in trouble!" panicked Molly.

"Duh!" snarked Mavis.

"Now to make you pay for your little foresight!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "Mirage Dragon, attack my opponent directly!"

Mirage Dragon obeyed, firing a rainbow-like blast at Rosie, causing her to scream in pain (LP: 2400).

"ROSIE, NO!" cried out both Molly and Mavis.

"Hmph! It would seem I was right about you." said Knight of Dark Dragon coldly, while folding his arms. "You ARE pathetic! I honestly don't know why I was hired by the Court of Darkness to either capture or destroy you..."

"Wait a minute." interrupted Rosie, while getting back to her feet. "Did you say the Court of Darkness hired you?"

"So, you know of that loser band?" Knight of Dark Dragon raised an eyebrow. "To answer your question - yes! I was hired by them."

"The Court of Darkness took our friend, Emily!" shouted Rosie. "And since you're working for them, that makes you our enemy as well!"

"Watch it, little girl." warned the Dragon Knight. "So far I've been going easy on you. But if you're not careful, I just might have to get serious."

"I'm not afraid of you!" snapped the pink-haired girl, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Adamantine Sword Revival, Guardian Angel Joan, Polymerization, Silent Doom, and Rope of Life

* * *

Adding her drawn card to her hand, Rosie decided it was time to summon her secret weapon.

"So, you like dragons, huh?" The pink-haired girl asked, holding out a new card. "Well, I'll show you one I happen to like! ...but first I'll play my Silent Doom card!"

Ruby Dragon reappeared in defense mode (Level: 4/DEF: 1300).

"Why bother bringing back that weakling?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, not looking worried or amused at all.

"So I can activate this card!" Rosie slotted a card into her Duel Disk. A Spell card called Adamantine Sword Revival materialized face-up. "Adamantine Sword Revival!"

"This should be interesting..." The Dragon Knight thought to himself. "Nothing I can't handle, though."

"Thanks to this-" smirked the pink-haired girl. "-I can sacrifice my Ruby Dragon in order to special summon from my deck my new ace monster - Diamond Head Dragon!"

Ruby Dragon faded away, and appearing in its place was a large, emerald green dragon with scales as hard as crystal (Level: 8/ATK: ?/DEF: ?).

"My new monster's attack points depend on the attack of whatever dragon monster I tributed to summon this card plus 1000 extra points." explained Rosie. "Since I tributed Ruby Dragon to summon Diamond Head Dragon, that gives my new monster 1600 plus 1000 attack points! ...for a grand total of 2600 attack!"

Diamond Head Dragon gave a loud roar (ATK: 0 - 2600).

"Unfortunately, my new monster cannot attack the turn it was summoned. So I'll just end it here and now."

"Great move, Rosie!" called Mavis. "You should be safe for a little while."

"Go, Rosie!" cheered Molly.

Suddenly, Knight of Dark Dragon started to laugh at how naive those three girls were being right now. So they thought they had the duel won now? HA! Not even close.

"Huh?"

"What's so funny?" asked Rosie curiously.

Knight of Dark Dragon only continued laughing loudly, cynically, cruelly, and sardonically.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

"You really think that dragon will help you?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, as he finally stopped laughing. "It's powerful, yes... But will it win you the duel?"

"Of course it will!" insisted Rosie.

"You're dead wrong." said the Dragon Knight in response. "I'm the master of dragons... and I know for a fact...that Diamond Head Dragon will not win you this duel."

With that said, the man drew his card. In addition, he was glowing as red.

"Huh? What?" gasped Rosie. She was feeling rather worried.

Unfortunately, the pink-haired girl wasn't the only one who was worried...

"Our cold-hearted knight is glowing all red." whispered Molly.

"Yeah..." agreed Mavis. "Now I wonder why?"

"I think we're about to find out." Rosie commented.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (4): Inferno Fire Blast, Monster Reborn, Dark Dragon Ritual, and Knight of Dark Dragon

* * *

Indeed they were - Knight of Dark Dragon immediately held out a Spell card.

"I'll begin with a Ritual Spell card... Dark Dragon Ritual!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"To ritual summon my monster-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "-I must offer enough monsters to equal the level 4 or higher."

"Mirage Dragon equals that level!" Rosie exclaimed.

Mirage Dragon immediately vanished in a streak of fire.

"How right you are! Now, I'll ritual summon forth...me!"

As the fire died down, out came the monster version of Knight of Dark Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"But he's the least of your concerns." The man continued, and then asked a question... "Can you three hear something?"

"What?" asked Molly.

A faintly dragon's roar was heard echoing coming from Knight of Dark Dragon's Duel Disk and deck.

"It's the call of my great beast." The man stated. "And it's waiting for me to unleash it on you!"

"Well, you'll have to tell it to wait, because right now you have to beat my Diamond Head Dragon." retorted Rosie.

"So naive..." hissed Knight of Dark Dragon, beginning to glow all red once more. "You know nothing of my beast's great power! ...and I'll now unleash it!"

The Knight of Dark Dragon monster started to turned into a fiery dragon spirit.

"I activate my knight's special ability! By sacrificing him, I can call forth from my deck the great beast!" Knight of Dark Dragon took a card from his deck and held it up. "...the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The fiery dragon spirit gave a roar and started to flying towards the sky. Meanwhile, Rosie, Molly, and Mavis each gasped in horror upon hearing the monster's name.

"THE RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON?!"

The sky darkened as thunder boomed and Knight of Dark Dragon began a summon chant.

" **Almighty black dragon of the volcanoes, I call upon your power to burn my opponent into ash! Let nothing stop you from unleashing your true strength... and let nothing stop you and I from winning this battle of fate**..."

Something was coming from the darkened sky.

"Whoa..." Rosie breathed in fear.

" **Come forth - RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON**!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, slamming his monster card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The clouds parted (the sky remained darkened) and descending down was none other than the Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself.

"So someone other than Percy uses that monster..." thought Rosie, trembling in fright.

"Oh dear..." whispered Molly in terror.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon let loose a menacing roar before the three human girls (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Gaze well into the eyes of defeat, you fool!" cackled Knight of Dark Dragon. "As I've mentioned before, I am the master of dragons! ...and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, one of the most feared dragons out there, is the headline of my playing style!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (ATK: 2400) and Diamond Head Dragon (ATK: 2600) both faced each other with threatening growls or roars.

"My dragon's still stronger, though!" protested Rosie.

"Maybe so, but it's all I need to win here and now!"

"Even if you do go and power it up now, it will be unable to attack this turn because you summoned it by your Knight of Dark Dragon's effect!" Rosie argued some more.

"Again, you're so naive!" insulted Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and holding up another card from his hand. "What I hold here is the one card that will bring you down!"

Rosie, Mavis, and Molly each silently waited to see what the man was going to do. Knight of Dark Dragon then slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Spell card materialized face-up...

"The Spell card Inferno Fire Blast!"

"I-I-Inferno Fire Blast?!" Rosie was really scared now.

"You know, there's an old saying I heard about both the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon." Knight of Dark Dragon remarked. "' _The Blue-Eyes brings_ ** _power_** _, and the Red-Eyes brings **potential**_ '... I'm about to show you what that potential is all about with my Inferno Fire Blast Spell!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon started charging up a burst of hit flames from its mouth.

"This card allows Red-Eyes to deal direct damage to your life points equal to its original attack points." explained the Dragon Knight, smiling savagely. "So now, Red-Eyes... finish them off!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed, firing off the devastating Inferno Fire Blast, surrounding the whole area with fire. For dramatic effect, Diamond Head Dragon roared in agony as it melted away from the seering heat of the fire. Rosie, meanwhile, braced herself as she felt the heat of the flames getting to her.

"Rosie!" cried out Mavis and Molly at once, just before the flames caught up with them.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, the members of the Court of Darkness were extremely pleased with what they were seeing on the crystal ball.

"He did well in defeating those pests." smirked Earl of Demise.

"All he has to do now is bring them to us!" added Vampire Lady. "We can use them to fuel our real target's anger and darkness even further!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in one of the forests somewhere in the Duel Monsters Spirit World, the flames were finally dying down...and Rosie collapsed to her knees, a little bit burnt and badly bruised (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Knight of Dark Dragon wins!**

* * *

"I... I've lost..."

Finally, the pink-haired girl fell facedown and passed out.

"R-Rosie...!" called Molly, slightly bruised but still standing.

"Don't die!" cried Mavis, rushing to her fallen friend.

Unfortunately, the two girls finally collapsed (but still conscious) when they reached their down friend. A few seconds later, a shadow loomed over Mavis, and the blonde-haired girl fearfully looked up to see Knight of Dark Dragon coldly leering at her.

"I'm the winner." The Dragon Knight said threateningly.

"Then I guess now you're going to hand us over to the Court of Darkness." coughed Mavis, weakly trying to keep herself awake.

Then, to the blonde-haired girl's surprise, Knight of Dark Dragon shook his head.

"Not a chance." he replied. "I was planning on doing so if your friend put up a far better fight. But since she didn't, and the fact you three look so pathetic right now...I'll spare you."

Mavis didn't say a single word to that.

"However... be forwarned that I may not spare any of you the next time we meet."

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon vanished in a flash of fire. Despite also being badly weakened from being affected by that duel, Molly and Mavis both had to find a place to help their unconscious, injured friend.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere outside the Castle of Dark Illusions...

"You did what?!" shouted the voice of Vampire Lady.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room, Knight of Dark Dragon was speaking to the Court of Darkness, and they were NOT happy with the Dragon Knight after they heard what happened.

"You were supposed to bring those humans to us!" bellowed Vampire Lord. "What do we even pay you for?"

Knight of Dark Dragon folded his arms and scoffed. "They weren't worth my time."

"Not worth your time?!" exclaimed an angry Earl of Demise. "What's to stop us from getting rid of you for your disobedience?"

"And I think I should warn you-" threatened the Dragon Knight, giving off a dangerous glare in response. "-is you should watch what you say to me. You know damn well of my power, and I'm not afraid to unleash it on any of you."

Nothing more was said by the members of the Court of Darkness. Glad to have gotten his point firmly across, Knight of Dark Dragon turned and left the throne room.

"What a bunch of losers." he muttered to only himself.

Well... that kinda went well, don't you all think? Either way, Vampire Lady could only hiss in anger.

"How dare he mock us like this!" The lone female member of the Court of Darkness fumed.

"Agreed!" added Earl of Demise. "We should have killed him when we had the chance!"

"But he does have a point." Airknight Parshath spoke up. "Knight of Dark Dragon is one of the most powerful beings in this world, and a tamer of one of the most feared dragons, too."

"A power we must respect... even if he doesn't respect us." agreed Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Otherwise, he may go and do us in." finished Vampire Lord.

The Court of Darkness remained silent after that discussion. This Knight of Dark Dragon... will our heroes encounter him again? Who knows...


	11. The Amazoness Village

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some nudity, but is done so for a medical-type scene, and NOT for any sexual themes (Regardless, this chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Mavis began narrating the events of the previous chapter:

"Okay, how do I explain something like this...? We've arrived at a harbor in order to secure a ship leading to the main capital of the Duel Monsters spirit world."

The harbor was busy. Humanoid monsters (Big Shield Gardnas, The Legendary Fishermen, etc.) and some friendly sea serpent and/or fish-type monsters (Amphibian Beast, Kaiser Sea Horse, etc.) were carrying crates full of weapons and/supplies around the place.

"Busy place." Henry commented.

On cue, several monsters started to approach Maiden of the Aqua.

"M-Madame..." stuttered a Kaiser Sea Horse. "Your appearance at this harbor is most welcome."

"Agreed." added an Amphibian Beast.

"Thank you." smiled the blue-haired female monster. "We wish to borrow a ship."

"A ship?"

Thomas stepped forth. "We wish to cross these waters. We're on our way to the capital city of this world."

Suddenly, the rest of the monsters turned and knelled in respect to the blue-haired boy.

"Again...?" thought Thomas.

"The hero who saved our land from the ' ** _Evil One_** '..." added another Kaiser Sea Horse.

"He is back!" added another Big Shield Gardna.

"Guess your fame has gotten around." said James to Thomas.

"Once we got our ship, it was off across the ocean we went... but not without a few hurdles along the way... Such as pirates."

Captain Scurvy boarded the ship, arriving on the deck just as the humans and their allies got captured.

"Ahoy!" he called. "I be Captain Scurvy. Had over all your belongings and women and we'll let ye live. Refuse, and we will sink this ship and all of you with it."

"No way!" snapped Thomas, being restrainted by some Pirate Soldiers.

"Ye might want to reconsider." warned the captain. "We aren't what you would call lollipops and rainbows. We pirates can be quite nasty."

"We're not afraid of you!" said James defiantly. "We've faced pirates tougher than you before."

"Did ye now?" smirked Captain Scurvy. "Well then, lad... ye seem like a tough enough sea dog to me... Why not join my crew and help serve the Court of Darkness?"

"You work for the Court of Darkness?" asked Stanley, still wincing in pain.

"Aye, we are." said Captain Scurvy. "More importantly... the lovely Vampire Lady."

"I'll join you guys when the underworld freezes over." James stood his ground.

"James and the captain dueled... and James won before it was too late. Even then, our troubles were not over by a long shot."

Suddenly, The Legendary Fisherman started to sniff the air. Gilford the Lightning noticed this.

"Something the matter?" The great warrior asked with concern.

"I smell a storm coming..." muttered The Legendary Fisherman.

"In that case, we had better batten down the hatches then."

It was true - the sky was starting to turn dark with lots of storm clouds, and the water began to become rougher.

"And thus, we entered a storm...and got slammed by a tidal wave. When I woke up, Rosie and Molly were the only friends with me at the time, and we were inside a hut owned by three mischievous goblins of the Goblin Attack Force."

"We three found you girls unconscious on the beach." added the second goblin. "So we brought you to our humble pad to rest up."

"Well, we thank you for finding us." replied Rosie. "But that doesn't explain WHY we're tied up with our shirts up and exposing our tummies."

"Oh, we were bored and thought about having our own little... fun with you as a reward for rescuing you." snickered the third goblin.

The three smirking goblins then pulled out some feathers from behind their backs. None of the three girls liked where this was going.

"W-What are those for?" asked Rosie nervously.

Mavis was panicking. "Oh no! No, no, no, no! Stay back!"

Too late. One of the goblins approached, sat down next to the blonde-haired girl, and dipped the feather in and out of her navel, causing the poor girl to laugh hysterically.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" snickered the goblin.

"N-No, ha ha ha ha, n-not my, ha ha, bellybutton!" Mavis cried, mid-laughter.

By now, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly were each laughing up a storm. The three mischievous goblins continued to either dip their feathers in and out of the girls' navels, or just resort to gliding the tip of the feathers along their (the human girls) bellies, just barely flicking the tip of the navel.

"Now one thing is evading me - why is it that I, or another girl from our group, seems to get tickled on the tummy, or bellybutton, at least once every big adventure we go on? Is it because there is someone out there who seems to really like it happening to us or something... maybe even because that certain someones likes me, Rosie, Molly, and Emily are handy for the use of fanservice? ...okay, I'm kinda getting ahead of myself right now..."

Just then, there was a loud, angry roar outside the hut. The goblins immediately stopped with tickle torturing the three human girls.

"Did you guys hear that?" asked the first goblin.

"It...sounded like a dragon's roar." replied the second goblin.

"Let's go check it out." suggested the third goblin.

The goblins took their clubs off of the nearby table and left the hut. As soon as they were gone, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly each were able to finally managed to get some air back into their lungs.

"And that was when we met..."

A humanoid male wearing black and gray armor entered the hut.

"Who are you?" asked Molly, looking rather surprised and frightened by the male's appearance.

The man merely kept a cold look on his face and remained silent. Mavis, however, knew who it was.

"He must be the Knight of Dark Dragon." she thought. "One of Percy's cards!"

The mysterious Knight of Dark Dragon silently drew out a sword and immediately freed the three girls.

"He cut us free and started to lead us to safety, but then those goblins found us... From there, our savior did something unbelievably cruel; he killed those goblins just because!"

"So what if I did?" The dragon knight asked bluntly. "They got what they deserved."

"It wasn't right!" argued Molly in an upset tone. "Those goblins may have been rather mischievous, but they weren't even close to being evil!"

"Who cares?" dismissed Knight of Dark Dragon. "They should have known better than to mess with the ultimate dragon knight."

"You..." said Rosie angrily. "You're-!"

Immediately, the man turned around fully and gave the pink-haired girl a cold stare.

"I'm what?" he threatened. "Go ahead and say it!"

"You're a monster!" The pink-haired girl snapped.

"After an argument, this lead to a duel... Throughout, that Dragon Knight showed no mercy and even revealed something terrifying..."

The Knight of Dark Dragon monster started to turned into a fiery dragon spirit.

"I activate my knight's special ability! By sacrificing him, I can call forth from my deck the great beast!" Knight of Dark Dragon took a card from his deck and held it up. "...the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The fiery dragon spirit gave a roar and started to flying towards the sky. Meanwhile, Rosie, Molly, and Mavis each gasped in horror upon hearing the monster's name.

"THE RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON?!"

The sky darkened as thunder boomed and Knight of Dark Dragon began a summon chant.

" **Almighty black dragon of the volcanoes, I call upon your power to burn my opponent into ash! Let nothing stop you from unleashing your true strength... and let nothing stop you and I from winning this battle of fate**..."

Something was coming from the darkened sky.

"Whoa..." Rosie breathed in fear.

" **Come forth - RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON**!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, slamming his monster card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The clouds parted (the sky remained darkened) and descending down was none other than the Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself.

"So someone other than Percy uses that monster..." thought Rosie, trembling in fright.

"Oh dear..." whispered Molly in terror.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon let loose a menacing roar before the three human girls (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Gaze well into the eyes of defeat, you fool!" cackled Knight of Dark Dragon. "As I've mentioned before, I am the master of dragons! ...and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, one of the most feared dragons out there, is the headline of my playing style!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (ATK: 2400) and Diamond Head Dragon (ATK: 2600) both faced each other with threatening growls or roars.

"My dragon's still stronger, though!" protested Rosie.

"Maybe so, but it's all I need to win here and now!"

"Even if you do go and power it up now, it will be unable to attack this turn because you summoned it by your Knight of Dark Dragon's effect!" Rosie argued some more.

"Again, you're so naive!" insulted Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and holding up another card from his hand. "What I hold here is the one card that will bring you down!"

Rosie, Mavis, and Molly each silently waited to see what the man was going to do. Knight of Dark Dragon then slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Spell card materialized face-up...

"The Spell card Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon started charging up a burst of hit flames from its mouth.

"This card allows Red-Eyes to deal direct damage to your life points equal to its original attack points." explained the Dragon Knight, smiling savagely. "So now, Red-Eyes... finish them off!"

"Well, this pretty lame day just keeps getting better and better for us..."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed, firing off the devastating Inferno Fire Blast, surrounding the whole area with fire. For dramatic effect, Diamond Head Dragon roared in agony as it melted away from the seering heat of the fire. Rosie, meanwhile, braced herself as she felt the heat of the flames getting to her.

"Rosie!" cried out Mavis and Molly at once, just before the flames caught up with them.

The flames soon began dying down...and Rosie collapsed to her knees, a little bit burnt and badly bruised (LP: 0).

"I... I've lost..."

Finally, the pink-haired girl fell facedown and passed out.

"R-Rosie...!" called Molly, slightly bruised but still standing.

"Don't die!" cried Mavis, rushing to her fallen friend.

Unfortunately, the two girls finally collapsed (but still conscious) when they reached their down friend. A few seconds later, a shadow loomed over Mavis, and the blonde-haired girl fearfully looked up to see Knight of Dark Dragon coldly leering at her.

"I'm the winner." The Dragon Knight said threateningly.

"Then I guess now you're going to hand us over to the Court of Darkness." coughed Mavis, weakly trying to keep herself awake.

Then, to the blonde-haired girl's surprise, Knight of Dark Dragon shook his head.

"Not a chance." he replied. "I was planning on doing so if your friend put up a far better fight. But since she didn't, and the fact you three look so pathetic right now...I'll spare you."

Mavis didn't say a single word to that.

"However... be forwarned that I may not spare any of you the next time we meet."

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon vanished in a flash of fire. Despite also being badly weakened from being affected by that duel, Molly and Mavis both had to find a place to help their unconscious, injured friend.

* * *

 **Title: The Amazoness Village**

* * *

Somewhere in the calm ocean, Thomas, Percy, Toby, Edward, Stanley, Maiden of the Aqua, and Gilford the Lightning were still out trying to find any sign of their missing friends.

"Any land in sight?" asked Gilford the Lightning.

"Nothing yet." said Toby.

"We've been out here for three hours straight." Percy complained.

"And we're gonna be out here for even longer." Thomas retorted. "We have to find the others before it's too late."

"I hope they're alright wherever they are." whispered Edward.

"Me too..." agreed Maiden of the Aqua.

And thus the voyage continued...

(elsewhere...)

Back in an unknown forest of some kind, Molly and Mavis, with whatever supplies they had left, both had managed to get a small campfire going. The two girls also made a bed (along with a sleeping bag that was salvageable) for Rosie to rest in nearby.

"I don't like this anymore." said Molly, as she and her blonde-haired friend sat near the campfire. "I wanna go home."

"Home?" Mavis looked over to her black-haired friend in surprise. "But why?"

"Everything's gotten so scary lately." whimpered Molly. "First we were attacked by evil monsters and pirates, then we got shipwrecked and stranded with goblins who tickled us, and now Rosie's just been put unconscious by that cruel Knight of Dark Dragon. If we keep going things will only get worse, and someone else could get hurt or even killed. I also miss my mother, and just want to go home."

The poor black-haired girl broke down to cry. Mavis, feeling very sorry for her scared friend, wrapped her arms around the sobbing Molly and held her close.

"Easy there, Molly... everything will be alright. I promise you that."

Molly didn't say anything back and only continued to cry softly and timidly.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the forest, two female monsters (twin sisters) wearing yellow amazon-like clothing were exploring the area.  
-The first female had shoulder-length red hair, wore red underclothing, and wielded a sword.  
-The second female had neck-length light blue hair, wore light blue underclothing, and was an archer.

"That explosion must have occured somewhere..." said the first Amazoness Scout (red-haired one).

"What do you think caused it?" asked the second Amazoness Scout (blue-haired one).

"I don't know, but our tribal chief stated it had to have been...THAT dragon."

The the blue-haired Amazoness Scout gasped. "You don't think it was-?"

"I do think it was ' _him_ '." replied the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

The two scouts resumed their search.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the camp sight, Mavis was doing what she could to calm Molly down.

"I know you want to go home." she said calmly. "But we can't leave until we find Emily. Not only that, but we have to save this world from the ' ** _Evil One_** ' and the Court of Darkness."

"But I'm not even a duelist!" The black-haired girl sniffled sadly. "I'll be easily wiped out!"

Mavis gave a sigh, knowing that all that has happened had frightened Molly quite badly. But then...

"But it's Thomas who really scares me the most."

The blonde-haired girl gave her friend a look of confusion, and so Molly started to speak some more.

"Ever since Emily got taken, he's become so angry and violent." explained Molly, shivering like a leaf. "It really scares me that he might hurt one of us."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas suddenly remembered his discussion with Shadi during the Battle City Finals.

"The incident from Middle School!" he cried. "The darkness in her must have been from when Gordon and James bullied her."

"WHAT?!"

From there, all eyes were gazing angrily at Gordon and James.

"It wasn't our fault!" protested James, backing nervously into a wall. "We didn't know what it would have caused! We were just having fun!"

"Fun?!" Thomas spat, feeling his anger resurfacing. "FUN?!"

He then grabbed James by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"You call bullying someone until they become a jerk fun?!" Thomas roared in his rage. "This is all your fault!"

"Thomas, knock it off!" bellowed Gordon. "We're sorry for-!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas, turning his fury to the taller blue-haired boy. "THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT!"

More and more darkness was awakening within the furious blue-haired boy.

"How is that darkness-" A frightened Molly began, but got cut off.

Stanley and Percy both grabbed Thomas off of James and held him back long enough for Mavis to deliver another slap.

"GET A GRIP!" The blonde-haired girl screamed angrily.

However, unlike the last time he was slapped, this one only seemed to make Thomas even angrier.

"LET! ME! GO!" he bellowed, struggling.

Suddenly, with a scream and use of greatly enhanced strength, the blue-haired boy suddenly managed to knock Percy and Stanley off of him, knocking them both onto the ground.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I'll admit it." said Mavis. "He has been getting out of control with his anger... and even then, that's from the influence of the ' ** _Evil One_** '."

Molly said nothing in response. She just sat close to the campfire with her knees tucked up near her chest, and with a sad look on her face.

"We just have to keep up hope." Mavis continued. "We'll find Emily and beat those evil creeps."

Molly looked to her blonde-haired friend. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Mavis." Molly finally managed a smile. "You really are a kind, gentle soul next to Emily."

The two girls shared a hug by the campfire. It was then a soft moan could be heard from the nearby sleeping bag.

"Rosie must be awake." exclaimed Mavis.

The two girls got up and raced over to the sleeping bag. It was true; Rosie was beginning to wake up.

"Where am...I?" she groaned.

"Rosie!" called the voices of Mavis and Molly.

The two girls reached their injured pink-haired friend.

"We're so relieved you're awake!" cried Molly.

"What happened?" asked Rosie, before feeling a burning pain in her side. "And why...do I feel so hurt?"

"You were knocked unconscious after your duel with that Knight of Dark Dragon." explained Mavis. "We made camp and brought you here to rest up."

"We were so scared." added Molly. "We thought you weren't going to make it."

"Thanks for looking after me." smiled Rosie, managing to withstand her burns and bruises enough to sit up. "I just hope the others are safe."

The three girls remained quiet for what seemed like forever, until...

"Hey! You three!" called a voice.

"Eep!" squealed Molly. "Who said that?"

"You three must be working for that guy with the black dragon!" came a second voice.

On cue, the two female monsters of the Amazoness Scouts leaped from the top of a tree, swung off a strong branch, and landed perfectly before the three human girls.

"Those are Amazoness Scouts!" said Rosie in surprise.

"Got that right!" confirmed the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "And you're working with that man with the black dragon!"

"We were just attacked by him!" protested Mavis, realizing they were talking about Knight of Dark Dragon. "As you can see, he almost killed our friend!"

She showed some of Rosie's injuries.

"Hmm..." muttered the blue-haired Amazoness Scout, walking over and taking a good look at the burns and bruises the pink-haired girl had sustained. "He was definitely here."

"Not to mention he left THAT!" added the red-haired Amazoness Scout, pointing to the nearby ruins of what used to be a hut.

"We'd best get these three back to the village." suggested the blue-haired sister. "Our chief should have some medicines to treat the pink one's burns."

"At once."

The scouts lead the three through the forest. On the way, Molly spotted what looked like some Duel Monster cards scattered on the ground.

"Look at those!"

Mavis walked over and picked them up. They were shown to be Curse of Dragon, Seiyaryu, and Archfiend of Gilfer.

"These are some of Thomas's cards!" Mavis claimed.

"He must have been here!" cried Rosie.

"Thomas?" questioned the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "Who is he?"

"A friend of ours." explained Mavis. "We got separated from him during a storm out at sea. That's how we ended up here."

"A raging storm..." mumbled the blue-haired Amaznoness Scout thoughtfully.

"You wouldn't happen to have ideas on how it happened, would you?" asked Molly.

"Unfortunately, no." sighed the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Right now, all that matters is that we get you three to our village." added the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

And thus, the females resumed their walk...unaware they were being watched by someone evil. Hiding behind some trees was...Darkbishop Archfiend.

"And guess who'll be making a little visit." he said quietly in an evil tone.

(elsewhere...)

It look another hour, but soon the Amazoness Scouts lead Mavis, Rosie, and Molly to a small village. Roaming around or coming in/out of huts were various Amazon and Amazoness monsters.

"Look at all of the Amazon and Amazoness monsters!" admired Mavis.

"I hope they're friendly." said Molly quietly.

"Not to worry." smiled the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "We Amazons and Amazonesses are fierce warriors, but we do like to be peaceful towards new friends."

"Such as you three." giggled the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"That's a relief." sighed Rosie in relief.

"Now, come on. Let's go see the chief - she might have something for your burns and other injuries."

The two Amazoness Scouts lead the three human girls deep into the village.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a hut, an Amazoness Sage was looking through the stone shelves for something.

"So, you three are not from around here?" she asked.

"No, ma'am." said Mavis. "We're from the human world."

"Humans, huh? We rarely see that species in the Duel Monsters Spirit World."

"Rarely?" Rosie blinked.

"Afraid so." nodded Amazoness Sage, before finding something. "Aha! There it is."

She had a bottle of special herbs in her right hand.

"These special herbs should help clear those burns and bruises you have, young one."

"Thank you." said Rosie.

Suddenly, Amazoness Sage started to lead the pink-haired girl towards the back of the hut (closed by a curtain). As she did so, the village chief peeked out.

"I want you all to wait here." she stated. "We won't be long."

"Wait, why can't we come in?" asked Molly.

"Because what I'm going to do might be a bit disturbing for those who aren't used to it."

Molly shivered, likely over not wanting to find out what that something might be.

"We understand." Mavis nodded.

Amazoness Sage nodded back and went back behind the curtain. In the new area, there was a stone table, several shelves, books, etc..

"Oh, wow..." Rosie whispered in admirement. "Look at all the shaman-like stuff... It feels like a life-like museum exhibit."

"Glad you approve." smiled Amazoness Sage. "Now come... take off your clothes and lie down on the table."

"W-What?!" Rosie exclaimed, blushing a crimson red. "But w-why?"

"So I can locate ALL of the burns you've sustained, and where to sprinkle the special herbs I have here."

Rosie, still blushing very hard, complied and started to undress herself completely. Soon, the pink-haired girl's clothes and underwear were all piled nearby in a corner, and then she got up and lied down on the stone table with her body fully exposed (a.k.a., Rosie was completely in the nude).

"This is so embarrassing." Rosie thought to only herself. "Thank goodness none of the boys are here to see this, though."

Amazoness Sage chortled. "I wouldn't worry, dear. I have to do this for all of the Amazons of this village."

"You do?"

"Of course." said Amazoness Sage wisely. "It's a job to tend to their injuries. While it may seem very embarrassing to you, nudity is actually extremely important for all of the medical treatments for the monsters of this village."

"Oh..." Rosie mumbled.

From there, the chief began to look over Rosie's naked body. Yes, there were a large number of burn injuries, along with some bruises, present.

"Goodness!" Amazoness Sage gasped in shock. "You have been through quite a lot."

"All thanks to that Dragon Knight." sighed Rosie unhappily.

"Not to worry. It'll all be taken care of quickly. I just need you to lie down and remain still."

The chief opened the jar of herbs, dropped some onto her free hand, and sprinkled it down onto a burn on Rosie's tummy (near the navel). The feeling caused the girl to twitch and giggle a little bit.

"That tickles." squirmed Rosie.

More herbs were then sprinkled onto a burn on Rosie's neck, then her lower left leg, then her upper right thigh, then her upper left arm, then her lower stomach area (right near the groin), then the left cheek on her face, then somewhere around her waist, and finally on the top part of her left breast.

"There! The herbs are all sprinkled." said Amazoness Sage.

"But now what?" asked Rosie, with most of her body being covered in the herbs.

"Now we wait for the herbs to do their thing."

Rosie was dismayed. "How long do I have to wait?"

"Until I cast my spell." answered Amazoness Sage.

"Spell?"

No answer was given; Amazoness Sage merely held up her staff and prepared to use it.

"This might hurt a bit." she warned. "Now watch..."

The staff glowed all blue as the herbs began to glow, too.

"Um... what exactly is going on?" Rosie quizzed nervously.

No words came from the Amazoness Sage's mouth. She was busy waving her glowing staff about and humming some unknown words. Suddenly, Rosie gave a scream of pain as all of her burns and bruises started to flare up intensely.

"The p-pain...!" she winced.

Within seconds, the pain seemed to vanish.

"Huh?"

Amazoness Sage smiled, walked over, and removed the herbs on Rosie's left arm. To the pink-haired girl's surprise, the burn was completely healed up and gone from her skin.

"Amazing..." The pink-haired girl whispered in shock.

Amazoness Sage nodded. "Just like magic."

Rosie just continued to stare at the chief in amazement. Outside the back room, Mavis, Molly, and the Amazoness Scouts were all waiting.

"Are they finished yet?" asked Molly.

On cue, Amazoness Sage walked out of the room with a proud smile on her face.

"So, how did it go?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

The chief motioned to nearby. "See for yourselves..."

On cue, Rosie, back to being fully dressed, walked out of the back room completely healed.

"I feel wonderful." said Rosie pleasantly. "Good as new."

Mavis and Molly were both so overjoyed to hear that their friend had made a full recovery that they immediately went and gave their pink-haired friend a big hug.

"Thank heaven!" Mavis stated.

"We're so happy to hear that." added Molly.

"Now we can keep looking for our friends." Rosie finished. "They could be nearby."

"Is this 'Thomas' one of your friends?" asked the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Yes, he is." confirmed Mavis.

It was then Amazoness Sage took out a large book from a nearby shelve.

"What does he look like?" she asked, while preparing to open the book up.

"Short." began Molly. "Blue hair, blue-eyes, and wears a black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans with a belt, a blue jean jacket over the shirt, and black sneakers."

Amazoness Sage looked through her book, flipping page after page until she came across something that made her gasp.

"By jov! I think I've found something!" The chief exclaimed, before showing the page to the three human girls. "Is this what he looks like?"

The three girls were rather surprised by what they saw.

"That isn't Thomas." Rosie proclaimed. "But..."

"That person looks exactly like him." Mavis finished.

"Strange." Molly commented. "Who is this guy?"

The page showed a blue-haired boy who looked like Thomas...but he wore warrior-like clothing.

"His name was Autraius." explained Amazoness Sage. "A brave boy who gave his life to save us from the ' ** _Evil One_** '."

"So that's his name..." Mavis mumbled.

"You've heard of him?" asked the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Yes." said Molly. "Dark Magician Girl told us about him."

"There's more here." Amazoness Sage continued, reading the page. "Something about Autraius... it looks like a prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Rosie quizzed.

"What does is say?" asked Mavis.

Amazoness Sage read the prophecy from the pages.

"Oh, I hope this prophecy isn't terrible..." Molly whispered.

"Shhh!" hushed Mavis. "Let the chief read the page."

"One day-" Amazoness Sage read. "-the darkness will return to tarnish the land. By then, the Great One will return in a new form to vanquish it once and and for all, and truly bring peace."

"Is that all?" asked Mavis, before sighing. "That sounds good..."

"However!" The chief cut in.

The blonde-haired girl groaned. "Spoke too soon..."

"He will find himself through a trial of his own soul. If he passes, the darkness will be destroyed. If he fails, then he will be consumed by the darkness and all will be lost."

"Trial?" asked Rosie.

"He must battle the darkness in his heart." explained Amazoness Sage.

"And that darkness...is of the ' ** _Evil One_** '?"

The village chief nodded gravely.

"Yeah, we know all about that." Mavis said quietly. "We witnessed it first-hand during a duel before we got separated."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

During Thomas's duel against Vampire Lord, something started happening to the blue-haired boy. He gripped his head and howled in pain.

"W-What's...?"

It was then Percy and the others ran in.

"Thomas!" called the green-haired boy.

"What's happening to him?!" demanded Mavis.

"We're too late!" wailed Maiden of the Aqua. "'He' is about to take over your friend!"

"Who's 'He'?" asked Edward, before remembering something. "The ' ** _Evil One_** '?"

"How on Earth did this happen?" demanded Stanley.

"Why's the ' ** _Evil One_** ' trying to take over our friend?" added James.

"And how is he doing it?" finished Toby.

"It must be feeding off of the anger in your friend's heart." explained Maiden of the Aqua, closing her eyes. "Again... I can feel it..."

"Feel what?" Molly asked...although she was dreading the answer.

"The darkness... it's trying to devour Thomas."

Suddenly, everyone heard Thomas give another scream of rage and pain. Finally, the blue-haired boy lowered his head a bit...and revealed his shining red eyes.

"Whoa!" cried James.

"What's happened to our friend?" asked Molly fearfully.

"The ' ** _Evil One_** ' has taken control of him." murmured Maiden of the Aqua.

Back over with the possessed Thomas, the darkness thickened all around him.

"It's time..."

Suddenly, Dark Magician felt darkness surrounding him.

"I shall now evolve my Dark Magician into a form more powerful than you could ever imagine!" thundered Thomas (possessed). "Dark Magician! Evolve and become the mighty Dark Eradicator Warlock!"

Suddenly, Dark Magician screamed in pain as more and more darkness consumed him. Everyone watching the duel watched in horror at what their friend was doing.

"Thomas, stop!" cried Percy.

It was too late. Thomas (possessed) gave a savage smile as he watched Dark Magician become completely covered in darkness...when suddenly, the dark ball exploded...and revealed a new monster wearing a red and black version of the Dark Magician's clothing, broad shoulder-plates, purple cape, silver face, and a scepter with a purple orb atop.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"That time we saw our friend possessed must have been the beginning." Mavis continued, sounding very serious. "If Thomas gets possessed anymore times, he could remain in that horrible state forever!"

"We have to save him!" cried Molly.

"Only one small problem - we don't even know where he even is!"

"Then why are we sitting around here?" asked Rosie. "We have to get out there and look for him!"

Before anything more could be said, a scream was heard from outside the hut.

"What was that?" asked Molly in surprise.

"Oh no!" said Amazoness Sage in worry. "An intruder must be in the village!"

Quickly, the human girls and the three Amazoness monsters raced out of the hut.

(elsewhere...)

Within the village center, Vorse Raiders, Gil Garths, and other evil looking monsters were rampaging throughout the place, fighting and/or slaying the various Amazoness monsters.

"Hey!" shouted Mavis, running towards the rampagig monsters. "You jerks leave these villagers alone!"

The evil monsters immediately turned their attention to the blonde-haired girl.

"Oh, so you guys want a piece of me, too?! Fine!"

Just before the monsters could attack, a new voice called out to them.

"Don't bother with her. She's all mine!"

The evil monsters backed away as Darkbishop Archfiend stepped forward.

"Y-You!" stuttered Mavis.

"What? No 'hello', no 'how are you'? I thought we were friends, Mavis?" Darkbishop Archfiend asked mockingly. "Don't tell me that my kidnapping Emily, as well as the court's efforts to try and enrage your blue-haired friend has put a rift between us. It was nothing 'personal'."

The blonde-haired girl aimed an intense glare towards the Archfiend-type monster..

"Oh ho, now you're giving me the cold shoulder? I would feel hurt right now...if I even had a heart!"

"Just get out of here!" snapped Mavis. "These villagers did nothing to deserve this!"

"Perhaps not." Darkbishop Archfiend shrugged. "But I enjoy making others suffer if it means getting our targets to unleash their anger...like what you're doing now."

Mavis growled as she clutched her hand into a fist. The blonde-haired girl really hated what those guys have been doing to her friends and allies.

"What is it you want with me?!" she demanded.

"I just thought I'd have a simple duel with you." said Darkbishop Archfiend. "Win, and I'll take my army and leave."

"A duel?"

The member of the Court of Darkness smirked. "That isn't a problem, is it?"

Mavis wasn't sure if she should accept. If she did, this would be her first major duel ever played. And also coping with dueling in the Spirit World, it could be rather dangerous.

"And if I...refuse?" The blonde-haired girl asked.

Darkbishop Archfiend chuckled evilly. "Then I can't promise any of you will be left alive. It's entirely your choice, but which will you choose?"

Mavis listened to the monster's soft laughter. What was she going to do? Accept the duel? ...or not? Either way, we'll just have to wait and see what the next story tells us. But all I can say...the worst is yet to come.


	12. Field of Dark Shame

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Within the central part of the village of the Amazons, Mavis was alone and still unsure if she should duel Darkbishop Archfiend or not.

"So..." said Darkbishop Archfiend in a low voice. "Do we have a duel or not?"

Still, Mavis said absolutely nothing. Very soon...

"Mavis!" called the voice of Rosie.

The blonde-haired girl looked over to her friends running up. Darkbishop Archfiend had also noticed the two girls arriving in the village center...

"So, that's the intruder." said the red-haired Amazoness Scout in realization.

"Indeed, it would be me." confirmed Darkbishop Archfiend in a somewhat polite tone, just before giving a gentleman-like bow. "Darkbishop Archfiend, gentleman of the Court of Darkness, at your humble service."

"You're part of the Court of Darkness!" accused Rosie, pointing at the monster. "You give us back our friend Emily right now!"

"Unfortunately, I must humbly decline your demand. Why? Because the girl is much too important for our plans."

"Plans?" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout blinked.

"Oh yes..." nodded Darkbishop Archfiend. "The girl we have captive has more darkness in her heart right now than any of the other prisoners we have at the castle."

"Darkness...in her heart?" Molly whispered to herself.

Darkbishop Archfiend then smiled at Mavis. "And if I'm not mistaken... you seem to also have some traces of darkness in your heart, my dear."

Mavis scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hm hm hm... perhaps I've said too much right now." chuckled Darkbishop Archfiend. "So... will you duel me?"

Fired up from being mocked like that, Mavis immediately activated her Duel Disk and got into a dueling stance.

"This maybe my first duel-" The blonde-haired girl declared. "-but I will STILL take you down!"

"That's more like it!"

Darkbishop Archfiend activated his own Duel Disk, with a dark aura surrounding him.

"Huh?" Mavis blinked.

"What's going on?" asked Rosie.

"What's the matter?" teased Darkbishop Archfiend. "Are you afraid of facing your past?"

"Facing her past?" Molly quizzed.

"Those words must mean something." Amazoness Sage remarked thoughtfully.

Mavis was quiet. She knew exactly what Darkbishop Archfiend was talking about...

"I don't know how you know so much about me and my not-so-good past..." The blonde-haired girl muttered quietly, before getting a determined look on her face while also raising her voice. "But I won't let you use it to try and weaken my will!"

With that said, the two duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"Time to duel!"

* * *

 **Title: Field of Dark Shame**

* * *

Over with Molly, Rosie, the two Amazoness Scouts, and Amazoness Sage...

"Good luck, Mavis!" called Molly encouragingly.

"Hmm..." thought Amazoness Sage to herself.

"If you don't mind-" said Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing his card. "-I'll take the first turn."

* * *

 **Turn One** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Des Counterblow, Matador Fiend, Dark Arena, Summoned Skull, Monster Reincarnation, and Picador Fiend

* * *

Upon seeing his drawn Picador Fiend monster card, the member of the Court of Darkness gave a small smile.

"I'll begin this turn with Picador Fiend in attack mode!"

A skeleton-like monster riding an undead-like horse materialized (Level: 4/ATK: 1600). From there, Darkbishop Archfiend took another card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"And then I'll set this card facedown." continued the monster, just as a facedown card materialized behind Picador Fiend. "My turn is now over!"

Mavis kept a brave look on her face. "Okay... my first turn is now." She then spoke aloud as she prepared to draw her card. "Okay, you jerk! It's my turn!"

Darkbishop Archfiend merely remained silent. The blonde-haired girl drew her card.

"I DRAW!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Allegro Toile, Etoile Cyber, Blade Skater, Doble Passe, Cyber Gymnast, and Cyber Tutu

* * *

Mavis's drawn card was Cyber Tutu - a monster card. Her hand also contained Allegro Toile, Etoile Cyber, Blade Skater, Doble Passe, and Cyber Gymnast.

"Cyber Tutu." Mavis thought, looking at her hand. She saw another card in her hand that could help her gain an early lead. "And my Allegro Toile Spell could be of some assistance."

"Well, my dear?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend in a polite tone. "What will your play be?"

Mavis responded by placing her drawn card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I'll show you... I summon Cyber Tutu in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a ballerina dressed in red and teal clothing with pink hair (Level: 3/ATK: 1000).

"How interesting. That monster can attack the opponent directly if they control a monster stronger than itself." said Darkbishop Archfiend aloud, before smiling and sinking into his thoughts. "But the moment you do attack, I'll activate my Trap card and wipe your only monster out."

Unfortunately for the Court of Darkness member, Mavis wasn't quite finished yet...

"Next I activate Allegro Toile!" she announced, while slotting a card into her Duel Disk.

The mentioned Spell card rose up and revealed itself.

"Allegro Toile?" blinked Molly. "Is it a good card?"

The black-haired girl's question was about to be answered...

"This Spell card allows me to destroy your facedown card." explained Mavis. "So say goodbye!"

In an instant, Darkbishop Archfiend's set card flipped face-up before shattering into pieces of glass.

"A smart play..." The Court of Darkness member muttered unhappily.

"Now my Cyber Tutu can safely attack you directly!" smirked Mavis. "Go get him, my monster!"

Cyber Tutu obeyed, leaping into the air and dropkicking Darkbishop Archfiend in the chest, making him stumble back a bit (LP: 3000).

"Finally-" The blonde-haired girl continued, slotting one more card into her Duel Disk. "-I'll set this card facedown."

A facedown card materialized.

"I'll admit you're pretty good for a beginner." remarked Darkbishop Archfiend. "But now, you must face your past!"

He drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): Matador Fiend, Dark Arena, Summoned Skull, Monster Reincarnation, and Ritual of the Matador

* * *

"But first... your Cyber Tutu will feel the sting of my Picador Fiend! Attack now, my monster!"

Picador Fiend obeyed, firing a blast from its staff.

"Reveal Trap card!" shouted Mavis. On cue, her facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Doble Passe! This turns your attack on my monster into a direct attack on me!"

The blast slipped by Cyber Tutu and struck the blonde-haired girl instead.

"Mavis!" cried out Rosie and Molly in unison.

Mavis was grimacing from the damage she took (LP: 2400), but quickly managed a smile upon recovering.

"And why are you smiling now?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend curiously. "You're down to 2400 life points already."

"My Trap has a second ability." Mavis pointed out. "Now my own monster gets to attack YOU directly!"

"What?!"

Cyber Tutu delivered another dropkick, striking the Court of Darkness member in the face (ouch).

"AUGH!" The Court of Darkness member bellowed in pain (LP: 2000).

"Take that, jerk!" cheered Molly.

"For a beginner, your friend is doing well against that member of the Court of Darkness." The blue-haired Amazoness Scout remarked.

"But how long will she last?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Long enough to kick his butt!" insisted Rosie.

Back with Darkbishop Archfiend... despite being hit by a direct attack by Cyber Tutu once more, he was actually smiling to himself.

"She's tougher than I initially thought." The monster thought to himself. "But playtime has long since passed." He took a card from his hand. "My attack may have failed to take your Cyber Tutu down, but my turn isn't over yet."

"Bring it on!" dared Mavis.

"If you insist." sighed Darkbishop Archfiend, taking and readying a card from his hand. "I now activate Ritual of the Matador!"

The mentioned Ritual Spell card materialized face-up.

"To invoke the power of this Spell card, I must send enough monsters from my field or hand to the graveyard until their star levels equal or become greater than six!"

"Six or greater?" Mavis questioned.

"Yes." confirmed Darkbishop Archfiend, holding a monster card (Summond Skull) out. "And my level 6 Summoned Skull will do."

The familiar demon-like fiend appeared before fading into the face-up Spell card.

"Now I may call forth Matador Fiend!"

The ritual commenced. Over with Amazoness Sage, she was looking worried.

"Disaster is coming." The village chief said to herself.

"What?" quizzed Rosie, turning to Amazoness Sage.

"What do you mean?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"I'm afraid it'd be best to watch and see for yourselves."

A huge column of darkness shot out of the Ritual Spell card.

"Oh, wow..." breathed the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

Suddenly, the darkness exploded as a figure began to form below.

"And now-" grinned Darkbishop Archfiend. "-meet Matador Fiend!"

From the darkness came a dark blue fiend with red wings (Level: 6/ATK: 0).

"A 0 attack point monster?" thought Mavis to herself. "Why summon something like that? He must be up to something with it."

"You're about to find out." said Darkbishop Archfiend, breaking Mavis' thought as though he knew what she was thinking. From there, he took another card from his hand and slotted it into his opened Field Spell section. "I will now change the area with this Field Spell card - Dark Arena!"

The whole arena began to transform.

"Dark Arena?" Mavis asked, looking around. "I'm almost scared to ask what it does."

Darkbishop Archfiend didn't say a word in response. Soon, the arena had turned into a location on the Island of Sodor! ...which was an Ice Cream Parlor.

"What?" Mavis gasped with widened eyes. "Why am I back on the Island of Sodor?"

The door was heard opening... and there was the then 12-year old Mavis.

"T-That's me! ...back when I was only 12-years old. What's going on here?"

A few minutes later, after the younger girl got herself some ice cream, a new voice was heard.

"Well, hello there." said a young male voice.

Young Mavis looked around. She saw an 11-year old boy with jet black hair and a devious smile on his face.

"Oh, hello there." The young blonde-haired girl greeted, not thinking that boy was bad.

"Haven't seen you around here before." said the young black-haired boy.

"That's because I'm new to the island and city. My name is Mavis. Mavis Drewry."

"A pleasure to meet you." The boy grinned some more. "My name is Diesel. Diesel Horwich."

Watching from nearby, the 16-year old Mavis gasped at what she saw.

"That's when Diesel and I first met!" The blonde-haired girl said in a barely there whisper.

"So... enjoying the little blast from the past?" called a voice.

Mavis scowled as Darkbishop Archfiend suddenly showed himself from behind a counter.

"Why are you showing me this? It doesn't make any sense!"

"I want to take you back to the past." The Court of Darkess member explained. "The past where your heart became full of darkness."

Mavis suddenly realized what he was talking about. "No... NO!" she exclaimed. "I refuse to...allow myself to fall into darkness."

"Are you quite sure?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend. "Can you even erase the memories of your dark past?"

"You don't know me! I'm not like that anymore!"

Suddenly, the vision of the past warped into a new area... a more cavern-like area. In addition, Darkbishop Archfiend was shown to be nearby also (with his newly summoned Matador Fiend).

"Now where am I?" asked Mavis, whilst looking around.

"You've broken through my illusion." said Darkbishop Archfiend. "For that, the duel will go on."

Mavis nodded hotly, before drawing her card. "Fine by me!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Etoile Cyber, Blade Skater, Cyber Gymnast, and Polymerization

* * *

To the blonde-haired girl's surprise, she had drawn a Polymerization Spell card.

"Alright..." said Mavis confidently. "It's show time. I activate the Spell card Polymerization!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"A fusion summon, eh?" questioned Darkbishop Archfiend.

"And I'll fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together!" continued Mavis, taking two more cards from her hand and showing what they were. "To bring out the mighty Cyber Blader!"

The fusion commenced quickly, revealing a woman with long hair, wearing red and silver clothing, and wearing figure skating-like boots when it finished (Level: 6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 800).

"Stronger than Cyber Tutu." Darkbishop Archfiend commented. "Even then, it won't be enough to take me down."

"Wanna bet?" Mavis asked fiercely, motioning her hand out before pointing at Picador Fiend and Matador Fiend. "Becaue you control two monsters, my Cyber Blader will now gain double the attack points!"

Cyber Blader grew stronger (ATK: 2100 - 4200).

"4200 attack points!" exclaimed Rosie happily. "That's enough to finish off Darkbishop Archfiend!"

"Cyber Blader!" commanded Mavis. "Attack!"

Cyber Blader obeyed and started ' _skating_ ' towards Picador Fiend.

"You've made a grave mistake there, my dear!" Darkbishop Archfiend smiled darkly. "Now the effect of my Dark Arena will activate!"

"What?!" winced Mavis.

"Dark Arena allows both of us to change whichever monsters we can target during one of our battle phases." explained the member of the Court of Darkness, not losing his evil smile. "As so..."

Darkness surrounded Picador Fiend, and when it faded away... it revealed Matador Fiend instead!

"Matador Fiend is the target now?" Mavis reeled back. "But it has 0 attack points!"

"That may be-" agreed Darkbishop Archfiend. "-but as you should know, attack points don't mean everything."

"I knew it!" Amazoness Sage exclaimed suddenly. "That monster must have an ability with which to hurt Mavis if she dared to attack it!"

The two monsters clashed, causing smoke to appear.

"What's happening to our monsters?!" Mavis cried out.

When the smoke clear, Cyber Blader was lying on the ground in pain. Matador Fiend, on the other hand, was still standing.

"Oh no! Cyber Blader!"

"My monster's special abilities will now activate." said Darkbishop Archfiend. "First, my Matador Fiend can't be destroyed by battle, and I also take no battle damage. But it doesn't stop there..."

Mavis was worried, but kept herself quiet.

"When my fiend does battle with a monster, that monster is automatically destroyed at the end of the damage step!"

Cyber Blader instantly shattered into pieces of glass.

"Oh dear!" wailed Molly.

"Cyber Blader was destroyed!" added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"And now it's Cyber Tuto's turn." snickered Darkbishop Archfiend.

Mavis was alarmed. "What?! No!"

Cyber Tutu started to attack Picador Fiend... and because the latter was stronger than the former, the steed unleashed a fire breath of a sort. Cyber Tutu was roasted alive by the attack.

"Cyber Tutu!" cried out Mavis (LP: 1800).

Suddenly, the area started to transform yet again.

"Now what are you going to show me?"

The blonde-haired girl's answer came... in an alleyway somewhere in Knapford City. Mavis saw her younger self being lead somewhere by Young Diesel.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Young Mavis curiously.

"To meet some friends of mine." said Young Diesel.

With that said, he lead the younger blonde-haired girl into an old abandoned building. Inside, there wasn't much to say...but waiting were two twin boys with blonde hair like Young Mavis.

"So, this be your new girlfriend, Diesel?" asked the first boy.

"Quite the foxy one, she is." commented the second boy.

"These are your friends?" asked Young Mavis.

"Got that right." confirmed Young Diesel. "They're Arry and Bert."

"Oie, and we be twins." added Young Arry.

"Diesel told us about you... and we actually want you to become a member of the gang." Young Bert stated.

"Me? A member of a gang?"

"It'll make you cool." insisted Young Diesel. "No one at school will want to be friends with you if you're not cool like us."

"But what about that nice boy Toby?" asked Young Mavis innocently. "He thought I was cool."

"Forget him." interrupted Young Bert. "He THINKS you're cool, .but really thought you're just a loser new girl."

"You're lying..." protested the young blonde-haired girl. "He would never think that!"

"We're telling you the honest truth." Young Diesel corrected. "Besides, I'm your boyfriend. I would always tell you the truth."

Young Mavis was quiet for a minute. While nearby, the 16-year old Mavis was watching the whole scene unfold.

"It was then I made some of the biggest mistakes of my life." she thought sadly.

The area started to transform once more. It had now turned into a hallway in Sodor Middle School a few weeks after Mavis became a member of Diesel's gang. There was some mean laughter echoing from behind a bend...

"Grab him and take whatever lunch money he has!" came the voice of Young Mavis.

Young Arry and Bert both grabbed a defenseless student menacingly.

"Time to give up some lunch money to us." hissed Young Bert.

With that said, the twins turned the student upside down and started shaking him until some money fell out of his pockets. Young Mavis picked up the money and smirked.

"That's all he had. You two can stop now." The young blonde-haired girl coached.

Young Arry and Bert complied...and stuffed the student inside the opened locker, closing it afterward.

"Wait until Mr. Arkwright hears about this!" cried the student from inside the locker.

"Oh, boo hoo, we're so scared." said Young Arry sarcastically.

The three kids walked away laughing. Nearby, 16-year old Mavis had been watching the scene and felt more ashamed than ever before with herself for becoming the exact opposite of who she really was.

"Why? Why did I let myself become so mean?" Mavis asked herself sadly.

Before long, more voices could be heard coming from a classroom. Curiously, the blonde-haired girl decided to check it out. Inside, Young Mavis was arguing with a 12-year old boy with brown hair. The present day-Mavis knew exactly who it was...

"Toby?"

"You have to stop this, Mavis!" said Young Toby. "It's not right! You're making everybody in school hate you! Even your Mom and Dad are ashamed of what you're becoming!"

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" Young Mavis scoffed. "No one really gets me... not even you!"

Young Toby raised an eyebrow. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Diesel told me all about how you really think I'm a loser."

"Diesel is the biggest liar in town!" The shocked young brown-haired boy argued. "He once spread lies about Duck and almost got him expelled. He's lied to us many times before, and he's lied to you. He doesn't even love you! He's just using you!"

"Diesel is my boyfriend! he would never lie to me!" argued Young Mavis.

"You don't know him like WE know him." protested Young Toby.

"What's going on, Mavis?" came the voice of Young Diesel, who entered the classroom. He scowled upon seeing Toby. "Is that guy giving you a hard time?"

"I was only opening her eyes to what kind of jerk you really are, Diesel." said Young Toby firmly.

"Yes, he is!" Young Mavis accused. "He has been calling you a liar, a bully, and jerk!"

Young Diesel wasn't very happy to hear that. "Oh, he did, did he?" He gave the young brown-haired boy an evil eye. "Well then, let's teach him a lesson, shall we?"

Seconds later, Young Diesel and Young Mavis were both carrying Young Toby until they stuffed him in an opened trash can.

"There we go." said Young Diesel, dusting his hands in satisfaction. "Now let that be a lesson to you. And unless you want a worse punishment, I suggest an apology for those hurtful names you called me."

"I would rather kiss a toilet seat." spat Young Toby. "You don't belong in this school, Diesel. You're nothing but a bully and a liar!"

"Watch your mouth, Toby." warned Young Diesel. "Sooner or later, it will get you in big trouble."

"Yeah! And never bad mouth Diesel again!" agreed Young Mavis.

And the two bullies left the classroom. From watching this scene, Mavis fell to her knees and clutched her head in sorrow.

"Why did I do that?" she asked herself. "I should have listened to Toby!"

It was then the voice of Darkbishop Archfiend started speaking to the despairing blonde-haired girl.

"You're the one who wanted to be cool." he teased. "You were willing to do anything for respect, even if it meant becoming something you're not."

"STOP IT!" screamed Mavis, starting to cry. "JUST STOP IT!"

With that all said and done, the vision vanished as they returned to the duel.

"Um... Mavis?" called Rosie. "Are you okay?"

Mavis was too lost in her despair to even hear the pink-haired girl.

"Why is she even crying?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout, not realizing that Mavis was being affected by something.

"I wish I never met Diesel!" wailed Mavis. "He turned me into a monster! He lied to me!"

"Ah, but you didn't HAVE to accept becoming his friend." taunted Darkbishop Archfiend. "Have you ever thought of saying no when you first met him?"

"I was new and naive! I wasn't thinking straight at the time."

The blonde-haired girl stood back up and placed a card sideways onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I summon Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!" Mavis announced, trying to keep her emotions in check.

Appearing to the field was another female monster. This one had a purple shirt and black pants while wearing a white mask (Level: 4/DEF: 1800).

"I had no idea torturing you would be this much fun!" remarked Darkbishop Archfiend in sadistic glee, drawing his card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (2): Monster Reincarnation and Banderillero Fiend

* * *

The face-up Dark Arena started pulsing with dark energy.

"Wh-What's going on?" asked Molly.

"Now my Field Spell activates!" announced Darkbishop Archfiend. "And I'll use my Picador Fiend...to attack you directly!"

"What!?" exclaimed Mavis. "But you can't! I have a monster out!"

"Oh, forgotten about my Dark Arena, have you?"

Rosie gasped. "He's right! He can change the target to anyone during the battle phase of any of the players' turn... even directly!"

"That's not fair!" protested Molly.

"Oh, but it is!" laughed Darkbishop Archfiend. "Direct attack now!"

Picador Fiend fired a blast at Mavis, causing her to scream as she was sent flying into the wall (LP: 200).

"This is bad!" exclaimed the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Mavis is not only down to 200 life points-" added Amazoness Sage. "-but this will also trigger yet another bad memory!"

"Bad memory?" Rosie questioned.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Molly.

"I'm starting to realize what this Dark Arena card's true purpose is." explained Amazoness Sage. "While we can't see it, Darkbishop Archfiend is using it to create illusions of Mavis' dark past to try and get her to submit to darkness. It triggers whenever she takes battle damage!"

Upon hearing that, the blonde-haird girl's friends started to call out words of support.

"You have to fight it, Mavis!" called Rosie.

It was no use. Already the place started to transform into a new location. This time, it was when Mavis was 13-years old. She was at Burger World enjoying some lunch by herself, but was currently in a very bitter mood. Most recently, Young Mavis had gotten into some trouble at a level crossing when she had gotten hurt while skateboarding and had held up traffic. However, while Young Toby did kindly help her, the young blonde-haired girl still blamed him for making her look foolish.

"That Toby!" huffed Young Mavis. "This was all his fault!"

"Who's fault?" came the voice of a now 12-years old Diesel.

Young Mavis perked up a bit when she saw her boyfriend walking up to the table with his food.

"That Toby." pouted Young Mavis. And she told him about the skateboard incident.

Young Diesel, getting a devious idea, took pity on his girlfriend.

"How could he do that to you?" The young black-haired boy asked with false sympathy. "You know something? He needs to be taught a lesson and quick."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Young Mavis curiously.

And thus Young Diesel explained about a street gang somewhere in Knapford. 16-year old Mavis was watching from another table.

"Oh no..." she said quietly. "This is when I not only learned the truth about Diesel, but when I almost got Toby killed!"

The area started to transform once more. This time to another alleyway somewhere in Knapford City. Young Mavis was walking towards a door near the back.

"This must be the place." The young blonde-haired girl said to herself quietly.

She knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a small hatch near the top of the door slid open and revealed a pair of eyes.

"Yeah?"

Young Mavis gulped. "Are you guys...the Troublesome Trucks?"

"That'd be us." said the voice, belonging to the leader. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mavis Drewry, and I was told about you guys by someone I know. Can you do me a favor?"

"Perhaps...what is it you would like us to do?" grunted the leader.

"Well, there's this guy named Toby, who has brown-hair and is my age, he had recently made me look foolish before lots of other people. I would like you to damage his bike and make him look foolish. Oh, and keep this quiet okay?"

The leader smirked dangerously. "No worries. You have our word of honor, young lady."

I'm sorry to say that Mavis should've known better than to trust any of them. Why, you might ask? Because they were the most devious and troublesome lads in town. The Troublesome Trucks don't simply cause trouble, they actually thrived in creating chaos and danger for their own personal amusement. Either way, the trucks made their plan and went into action. Outside, Mavis watched her younger self run out of the alleyway looking very excited.

"I was so stupid." The blonde-haired girl said to herself sadly. "I should have known better than to trust them!"

"Indeed so." replied a voice (male) mockingly. It was Darkbishop Archfiend. "But you were so determined to get what you wanted, that you didn't even think of the consequences for your actions."

Mavis was THIS close to being pushed over the edge. "Please!" she begged. "I beg you to end this!"

Unfortunately, the area transformed once more. This time to when Toby was going for a bike ride...with his brakes tampered with. As the young brown-haired boy reached the crossroads, he tried to put his brakes on, but...

"Hey, what's the matter with my—uh-oh!" Young Toby slid down the hill and up the other side quickly without him doing anything. He managed to stay upright, but was now very worried. Young Toby climbed down and was about to check his brakes - when suddenly, he found himself surrounded by the Troublesome Trucks street gang.

"Lookie what we have here, boss." said one truck member dangerously. "A young boy who doesn't seem to know how to ride his own bike."

"Is that so?" asked the leader. He gave Young Toby a sinister stare. "Well then, let's give him a bike-riding lesson, boys."

In a frightened panic, Young Toby tried fighting back against the trucks (more like trying to escape from them), but the older lads were much stronger than he was and so it was useless to try and resist. The Troublesome Trucks soon took the young brown-haired boy to an old wooden bridge near the river.

"If you can ride across this bridge, then you can go anywhere." snickered the leader. "Heck, we'll even leave you alone."

Young Toby gulped. The bridge was very old and made of rotten wood, while also on the verge of collapsing. Since he had no way of getting away, he got on his now vandalized bike and started to peddle across. Surprisingly, Young Toby was doing well and was already halfway across, when suddenly...

"Now!" shouted the leader.

Two members, down near the creek, pushed a giant log, which sailed down the water and hit the supports of the bridge. With a loud crash, the bridge vanished and Young Toby's bike splashed into the water below.

"Where's the brat?" asked a truck member.

The leader looked down and where the bridge once stood was a single line of beams with Young Toby hanging on for dear life. He looked really scared.

"HELP! HELP!" The young brown-haired boy shrieked in terror.

"Break the beam! Send him for a swim!" The leader shouted.

Nearby, Mavis was watching what could possibly be the worst moment of her life flash before her very eyes. At this point, the poor blonde-haired girl had broken down.

"Stop it!" screamed Mavis in terror. "STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

But because it was all an illusion, there wasn't anything Mavis could do about it—well, except continue to cry in her despair.

"He could have died! And it was all my fault!"

The scene started to transform back into the Dark Arena... but at this point, Mavis was completely unresponsive.

"Mavis!" called Rosie. "Mavis!"

The poor blonde-haired girl did not response at all. She was on her knees, clutching her head with both hands, and crying out of both fear and shame.

"Well, well, well." snickered Darkbishop Archfiend sadistically. "Having fun yet?"

"Stop this now!" demanded Amazoness Sage. "This duel has gone on far enough!"

"And why should I stop?"

"You are doing nothing but torturing this poor girl." protested the village chief.

Darkbishop Archfiend gave a cruel laugh. "If it's to get her to fall into darkness for the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' return... then so be it!"

On cue, a face-up monster card called Banderillero Fiend materialized.

"Now I summon Banderillero Fiend in attack mode!" continued the monster.

Appearing to the field was a large snake-like fiend with bat wings (Level: 3/ATK: 900).

"And now, my monster's effect activates! When it's normal summoned, it can go and destroy one monster you, my dear, control!"

Mavis was too lost in despair to even hear... Not that Darkbishop Archfiend really cared, right now.

"Destroy the girl's Cyber Gymnast!"

"Mavis will be wide open if her monster is destroyed!" exclaimed the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

Banderillero Fiend swooped in and destroyed Mavis's monster.

"Fortunately, because I've already attacked, you're safe for the moment." Darkbishop Archfiend smiled in triumph. "So, make your final move."

Mavis still didn't make a move. She was too frozen with fear and shame.

"Mavis!" called Molly. "You have to get back up and fight!"

The poor blonde-haired girl did not respond. "I...don't deserve friends..." she sobbed like she was in a trance. "I...don't deserve to live..."

"Yes, you do!" argued Rosie. "You DO deserve friends, and you deserve to live!"

Sadly, those words failed to reach the broken Mavis, who merely remained frozen in her spot.

"Poor Mavis." The blue-haired Amazoness Scout remarked, looking sorry for the blonde-haired girl.

"I was so cruel." mumbled Mavis quietly, as more tears fell from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Toby..."

Just when all seemed lost for Mavis, Amazoness Sage suddenly had an idea...

"I think I may have a solution to help your friend."

"What is it?" asked Molly.

"I only hope it'll help." came from Rosie.

Amazoness Sage didn't answer the question; she instead started to call out to Mavis...

"Mavis!" bellowed the village chief. "I know you can hear me! I know the illusions of your past are terrifying you, but there's one bit of memory from your past that you are forgetting!"

"What?" asked Mavis, looking over to the wise village chief with her eyes red from crying.

"You're not letting yourself see the remains of that memory!" continued Amazoness Sage. "Let yourself see it!"

Mavis shuddered with fright. "I can't! I'm too ashamed of who I was and what I've almost caused!"

"You have to, young one! Unless you do, you'll be forever lost in darkness!"

Mavis, despite being terrified, slowly realized that Amazoness Sage was right. Slowly, she got back up despite her eyes still feeling wet from tears.

"Okay..." The blonde-haired girl whimpered. "I'll...watch on."

The area started to transform once more. It was back to the old bridge area, and the Troublesome Trucks were still trying to knock Young Toby into the river below. Just then...

"What are you guys doing?!"

Young Toby managed to pull himself up a bit just to see Young Mavis running in. She looked positively horrified at what was going on.

"We're just doing what you asked us to do!" called the leader. "' ** _Make him look foolish_** '. Those were your exact words!"

"Mavis, you didn't..." Young Toby groaned in realization, just as his hands started to slip.

"Yes, I said for you to make him look foolish, but NOT send him to his death!" Young Mavis protested. "Hold on, Toby, I'm coming!"

Luckily, the beams were bolted together, so she was able to cross it slowly. The gang thought it would be fun to push her off, too... Just before they could do anything, however, they saw police cars and officers arriving and heading right for them.

"Split now!" cried the leader. He tried to get away himself, but was suddenly tackled down by one of his own members.

"Sorry, boss, but I happen to be a Ffarquhar police officer." said the member, revealing who he really was. "I've been assigned and working undercover for the last few weeks on orders from my superiors. You are now under arrest for attempted murder!"

The leader groaned and buried his face into the dirt crossly. Meanwhile, Young Mavis had finally reached Young Toby...

"Grab my hand, Toby... Please!"

"Why should I?" The young brown-haired boy demanded, looking pretty angry in addition to being terrified out of his mind. "It's because of you I'm in this mess!"

Young Mavis groaned. "You're right, and I'm sorry. I was just so mad at you, that I asked those guys to make you look foolish. But I see now, that it was my fault that I had gotten you into this mess. I'm so sorry, Toby, but you have to trust me now, or else you're going for a long swim...permanently!"

At first, Young Toby flat out refused to listen to her, but when he looked back up and saw the seriousness within Young Mavis' green eyes, he finally reached up and grabbed her hand. Despite a few slips, the young blonde-haired girl soon brought Toby back to safety on firm ground.

"Whew, that was a close call." sighed Young Mavis. "It's a good thing you held on for a long time."

Young Toby remained silent for a while. Young Mavis felt very sad and ashamed. She never meant to go this far. At last, after what seemed like forever, Young Toby finally found his voice...

"Did Diesel put you up to this?" The young brown-haired boy asked.

Young Mavis confirmed everything. "Y-Yes. He suggested that I go and see the trucks gang." she nodded.

"And did he tell you what they were going to do to me?" Young Toby went on, sounding dead serious.

Before Young Mavis could answer the question, a familiar oily voice could be heard from nearby...

"Hey, Mavis! Why are you talking to Toby?!"

Young Mavis looked up and saw Young Diesel coming towards her and Young Toby.

"I thought you wanted to get back at him for what he did to you?" The young black-haired boy asked snidely. "Talking to him isn't going to help with that, you know."

Suddenly, Young Mavis got a look of severe anger on her face. She knew Diesel was the one who convinced her to go see the trucks, and it almost got Toby severely hurt or even killed. Without any warning, the young blonde-haired girl went over and...slapped Young Diesel across the face.

"I never said I wanted him dead!" she snarled. "You knew the trucks would try to do something despicable to him, but you said nothing about it! Toby was right about you all along - you ARE a bully and a manipulative liar!"

"Not only that-" added Toby angrily. "-but he was never even in-love with you. He was just using you as an extra member of his gang. If he really was a loyal boyfriend, then why did I catch him flirting with other girls, especially Daisy Cammell, and saying that you were really his cousin?"

"WHAT?!"

Young Diesel was spluttering nervously. "M-Me? Flirting with o-other girls? D-Don't be silly. I would never-"

That, I'm afraid, was the last straw for Young Mavis...

"You... you lying, two-timing, manipulative, JERK!" The young blonde-haired girl screamed in her rage, kicking Young Diesel...where the sun don't shine, causing him to collapse to his knees while groaning (or squealing) in pain.

"M-Mavis?" stuttered Young Toby. He never saw Young Mavis go and kick a boy in the groin before.

"We're through, Diesel Horwich!" exclaimed Young Mavis. "I never want to see you or your so-called friends, ever again!"

Young Diesel, gripping onto his aching...kiwis, had an extremely hilarious look of shock on his face before fainting. Nearby, 16-year old Mavis had been watching the whole thing unfold.

"I... I remember this..."

Young Mavis then turned and hugged Young Toby close to her as she started to cry.

"Oh, Toby, I'm so sorry for everything!" The young blonde-haired girl sobbed with remorse. "I really am!"

"I told you Diesel was no good." said Young Toby softly. "Why didn't you listen?"

"I... I just wanted to be cool." Young Mavis explained, sniffling and hiccuping. "Diesel said that if I was more tough, then I could eventually make people WANT to be friends with me."

"But that's no good. Being a bully will cause people to turn away from you... and believe me, this was a serious case with another friend of mine."

"It was?" asked Young Mavis.

Young Toby nodded grimly.

"Well, whatever happened to him?"

"Actually ' _her_ '." The young brown-haired boy corrected.

As the two kids talked things over, 16-year old Mavis finally acknowledged that she had successfully turned her life around for the good.

"If it wasn't for me saving Toby's life-" Mavis thought to herself. "-I never would have learned of Diesels' true colors, nor would I have made so many wonderful friends today."

It was then a voice spoke to the blonde-haired girl, but it didn't belong to Darkbishop Archfiend; it belonged to Amazoness Sage instead...

"Do you see now, Mavis?" The village chief asked kindly. "Not every moment of your past was a bad one. There were also lots of good ones, as well."

Mavis remained quiet. And thus the voice continued to speak.

"If you allow yourself to be lost in darkness, then you will only be shutting out the good memories you had. And what would Toby then do?"

Mavis gasped and closed her eyes to those words.

"Toby..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was after Mavis woke in the hospital after being kidnapped and getting brutally beaten by Diesel, Arry, and Bert. Thomas had won a duel against Diesel and saved her life (while eliminating the devious black-haired boy from the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament), while Toby had offered to stay by her side until she was better.

"Thanks for staying by my side, Toby." said Mavis gratefully.

"Oh, think nothing of it." replied Toby with a hint of blush. "You're more important to me."

Mavis blushed back. "Funny, you're important to me, too."

Now that the two of them were alone, nothing would be able to stop (or interrupt) either of them from finally admitting their feelings for each other. Which was done so... With a passionate kiss.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I have to keep fighting." said Mavis to herself. "For Toby... for all of my friends!"

The area transformed back into Dark Arena. It was right then Darkbishop Archfiend started to speak again.

"So, will you give up or not?" The Court of Darkness member asked snidely. "If you do, I promise that the darkness will absorb you quickly and painlessly."

"No..."

Darkbishop Archfiend's eyes widened. "What did you say?" he demanded.

"I will not give up!" shouted Mavis defiantly. "I may have had bad memories of the past, but there have been good memories, too!"

At that point, the blonde-haired girl got back onto her feet.

"This duel is not over by a long shot!"

Darkbishop Archfiend snorted. "You're one stubborn young woman..." The Court of Darkness member grumbled. "I guess I'll just have to MAKE you sink into darkness painfully!"

"You'll do no such thing!" snapped Mavis, getting prepared to draw. "It's my turn!"

As the blonde-haired girl drew her card, she slashed a bright wave of color from her deck (Destiny Draw).

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

In an instant, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed!" announced Mavis, drawing two cards. "This lets me draw two more cards from my deck."

She had drawn two Spell cards (Fusion Recovery and The Warrior Returning Alive). They were exactly what Mavis needed to win the match.

"Now I activate The Warrior Returning Alive!" The blonde-haired girl continued. "This lets me return a Warrior-type monster from my grave to my hand. And I choose my Blade Skater!"

The mentioned card slipped from the blonde-haired girl's graveyard, and she took and added it to her hand.

"What could Mavis be up to?" Molly asked.

No one else responded.

"Next I activate Fusion Recovery." continued Mavis some more, slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "This lets me add both Polymerization and Etoile Cyber back to my hand."

"But why retrieve your cards for a fusion summon?" questioned Darkbishop Archfiend. "You know Cyber Blader is no match for my monsters!"

"That's where you're wrong!" retorted Mavis, showing her three glowing cards. "Once again, I activate the Spell card Polymerization!"

On cue, Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber both materialized an leaped into the hole in the sky.

"Welcome back, Cyber Blader!"

A second copy of the skating fusion monster gave a pose as soon as the fusion ceased (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

"Heh! That won't help you." Darkbishop Archfiend pointed out. "My Dark Arena Field Spell card will allow me to choose your battle target instead."

"I'm afraid I have to disagree with you." grinned Mavis. "My Cyber Blader's special ability depends on the amount of monsters you have on the field. Have one, my Cyber Blader cannot be destroyed by battle. Control two, and its attack points double. But since you have three, the special effects of all your cards on the field are negated!"

Darkbishop Archfiend was shocked. "Negated?!"

"That's right! Say goodbye!"

With that, the darkness around the area began to vanish.

"Dark Arena has been wiped out!" exclaimed the red-haired Amazones Scout.

"Your friend has successfully conquered her inner darkness!" added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Cyber Blader!" called Mavis in triumph. "Attack Matador Fiend now!"

Cyber Blader obeyed and started 'skating' towards Matador Fiend. With a spin, she kicked and sliced Matador Fiend's chest with one of the skates on her boots. This time, nothing was to stop Matador Fiend from being destroyed and finishing off Darkbishop Archfiend.

"I... how could I lose?" mumbled a shocked Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Mavis Drewry wins!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away...and everyone was taken back to the middle of the Amazon Village.

"I will never give in to darkness." said Mavis heatedly. "Now, leave, and never return!"

"Hmm... it would seem you really are an intriguing one." acknowledged Darkbishop Archfiend. "While I will retreat for now, I can assure you that we will duel again soon."

With that said, he and the remains of his army of evil monsters vanished.

"And I'll be ready to face you again." Mavis thought bitterly.

Just then, the blonde-haired girl started to hear cheers from all of the remaining and gathering Amazoness monsters in the village.

"Way to go, Mavis!" cried both Molly and Rosie in unison.

"That girl has promise." said the blue-haired Amazoness Scout, speaking about Mavis.

Mavis looked over to her friends and smiled at them happily. She had finally faced her inner demons...and came out on top. The blonde-haired girl honestly couldn't be feeling any prouder than she was right now. At least now we know the girls were doing okay. What about a certain trio? Well then...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere on an unknown island, James, Henry, and Gordon were each lying on the beach and out like a light thanks to that storm. In the nearby bushes, they began to ruffle a bit.

"Hey, guys!" called a voice from within. "I think we have some visitors on the island."

Over with James, a shadow of a person started to loom over his face. The red-haired boy's eyes began to flicker open.

"Wh-Where am I?" he murmured. Once the red-haired boy's eyes opened fully, he saw something (someone) staring at him that also made the eyes widen. "Huh?"

It was a Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.


	13. Land of the Neo-Spacians

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin and James both continued to stare at each other silently for what seemed like forever. Finally, the former smiled and said something to the latter...

"Hi there."

James gave a startled yell and rolled to the side in addition to being back on his feet. The yell was also loud enough to wake Henry and Gordon both up as well.

"What?! What happened?!" The two teenage boys demanded, now back on their feet.

Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin blinked for a few seconds before regaining his smile and speaking.

"You three must be new around here." he said. "Welcome to the island...of the Neo-Spacians!"

"Neo-Spacians?" asked James, taking out his deck and looking through them. "I've got all of you guys in my deck!"

Unfortunately, while the Neo-Spacian cards (and their support ones) all looked fine, there was a problem with some of the other ones present...

"Hey! Something's wrong with all of my Elemental HEROES and their support cards! They're...all blank!"

Gordon and Henry both leered over to take a look...but to them, the Elemental HEROES looked fine.

"They seem fine to me." shrugged Gordon. "Perhaps you've lost your mind."

James didn't know why this was happening. His cards were fine earlier before he and the others got separated by that storm...but now, the Elemental HEROES were completely blank.

"Why?" The red-haired boy asked, falling to his knees. He then gave a skyward scream. "WHY?!"

"Maybe they're cross at you when they found out what you did to Emily in the past." suggested Henry jokingly.

"This isn't funny! My cards were all fine before we got separated...now I can't seem to use them!"

"Ahem!" spoke up Aqua Dolphin.

The three teenage boys looked over to the Neo-Spacian.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" Aqua Dolphin suggested.

"How?" asked James.

"Come with me to my village, and everything will be explained."

"You sure?" asked Henry.

"Positive."

With no other choice in the matter, James, Henry, and Gordon each agreed to go with the Neo-Spacian to his village somewhere on the island.

Title: Land of Neo-Spacians

Somewhere out in the ocean, Thomas and the others were still sailing and searching for their lost friends.

"We're lost!" moaned Percy. "We're never going to find land! We're doomed to sail out here for all eternity! We'll never see our friends again!"

"Settle down, Percy." interrupted Edward. "We'll find land."

Meanwhile, using his mini telescope, Thomas was looking out into the distance in hopes of finding some trace of land.

"Anything, Thomas?" asked Stanley.

Sadly... "No." sighed Thomas.

Everyone else was disappointed to hear that.

"What if we're too late?" asked Toby. "What if the Court of Darkness captured them already?"

"We can't think like that." replied Maiden of the Aqua.

"Agreed." added Gilford the Lightning. "At least a few of your friends are skilled duelists and can take care."

"Too bad all my cards are gone." sulked Percy. "We could be able to use Red-Eyes to find them from a greater distance."

Where ARE the green-haired boy's cards? Why don't we go find out...?

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a dark section of the spirit world, Knight of Dark Dragon was busy doing some heavy training atop of a volcano.

"I make sure I don't slack off." he said to himself, swing his sword around fiercely. "Otherwise I could easily be defeated."

Being atop of a very high altitude place made it very windy...but the Dragon Knight was not phased by it one bit. However, as he trained, he suddenly spotted a bunch of somethings flying through the sky.

"Hmm?"

The somethings were Duel Monsters cards. Quickly, Knight of Dark Dragon snatched up all fifty of the cards.

"What are these doing out here?" he wondered, looking through the deck.

The deck contained Swordsman of Landstar, Gamble, Kunai with Chain, Graceful Dice, Skull Dice, Sword Hunter, Jinzo, Summoned Skull, Drop Off, Dice Re-Roll, Scapegoat, Star Blaster, Axe Raider, Alligator's Sword, etc.. Its theme seemed to be ' _Gamble_ '.

"A common sort of deck." Knight of Dark Dragon thought. Suddenly he gasped aloud at one of the last cards in the deck. "I-Impossible!"

The card in question was the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. But how was that possible? HE, the ultimate dragon warrior, was the true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!

"This pathetic deck has a Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

Knight of Dark Dragon was now filled with the desire to seek out the very person who wielded this deck and dragon...and take him down hard.

"Perhaps I can use the spirits within this deck to track down its original owner." The Dragon Knight said to himself.

Yes... this search was to be most...interesting, indeed.

(elsewhere...)

Back on the island of the Neo-Spacians, Aqua Dolphin was leading James, Henry, and Gordon through a jungle.

"Not much further." Aqua Dolphin remarked.

"What a relief." sighed Henry.

A full minute later, they had arrived.

"Here we are." smiled Aqua Dolphin. "Home sweet home."

The village was fairly small looking, but there were Neo-Spacians everywhere.

"It's like a movie we saw once." said Gordon.

"I'll say." agreed Henry.

James immediately rushed away from the others.

"James, wait!" called Henry and Gordon at once.

"Where are you going?" panicked Aqua Dolphin.

"To find the one monster who can help me!" replied James, still running towards the village.

As the red-haired boy approached the village, the various Neo-Spacians saw him approaching. Suddenly, the monsters screamed and started running around like chickens with their heads cut off in a panic.

"W-Why are they afraid of me?" asked James, as he stopped running.

Quickly, Aqua Dolphin caught up with the red-haired boy.

"We Neo-Spacians are a peaceful race." he explained. "But we are also timid and are afraid of those we don't know well enough. I happen to be one of the bravest of the village."

"And now we have a panic attack on our hands..." muttered Gordon irritably, referring to the other Neo-Spacians.

Aqua Dolphin decided to try and do something to calm his fellow Neo-Spacians down.

"Remain calm everyone!" he called out. "This human means no harm."

No such luck.

"Guess they don't believe you." shrugged James.

Just then...

"Who dares enter the village of the Neo-Spacians!?" bellowed a voice.

The Neo-Spacians stopped panicking and looked in the direction of the voice.

"Who said that?" asked James.

"That's our village's hero!" exclaimed Aqua Dolphin.

"Who is he?" quizzed Henry.

"It'd be best to wait and see..."

And they did. One hut's entryway was glowing all rainbow-like colors. Soon, something shot out of the entryway...and landed before the three humans AND Aqua Dolphin. Once the light faded away, the figure was revealed to be...

"Elemental HERO Neos?!"

Yes, indeed... it was the ultraman-like Elemental HERO. He was the island's greatest warrior and sworn protector.

"Whoa..." whispered both Gordon and Henry.

"I can't believe it...!" James spluttered. "This has to be a dream."

"You're not dreaming." Aqua Dolphin pointed out. "The legendary Elemental HERO Neos is our island's savior and guardian."

"Indeed, I am." nodded Neos. He looked to the three humans. "Who are you three? Are you members of the Court of Darkness?"

"Absolutely not!" protested James. "We are humans who came to fight against the Court!"

"You guys are humans?" questioned one of the Neo-Spacians.

"And you're here to fight the Court of Darkness?" added Aqua Dolphin.

"Yes." nodded Henry.

"But we're also here because our friend had been kidnapped." added Gordon.

James added to that... "We need help in finding her."

"Friend?" blinked another Neo-Spacian.

"She's a fellow human." explained Henry, taking out a picture of Emily from his pocket.

Elemental HERO Neos took hold of the picture and looked at it.

"Hmm..."

There was a long silence... finally, Neos spoke up once more.

"Unfortunately, we haven't seen this girl." he said with regret.

"Rats." sighed James.

Gordon and Henry were both disappointed as well. Just then, James remembered why they even came to this village in the first place.

"I've got a problem that I want answers to." he said, holding out his Elemental HERO cards. "You can see these cards just fine, right?"

Neos took hold of the cards...and saw that they were indeed blank.

"No, I can't. They're blank."

"What's going on with me?" asked James unhappily. "When we washed up on this island, I suddenly can't see my Elemental HERO monster cards nor any of their Spell/Trap support cards, with an exception to you. Why is this happening?"

Yet again Elemental HERO Neos remained silent. It looked like he was in deep thought.

"Isn't there anything that can be done?" asked Gordon.

"Like some sort of magic spell or medicine?" added Henry.

Again, Neos didn't say anything in response. Just when James was about to give up, Neos did finally speak...

"How often do you use the Elemental HEROES?" he asked.

"Huh?" Gordon, Henry, and James each merely blinked.

"I said how often do you use your Elemental HEROES?" Neos repeated.

"I used them recently in a duel against Captain Scurvy." explained James, recalling his encounter with the pirate. "And I've also used them quite a bit in my previous duels, with the Neo-Spacians serving as my backup."

"Hmm..." thought Neos.

"But what does this have to do with-?" James continued, but was cut off eventually.

"When was the last time you used the Neo-Spacians?" asked Neos.

James tried to recall a memory...and a flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

During his duel with Ryan in the Battle City Finals, James suddenly saw his graveyard shining all white.

"W-what?!" he gawked.

"Hey, what's happening to your graveyard?" Ryan asked in shock.

"I don't know!" James insisted.

Suddenly, out of the red-haired boy's graveyard came all six of his Neo-Spacian monsters.

"Whoa..." Was all James could whisper.

Eventually, he understood what was going on...and gave the command.

"Elemental HERO Neos, return to my deck along with the Neo-Spacians in my graveyard! Your true power shall be unlocked from there!"

Neos obeyed as he and the six Neo-Spacians returned to James's deck.

"What are you...?" Ryan tried to ask, but was too shocked to continue.

Suddenly, more and more white light erupted from James's Duel Disk.

"With the offerings met, I can now perform the Ultimate Contact Fusion Summon!" The red-haired boy declared. "I call forth the legendary Elemental HERO Divine Neos!"

The light finally faded away...and there stood Elemental HERO Neos wearing various bits of gold armor (Level: 12/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"The...Divine Neos..." whispered Ryan in shock.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I last used them in the Battle City Finals." said James at last.

"Hmm... I see..." Neos folded his arms.

"Is something wrong?"

"Perhaps destiny brought you to this island." suggested Elemental HERO Neos.

James was puzzled. "Destiny? What would destiny have to do with my cards going blank?"

"Perhaps because your cards felt underused, they brought you to this island when you were separated from the rest of your friends." suggested Aqua Dolphin.

"In addition-" continued Neos. "-they want to put you to the test to see if you are truly worthy in using the Neo-Spacians, myself, and their support cards."

"So is that why my Elemental HEROES are blank?" asked James.

"Yes." confirmed Neos. "If you truly want to prove yourself, and have access to most of your old cards once more...you will have to win one duel using only the Neo-Spacians."

James was determined to make things right. "So who should I fight against?"

"The only problem though, is that there are no duelists on this island. Not even I am a duelist."

The three older teenage boys were dismayed to hear that.

"Bother." grumbled James. "So basically until we find a duelist, I can never use my Elemental HEROES again."

"I'm deeply sorry for this inconvenience." apologized Neos. "However, I wouldn't give up hope just yet."

"Why not? It's not like a duelist is just going to pop up out of nowhere and challenge me."

"Maybe not." Neos replied. "But just remember that even though you might not get challenged for a while, doesn't mean you'll never get challenged."

Gordon, Henry, and James each remained silent still. It was right around then the sun started to go down.

"It'll be night soon." commented Henry at last.

"If you'd like-" spoke up Aqua Dolphin. "-we can offer you a place to stay."

"We'd like that." nodded Gordon. "...as long as there is food, too."

"But of course."

"Thanks." said James, managing to smile a little bit.

"Then it is settled." Elemental HERO Neos clasped his hands together. "You three are our honored guests for the time being."

"Great." grinned Gordon. "So what's for dinner?"

"That hungry, are we?" laughed Aqua Dolphin.

Everyone else shared a laugh. End of chapter, you might be asking? Not by a long shot, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Vampire Lady was busy speaking with someone.

"So-" The female villainous began. "-it would seem Darkbishop Archfiend has failed to ensure the blonde-haired one fell into darkness..."

"I'm afraid so." responded the monster (Slate Warrior).

Vampire Lady sighed and turned her back on the Slate Warrior she was talking to.

"Very well. That is all I have to say... you may go now."

With that said, the Slate Warrior bowed and left the throne room.

"Hmm..." muttered Vampire Lady thoughtfully, looking to the crystal ball nearby. "I wonder...?"

The crystal ball began to glow.

"That red-haired boy... I wonder what he's like...?"

At last, a vision of James appeared in the ball. It was showing Vampire Lady some flashbacks to a few of the red-haired boy's duels...mainly his most recent one against Captain Scurvy.

"So, he's an Elemental HERO specialist..." thought Vampire Lady. Suddenly, something else came on the crystal ball. "Hmm?"

It was James sulking over being unable to use his Elemental HEROES.

"Bother." he could be heard muttering. "So basically until we find a duelist, I can never use my Elemental HEROES again."

Vampire Lady was surprised. "So, this kid can't seem to use his Elemental HEROES right now?"

The images the crystal ball was showing faded away. This gave the female vampire an idea.

"Well now... if he can't use his more effective monsters right now, this would make him easy pickings."

"Make who easy pickings?" asked a new, familiar voice.

It was the voice of Vampire Lord. The second-in-command of the 'Evil One' had just entered the throne room when he overheard Vampire Lady talking.

"The red-haired boy is currently unable to use some of his strongest monsters." explained Vampire Lady. "This will make it easy for me to turn him to the darkness."

"Even then-" warned Vampire Lord. Unlike with how he spoke to the other members of the Court of Darkness, the male vampire seemed to speak very formally to the lone female of the group. "-the blue-haired one's friends are still not ones to be triffled with."

"I can take care of myself." retorted Vampire Lady. "Just because I am a lady doesn't mean I'm helpless."

"I understand."

Suddenly, Vampire Lady smiled and got up close and personal with Vampire Lord.

"You know, you look really handsome when you're so caring and evil at the same time." she flirted, poking a finger into the male monster's cheek.

"I bet you say that to all the lads." grinned Vampire Lord.

The male and female vampire-like monsters shared a quick kiss.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village on the Island of Neo-Spacians, all was busy. An outdoor festival was in the process and, like Elemental HERO Neos had promised, James, Henry, and Gordon were each the guests of honor.

"Now this is the life." smiled Gordon.

"I agree." nodded Henry.

"If we weren't on a rescue mission, AND separated from the others, I'd get used to this." James sighed blissfully.

It was then a large amount of food (various fruit and cooked hams) was carried in on large plates by several Aqua Dolphins.

"Please enjoy yourselves." The four Neo-Spacians bowed.

"Don't mind if we do." Henry nodded, accepting the food.

"FOOD!" shouted both James and Gordon hungrily.

With that, the three began to chow down.

"Ha ha ha! You three must be big eaters." Neos chuckled, while walking over to the table.

"Being teenagers, we're usually very hungry." replied Gordon with his mouth full. He was enjoying a large slice of watermelon.

"And traveling usually builds appetite." added James, taking a big bite out of a leg of ham.

"We should have been brought to this place sooner!" The three boys exclaimed at once.

Yup, the festival was going on without any problems. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could spoil this day.

"Hm hm hm hm..." giggled a female voice before ending with a hiss. "What do we have here?"

Perhaps I, the writer, have spoken too soon... the festival immediately halted and everyone looked around for the source of the voice.

"It was just getting good, too!" grumbled Gordon.

"Show yourself!" demanded James.

The voice hissed again. "Ordering me about? You will regret doing that!"

Nearby at the entrance to the village, a female figure was walking into view.

"Who's that?" asked Henry.

Elemental HERO Neos narrowed his eyes. "Vampire Lady. She's a member of the Court of Darkness."

Suddenly, the figure split into a swarm of bats, which then flew from the village entrance, around some trees, just before forming together on the ground.

"Huh?" blinked Henry.

The bats slowly transformed until they had formed a smiling Vampire Lady.

"You must be James." she remarked, looking directly in the direction of the red-haired boy.

"What if I am?" retorted James, standing up from the table in a defensive stance.

"Ssssss! You're the one I'm after." The female vampire hissed.

"Why me?"

The threatening look on Vampire Lady's face had turned into one that included a sinister smile.

"I sense a great darkness in your heart, boy." she said. "And we need it for the Evil One's revival."

"What rubbish! I don't have any darkness in my heart!" James protested.

"Oh, really?" asked Vampire Lady. There was hints of dark amusement in her tone. "What about the time years ago when you bullied poor Emily when she did nothing to deserve it?"

James flinched when he heard that. How could he forget the time he had made the biggest mistake of his life?

"I..." The red-haired boy tried to reply...but failed.

"Don't forget my mistake, too..." Gordon said only to himself.

He was referring to when James had talked Gordon into picking on Emily when she was new to Middle School several years ago.

Vampire Lady chuckled softly. "So, it looks like there might be some traces of dark in your heart after all..."

James growled, but said nothing in response.

"I like you. How about joining up with the Court of Darkness? I bet with you on our side, we can accomplish great things. ...and maybe even fix the problem you have with your Elemental HEROES?"

"My Elemental HEROES..." muttered James quietly.

Suddenly, Elemental HERO Neos stood before Vampie Lady, aiming to try and defeat her while protecting his new friends.

"Stay back!" he warned. "I will not allow you to corrupt these innocent humans OR attack the harmless Neo-Spacians of this village!"

With that said, Neos charged towards the female vampire-like monster...but she merely gave a bored yawn.

"You bore me." she sighed, despite the powerful Elemental HERO Neos' vain attempt to attack her.

Suddenly, Vampire Lady caught the ultraman-like Elemental HERO's fist before delivering a swift kick in return. This sent Neos flying into the nearby table and destroying it.

"I'm not one to be trifled with." Vampire Lady said with a giggle and hiss at the end.

"Neos!" cried James. "Are you okay?"

Neos tried to get up...but was forcd to stay down because he was injured.

"Y-You must take care...! She's stronger than she looks."

Neos finally collapsed into the world of unconsciousness.

"Okay! That does it!" James exclaimed angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Vampire Lady. "You've gone too far, lady!"

With that said, he activated his Duel Disk and got ready to duel.

"You've just asked for a beating, and now you're gonna get one!"

"Soooo, you wish to fight me?" hissed Vampire Lady. "Even without the ability to use your Elemental HEROES? I don't know weither to call that admirable...or foolish."

With that said, the lone female member of the Court of Darkness made a Duel Disk of her own appear on her left arm.

"Can James win with only Neos and the Neo-Spacians?" Henry asked Gordon.

"I wish I had an answer, Henry." sighed Gordon. "All I can say is that it won't be easy at all."

For sure; it won't be easy.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of the ocean, Thomas was still looking around with his telescope.

"Anything?" Percy asked for the uptenth time. "We should have come across something by now!"

"And again, I don't see anything ahead." retorted Thomas.

Growing very unhappy, the green-haired boy laid down in middle of the raft. He looked like he was gonna start complaining or something.

"Take it easy, Percy." said Stanley. "I know we've been out here for a long time, but we can't give up hope when our friends are counting on us to find them."

"Sir Stanley is correct." agreed Gilford. "It's up to us to find everyone and put an end to the Court of Darkness' plans."

"But it'll be dark soon!" protested Percy. "What if a ship passes through the night and hits us?"

"It's a chance we'll have to take." Thomas replied seriously.

"Besides-" added Maiden of the Aqua. "-from what I know, ships passing through these waters are extremely rare."

"Couldn't we have built several rafts and just split up?" asked Percy. "That way it would increase the chance of us finding someone."

"It'd be better to stick together." answered Edward. "Anything bad could happen if we split up."

Yup, it looks like this discussion could take some time, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

Elsewhere in the spirit world - within a majestic palace in the sky, several light attribute monsters were roaming around. Meanwhile, a beautiful looking female monster with long brown hair, wearing yellow clothing, and came with...count 'em, six wings, was walking down a hallway towards a set of doors guarded by two Blade Knights.

"Who goes there?" demanded one Blade Knight.

"Easy there." said the brown-haired female monster, giving a kind smile. "It's only me."

The Blade Knights eased up when they saw and realized who it was.

"Mistress Wingweaver." The two monsters said at once, moving out of the way.

Yes, it was Emily's Wingweaver. She was the guardian and ruler of the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Thank you."

The doors opened, and Wingweaver entered the library.

"What brings you here?" asked one of the Blade Knights.

"I've had a vision." The brown-haired female monster answered. "I must find out what it could mean."

"Vision?"

"It involves...a girl." Wingweaver continued. "One whom I know very well, and it would seem she had been captured by the Court of Darkness. If the girl truly has been captured, then I must find a way to help her."

"Of course." agreed the Blade Knights.

Wingweaver began to search the library shelves for a book that could help her figure out what her vision could mean. Can she find it soon? ...we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?


	14. Spacian, the Final Frontier (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Within the village on the Island of Neo-Spacians, James and Vampire Lady were about to go at it.

"I'm not one to back down from a challenge." The red-haired boy declared boldly. "Not from you nor any member of the Court of Darkness!"

"Then prove it to me, boy." hissed Vampire Lady, activating her Duel Disk.

Over with Gordon, Henry, and Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin...

"James won't have the power of any of his Elemental HEROES in this match." Henry remarked. "I don't even know if Neos and the Neo-Spacians alone will be enough to help him win."

"It'll have to be." said Gordon. "Or we're all gonna be in for it if James loses."

Suddenly, Aqua Dolphin looked up with a surprised look on his face.

"Huh? What?"

Godon looked over to the Neo-Spacian. "Something the matter?"

Aqua Dolphin remained silent.

"Is it because we think James doesn't have what it takes to win?" asked Henry.

Suddenly, Aqua Dolphin started to make a run for it.

"Wait, where are you going?"

The Neo-Spacian still didn't say anything and just kept on running. He sensed that help would be arriving soon, and was going to bring them here...not that Gordon nor Henry knew that.

"Why'd he leave like that?" Gordon demanded, looking shocked and angry.

"Maybe we offended him or something." suggested Henry.

The older blue-haird boy snorted. "Offended him, my-"

(elsewhere...)

Aqua Dolphin was running through the jungle and trying to reach the beach.

"If my senses are right-" he thought. "-then help may be here soon."

Finally, Aqua Dolphin arrived at the beach and started to make his way into the water for a long swim.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village, James had drawn his opening hand already.

"Alright, Vampire Lady-" he declared (LP: 4000). "Time to get your game on!"

"Hm hm hm hm..." chuckled Vampire Lady, drawing her hand (LP: 4000). "You really should get a new catchphrase."

"Here they go..." Henry mumbled.

"Don't screw up, James!" Godon added quietly.

Back with the two duelists...

"Ladies first." insisted Vampire Lady, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Vampire Lady (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Black Pendant, Vampire's Curse, Vampire Soldier(!), Monster Reborn, Call of the Dark, and Trap Jammer

* * *

The female member of the Court of Darkness gave a small smile.

"For my first action... I will discard one card from my hand."

She took one card from her hand and sent it to the graveyard.

"Why would you do that?" asked James.

"It's quite simple." Vampire Lady replied, taking another card from her hand. "I could have just normal summoned this monster...but by discarding either a Spell or Trap card from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon it instead."

"And what monster...might that be?"

The female vampire responded by placing her chosen card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"It's called Vampire Soldier!" she announced.

Appearing to the field was a vampiric monster dressed in warrior's clothing (Level: 4/ATK: 1500). The warrior monster gave a threatening hiss at his opponent.

"But I'm afraid my new monster won't be sticking around for very long."

James was worried. "It's not?"

"Because now I am going to sacrifice it." Vampire Lady continued, holding up a new card.

Vampire Soldier began to sink into the ground, and appearing in its place was a large coffin.

"With the tribute met-" The female vampire said gleefully. "-I summon Vampire's Curse in the place of my Vampire Soldier!"

The coffin began to open and out of it came a vampire with a large red bat wing on its back (Level: 6/ATK: 2000).

"A strong level 6 monster on the first turn..." breathed Gordon.

"And I'll make him even stronger with the equip spell Black Pendant." said Vampire Lady.

The mentioned Equip Spell card materialized face-up.

"Great... Black Pendant." James mumbled unhappily.

"I take it you're familiar with this card." smirked Vampire Lady. "It raises the attack of my Vampire's Curse by 500 points."

Vampire's Curse grew stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"Dang..." thought James, looking to his hand. "I've got nothing that can beat that right now."

His current hand consisted of Negate Attack, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Neos Energy, and Chrysalis Dolphin. Yeah... not the best opener without your Elemental HEROES.

"Nevertheless, I won't give up."

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." finished Vampire Lady, just as a facedown card materialized behind her only monster.

James remained silent for what seemed like forever...but finally, he began to make a move.

"Alright, here goes!" The red-haired boy drew his card.

* * *

 **Title: Spacian, the Final Frontier, Part 1**

* * *

Somewhere in the ocean, it was quiet on the raft...sort of.

"Darn it!"

Percy was laying on his back, looking up at the sky. By now, he was beginning to lose his mind.

"We're never getting out of here." he mumbled. "We'll never find land, we'll never find out friends, we're doomed."

"Relax, Percy." replied Edward calmly. "Giving up is something we can't do right now."

The green-haired boy tried to argue. "I know that! ...but-"

"No buts." the intelligent blue-haired boy scolded. "We have to keep looking for our friends. I'm sure they would have done the same for us."

"I wish Lady was here." sighed Percy sadly.

"Unfortunately, she's not." Thomas spoke up, sounding stern. "So just suck it up and live with it, okay?!"

"Thomas?" Maiden of the Aqua gasped at Thomas's harsh tone.

Everyone else was just as surprised by what the blue-haired boy had said to is best friend.

"Where do you get off yelling at Percy?" asked Toby. "You know better than that."

"I'm trying to find some land!" snapped Thomas, looking out to sea with his telescope. "So just shut up and keep back!"

"That's still no excuse." retorted Stanley firmly. "You're just upset at the idea of never seeing Emily again, and you're taking it out on us when we have done nothing to deserve it."

That did it...

"DAMN YOU!" screamed Thomas in anger, suddenly turning and tackling the gray-haired boy so hard...

...that both boys fell overboard.

"Thomas! Stanley!" cried out Percy and Edward at once.

Despite now being in the water, Thomas had Stanley in his clutches and was shaking and choking him very roughly.

"Thomas, knock it off!" shouted Stanley, struggling to breath and speak as he punched Thomas in the face with his free hand. "Killing me's not going to fix anything, nor will it help bring Emily back!"

Finally, the blue-haired boy came to his senses. Realizing what he was doing, he let his friend go while looking ashamed.

"Stanley..."

"Look, I'm sorry if I upset you like that." said Stanley apologetically. "But you have to keep a grip on your anger before you end up going too far and kill someone."

Thomas remained silent as he and his gray-haired friend swam back to the raft.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of Neo-Spacians, James was was finally taking his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Negate Attack, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Neos Energy, Chrysalis Dolphin, and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole

* * *

The red-haired boy saw his drawn Neo-Spacian Grand Mole monster card.

"Aha." he thought. "This could help."

With that thought on hand, James placed his newly drawn card on a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole in attack mode!"

The ground began to shake as out from it came a large mole with a drill collar around its neck (Level: 3/ATK: 900).

"Hmm..." hummed Vampire Lady thoughtfully. "You're going to use that weak monster to battle my stronger vampire?"

"You bet I am." confirmed James confidently. "Alright, Grand Mole. Show her what you can do!"

Grand Mole obeyed, starting to dig underground.

"What?!" asked vampire Lady with widen eyes.

"My Neo-Spacian Grand Mole has a special ability." explained James. "When he does battle with a stronger monster, both your monster and my own get returned to our respective hands."

All of a sudden, Grand Mole emerged right before Vampire's Curse.

"Return to our hands?!" exclaimed a shocked Vampire Lady.

Grand Mole's drill started activating.

"Take out Vampire's Curse!" ordered James.

The drill hit Vampire's Curse, turning them both into balls of light as they went to their owners' hands.

"Best of all-" went on James, taking his card back. -"I take no damage from it."

Vampire Lady scowled as her card returned to her hand.

"And another thing-" The red-haired boy continued still. "-I found another way around your Black Pendant card's other effect!"

"What do you mean?"

"I only take 500 life points worth of damage IF the equipped monster was destroyed." explained James. "But if I manage to RETURN the equipped monster to your hand..."

"Then Black Pendant's effect won't activate." finished Gordon quietly. He then raised his voice happily. "Nice idea, James!"

"Way to go!" cheered Henry.

Vampire Lady was angry. "You've left yourself wide open! On my next turn, I'll just summon a monster and attack you directly!"

"We'll see." said James confidently, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

"Heh! Even without my Elemental HEROES my Neo-Spacians still kick a whole lot of vampire butt!"

"We'll see about that!" snapped Vampire Lady, drawing her card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Vampire Lady (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Jammer and Call from Beyond(!)

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Call from Beyond materialized face-up. In addition, Vampire Lady's graveyard started glowing all white.

"I activate the Spell card Call from Beyond!" she announced. "It revives one monster from my graveyard only with half of its attack"

Vampire Soldier emerged from the ground.

"Eck!" grimaced James.

"Now I will sacrifice him to summon Vampire's Curse again!" declared Vampire Lady, holding her card up.

Out with Vampire Soldier...and in with Vampire's Curse.

"Oh, not him again." groaned Henry.

"And James is open for a direct attack!" added Gordon. "Oh, the indignity!"

"Vampire's Curse!" commanded Vampire Lady. "Attack my opponent's life points directly!"

Vampire's Curse obeyed and began charge forth...but James wasn't stupid.

"I may have no monsters guarding my life points-" he said. "-but I do have this handy Spell card!"

The red-haired boy poked a button on his Duel Disk, causing his facedown to flip up and reveal itself.

"Negate Attack!"

"No!" exclaimed Vampire Lady, watching as her only monster returned to her side of the field.

"Negate Attack does what it says-" grinned James. "-it negates your attack and ends the battle phase immediately."

Vampire Lady hissed. "My turn is over!"

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the majestic library, Wingweaver was busy looking through books in hopes of finding a possible answer to her vision.

"There must be something." she said to herself.

Suddenly, a gentle (almost feminine) coo was heard. Wingweaver turned to her left and saw Kuribon hovering while gripping onto a book with her little hands and feet.

"Thank you, little one." smiled Wingweaver, taking the book and petting the female Kuriboh's head.

Kuribon gave a happy 'kuribi' and followed her master to a nearby table. Once there, Wingweaver began to search the pages for an answer.

"This should help..."

Let's hope an answer is found soon...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of Neo-Spacians, James went ahead and drew his card.

"Back over to me!"

He looked at the card he had just drawn.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Neos Energy, Chrysalis Dolphin, Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, and Neos Signal(!)

* * *

It was Neos Signal. One Spell card he had been waiting for.

"It's go time." announced James, slotting his card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the Neos Signal Spell card materialized face-up. "I activate Neos Signal!"

A signal appeared in the sky. All of a sudden, James's deck started glowing all white.

"I can only activate this card so long as I don't possess an Elemental HERO Neos card in my hand or graveyard!" explained the red-haired boy. "With the conditions met, I can special summon from my deck Elemental HERO Neos!"

Appearing to the field was James's Elemental Hero Neos (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

Nearby, the Neo-Spacians were amazed beyond words.

"Another Neos?" asked one Neo-Spacian (Dark Panther).

"Amazing..." breathed another Neo-Spacian (Air Hummingbird).

The other Neos watched as James's version took a stance before Vampire Lady and Vampire's Curse.

"Alright, Neos!" commanded James confidently. "Take out that vampire for good!"

Neos obeyed and leaped high into the sky.

"COSMIC CRUSH!"

Neos then came back down and punched Vampire's Curse in the gut, destroying him.

"The undead has become dead once more!" James cheered with a fist pump.

Vampire Lady remained quiet as her life points went down (LP: 3000)...before smiling to herself.

"That's what YOU think." she snickered.

It was then James noticed that his opponent lost 1000 life points instead of 500.

"Why did you lose 1000 life points?" he asked. "You should have lost only 500."

"That's because I've paid 500 extra life points." Vampire Lady pointed out.

"But why?"

"It is Vampire's Curse's special ability. By paying 500 life points when he is destroyed in battle, I can special summon him on my next standby phase." explained Vampire Lady.

James's eyes widened. "And that's...when my turn is over!"

"Indeed!" laughed Vampire Lady.

Because James's turn was over, it was how the lone female of the Court of Darkness' turn.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Vampire Lady (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Jammer and Pot of Greed

* * *

"And now-" Vampire Lady continued, adding her drawn card to her hand. "-I revive my fallen Vampire's Curse now!"

The vampire monster rose from a coffin that appeared before them.

"In addition, my revived monster also gains 500 extra attack points!"

Vampire's Curse grew even stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"Now it's as strong as Elemental HERO Neos..." thought James.

"As both our monsters have the same attack-" Vampire Lady went on. "-they would both be destroyed it an attack was made."

"Obviously!"

The lone female vampire chuckled. "Tell me something, boy... why did you do what you did 5-6 years ago?"

James was confused. "Huh?"

"Why did you bully Emily?" Vampire Lady corrected herself. "From what I understand, she did nothing to deserve it...yet, you bullied her anyway."

James closed his eyes tightly as a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Six years ago in Middle School, Emily was the new girl. She had already managed to win over lots of the student body with her kind, friendly attitude. The ones she had a problem making friends with were both James and Gordon.

For Gordon...he didn't really think very highly of the young dark green-haired girl upon meeting her for the first time. As for James? ...well, the reason for it is because of a small incident when he and Emily first met...

One day, Young Emily was at her locker getting a few things. Young James, meanwhile, was walking down the hall when he saw the new girl minding her own business. Seeing how pretty she looked, the young red-haired boy smirked and decided to turn the charm on.

"Hey there." he greeted, giving a wink.

Young Emily, hearing the voice, turned towards it and saw the red-haired boy.

"Um... hi there."

"My name's James Hughes." said Young James, slicking his hair back. "You must be Emily."

"Y-Yes." The young dark green-haired girl nodded, getting the feeling that boy was trying to hit on her. She was not gonna have any of that. "Ca-"

"You're in luck." boasted Young James. "You're talking to one of the most popular kids in the whole school...and the most handsome, too."

"Listen, can-" Young Emily tried to speak up, but was cut off.

"Can you deny ever seeing such magnificence in your life?"

Young Emily was starting to get annoyed. This boy, while indeed handsome for a 10-year old, seemed to be quite vain, boastful, and liked to talk about only himself.

"Yes I can." The new girl said as calmly as possible.

Young James was alarmed. "What?!"

"I can deny ever seeing someone as 'magnificent' in my life." Young Emily continued firmly. "You are nothing but a vain, arrogant showoff."

Red faced with anger and humiliation at being told off like that, Young James gave a snort of disgust.

"Yeah? Well, what would you know?!"

And thus, he walked away in a huff. As soon as James was gone, Young Emily sighed to herself.

"Well... that could have gone better..." she remarked aloud.

The new girl got her books out of her locker and made her way to class.

(new scene...)

A week later, Young Emily was at her locker again, when suddenly it slammed shut on her.

"Huh?"

It was Young Gordon who did the deed, and Young James was standing beside him.

"What did you do that for?" Young Emily asked in surprise...but got nervous when she saw that the taller boy was smirking deviously. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"Lookie what we have here, James." said Young Gordon.

"Yeah..." agreed Young James, also smirking. "Someone who doesn't appreciate someone as handsome as me..."

"And someone who dares to interrupt my time when I was busy listening to music."

Young Emily was annoyed. "Oh, you two are still upset about-"

Suddenly, Young Gordon roughly shoved the young dark green-haired girl until her back smashed into the locker. Young Emily wasn't hurt, but she was feeling scared right now. But what really made her upset...was where she was touched for the shove (her chest, that is).

"D-Did you just touch my...?" she began, getting red in the face.

"Keep quiet!" threatened Young James, cutting off what the girl was about to say. "Because of what you said to both of us, Gordon and I don't like you."

"W-Well...I-I don't like you either." retorted Young Emily, trying to remain brave...but her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Now leave me alone or I'll report you both to the principal."

This only caused Young Gordon and Young James to burst out laughing.

"You? Tell on us?" chortled Young James. "Did you hear that, Gordon?"

"You were right." laughed Young Gordon. "She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale."

"T-Tattletale?" Young Emily spluttered.

"Oh yes..." The young red-haired boy confirmed. "No likes a tattletale...like you."

With that said, Young James went and shoved Young Emily back into the lockers (touching her clothed chest in doing so) as he and his older friend both walked off laughing, unaware of what they would eventually be responsible for. Feeling humiliated, threatened, violated, and hurt, Young Emily finally started to cry as she ran down the hallway towards one of the girls bathrooms.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and James remained quiet from remorse as he remembered this.

"YOU and your friend gave that girl her darkness!" accused Vampire Lady. "YOU were the ones who made her into what she isn't!"

James still didn't say anything. Gordon could also be seen looking positively ashamed with himself as the female vampire continued to speak.

"And you loved the idea of making people miserable, didn't you? Otherwise, you would have just left her alone."

"That's enough!" bellowed James, finally finding his voice.

Vampire Lady smiled wickedly. "Oh? Did I just touch something?"

James merely clenched his fist in anger, but didn't say anything back.

"Well... it looks like I did touch something." The female vampire remarked sadistically.

The red-haired boy still didn't say anything back.

"But story time will have to wait, because we still have a duel to continue with." Vampire Lady then took a card from her hand. "I activate Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards."

The female vampire drew her cards. Over with Henry and Gordon, a few Neo-Spacians walked up to the two older boys.

"Is what Vampire Lady said of your friend true?" asked one Neo-Spacian (Air Hummingbird).

Gordon gave a sad sigh. "...it's true."

"But why would he do something so cruel to such an innocent person?" asked another Neo-Spacian (Grand Mole). "And why did YOU join in on it?"

"I never did." Henry pointed out. "Emily saved my life one time when she was new to the school. Gordon and James were the only ones that bullied her to such an extreme."

"You see-" explained Gordon, not losing his look of disgraced shame. "-I was very jealous of how Emily made friends so easily with her kind, caring, friendly attitude. Years ago, not many people wanted to be friends with me because of my often arrogant attitude. Henry and James were the only true friends I ever had."

"But I was the nicer of the bunch." Henry added. "And after what Emily did for me back then, why would I even want to bully her?"

"James was, and still can be, pretty vain in addition to being arrogant and such." continued Gordon. "He tried flirting with Emily upon first meeting with her, and she merely brushed him off. That got him pretty mad, and that's why we did what we did."

The Neo-Spacians listened on, while an ashamed Gordon soon fell into silence while Henry continued to speak...

"In fact, when the truth came out about what Gordon and James both had done, I had considered ending my friendship with them."

"And did you?" asked another Neo-Spacian (Glow Moss).

"Not exactly." answered Henry.

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Mr. Arkwright was glaring at Young Gordon and Young James as the two boys stood on a stage inside the auditorium before much of the school. The two boys were about to make a BIG apology speech to Young Emily, who was in the audience. Both Young Gordon and Young James had been found out when the young dark green-haired girl, with help from Young Thomas, finally went and told the principal everything that had happened. Needless to say, the big meeting between Gordon, James, Thomas, Emily, and Mr. Arkwright was NOT a pretty sight at all.

As soon as they were given the 'go ahead' by Mr. Arkwright, Young Gordon and Young James both stepped forward towards the edge of the stage and spoke to the silent audience.

"These words are for Emily Sterling." began Young Gordon. "Emily... James and I would like to say that we are really sorry for everything we've said and done to you ever since you first came to this Middle School."

"It was wrong of us to do." put in Young James. "VERY wrong."

"Then why ever did you both bully Emily in the first place?" demanded Mr. Arkwright.

"We..." Young James tried to speak. "We did it all because of silly reasons."

"VERY silly reasons, sir." added Young Gordon shamefully.

"This is most unacceptable." said the principal absolutely furiously. "You, Gordon and James, both know full well that bullying is _not_ tolerated at this school, but this... THIS is just inexcusable! Do you realize AT ALL that your constant teasing and harrassing of Emily here nearly caused her to commit suicide?"

"No." replied Young Gordon, looking down to the ground. "And if we knew what would happen, we never would have started."

The audience remained absolutely silent as Mr. Arkwright continued to speak to both boys, but there was hints of glum and anger coming from many of the students. The ones who were the most angry with Young Gordon and Young James, however, were both Young Thomas and Young Emily.

"What they did was unforgivable!" shouted Young Thomas.

"Not only did I nearly lose all of my friends-" added Young Emily. "-but it made think of going and ending my own life! They should be expelled for everything they've said and done to-"

Mr. Arkwright merely raised a hand quietly, and the two kids settled down... but they still remained absolutely incensed.

"We'll do anything we can to make up for this." went on Young James. "I don't care how long it takes for us to do so, but we WILL make up for our misdeeds towards you, Emily."

"That is a serious promise." Young Gordon added.

Finally, Mr. Arkwright dismissed the two boys from the stage and spoke to the audience...

"Now, let that be a lesson for all of you." The principal said sternly. "None of you should ever be afraid to come speak to me if something or someone is troubling you. It's my job to ensure that peace is kept around this school. If it's being disrupted, then the ones behind it will not go unpunished!"

With that said, the students were dismissed to go back to class. Only Thomas, Emily, and several of their friends remained behind.

"Emily..." began Young Percy. "I just want to say... we're all so sorry."

"We should have been more understanding to you." added Young Toby.

"Agreed." agreed Young Henry. "If we had known the truth sooner, we wouldn't have turned turn against you; thinking you were an irredeemable monster."

"Thank goodness Thomas was able to reach out and help you." finished Young Edward, before adding a rather grim... "Before it was too late."

"Thank you, everyone." said Young Emily quietly. While she was very happy to have her friends back, the young dark green-haired couldn't help but feel ashamed for not telling anyone of her problems as soon as possible. "I should have just told you all sooner, but I was too afraid it would only make things worse."

Young Toby raised an eyebrow. "Then that's why you became a bully yourself...?"

"Yes. But I never actually intended to become a bully. I only want to act tougher so Gordon and James would leave me alone."

"But they didn't, and out of your own anger and despair..." began Young Edward.

"...I took it out on all of you." Young Emily finished, starting to cry. "I'm so sorry!"

Young Thomas, finding his heart hurting to see his friend cry like that, held the young dark green-haired girl close to him.

"Shhh." he comforted, stroking Emily's head. "It's alright now. Everything's going to be alright."

Young Henry watched the scene sadly before looking over to a nearby corner, were Young Gordon and Young James were both standing at and talking. The tall green-haired boy sighed and decided to go have a talk with them.

"I'd like a word with you two." said Young Henry firmly.

"We kinda know what you're gonna say to us." Young Gordon groaned. "And we do deserve it."

"What were you two thinking?!" snapped Young Henry. "Bullying Emily until she became a bossy witch? Not only did she save Oliver from getting run over by a car, but she also saved my life, and that was your way of repaying her?! What did she do to deserve such harsh treatment?"

Young Gordon and Young James both remained silent over that. Why did they even pick on Emily anyway? That was something not even the two ashamed boys knew.

"I don't even know why I should stay friends with you two." sighed Young Henry. "In fact... maybe I should just leave and never talk to either of you again."

Young Gordon and Young James both remained silent...but the looks on their face could easily tell that they completely understood. However, if only the young tall green-haired boy stopped there...

"But I won't."

"Huh?" Young Gordon and Young James both looked up in surprise.

"Why not?" The latter asked.

"Because as you both spoke on stage, I've been doing some thinking."

"Thinking?" quizzed Young Gordon. "About what?"

"About your apology to Emily, and how you'll make it up to her." said Young Henry.

"Oh, we get it now." Young James replied in realization.

"Even though I know you can make it up to her, it will still take a VERY long time until Emily is ready to forgive the both of you."

"You don't have to tell us twice." said Young Gordon.

And the three young boys continued chatting.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended

"I think I made the right choice by not ending my friendship with them." finished Henry. "While James and Gordon both sometimes resume being their ' ** _usual_** ' selves, they often do make amends in the end."

"Are you finished?" demanded Vampire Lady, having gotten bored from listening to Henry's story. "Because your friend and I still have a duel to finish...one that I will win!"

"Just make your move!" snapped James.

Vampire Lady immediately held up her two drawn cards (Polymerization and Vampire Lord).

"I play Polymerization and fuse Vampire's Curse with Vampire Lord!" she announced.

Vampire Lord appeared briefly before fusing with Vampire's Curse.

"With the fusion comes the great power of darkness!" smirked Vampire Lady. "Now watch...as I fusion summon Adreana the Vampire King(!)!"

An explosion of darkness covered the field as a figure appeared from it.

"The Vampire King?" mumbled James.

"The Vampire King?" Henry and Gordon both mumbled.

The Neo-Spacians of the village all looked terrified beyond words. At this point, they were hoping that James could win this duel and save their lives and island.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the majestic library, Wingweaver had finished looking over her book.

"Emily is in great danger." she said gravely. "We must find her before it's too late."

Kuribon started speaking up quickly. Wingweaver immediately understood what the female Kuriboh was trying to tell her.

"You wish to rescue and bring Emily here?" asked Wingweaver. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Kuribon nodded fearfully, but bravely.

"Very well, little one. But please be safe."

With that said, Kuribon immediately left the library.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Sanctuary in the Sky, the female Kuriboh left the kingdom behind and made her way down towards the wide open world.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere inside one of the dungeons within a tower of the Castle of Dark Illusions, it was dark, creepy, and with very little light. Emily was shown inside one of the prisons with one of her wrists shackled and chained to the wall. Her Duel Disk was laying on the groud nearby (and out of Emily's reach), and the dark green-haired girl was cold, lonely, and nearly in tears.

"I don't deserve to be here." she said quietly. "I want to go home and see my friends and family."

From there, the dark green-haired girl started crying. Alas, there was nothing Emily could do right now. Except hope that someone would rescue her before it was too late. ...but mainly by one person she missed the most right now...

"Tommy..."

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	15. Spacian, the Final Frontier (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Within the village of Neo-Spacians, Vampire Lady was laughing in triumph.

"Behold the one monster that will destroy you, boy!" she cried. "Adreana the Vampire King!"

James just stood firmly against the new monster. The vampire fusion monster was slightly bigger than Elemental HERO Neos, razor sharp fangs, and rather...dark facial features (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2400).

"Her new monster is as strong as Elemental HERO Neos!" Henry exclaimed.

"Even then, it must have some sort of trick." Gordon added.

"We'll find out soon enough, I guess."

Adreana the Vampire King leered down at Elemental HERO Neos and gave a threatening hiss, while the monster on the side of good bravely stood his ground.

"What are his effects?" James asked suspiciously.

"I'm not one to give away secrets so soon." mocked Vampire Lady. "But I'll tell you just two of them for now - the first one is that my monster cannot attack the turn it was fusion summoned. And the other...is that it cannot attack so long as you control at least one monster."

"Well that's a relief." sighed Henry.

"But she said those were only two effects." Gordon pointed out. "Who knows what other frightening powers that vampire king has."

"James had better be careful then."

The remaining Neo-Spacians remained frightened over the possibilities of James losing to the lone female member of the Court of Darkness.

(elsewhere...)

Out in the middle of the sea, the Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin was swimming as fast as he could in hopes of reaching Thomas and the others. Here's hoping he succeeds.

* * *

 **Title: Spacian, the Final Frontier, Part 2**

* * *

Back in the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Vampire Lord was observing the Crystal Ball.

"Excellent." he mused. "She's brought out her ace against that foolish boy."

The Crystal Ball showed Adreana the Vampire King facing off against Elemental HERO Neos.

"Now strike him down and force him to embrace the darkness within!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of Neo-Spacians, James was preparing to draw his card.

"I'll take that thing down!" he insisted, and drew his card. "NOW!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (6): Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Neos Energy, Chrysalis Dolphin, Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, and Neos Contact(!)

* * *

Immediately, the red-haired boy placed a new card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Now I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole once more!"

The mole reappeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 900)

"But that isn't all!" James went on. "I'll now send both my monsters back to my deck in order to perform a Contact Fusion between them!"

With that, the two monsters dove into the air, disappearing in a bright light.

"Say hello to Elemental HERO Grand Neos!"

When the light faded away, there stood Elemental HERO Neos...wearing bits of Grand Mole's armor...and a large drill-like weapon on his right hand (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"Grand NEOS, eh?" mused Vampire Lady.

"That's right!" boasted James. "Once per turn, he can return one monster on your field back to your hand...or extra deck in this case."

"That'll leave Vampire Lady wide open for an attack!" exclaimed Gordon happily.

"Grand Neos!" called James. "Take care of that Vampire King!"

Elemental HERO Grand Neos obeyed and reared his drill hand back before thrusting it towards Adreana the Vampire King...when suddenly a magical barrier bounced the drill back.

"W-What?!"

"The effect was blocked?!" gasped Henry.

The other Neo-Spacians were stunned to see that happen.

"How could this be?" asked James.

Vampire Lady merely chuckled as her life points lowered a little bit (LP: 2500).

"I told you that I'm not one to give away secrets that easily. What you're experiencing is another of my Vampire King's abilities. By paying 500 life points, I can negate either an attack or effect that results in the destruction of my monster and preventing any battle damage I take...or it returning to my hand or extra deck...and from there, my Vampire King then deals 1000 points of damage to your life points!"

"What?" cried James.

Suddenly, Adreana the Vampire King lunged over to the red-haired boy...and bit into his neck.

"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" James screamed in pain (LP: 3000).

"James!" cried Gordon and Henry at once.

The red-haired boy collapsed to his knees once Adreana the Vampire King swooped back to Vampire Lady's side of the field.

"That hurt so much..." grunted James, rubbing his neck.

"Did it?" taunted Vampire Lady. "Maybe you're experiencing the same pain that you once inflicted on poor Emily?"

James scowled from being reminded of the past. He responded by slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized. All of a sudden, Elemental HERO Grand Neos vanished into a wave of light.

"Grand NEOS is gone!" cried Gordon in shock.

"But how?" demanded Henry.

"Grand Neos, or rather all of my Neos/Neo-Spacian fusions, returns to my extra deck at my end phase." explained James bitterly. "But I swear this won't be the end!"

"We'll see." said Vampire Lady, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Vampire Lady (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Jammer and Blood Fangs(!)

* * *

Her drawn card was an Equip Spell called Flood Fangs. At once, the female vampire held her drawn card out.

"Try this on for size! The Equip Spell card Blood Fangs!"

Adreana the Vampire King's fangs then grew sharper and quite bloody looking (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Your monster's attack points just went up!" gasped James.

"That's right." laughed Vampire Lady. "Now my Vampire King, attack his life points directly and end this duel!"

Adreana the Vampire King obeyed and lunged forth to bite James once more. Everyone else in the village watched in horror as James was about to lose the duel.

"This duel is not over yet!" insisted the red-haired boy. "It's time to call upon Elemental HERO Neos once more!"

With that said, he poked a button on his Duel Disk, revealing his facedown card to be...

"Neos Contact!"

"Neos Contact?" asked Vampire Lady.

"I can only use this Quick-Play Spell card if a Neos fusion monster has been returned to my extra deck at anytime during the duel." explained James, taking a life point hit (LP: 2000). "I can now pay 1000 life points to special summon Elemental HERO Neos from my deck in either attack or defense position."

Within seconds, Neos returned to the field.

"And because I control a monster on my side of the field once more...your attack is cancelled out!"

Adreana the Vampire King was getting closer and closer to James...but Elemental HERO Neos suddenly stepped in and grabbed the Vampire King by the neck.

"You-!" Vampire Lady hissed.

Neos threw Adreana the Vampire King back onto Vampire Lady's side of the field. James suddenly felt his life points go back up (LP: 3000).

"My life points went back up?" he quizzed. "But how?"

"Blood Fangs also increases your life points by 1000 points if Adreana the Vampire King's attack gets negated by any means." explained Vampie Lady. "Not that it really matters all that much to me."

"He's safe..." sighed Henry in relief.

"For now." added Gordon.

Back over with James, he was thinking about the situation he was in currently.

"If I try to get rid of that Vampire King-" he thought. "-Vampire Lady can just give up 500 life points to protect it and deal 1000 points of damage to me."

Adreana the Vampire King (ATK: 3000) and Elemental HERO Neos (ATK: 2500) both stared each other down.

"I'll just have to find a way to win without targeting that vampire...or at least get her life points low enough to prevent her from using that effect."

Alas, this won't be too easy.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of the ocean, Thomas and the others were still on the raft. Suddenly, a new voice was heard...

"HELP! HELP!"

"What was that?" asked Percy.

On cue, Thomas spotted something swimming towards the raft.

"Incoming...something!"

As the object swam closer, it looked like a dolphin with arms. It was Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!

"A Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin?" quizzed Stanley.

"You don't think-?" began Toby.

"James must be nearby!" finished Edward.

Eventually, the Aqua Dolphin arrived at the raft and out of breath from swimming so far from the island.

"Help...island...danger..." he gasped and panted.

"Get him onto the raft!" ordered Gilford.

Toby and Stanley helped the Aqua Dolphin onto the raft.

"Help...island...danger..." repeated Aqua Dolphin, still out of breath.

"Easy there." soothed Maiden of the Aqua, laying a hand on the monster's chest. "Now tell us what's going on."

"Our island is in danger." explained Aqua Dolphin once he had finally caught his breath. "I sensed you were all coming, so I came out here to find you."

"You say there's an island nearby?" asked Toby.

"Yes I did."

"Land... nearby..." whispered Percy, falling to his knees. He then shouted out to the sky. "THANK YOU, GOD!"

"Lead the way." said Maiden of the Aqua.

And, thus, the sailing to the nearby island continued. Can they reach James, Henry, and Gordon in time?

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of the Neo-Spacians, James prepared to draw his card.

"It's my turn now!" he declared, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : James Hughes (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (5): Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Neos Energy, Chrysalis Dolphin and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed." said James, drawing two more cards from his deck. "This lets me draw two cards."

The two cards are shown to be Neo-Spacian Dark Panther and Contact Soul.

"These could work." thought James. "But even then, I'll need some extra help." He looked to his hand and grew unhappy. "Unfortunately, I don't have the right cards so far..."

"Well?" called Vampire Lady. "What will you do now?"

The red-haired boy sighed. "I...can't do anything more right now."

Vampire Lady grinned. "I'm not surprised since you're stuck with worthless cards." she taunted.

"My Neo-Spacians are not worthless!" insisted James.

"Not after what I'm seeing so far."

With that said, Vampire Lady drew her next card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Vampire Lady (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Jammer and The Count's Mirror(!)

* * *

Very quickly, the lone female member of the Court of Darkness held it out for James to see.

"I will now activate my Spell card - The Count's Mirror!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"This wipes out every card we have in our hand and every Spell and Trap that's on the field!" Vampire Lady explained. "And for every card sent to the graveyard, we lose 300 life points a piece!"

"Aw man." moped James, sending his entire hand to the graveyard.

In addition, every Spell and Trap was destroyed. Adreana the Vampire King went back to its base strength (ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"You had six cards and no Spells/Traps." began Vampire Lady. "I had one card and two Spells/Traps. Overall...we both take 2700 points of damage!"

"But you'll lose doing that!" James pointed out (LP: 300).

"Do I?" smirked the female vampire, just as her own life points dropped...not to zero (LP: 1800).

Everyone was shocked that Vampire Lady was still standing with 1800 life points.

"Thanks to my Blood Fang's third and final effect. If it gets sent to the graveyard by any means - destruction or removal, I gain 2000 life points!"

"Dang it!" whined James. He had lost his hand and was now down to 300 life points.

"It's hopeless!" wailed a Neo-Spacian (Air Hummingbird). "We're all doomed!"

"Don't think that." reassured Henry. "Maybe James will pull off a miracle."

"Just give it up!" urged Vampire Lady. "You can't win against me with those worthless Neo-Spacian cards. If you surrender now, I promise you the darkness won't hurt you THAT badly!"

James was in his thoughts. Should he surrender, or should he fight to the bitter end?

(elsewhere...)

Over at the beach of the island, the raft had soon washed ashore.

"LAND!" cried Percy in delight, falling to all fours and kissing the sand before spiting it out. "Land at last!"

"No time for rejoicing!" replied Thomas, running towards the jungle.

"He's right." agreed Stanley. "If what we believe is true, James, Henry, and Gordon each have to be here!"

With that said, they all took off for the jungle.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a dark realm, little Kuribon was bravely soaring through the harsh conditions while making her way to the Castle of Dark Illusions. She could remember Wingweaver's words before leaving the Sanctuary...

"Please be safe, little one. You may find Emily in the Castle of Dark Illusions."

Kuribon narrowed her little eyes and pushed onward. Eventually, there it was...the Castle of Dark Illusions - the main stronghold of the Court of Darkness.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of Neo-Spacians, James was still thinking about his situation. At this point, it looked like he was in over his head.

"Perhaps I should give up." The red-haired boy said to himself. "I've got nothing that can beat that Vampire King. Even if I do power Neos up, Vampire Lady has enough life points to stop my attack AND finish me off..."

"Give into the darkness..." Vampire Lady insisted. "Give in as punishment for hurting your friend!"

James slowly began reaching for his deck, as though he were intending to surrender, when...

"STOP!"

The red-haired boy immediately stopped what he was doing.

"That voice..." he whispered.

On cue, Thomas and the others ran into the area.

"Everyone!" exclaimed Gordon.

"You're here!" added Henry.

"Thomas?" asked James, looking up in surprise.

"Don't give up!" called Edward. "Don't fall into the darkness!"

"I can't win!" The red-haired boy protested. "Besides, it'll serve me right for bullying Emily years ago."

Thomas spoke up. "You don't deserve this!"

"What?"

James was rather surprised that Thomas would object to him losing, even though he mentioned his treatment to Emily in the past.

"That was all in the past!" said Thomas. "Even if it still bothers me today, the safety of you and everyone else is far more important!"

"So you say." chuckled Vampire Lady.

"What?!" demanded the blue-haired boy.

"If you find the safety of your friends important, then why do you attack them when angered?"

"Keep quiet, you hag!" snapped James, standing up for his friend. "It's thanks to you and your Court of Darkness that it happened!"

"Hag!?" raged Vampire Lady. "How dare you!"

"This duel is still on! And I'll fight until my last life point is gone!" continued the red-haired boy. "The duel isn't over until the last card is played!"

"If you think you can win, then I dare you to show me now!"

"Oh, I will!" nodded James, before going into his thoughts. "I have no cards in my hand, and only Elemental HERO Neos on my field. I have to make this draw count..."

With that, James slowly began to draw.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : James Hughes (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (1): Chrysalis Plunder(!)

* * *

It was a Spell card called Chrysalis Plunder.

"Chrysalis Plunder..." mused James. "This allows me to send any number of monster cards the has 'Chrysalis' in its name to the graveyard to draw a card..."

"Well?" asked Vampire Lady. "I'm waiting for your play."

"I'll begin it by activating the Spell card Chrysalis Plunder!" announced James, as his card materialized face-up. "Using it, I can send any number of monster cards with the word 'Chrysalis' in its name to my graveyard!"

The red-haired boy took is deck out and selected five cards from it.

"Chrysalis Chicky, Chrysalis Larva, Chrysalis Mole, Chrysalis Pantail, and Chrysalis Pinny will all be discarded to my graveyard! From doing so, I can draw five cards from my deck!"

"What?!" cried Vampire Lady.

James then closed his eyes. "My last chance to turn things around..."

He drew his new hand, slashing a wave of color in the process.

"Please...let these be the cards..."

James peeked at his cards, causing his eyes to widen at what he saw.

"These are it!"

From there, the red-haired boy began to snicker quietly. Vampire Lady was puzzled to say the least.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Oh nothing..." replied James coolly. "Except I've drawn the cards that will defeat you here and now."

"Nonsense! If you even think of attacking my monster, I'll just pay 500 life points to prevent its destruction, reduce all battle damage to zero...and deal you 1000 points of damage in retaliation!"

"Really? Then let's put your theory to the test shall we?" James held his first card up. "I activate the Spell card Neos Copycat!"

All of a sudden, an exact duplicate of Elemental HERO Neos materialized beside the first. In addition, James's life points halved themselves (LP: 150).

"Another...Neos?" blinked Henry.

"That's the power of Neos Copycat." explained Edward. "It allows James to create an exact duplicate of Elemental HERO Neos. Only difference is that it cannot attack and is destroyed at the end phase."

"Well, what's the point of that?" asked Percy.

"We'll find out shortly. James summoned that copy for a reason."

"Now I activate another Spell card!" James went on, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Miracle Contact!"

The mentioned card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"M-Miracle Contact?!" gasped Vampire Lady.

"This Spell lets me shuffle Neos into my deck with as many Neo-Spacians from my hand, field, or graveyard as possible for a Contact Fusion."

Two cards slid out of James's graveyard, and the red-haired boy took them.

"And I choose Neo-Spacians Dark Panther and Glow Moss!"

The two mentioned Neo-Spacians appeared before joining Elemental HERO Neos in going up into the sky.

"What are you creating?!" demanded Vampire Lady.

"You're about to find out." grinned James. "Neos! Dark Panther! Glow Moss! Merge together!"

The sky started to darken a bit as James began to do a summon chant.

" **Rise forth a hero who wields the power of light and darkness. Let order be balanced with your might! Fusion Summon! Come forth...! Elemental HERO Chaos Neos**!"

Lowering from the dark clouds was a black demon winged version of Elemental HERO Neos. He was also wearing silver armor for protection (Level: 9/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Chaos...Neos..." whispered Gilford.

"Awesome..." muttered Gordon.

Vampire Lady was stunned from seeing the new monster at first...but then remembered that her own monster had access to a devastating ability.

"You fool!" insulted the female vampire once she got her voice back. "Your new monster won't be of any help to you!"

"Not yet." remarked James, just as the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up. "Next I activate Monster Reborn to revive Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"

Appearing from the grave was a large red humming bird with arms (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"And because my Neos copy is treated AS Elemental HERO Neos, I shall now perform a second Contact Fusion sequence!"

"You what?!" demanded Vampire Lady.

"Another Contact Fusion?!" came from Stanley.

"Elemental HERO Neos and Neo-Spacian Humming Bird-" began James. "-meld your powers into one...and be reborn as Elemental HERO Air Neos!"

The two monsters flew into the sky and disappeared into the bright light.

"The true power of Neo-Spacians..." whispered Edward.

"Here it comes..." added Percy.

Descending was what looked like a red version of Neos with wings on his back (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"My new fusion monster gains additional attack points the lower my life points are than yours." explained James (LP: 150).

Vampire Lady grunted (LP: 1800), but said nothing in response.

"My life points are at 150, and yours are at 1800. That's a 1650 point attack bonus Air Neos will receive from you!"

Air Neos grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 4150).

"Two powerful fusion monsters - one with 3000 attack points and another with over 4000 attack points..." breathed Stanley.

"But that Vampire King is still around!" protested Maiden of the Aqua. "And if James even thinks about attacking it..."

"Chaos Neos!" commanded James, cutting off the blue-haired female monster's sentence. "Attack Adreana the Vampire King now!"

Chaos Neos obeyed, charging at the Vampire.

"And now-" laughed Vampire Lady. "-it's time for me to..."

"I activate Chaos Neos' effect!" cut in James.

"What?!"

The red-haired boy took a coin out of his pocket.

"When Chaos Neos attacks-" he explained. "-I can flip a coin three times. For each head, a certain part of his ability activates."

James flipped the coin...it came upon tails.

"Tails... If I get one head and two tails...then I must return all monsters I control to my hand...or in the case of Fusion monsters - my extra deck."

He flipped the coin again...and this time it was heads.

"Heads! Three heads will destroy all of your monsters!" James explained.

"And two heads?" asked Vampire Lady with no interest whatsoever.

The red-haired boy said nothing and instead flipped his coin one last time. Everyone watched silently as the fate of the duel lied on one final coin flip. At last, the result was in. It was...

"Another heads!" cried James. "With two heads, the affects of all your monsters are negated!"

"Effects-" screamed Vampire Lady in surprise. "-negated?!"

Chaos Neos started to make an attack on the now defense-less Adreana the Vampire King.

"Chaos Fury Flash!" commanded James.

Chaos Neos slashed through Andreana, destroying him.

"T-This can't be possible..." mumbled Vampire Lady (LP: 1300).

"Alright, James!" cheered Percy.

Best of all, the red-haired boy still had one more monster to attack with...

"Elemental HERO Air Neos... direct attack, now!" ordered James. "Skyrip Wing!"

Air Neos obeyed, diving from the sky and striking Vampire Lady with a powerful tackle-like attack.

"How could I lose?" The female vampire thought to herself, being sent flying back until she laid on the ground (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away. James then winked and point two fingers out at his fallen opponent.

"And THAT's game!" he stated.

"Way to go, James!" cheered both Gordon and Henry at once. "That's our buddy!"

"He has done it!" thought the injured Elemental HERO Neos, still lying on the ground nearby.

"You swine..." hissed Vampire Lady, slowly trying to get back up. "This isn't the end!"

Once the female vampire was back on her feet, she turned into a bunch of bats...which then flew away. Upon hearing that threat, James knew that he and Vampire Lady would face each other again another time.

"And I'll be waiting for that time." The red-haired boy thought bitterly.

All of a sudden, James got surrounded by numerous Neo-Spacians.

"Our island's new savior!" One Neo-Spacian (Glow Moss) declared.

James just grinned. He loved the attention he was getting from the Neo-Spacians. Suddenly, the red-haired boy noticed that his deck was glowing. He took it out and looked through it. Many of his blank cards had been restored into Elemental HEROES and their supporters once again.

"Sweet!" exclaimed James happily. "I got my Elemental HEROES back!"

"Well...done." said Elemental HERO Neos, trying to get back up. "You have passed your test."

"Thanks." smiled James.

Then, he remembered about his bragging to Captain Scurvy before their duel. He had boasted that he would win without the need of any of the Neo-Spacians in his deck. Perhaps the cards felt hurt by this.

"What's the matter, James?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I think I might have hurt my monsters' feelings." explained James, looking at the female monster. "Remember what I said before my duel with Captain Scurvy?"

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Captain Scurvy had taken everyone except James prisoner.

"We'll settle this in a duel." The pirate captain explained. "Win, and we'll leave and never return. Lose, however, and this ship will be sunk to the ocean floor, while the women aboard will come with us as our prisoners."

"Fine." sneered James, activating his Duel Disk.

The red-haired boy and pirate captain each took their positions on the main deck, while everyone else watched on.

"Time to see what you are capable of, kid!" declared Captain Scurvy. "But know that I'm not one to be trifled with!"

"Keep talking!" huffed James, drawing his opening hand. "I don't need my Elemental HERO Neos or Neo-Spacians to beat the likes of you!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Maybe that's why I required to undergo this trial..." continued James. "To help make my Neo-Spacians feel equal to my the Elemental HEROES."

"I see." said Maiden of Aqua. "And by the looks of things, you were able to make things right."

"I was."

Well, all is right again, right? Thomas was able to reunite with James, Henry, and Gordon. What about Molly, Mavis, and Rosie? That is going to take some time, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the dungeon within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Emily had managed to fall into a very uncomfortable sleep...when a 'Kuribi' suddenly jolted her awake.

"Huh? What? W-Who's-?"

She looked and saw a happy Kuribon floating right in front of her.

"AUGH!" Emily shrieked in startled shock.

Kuribon's cheerful look became one of confusion. Was this girl actually afraid of her (Kuribon)?

"Kuribon...i-is that...you?"

Kuribon nodded.

"Oh, thank heaven." sighed Emily. "I think my mind was playing tricks on me. Have you come to help me?"

The female Kuriboh nodded once more.

"As you can see, I'm chained to the wall. In addition, the key is hung on the wall nearby, and my Duel Disk is out of my reach. Do you think you can get me the key?"

Kuribon nodded a third and went over to the key on the wall near the door.

"Quietly." warned the dark green-haired girl.

The female Kuriboh slowly started to use her tail to try and retrieve the key on the hook. It took a few tries, but Kuribon managed to successfully slide her tail into the the key's ring.

"Kuribi!" cheered Kuribon in her ' _Kuriboh_ ' language.

"Well done, little one." cheered Emily.

The female Kuriboh brought the key over to the dark green-haired girl, and she used her freed hand to grab hold of the key and unshackle herself.

"There! I'm free!"

She then picked up her Duel Disk and strapped it on her arm, drawing a card from it in the process.

"Now let's get out of here." Emily held the card up. "Wingweaver! Come forth!"

On cue, Emily's ace monster appeared in a heavenly light.

"Wingweaver! We need to escape from this castle." explained the dark green-haired girl. "Can you break down a section of the wall with your powers?"

Wingweaver nodded, charging and firing a blast of light at a part of the wall, destroying it and leaving a large hole in its place.

"Thanks." said Emily thankfully. But then gasped as she heard loud footsteps from outside. "Oh no, we've alerted the castle!"

(elsewhere...)

It was true, the lower levels of the castle had overheard the explosion from the towers and were making their way up towards the dungeons.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the dungeons, Emily drew another card from her deck and held it up.

"Seiyaryu, I need your help!"

A large pink dragon appeared.

"We need to get out of here." Emily pointed out direly. "Do you think you can give me a lift?"

The dragon nodded, indicating that it wanted Emily to jump on its back. Suddenly, there was a bash on the wooden door.

"Hurry! We can't let the prisoner escape!" cried the voice of a Slate Warrior.

Wasting no time, Emily jumped onto the dragon's back and they took off...just as the door was broke down by a Battle Ox.

"There she goes!" bellowed a Vorse Raider, pointing at the hole in the wall leading outside the castle.

"Someone stop her!" roared a Gil Garth.

As Emily made her escape, many, many flying Duel Monsters (winged beast, fiend, dragon, etc.) started appearing. The dark green-haired girl remained brave at facing those many enemies.

"You'll never keep me away from my friends again!" shouted Emily. "Wingweaver, Seiyaryu, attack!"

The two monsters obeyed and began battling the aerial-type monsters around the castle. no matter what, Emily was either gonna escape or die in the trying.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab, Professor Melvin was busy with some research when the alarm started blarring all over the room.

"What now?" he grumbled, turning to his computer.

On cue, an image of a Gil Garth appeared with some bad news.

"The girl is trying to escape!" he exclaimed. "Someone helped her break out of the castle!"

"What?! My prisoner and experiment?! Do not let her get away from this castle, you idiot!"

With that said, the computer screen went all static-like. Getting quite angry over his experiment escaping, Professor Melvin gave a scream of rage and started sweeping his arms across the nearby table and knocking various bottles and books off. He was breathing hard after finishing the deed.

"That girl will not be getting away from this castle!" Professor Melvin snarled. The mad scientist-like human then looked over to a nearby Slate Warrior. "You! Activate the castle's defensive Chaos Shield Barrier! NOW!"

The Slate Warrior silently obeyed, activating a switch on the nearby console.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the castle, Emily, Wingweaver, and Seiyaryu had managed to take enough flying monsters out to clear a path to make a clean getaway.

"A clear path!" cried Emily. "Now let's get out of here and find my friends."

Seiyaryu started to fly away... Kuribon was about to follow when a look of panic appeared on her face at what was ahead. Hastily, she followed and tried to warn Emily of the impending danger.

"Not now, Kuribon. You can tell me what you need to say once we're home free."

Suddenly, a large energy barrier started to form around the castle grounds.

"What?!" gasped Emily.

Seiyaryu couldn't stop in time and ended up crashing into the field, causing electricity to zap both the dragon and the dark green-haired girl. Wingweaver and Kuribon both immediately flew over to try and save both the human and fellow Duel Monster. Once they were pulled a small distance away from the charged barrier, Emily managed to recover from the shocking experience.

"Thanks." she sighed, before looking back at the barrier. "But now we're trapped!"

And it was about to get a whole lot worse for the good guys - more and more flying Duel Monsters started gathering around the area Emily was trying to make an escape. Soon, the dark green-haired girl, Wingweaver, Seiyaryu, and Kuribon were all surrounded with no place to run.

"There's no where to run." said one monster (Sky Scout). "Surrender and there will be no need for any of us to get violent with you."

Yup, this was not a good picture. Can Emily make it out on her own? ...or is she doomed to remain at the Castle of Dark Illusions as a prisoner for Professor Melvin's experiment and the Court of Darkness' plans?


	16. Emily's Adventure

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Special thanks to AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Emily was surrounded by countless flying Duel Monsters. The only assistance she had at the moment were Kuribon, Wingweaver, and Seiyaryu.

"You're surrounded." A Sky Scout pointed out. "If I were you, I'd give myself up and return to the dungeon for the time being. Otherwise... we'll just have to destroy you."

Emily, remembering her silent vow, instead narrowed her eyes in utter defiance.

"You'll never take me alive!" she shouted. "I'll either escape this place and find my friends, or die trying! Either way, I am not staying here!"

"Well then, I'm sorry to hear that." said a Ryu-Kishin Powered whilst riding on the back of a Tri-Horned Dragon.

The monsters all moved closer and closer to their prey.

"Attack." muttered a Vorse Raider whilst riding on the back of a Curse of Dragon.

Finally...the monsters all charged in for the kill.

"This has to work..." Emily thought, drawing a card from her deck and holding it up. "With the power of Waboku, I protect myself and my monsters!"

With that, the attacks of all the enemy monsters had been stopped.

"What is happening?!" exclaimed a Slate Warrior.

"It's a barrier of some sort." A Gil Garth pointed out.

"Break through that barrier!" ordered another Vorse Raider.

Emily looked over to Kuribon. "Waboku won't last very long, so we have to find a way through that barrier. Any ideas?"

Poor Kuribon was just as puzzled. Until finally she had an idea and muttered something in its language...but the dark green-haired girl managed to get a grasp on it.

"Well hurry up with it." urged Emily.

The female Kuriboh then pointed to the girl's deck.

"Huh? You're saying there's something in my deck?"

Kuribon nodded.

"Alright." said Emily quietly. "I hope you're right."

With that said, she drew a card.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the American branch of Boxford Corp in Atlanta (within the United States and real world), the TV screens in several offices were showing footage of another news broadcast of attacks all around the United States.

"As we continue to be attacked by these Duel Monsters-" said a reporter. "-we have only one question to ask. When will it all end?"

Inside the office of both Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford), the two adults were watching the news and had to agree with the reporter.

"These attacks..." whispered Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"When WILL they end?" added Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"And when will that horrid man stop spreading lies about us?" The two adults finished at once.

Good question...let's go see...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the main office in the White House, Douglas Crump was admiring himself in one of the big mirrors. Currently, the president was in a very good mood over the fact that Boxford Corp was in big trouble for all of the monster attacks around the US.

"Ah, Douglas, you handsome devil you." he chortled, kissing at the mirror. "Soon, that wicked company will fall, and you will be one step closer to making American great once more."

Suddenly, Douglas Crump got an idea. One that could maybe make him more money than ever before...and maybe even do away with that cursed family.

"Of course! If I were to own Boxford Corp... that means more money and things would run MY way! Oh, you are so smart, Douglas!"

With that said, he walked out of the office.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the American headquarters of Boxford Corp, Spencer was walking down a hallway towards his office. His eyes were shadowed, almost like he didn't get very much sleep.

"Things have never been the same..." The silver-haired boy thought bitterly. "Ever since these attacks, my company has been blamed for it. Not to mention that someone out there is slowly purchasing our stocks. When will this nightmare end?"

Spencer had been hoping for two things over the course of the summer... One; the completion and opening of Boxford Land. And two; a rematch with his friend and greatest rival - Thomas Billinton.

"Spencer! Spencer!" cried a voice.

Spencer stopped walking, turned, and saw Skiff running towards him.

"Yes, Skiff?"

"There's a call waiting for you!" exclaimed the younger boy. "And it's urgent!"

"I'll bet it's Crump wanting me to shut down again." muttered Spencer unhappily. He then sighed. "Alright. Let's see what this is all about."

(elsewhere...)

Inside the silver-haired boy's office, Spencer was already on the phone (complete with a viewing picture of the US President).

"What is it this time, Crump?"

"I'm calling to give you one last chance to surrender." said Douglas Crump. "Do so, and all the bad press you're getting will cease and desist."

Spencer scowled. "And if I...refuse?"

"Then I will buy out your company and force you to leave."

"What?!" Spencer was outraged to hear such a threat.

"You heard me correct." smirked the US President. "Being so wonderfully wealthy, I can easily go and purchase anything I wish! ...even ALL of Boxford Corp. That way, I'D own it all and get rid of you and your family at the same time!"

"You-!" The silver-haired boy started to realize something... something that really made his blood boil. "So it was you all along..."

"Hmm?"

"You're the one who's been stealing my company's stocks little by little!" Spencer accused.

Douglas Crump was surprised. "What are you talking about? I've never did anything like that."

"Sure you haven't." replied the silver-haired boy sarcastically. "You've spread so many lies about us to dirty our name that it doesn't surprise me that you would go as far as to stealing the company's stocks behind my back!"

"That's enough!" snapped Douglas Crump. "You will either surrender, close down Boxford Corp, and admit to the world that your family is nothing but a menace! ...or I will buy what's left of your pathetic company and force you to do so."

"I would rather die than listen to some self-righteous old coot like you!" snarled Spencer.

The pompous US President glared long and hard before giving a disappointed sigh.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance." he said. "Good day to you."

The picture faded to black, leaving the silver-haired boy along to seeth. Screaming in rage, Spencer slammed the phone back onto the holder so hard...that he destroyed the device in the process.

"Damn you to hell...!"

Breathing hard, Spencer tried to regain his composure...but it wasn't very easy with the threat that the US President was after Boxford Corp. Just then...

"Seto..." echoed a female voice. "Help me..."

Spencer looked up. "Who said that?"

No response came.

"I'm under too much stress." sighed the silver-haired boy. "It's making me hear voices."

Unfortunately, that voice was soon gonna get Spencer to go to a new world...where Duel Monsters were real.

(elsewhere...)

Back outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, Emily was surrounded by countless evil Duel Monsters and she had just drawn her card.

"Dimensionhole?" she quizzed, looking at Kuribon. "What good will that card do?"

Kuribon gave a look that seemed to say 'Trust me'.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it." sighed Emily, before narrowing her eyes and holding the card up. "I activate Dimensionhole!"

Something started to appear in the sky. It was a black hole of a sort...

"What has she done?!" exclaimed a Slate Warrior.

"What have I done?" thought Emily, looking up at the hole in the sky.

Suddenly, Wingweaver grabbed hold of the dark green-haired girl by the waist and started to carry her up towards the black hole.

"What are you doing?!" cried Emily.

She got no answer. In addition, Kuribon and Seiyaryu both followed close behind.

"The girl is getting away!" bellowed a Gil Garth. "Stop her now!"

But it was too late. The lone human and her three Duel Monsters all were sucked into the black hole, which then closed behind them.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Professor Melvin's lab, the human had been observing everything from a large viewing screen, and he was furious.

"You incompetent fools!" screamed Professor Melvin. "You let my experiment escape!"

"It wasn't our fault!" protested a Vorse Raider.

"Well find her before she manages to find Thomas!" commanded Professor Melvin. "The time is not right for their reunion!"

The viewing screen went black.

"So, she has escaped..." spoke a calm voice.

Professor Melvin looked behind him.

"You..."

It was the five members of the Court of Darkness.

"It was just as we planned." Darkbishop Archfiend smiled.

"You've planned this?" asked Professor Melvin, not looking too pleased. "But now there's a chance the girl could reunite with Thomas too soon."

"Oh, it won't be that easy." said Vampire Lord. "That girl has so much darkness in her heart. Perhaps we should..."

"...get her to unleash it." finished Vampire Lady.

"And how do you suggest we get her to do so?"

Airknight Parshath spoke up. "Leave that to me."

"What do you plan to do to her?" quizzed Professor Melvin.

Airknight Parshath began to explain his plan of action to his fellow comrades.

(elsewhere...)

Meanwhile, somewhere in another part of the Spirit World, the familiar black hole reappeared and caused only Emily and Kuribon to both fall out an onto the ground.

"Rumble my legs..." groaned Emily, rubbing the top of her head. "What a ride... wait, where am I now?"

The dark green-haired girl looked around, noticing that she was in the middle of a forest of some kind. Despite havig Kuribon by her side, Emily started to feel very lonely without any of her friends being around her.

"I wish Thomas was here with me." she said quietly. "Where could he be?"

(elsewhere...)

"Emily..." Thomas whispered, almost like he had the same thought...except replace 'Thomas' with 'Emily'. "Emily, where are you? Why can't I find you?"

The gang, minus the girls, were all inside a hut on the island of the Neo-Spacians. Elemental HERO Neos was lying in bed with his torso all bandaged up.

"Once again, I thank you for saving this village." he said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it." shrugged James. "That's what we heroes do."

"Protect the innocence from evil." added Gordon.

"If you'd like, we can offer you all a place to stay until you're ready to continue your adventure." offered Neos. "It's the least we can do."

Everyone else looked like they were gonna accept the offer. However...

"No!"

Everyone looked back to Thomas in surprise. He was the one who declined the offer.

"Thomas, what gives?" asked James. "These guys offered us a place to rest for the night."

"We've wasted enough time already!" argued the blue-haired boy. "That storm put us WAY too far off course and we're separated from the girls."

"But, Thomas-!" Percy tried to speak up, but was cut off.

"Not to mention Emily is also still out there. So we can't waste anymore time. We have to find her NOW!"

"But we don't even know where she is!" protested Toby. "We need to know of her exact whereabouts before we go running off on a goose chase."

"If you're that serious about moving on-" said Elemental HERO Neos. "-then allow us to at least assist you in building a more proper boat to carry all of you."

"And give you guys food and supplies." added Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.

"Thank you." Thomas bowed.

Maybe things will get better from here on out? Who knows...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the unknown forest, Emily and Kuribon were both seated somewhere and eating some fruit that the former had found on one of the nearby trees.

"Well, at least there's food for us." said Emily, munching on an apple. "But it would be better if Thomas were here." Then she had a thought. Thomas would have found a way to come to the Duel Monster Spirit World and look for her. But what if the Court of Darkness wanted to kill him? "No. I can't rely on Thomas to rescue me anymore. I have to rescue HIM."

Kuribon gave the girl a curious look.

"Thomas nearly died trying to protect me in Battle City." Emily pointed out. "So now I have to protect him. Even if I have to die in the process."

Kuribon grew worried. She snuggled up to the dark green-haired girl and gazed at her with tear filled eyes.

"Oh... please don't cry, little one." said Emily holding Kuribon. She had a few tears leaking from her eyes, too.

Suddenly...

"Well, well, well... what do we gots here?" asked a gruff voice.

Emily looked up. "Who's there?"

"A human girl." said a second voice.

"And one that's good enough to eat, too!" finished a third voice.

The sound of trees being ruffled were heard. Emily kept her ground regardless.

"Come out!" she demanded.

On cue, three large and hungry Battleguards came stomping in, pushing aside some bushes and/or tree branches.

"Oh no..." groaned Emily.

They were Swamp Battleguard, Lava Battleguard, and Battleguard King. Kuribon shivered with fright and hid behind her human friend for comfort and protection.

"Fresh meat." said Lava Battleguard, rubbing his hands together.

"And there's even dessert." added Swamp Battleguard.

"I'm afraid this human is off the menu!" snapped Emily, activating her Duel Disk. "And you can forget about eating my friend here, too!"

The three Battleguards laughed in response.

"You boys hear that?" chortled Battleguard King. "This lowly human thinks she is not on the menu!"

"We'll just have to prove her wrong." said Swamp Battleguard, making a Duel Disk appear on his left arm. "When we crush her, I get her arms and legs"

"I get her head!" exclaimed Lava Battleguard, also making a Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"And I'll take her whole torso." finished Battleguard King, as a Duel Disk appeared on his left arm.

The duel began (LP: 4000) x4.

"First turn is mine!" announced Swamp Battleguard, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Swamp Battleguard (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Battleguard Horns(!), Battleguard King, Monster Reborn, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, Raigeki, and Battleguard Trumpet(!)

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Battleguard Trumpet.

"Okay, little girl! Try this on for size!"

The card materialized face-up.

"Battleguard Trumpet?" Emily blinked.

"This Spell card makes me give up 2000 life points!" explained Swamp Battleguard (LP: 2000). "But it also allows me to summon a high level 'Battleguard' named monster from my hand with 500 less attack points!"

"What?!" exclaimed Emily.

Swamp Battleguard took a card from his hand. "Come forth! Battleguard King!"

On cue, a Duel Monster version of the 'real' Battleguard King materialized and gave a loud roar to signal its arrival (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"But my weakened Battleguard King will be getting stronger." continue Swamp Battleguard, holding out another card. "This Battleguard Horns Equip Spell will increase the attack of any monster that has the word 'Battleguard' in its name by 500 points!"

With that, Battleguard King's horns grew, making it stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Oh, and did I mention it also lowers your own life points by 500?"

Emily scowled as she took damage (LP: 3500).

"And I'll now leave it to my brothers here." Swamp Battleguard chuckled, looking over to his fellow Battleguards.

"Nicely done." smirked Lava Battleguard, looking at Swamp Battleguard. He then looked back at Emily. "It's my turn now!"

The red-skinned monster drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Lava Battleguard (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Battleguard Horns, Battleguard King, Monster Reborn, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, Raigeki, and Battleguard Trumpet

* * *

Upon seeing his drawn card, Lava Battleguard began to laugh.

"Well, whaddya know? I've drawn the same card as my brother here!" he snickered. "I think I'll take it for a test spin!"

Emily realized here that the three Battleguards played the exact same deck. She watched as the Battleguard Trumpet Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Battleguard Trumpet!" Lava Battleguard announced, taking damage (LP: 2000). "I take 2000 points of damage, but I can summon a powerful 'Battleguard' monster from my hand."

On cue, a second Battleguard King materialized (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"But like my brother here-" continued Lava Battleguard, slotting a card into a Spell/Tra slot on his Duel Disk. "-I'll equip Battleguard Horns to my weakened Battleguard King and raise its attack by 500 points...and deal you 500 points of damage!"

Like the first, this Battleguard King grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3000)...and Emily took more damage (LP: 3000).

"Two 3000 attack point monsters..." Emily thought. "And if my hunch is correct, the third Battleguard will likely pull the same move out..."

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Battleguard King (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Battleguard Horns, Battleguard King, Monster Reborn, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, Raigeki, and Battleguard Trumpet

* * *

As expected, once Battleguard King began his turn, the Battleguard Trumpet Spell card materialized face-up.

"Battleguard Trumpet!" he announced, taking a life point hit (LP: 2000). "Now come forth... me!"

A third Battleguard King monster materialized beside the other two (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 2500). The real thing then slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"And like the others, I'll give him a power boost with Battleguard Horn!"

The mentioned Equip Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Battleguard King no.3 regained its lost attack points (ATK: 2500 - 3000), and Emily took another 500 points worth of damage (LP: 2500). The three Battleguard Kings loomed over Emily with menacing and/or hungry expressions.

"We rule!" boasted Swamp Battleguard. "We control three powerful monsters...and you haven't even made your first move yet!"

Poor Emily was out numbered, and poor Kuribon was frightened at the size and intimidating appearance of the three Battleguard Kings.

"I can't give up." Emily said to herself.

With that thought on hand, she reached for her deck.

"Go ahead and draw!" dared Lava Battleguard. "No matter what you draw, we have you beat!"

"Boys, we're gonna have a great meal once we win!" said Battleguard King. "A human for the main course... and a little Kuriboh for dessert!"

"No, you're not!" snapped Emily. There was no way in heck she was gonna be eaten by these...beasts. "I'm going to beat you creeps in one turn! I'll show you NOW!"

With that, she drew her card, slashing a wave of color.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Wingweaver, DNA Surgery, Trap Booster, Diffusion Wave-Motion, Swords of Revealing Light, and Cry of the Wingweaver

* * *

The dark green-haired girl's drawn card was Cry of the Wingweaver. Best of all, she also had Wingweaver in her starting hand.

"I activate the Spell card Cry of the Wingweaver!" announced Emily, slotting her card into her Duel Disk.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Cry of the Wingweaver?" Lava Battleguard blinked.

"What does that do?" asked Swamp Battleguard.

Light filled the sky, with little particals raining down onto the duel field.

"This powerful Spell card allows me to special summon from my hand the legendary Wingweaver! ...all at the cost of 1000 of my life points." explained Emily, taking a life point hit (LP: 1500).

Lowering from the light-filled sky came the dark green-haired girl's ace monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2750).

"To make things worse for you three Battleguards, Wingweaver also gets her attack points DOUBLED for the remainder of my turn!"

Wingweaver grew more powerful (ATK: 2750 - 5500). Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard were both afraid...but Battleguard King remained calm.

"Relax, you two." he said. "Even if one of us falls now, the other two can still win."

Emily smirked. "I'm not finished just yet." she teased, taking and holding out another card from her hand. "Next I activate the Spell card Trap Booster! By discarding one card from my hand, I can activate a Trap card from my hand right away."

"A Trap card?!" began Lava Battleguard, reeling back.

"Right away?!" finished Swamp Battleguard, panicking some more.

"Yes! And I'll discard my Swords of Revealing Light Spell...to activate the Trap card DNA Surgery!"

The mentioned Trap card materialized face-up.

"Thanks to this card, I can now choose any monster-type I want. When I do, all monsters on the field become and remain that type so long as DNA Surgery remains face-up on the field."

"And what type...do you choose?" Battleguard King stuttered worriedly.

Emily closed her eyes and braced a hand over her heart and remained silent for what seemed like forever.

"I choose... the spellcaster type!" The dark green-haired girl opened her eyes fiercely.

While the three Battleguard Kings remained the same, Wingweaver suddenly gained a magical scepter of her own.

"Spellcaster?!" cried the three Battleguards.

"That's right." confirmed Emily, slotting her final card into her Duel Disk. "With my Wingweaver now being a spellcaster, I can activate my final card! Diffusion Wave-Motion!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. While Wingweaver's new weapon started crackling with magical power, Emily took another life point hit (LP: 500).

"At the cost of 1000 life points-" she explained. "-Wingweaver can now strike down every monster you three Battleguards own!"

"You can seriously do that?!" wailed Swamp Battleguard.

"No fair! We were so close to winning!" whined Lava Battleguard.

"Wingweaver!" called Emily. "Attack the Battleguard Kings!"

Wingweaver's weapon crackled with light before unleasing several ripples through the air. The three Battleguard Kings were struck and destroyed in an instant.

"And because you three lowered your life points enough..."

"We lose!" cried the Battleguards at once (LP: 0) x3.

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

The three big monsters collapsed to their knees in utter defeat as the holograms faded away.

"How could we lose...to our own meal?!" demanded Battleguard King.

"Maybe that's because I'm NOT a defenseless girl?" sneered Emily. "And unless you three REALLY want to make me angry, I'd suggest beating it and never bother me or my little friend here again!"

Even Kuribon gave a few angry snaps of 'kuribi' towards the three Battleguards. Now fearing for their lives, the three Battleguards turned heel and ran off back to where it was they came from. Emily glared at the three retreating Battleguards until they were out of sight...but then, she felt dizzy and began to fall to her knees.

"Oh..."

Kuribon panicked when she saw that her friend didn't look very well.

"That's odd." moaned Emily. "That duel didn't seem to take that much out of me. Why do I feel so dizzy all of a sudden?"

It was like she was feeling something...powerful...coming from her heart. What was it? The answer will have to be discovered another time.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the real world - inside a room within a fancy mansion at nightime, Spencer was lying in bed asleep. It had been a long day, and he needed some sleep. Unfortunately, the silver-haired boy was tossing and turning...as a voice echoed in his head.

"Seto... Seto... Seto..."

Spencer finally woke up, looking around while breathing hard.

"Where is that voice coming from?" he asked to no one but himself.

...but the silver-haired boy was not in his own room. He was in...a palace?

"What?! Am I in a palace?"

What's more, another voice could be heard.

"Seto..." The voice sounded female.

Spencer quickly looked behind him, and instantly got the shock of his life at what he saw.

"I-Impossible-!" he stuttered.

A series of flashbacks began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

This was during Spencer's duel against a possessed Emily.

"Now, my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, merge yourselves into one!" he commanded.

The fusion commenced. Once it finished, there stood the mighty three-headed Blue-Eyes itself, giving off a very powerful roar in the process (Level: 12/ATK: 4500).

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Emily (possessed) reeled back in shock from seeing this mighty monster. Suddenly, Spencer felt something sharp inside his head.

"Augh! What's going on?" he thought in pain.

Suddenly, he started to have a vision of a sort.

(new location...)

In this vision, he was in the middle of an Egyptian desert at night time. There was also a girl with pale white skin, long white hair, and gentle blue-eyes standing before Spencer with her back turned.

"Who are you?" asked Spencer.

The girl turned around...yet didn't say a word. She just smiled warmly at the silver-haired boy.

"Hey, didn't you hear me?!" snapped Spencer, growing a little irritated.

Suddenly, the girl started glowing all blue, causing Spencer to gasp in shock.

"Huh? What?"

The girl disappeared, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon took her place with a roar.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon..." Spencer whispered.

Suddenly, the dragon lowered its head until it as close enough to Spencer's body, growling softly like it was trying to communicate with the silver-haired boy.

(new scene...)

Suddenly, the scene flashed to another area. In this scene, a young Egyptian man was kneeling towards a giant stone carving of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon while carrying a dead girl, who had pale white skin and long white hair, in his arms.

"Kisara..." The man wept, his tears rolling down his cheeks.

High up in the sky, Spencer watched what was happening.

"This vision...!" he thought. "What is this sadness pounding in my chest?"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The series of flashbacks ended, and Spencer was still in shock.

"It's...you..." he whispered.

Standing in the doorway was a girl (Spencer's age) with pale white skin, long white hair, and gentle blue-eyes. The girl resembled a Duel Monster called 'Maiden with Eyes of Blue', but wore different clothing than the normal version. Currently, she looked terribly weak...like she would die at any time.

"You're...that girl." continued Spencer, slowly getting out of bed. He then found himself wearing priest-like clothing. "Wha-? Why am I dressed like this?"

"Seto..." The pale-skinned girl walked forth. "Please help me..."

"Why are you calling me Seto? My name is Spencer."

"Seto... I don't have much time left..." The girl went on, ignoring the silver-haired boy's protests. "Soon, I will be gone..."

"Gone?" asked Spencer. "What do you mean by that?"

"What you are talking to is my spirit. I've just been taken by the Court of Darkness." The pale-skinned girl answered. "They wish to use me for their evil goals and awful experiments on the darkness from people's hearts."

Spencer was confused. "The Court of Darkness? Who are they?"

"A group of evil spirited Duel Monsters who wish to conqueror the Duel Monsters Spirit World. To do so, they seek out to revive Diablon, the Evil One." explained the girl. "They found out about me by one person who serves them."

"Oh yeah? And who is that?"

The girl's lips quivered. "Professor Melvin. But his real name...is Gozaburo Gresley." she answered, shivering like a leaf.

Spencer froze at what he just heard. "M-My long dead G-Grandfather?"

Gozaburo Gresley. That monster of a human who had adopted Spencer's parents and two other relatives many years ago, abused them (especially the silver-haired boy's own parents), and then commited suicide years ago after losing his company to them...was alive.


	17. Dark Dragons Clash

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some bits of nudity and some minor gropping on a female character (by another female character), but is done so for a medical-type scene, and NOT for any sexual themes (Regardless, this chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside an unknown room in an Egyptian palace from many, many, MANY years ago, Spencer thought he he was having a bad dream right now. Why? Well, because of a certain man...

"He's...alive..."

"Do you know of this man?" asked Kisara (the pale skinned girl), seeing how distressed the silver-haired boy was. "From your look of shock..."

"He was my Grandfather." explained Spencer slowly and sickly. "But from what my Mother and Father told me, he committed suicide when he lost the company to them."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The four friends decided to use all of their learned knowledge from the schooling in buying out the company and overthrow that tyrant Gozaburo. Together, the four friends bought 51% of Boxford Corporation. Once the process was done, there was a board meeting to seal the deal. Jim, Leslie, Paul, and Jessie were all seated at the head of the table.

"You can't do this to me!" shouted Gozaburo in outrage. "I've been planning to have England go to war against the Soviet Union for six years now!"

"That's too bad!" said a member of the board. "We've had quite enough of you, Gozaburo Gresley. Unlike you, these children have no interest in hurting innocent people just for the sake of making money. They truly care for the well-being of innocent lives and their ow country. That is why they both deserve to be in charge of the company, and not you."

Gozaburo could not believe his ears. His own adopted children had turned his entire company against him. Instead of screaming in anger and defeat, however, Gozaburo's face...instead formed an evil, twisted smile.

"So, have we learned all we needed to know from you... Father?" asked Jim.

"Yes, it appears I've lost your little game." Gozaburo replied menacingly, walking towards an opened window. "But remember this well, my son... This is what happens to a loser!"

Without any warning, Gozaburo jumped out of the window, laughing maniacally as he fell twenty stories to his death... Gozaburo Gresley had committed suicide.

"He's gone..." whispered Paul.

"Just like that." added Jessie.

"Good riddance is what I'd say." Jim stated bluntly. "He was nothing but a monster."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"How can he still be alive?" asked Spencer.

"Please help me..." Kisara begged, starting to fizzle out.

"Wait, don't go!" cried Spencer. "I don't even know your name!"

"You already...know my...n-name..." The pale-skinned girl replied weakly. "It's...Kisara."

Suddenly, something happened to Spencer. It was like a memory from long ago had begun to reawaken...and he became a whole different person as a result.

"Kisara..." The silver-haired boy's facial features became a bit softer and not nearly as hostile. "What's-?"

"Seto... you must travel to the Duel Monsters spirit world... and make haste! Time is running out!"

"But how do I get there?" asked Spencer. "And what can I do? I'm but a mere priest."

"You'll... Ggh!" Kisara suddenly collapsed onto the ground, her body was fizzling out more fiercely. "I'm sorry, but I cannot speak to you any longer. All of my remaining power has been used up. Please, you must..."

Before the poor girl could finish her sentence, she vanished without a trace.

"K-Kisara..." mumbled Spencer, like he was in a trance of some sort.

(new location...)

Suddenly, the silver-haired boy found himself back in his room. In addition, his facial features suddenly returned to how they were normally.

"What happened...?"

He looked around, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong with me?" Spencer asked himself, bracing a hand to his forehead wearily. "Why did I find myself in Ancient Egypt? And how can Gozaburo Gresley still be alive after all these years?"

At this point, he proceeded to the bathroom to rinse his face in cold water.

* * *

 **Title: Dark Dragons Clash**

* * *

Around the Amazoness Village, Amazon and Amazoness monsters were roaming around trying to get the place rebuilt after that attack made by Darkbishop Archfiend of the Court of Darkness.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the chief's hut, the Amazoness Scouts, Rosie, and Molly were all busy waiting for Amazoness Sage and Mavis to both return from the back of the hut (the latter was getting checked over for possible injuries).

"I hope they get back soon." said Molly.

"No need to worry." smiled the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "If there's anything our chief is good at, it's treating injuries."

"I'll say that for sure." agreed Rosie, remembering how her burns and other injuries were treated.

"But I must ask-" spoke up the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "-what will you three do next?"

"Well, I suppose we could try and find the rest of our friends." said Molly. "Then we can carry on with rescuing our friend Emily from the Court of Darkness."

"But we can't forget about that prophecy." reminded Rosie. "This is something Thomas needs to know about."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that..."

(elsewhere...)

In the back room (with the curtain conceiling everything), a pile of clothes (and underwear) was laying in one corner. Amazoness Sage was busy looking over the naked Mavis's body as she laid on the stone table. There were a number of bruises and scratches everywhere.

"Hmm..." mumbled the Amazoness chief.

"Well, doc?" asked Mavis. "How serious is it?"

Amazoness Sage was puzzled. "Doc?"

"Oh... I mean...chief." The blonde-haired girl corrected herself. "How bad are my injuries?"

"Not as bad as I thought." said the wise sage. "Should be very easy to treat."

Just then, she took out a knife from a cabinet, much to Mavis's surprise.

"What are you gonna do?" The blonde-haired girl panicked.

"Easy, child." replied Amazoness Sage, holding up the knife. "This won't hurt."

With that said, the chief held the knife up, causing Mavis to immediately shut her eyes tightly and brace for the pain... But when she opened her eyes, the Amazoness Sage went and cut her own hand instead and causing it to bleed profusely. The blonde-haired girl blinked in confusion from watching the deed.

"Why did you do that?" asked Mavis curiously.

No answer came. Amazoness Sage instead went and braced her cut palm down over the blonde-haired girl's heart, which also happened to be directly over her...breast. This caused poor Mavis to yelp and blush fiercely in response to being...gropped?

"H-Hey! W-What do you think you're-?!"

"Just relax..." soothed Amazoness Sage carefully. She was not even squeezing Mavis's breast in any kind of enjoyment. "And let me take care of your injuries."

Without another word, the Amazoness chief then laid her uncut hand directly onto Mavis's lower stomach area (which was right near the groin), closed her eyes, and started flailing about in a...tribal-like way.

"Huh? What's-?" Mavis asked and tried to sit up, but something forced her to stay down on the table.

No answer came. Amazoness Sage was either humming a weird sound or speaking in such a strange language that Mavis had no clue what to even make of it. Regardless of that, the blonde-haired girl currently felt a bit uncomfortable and somewhat violated over being touched in a few places she did not like to be touched at all. Especially since it was by someone she did not know all that well... although Mavis was still glad it was by at least a female and not by a male.

"At least no boys are here watching..." she thought only to herself.

Suddenly, the bruises and scratches around her exposed body started to fade away as Amazoness Sage flailed and spoke in the weird language. Soon, the injuries were all gone from Mavis's skin. Once they were all gone, Amazoness Sage released both her hands from the blonde-haired girl's body.

"There we go." The village chief sighed wearily. "All better."

Mavis immediately sat up and looked down at her chest. There was no blood on where she was gropped for the healing process.

"But...I don't get it." The blonde-haired girl said in shock, looking back at the Amazoness chief. "What about the cut on your hand?"

Amazoness Sage smiled and showed Mavis her supposedly cut hand...which no longer had any cut or anything on it.

"What cut?"

Mavis was left speechless by this method.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the lobby of the hut, the two remaining human girls as well as the two Amazoness Scouts were all waiting for the healing stage to finish. Just then, Mavis (all dressed again) and Amazoness Scout both emerged from the backroom.

"You guys sure do have some strange healing tactics." Mavis commented to the Amazoness monsters.

"How did it go?" asked Molly, as she and Rosie both walked over.

"Just like I did with your pink-haired friend-" replied Amazoness Sage. "-Mavis here will be just fine."

"My injuries are completely gone!" added the blonde-haired girl.

"Great!" smiled Rosie.

"We're so happy to hear that!" added Molly.

"I don't know how you did it, but I admit it was rather..." Mavis continued, but stopped herself suddenly.

"Rather what?" asked the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Come on, we won't get mad." insisted the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"It was rather odd." said Mavis uneasily. "I mean... we have to actually have to be naked to get treated?"

"Naked?!" Molly gasped, blushing hard.

"As I've mentioned to your pink-haired friend-" replied Amazoness Sage. "-nudity is extremely important in this village when treating fellow Amazons. It allows me to more easily find the injuries and treat them with all speed and care."

"True... but we're only teenagers." Rosie pointed out. "It makes it a bit uncomfortable for us."

"I see..."

"But we're still grateful for everything." Mavis added quickly. "If it hadn't been for you guys, we'd be stuck in the forest looking for help."

"Think nothing of it." smiled the Amazoness chief.

"Always happy to be of service." added the two Amazoness Scouts.

"Anybody getting hungry?" asked Rosie, as her stomach suddenly growled.

"This calls for a feast...in Mavis's honor!" declared Amazoness Sage.

"Huh? M-Me?" asked Mavis, feeling flustered.

"You did save us from a member of the Court of Darkness after all."

"And also conquered your inner darkness." added the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"You mean I just had to defeat the Court of Darkness to conquer the darkness in me?" asked Mavis.

"To an extension - you've allowed yourself to accept the fact that while your past may have been terrible, there were still good moments of it." explained Amazoness Sage.

The blonde-haired girl knew what the wise Amazoness sage meant by that...just as a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was shortly after the younger Mavis had saved Toby's life.

"Whew, that was a close call." sighed Young Mavis. "It's a good thing you held on for a long time."

Young Toby remained silent for a while. Young Mavis felt very sad and ashamed. She never meant to go this far. At last, after what seemed like forever, Young Toby finally found his voice...

"Did Diesel put you up to this?" The young brown-haired boy asked.

Young Mavis confirmed everything. "Y-Yes. He suggested that I go and see the trucks gang." she nodded.

"And did he tell you what they were going to do to me?" Young Toby went on, sounding dead serious.

Before Young Mavis could answer the question, a familiar oily voice could be heard from nearby...

"Hey, Mavis! Why are you talking to Toby?!"

Young Mavis looked up and saw Young Diesel coming towards her and Young Toby.

"I thought you wanted to get back at him for what he did to you?" The young black-haired boy asked snidely. "Talking to him isn't going to help with that, you know."

Suddenly, Young Mavis got a look of severe anger on her face. She knew Diesel was the one who convinced her to go see the trucks, and it almost got Toby severely hurt or even killed. Without any warning, the young blonde-haired girl went over and...slapped Young Diesel across the face.

"I never said I wanted him dead!" she snarled. "You knew the trucks would try to do something despicable to him, but you said nothing about it! Toby was right about you all along - you ARE a bully and a manipulative liar!"

"Not only that-" added Toby angrily. "-but he was never even in-love with you. He was just using you as an extra member of his gang. If he really was a loyal boyfriend, then why did I catch him flirting with other girls, especially Daisy Cammell, and saying that you were really his cousin?"

"WHAT?!"

Young Diesel was spluttering nervously. "M-Me? Flirting with o-other girls? D-Don't be silly. I would never-"

That, I'm afraid, was the last straw for Young Mavis...

"You... you lying, two-timing, manipulative, JERK!" The young blonde-haired girl screamed in her rage, kicking Young Diesel...where the sun don't shine, causing him to collapse to his knees while groaning (or squealing) in pain.

"M-Mavis?" stuttered Young Toby. He never saw Young Mavis go and kick a boy in the groin before.

"We're through, Diesel Horwich!" exclaimed Young Mavis. "I never want to see you or your so-called friends, ever again!"

Young Diesel, gripping onto his aching...kiwis, had an extremely hilarious look of shock on his face before fainting. Nearby, 16-year old Mavis had been watching the whole thing unfold.

"I... I remember this..."

Young Mavis then turned and hugged Young Toby close to her as she started to cry.

"Oh, Toby, I'm so sorry for everything!" The young blonde-haired girl sobbed with remorse. "I really am!"

"I told you Diesel was no good." said Young Toby softly. "Why didn't you listen?"

"I... I just wanted to be cool." Young Mavis explained, sniffling and hiccuping. "Diesel said that if I was more tough, then I could eventually make people WANT to be friends with me."

"But that's no good. Being a bully will cause people to turn away from you... and believe me, this was a serious case with another friend of mine."

"It was?" asked Young Mavis.

Young Toby nodded grimly.

"Well, whatever happened to him?"

"Actually ' _her_ '." The young brown-haired boy corrected.

Young Mavis started to realize who the young brown-haired boy was talking about... "You don't mean-?"

"Yes..." said Young Toby slowly. "I mean Emily..."

As the two children spoke, Young Mavis finally decided to do something about what she had done a year ago up until now.

"Toby, I'm going to make a solemn promise."

"Solemn promise?" blinked Young Toby. "Of what kind?"

"I promise that I will never allow myself to become a bully ever again." Young Mavis explained. "I will work hard to earn back the trust of everyone I've wronged. Be it my parents, everyone else at school..."

Young Toby smiled from hearing his new friend say that... but then blushed when the pre-teen girl took hold of his hands and gazed into his black eyes lovingly.

"But I will make it up especially to you." Young Mavis smiled in a sweet way, with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "That is... if you would like that..."

Young Toby continued to smile as he went and hugged Young Mavis once more.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Mavis closed her eyes while smiling.

"You've a point there..."

With that said, everyone left the hut to prepare for the celebration.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in an unknown part of the Spirit World. All ways quiet...too quiet. Suddenly, a loud roar was heard. Coming from the sky was a fiery dragon-like spirit. Upon crashing into the ground, it caused a large explosion of fire. When it died down, it revealed Knight of Dark Dragon.

"He must be close." The Dragon Knight said to himself, sniffing the air. "I can smell him."

With that said, he transformed back into a dragon spirit and took off towards the ocean, thinking his target is somewhere on one of the islands.

(elsewhere...)

Within the White House in Washington, Douglas Crump was walking down a hallway whistling cheerfully.

"Morning, Mr. President." called one staff member.

"Morning." greeted Douglas Crump. "Looking good!"

Eventually, the pompous US President opened a door and entered his office. He sat down at his desk, adjusted his tie, and began looking through his notes...which were on how to steal control of Boxford Corp.

"All I have to do is go in and buy the property from them." thought Douglas Crump to himself. "Then it's out with those terrorists."

He gave a low laugh and continued cycling through the papers on his desk. Oh yes... Boxford Corp was as good as his.

(elsewhere...)

It was busy in the city of Atlanta; cars driving on the highways, people walking through the streets whilst minding their own business...and a large protest going on outside the headquarters of the American branch of Boxford Corp.

"Down with Boxford Corp!" They chanted in a hostile tone. "Down with Boxford Corp!"

The guards outside tried their best to calm the crowd down...to no success.

(elsewhere...)

Inside his office, Spencer was looking out the window grimly. The crowd's chants were loud enough for him to hear despite the office being near the top floor.

"This is absurd..." The silver-haired boy asked himself. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing on his mind right now. Spencer was still thinking about the visit he got from that mysterious young woman last night, and how she is dying and had been captured...by ' _him_ '.

"And how can Gozaburo still be alive after he had commited suicide many years ago?"

Spencer sighed and buried his face in his hands in frustration. He obviously didn't want to tell his parents about that monster of a man, who was supposed to be dead, being alive. It would make things more complicated than they already were. Just then...

"Spencer?" A young voice called from outside.

The door opened... and Skiff walked inside the office.

"Are you alright?"

Giving another sigh, Spencer sat up from his desk and paced around.

"No." he answered. "Things have been getting a whole lot worse for us ever since that Douglas Crump came into our lives."

"I really wish that all of this madness would just stop." agreed Skiff.

"And what's more..." Spencer walked over and knelt down to his younger brother. "Now, I want you to promise me you'll not tell our parents what I'm about to tell you."

"I promise." nodded Skiff.

Spencer smiled a bit, but then narrowed his eyes as he stood back up.

"My Grandfather, Gozaburo Gresley, is still alive..."

Skiff gasped. "S-S-Still alive?! But how?" he whispered.

"Unfortunately, I don't know." Spencer answered in an upset tone. "I was visited by someone last night... and was told about him."

Skiff remained absolutely silent on the matter. Spencer didn't blame him; it was pretty shocking overall.

"Where is he?" Skiff asked, finally regaining his voice.

"I was told that I will find him in the Duel Monsters spirit world."

Before Skiff could speak up once more, a new voice echoed through the office...

"Spencer... Spencer..."

Skiff and Spencer both looked around the room in surprise.

"That voice..." The younger boy mumbled.

"Where is it coming from?" added the silver-haired boy.

Suddenly, in a burst of magic, someone appeared in the middle of the office! ...someone who was very familiar to the two brothers.

"Dark Magician Girl?" asked Skiff in surprise. "Isn't that one of Thomas's monsters?"

"It is..." agreed Spencer, looking just as shocked. "But... she's..."

"Real." The female spellcaster cut in, stretching her arms out. She then got a serious look on her face. "Spencer, our world needs your assistance."

"The Duel Monsters spirit world?" asked Spencer. "I was told about it in a dream I had last night."

"Then you should already know..."

Spencer frowned. "I do."

"Good." said Dark Magician Girl.

"So, are you here to send me there?"

The female spellcaster nodded. "I am... But first, I'm here to tell you...how your company is being brought out."

"You know who it is?" asked Skiff. "Then, you have to tell us!"

"Gozaburo has been stealing your stocks little by little." explained Dark Magician Girl. "For what purpose-"

"WHAT?!"

Dark Magician Girl suddenly stopped speaking and became slightly frightened. She saw that Spencer was now red in the face with rage. All along, it had been his Grandfather who was stealing shares of Boxford Corp.

"How dare he do this to my family!?" The silver-haired boy roared. "This must be his way of getting revenge for-!"

"There's more to it than that." interrupted Dark Magician Girl.

Spencer glared intensely. "More?"

"Please tell us." added Skiff.

"Gozaburo not only wants your company for revenge against you and your family, but the Court of Darkness is after the technology it develops."

"For what?" asked Spencer, not liking where this was going.

"They seek to revive their master... the ' _ **Evil One**_ '." explained the female spellcaster, not daring to mention his full name. "Once he is revived, they will wish to conquer both the Duel Monsters spirit world AND your world as well."

"Just what we need..." groaned Spencer, doing a facepalm. "Another evil nutcase with a God complex..."

"Please, Spencer..." pleaded Dark Magician Girl. "We need your help."

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Alright... but first, take me to Gozaburo Gresley. I wish to have a little ' _chat_ ' with him."

"I'm going with you, Big Brother." insisted Skiff.

"No, I want you to stay here." replied Spencer firmly. "This will be very dangerous, and I don't want you to follow and potentially get hurt."

"But what do I tell Mom and Dad?"

"This is something we'd best not tell them about." The silver-haired boy pointed out. "They're already deeply worried about all the bad press Boxford Corp is getting thanks to the Duel Monsters attacks and Douglas Crump's smear campaign."

"What if they ask of your whereabouts?" asked Skiff.

"Tell them that I went back home to the Island of Sodor for some much needed vacation time to cool myself down from the overworked stress."

"Speaking of Sodor-" added Dark Magician Girl. "-Thomas is also in the Duel Monsters spirit world."

"Billinton is where-?" Spencer asked with widened eyes.

Well now... this was certainly another surprise for our silver-haired anti-hero... What's Thomas up to right this moment? Let's go see...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Duel Monsters spirit world - on the island of Neo-Spacians, construction of the boat was taking place. So far, it was coming along nicely.

"It should be done soon." reported a Neo-Spacian (Air Hummingbird).

Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin looked towards Thomas and the others. "If we keep going at this rate, we should have the boat built by sunrise."

"In the meantime-" added Elemental HERO Neos. "-our offer for you to stay and rest up is still open."

"I say we take it." said Percy to Thomas. "We'll likely need it before our big search for Mavis, Molly, and Rosie."

"I guess you're right." sighed Thomas, before looking to Elemental HERO Neos. "Alright, we accept your offer to let us rest up in your village."

"Good to hear." nodded Elemental HERO Neos.

But Thomas still seemed unhappy; for he feared that now it would take even longer for him to find Emily.

"We will find Emily, Thomas." reassured Maiden of the Aqua, taking her friend by his hand. "I promise you that."

"I hope so." said Thomas quietly.

(elsewhere...)

That night, all was quiet. Everyone had settled in for the night while some of the Neo-Spacians remained awake and finish building the boat. As they worked on, another Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin looked up into the sky and saw something.

"A shooting star?" he blinked.

The others looked up as well.

"Let's make a wish!" suggested a Neo-Spacian Glow Moss.

Unknowing to the Neo-Spacians, what was up in the sky wasn't a shooting star at all. As the glowing...thing got bigger and bigger, Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin's eyes widened.

"INCOMING!"

Quickly, the group of Neo-Spacians jumped clear.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one of the huts, Thomas was sound asleep when...

 ***KABOOM!***

...the blue-haired boy was wide awake now.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he cried. "What was that?"

(elsewhere...)

In the middle of the beach, a large ball of fire had touched down. When the fire died down, it revealed an unscathed Knight of Dark Dragon. The sight of the male Dragon Knight terrified the Neo-Spacians.

"No... not him." whispered a Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird.

"What does he want with us?" asked a Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab.

Knight of Dark Dragon stood up and sniffed the air. The smell was at its strongest here.

"He's here..." he whispered. The Dragon Knight then approached and grabbed a Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin by its throat. "Where is he?!"

"Where is who?" coughed the Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, while being choked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" snarled Knight of Dark Dragon. "You creatures know where the user of the black dragon is! Tell me, right now!"

"What's going on out here?" came a voice (male).

Knight of Dark Dragon looked up and saw Thomas and his friends rushing into the area. The Dragon Knight narrowed his eyes at the angry looks he was getting from those humans.

"Keep back!" demanded Knight of Dark Dragon. "This doesn't concern any of you!"

"Pick on someone your own size, you big bully!" snapped Percy.

Suddenly, the Dragon Knight sniffed the air once more. That smell... it was coming from that green-haired boy.

"You..." Knight of Dark Dragon growled, as his eyes began shining red. "You smell toxic!"

"What?" Percy quizzed, sniffing his armpits. "I smell fine."

"Then you're the one..." continued the Dragon Knight, taking a Duel Monsters deck out of his armor. "You're the one who wields the dragon...!"

He showed the deck towards the group, but Percy seemed to recognize it...

"Hey!" cried the green-haired boy. "That's my deck!"

"So, you are the one who wields the black dragon." said Knight of Dark Dragon, before giving a cocky smile. "Funny, I was expecting the wielder to be a warrior... not a mere boy."

"H-Hey! Watch the insults, pal!" winced Percy.

"Heh! You want it back? Take it!"

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon tossed the deck over to Percy.

"I got my deck back..." The green-haired boy sighed in relief.

"Just who are you?!" demanded James.

"I am the true wielder of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon arrogantly. "The feared mercanary - Knight of Dark Dragon."

"Wait, did you say ' **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** '?" blinked Gordon.

"I did."

"But that can't be possible." protested Percy. "I wield that dragon!"

"Tell that to my most recent victim." The Dragon Knight chuckled darkly. "And, to be honest, she was pathetic in battle, too."

"' _She_ '?" repeated Henry. "Could it be-?"

"Did you attack one our friends?" demanded Thomas.

"Friends? Those three girls were friends of yours? Heh! No wonder I won so easily..."

"Three?!" exclaimed Stanley. "Those had to have been Mavis, Rosie, and Molly!"

Thomas clenched his fist. Great flames of anger was overtaking the blue-haired boy at that very moment.

"You've attacked innocent girls who did nothing to deserve it?!" roared Thomas, just as his eyes began to turn red and a dark aura began to form around him. "I'll-!"

"Relax." interrupted the Dragon Knight. "I spared their lives. Besides, I have no beef with you. Your friend, on the other hand..."

He was clearly referring to Percy.

"I wish to test his power in a duel."

"No!" exclaimed Thomas, his eyes still shining red. "Those who harm my friends shall deal with-"

"Thomas, stay back!" ordered Percy, stepping forth. "I'll deal with this so-called ' ** _Dragon Master_** ' myself. It's Red-Eyes' wish."

"You sure?" asked Edward. "This guy doesn't seem very normal."

"I'm sure." said a determined Percy.

"Brave words, kid." Knight of Dark Dragon admitted, but gave a menacing smile as he activated his Duel Disk. "But let's see if you can even last long enough to back them up."

Percy narrowed his eyes, activated his own Duel Disk, and drew his opening hand in response (LP: 4000).

"Oh, I'll show you!"

Knight of Dark Dragon drew his opening hand (LP: 4000).

"Then let's begin our little ' _test_ '!" The Dragon Knight declared.

As the group watched the duel begin, Elemental HERO Neos suddenly showed up.

"What's going on?" he asked almost immediately.

"Percy's been challenged to a duel by the Knight of Dark Dragon." explained Stanley.

"The Knight of Dark Dragon..."

"Hey, you okay?" asked Henry in concern, noticing that the Ultraman-like Elemental HERO was looking pretty worried.

"He is a mercenary of this world." explained Elemental HERO Neos. "One of the most dangerous ones of all."

"A mercenary?" quizzed Toby.

"You don't think he was hired by the Court of Darkness... do you?" added Maiden of the Aqua, becoming very worried.

"I can't be sure... but it could be a possibility."

Over with both Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon...

"The first attack will go to me!" declared the Dragon Knight, drawing his card. "NOW!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Black Dragon's Chick, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Mystical Space Typhoon, Black Metal Dragon, Tyrant Wing, and Inferno Fire Blast

* * *

He smirked upon seeing his opening hand.

"I summon Black Dragon's Chick in attack mode!"

Materializing was a large red egg... but it hatched and revealed a baby Red-Eyes dragon (Level: 1/ATK: 800/DEF: 500).

"But it won't be around for too much long." continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "Because I'm going to use its effect!"

"Effect?" repeated Percy.

"You're not as stupid as I thought. Yes! Effect... I'll offer my dragon chick as a tribute."

With that said, Black Dragon's Chick vanished into a burst of fire.

"By sacrificing my Black Dragon's Chick-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, placing a new card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can summon in its place the fearsome, legendary, and supreme Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"R-Red-Eyes?!" Now Percy was really scared.

A large ball of fire erupted. From the flames came the mighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Then Percy...really isn't the only one to wield this dragon..." stuttered Thomas.

"And if you think I'm done here, think again!" laughed Knight of Dark Dragon.

"W-What?!" Percy was aghast to hear that.

"I activate Inferno Fire Blast!" The Dragon Knight announced, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "Say goodbye to 2400 life points!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon started charging a powerful blast of fire in its mouth.

"FIRE!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed and fired the blast of fire at Percy, causing him to yell as flames surrounded him (LP: 1600).

"Percy!" called Thomas.

"2400 points of damage done already!" added Stanley.

The flames around the green-haired boy died down, and Knight of Dark Dragon scoffed in response.

"Pathetic." he commented. "My first turn, and already I have you beat."

"Keep dreaming!" snapped Percy.

"Hmm?"

"I've been through worse than that!" The green-haired boy continued. "I'm not giving up by a long shot!"

A facedown card materialized behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Very well... I'll set one card and end my turn." finished the Dragon Knight.

"And now... it's my turn!" announced Percy, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Divine Knight Ishzark, Lightning Blade, Silent Doom, Scapegoat, and Panther Warrior

* * *

His hand contained Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Divine Knight Ishzark, Lightning Blade, Silent Doom, Scapegoat, and the added Panther Warrior.

"Not too shabby, I must say..." Percy thought to himself, grinning widely.

On cue, the Panther Warrior monster card materialized face-up.

"Come forth - Panther Warrior!"

The armored panther-like warrior appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600).

"You idiot! That monster is weaker than my dragon!" Knight of Dark Dragon criticized. "Are you that anxious to be defeated by me? 'Cause that's what I think about you, right now!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." retorted Percy.

"How?"

"I'll boost his strength with Lightning Blade!" explained the green-haired boy, slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

The mentioned card materialized face-up, but suddenly shattered into pieces of glass from destruction.

"Huh?!" Percy gawked. "My card was destroyed?!"

The Dragon Knight chuckled. "I open my facedown card..." The set card flipped face-up to reveal... "Mystical Space Typhoon!"

"Wha-?!" Percy yelled.

"Your Equip Spell card has met its end thanks to this card." said the Dragon Knight smugly. "Meaning you're stuck with a 2000 attack point Panther Warrior."

"Aww, man." groaned Percy. He had walked right into that one.

With the audience...

"He's good." thought Thomas, thinking about Knight of Dark Dragon's action just now. "He saw through Percy's action and countered it easily."

Back in the duel field...

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." sighed Percy, slotting a card into his Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized.

"Heh! Is that all you've got?" taunted the Dragon Knight, drawing his card. "I was expecting a whole lot more from you."

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (3): Black Metal Dragon, Tyrant Wing, and Heavy Storm

* * *

The Spell card Heavy Storm materialized face-up.

"I activate Heavy Storm!"

A large storm blew Percy's facedown card away (Scapegoat).

"Dang it!" exclaimed Percy in frustration.

"Oh, but that's not even the worst of it." continued Knight of Dark Dragon, holding up another card. "I summon Black Metal Dragon in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a small, metallic black dragon (Level: 1/DEF: 600).

"I will now equip this monster onto my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"He can do that?" gasped James.

"I've heard of this monster, and he can certainly do that!" Edward pointed out. "By equipping itself onto a ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster, the equipped monster will gain 600 attack points!"

Black Metal Dragon suddenly vanished...and reappeared on Red-Eyes Black Dragon as metallic armor, which also began to increase the dragon's overall strength (ATK: 2400 - 3000).

"Now, attack with Inferno Fire Blast!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed and fired a ball of meteor-like fire, striking and destroying Panther Warrior in a fiery explosion.

"Oh man!" winced Percy (LP: 600).

"Now I'm beginning to get why this guy calls himself ' ** _The True Master of the Red-Eyes_** '." Gordon remarked.

"Me too." agreed James. "Just look how well he's doing!"

The Neo-Spacians all watched the duel in complete fright. Was Percy going to lose to this ruthless knight?

"Are you ready to surrender yet?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon teasingly. "You have no chance against my dragon."

Percy stared at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. It completely resembled his own dragon, but this Red-Eyes Black Dragon... It looked much fiercer, meaner, more...evil-like.

"Are you scared? Perhaps this dragon...terrifies you? That's what my last opponent thought when I crushed her oh so badly...!"

Percy clenched his fist. "I will never surrender!" he snapped in defiance. "I swear... I will find a way to turn this duel around!"

Knight of Dark Dragon sighed. "A fool to no end." He slotted a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, a facedown card materialized behind the powered up Red-Eyes Black Dragon as the Dragon Knight ended his turn. "Then show me!"

Percy nodded and drew his card. At this point, he hoped that it was the card he needed.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Percy Avonside (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Divine Knight Ishzark, Silent Doom, and Pot of Greed

* * *

"This is a good start." thought the green-haired boy, seeing his Pot of Greed Spell card. He then held his card out and spoke aloud. "I'll play Pot of Greed! Now, I can draw two more cards!"

Knight of Dark Dragon scoffed, but said nothing. Percy's two cards were Dragon Nails and Star Blaster (both Spells). The green-haired boy smirked in response.

"Next I activate Silent Doom!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field... just before materializing Panther Warrior in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"This special summons Panther Warrior back to the field in defense mode!" explained Percy, slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Now I'll activate my handy-dandy Star Blaster Spell card!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Star Blaster?" quizzed the Dragon Knight.

"This lets me roll a die." explained Percy. "I can then increase the level of one monster on my field due to the result of the die and sacrifice it to special summon a monster from my hand with the equal level of it."

"Can this help him?" asked Neos to himself. "Only one way to find out..."

A half man/half devil materialized from the card.

"Time to see if my luck holds out." declared Percy. "Go dice roll!"

The die was tossed into the air. Everyone in the audience watched anxiously as the die landed, rolled around, and landed on...a three.

"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH, YEAH!" cheered Percy. "A three! Combine that with my Panther Warrior's level of 4, that gives me a 7!"

Panther Warrior faded away in a blue streak. Knight of Dark Dragon merely spat in disgust at what was coming.

"Now say hello to MY Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" called Percy, showing the card.

On cue, another Red-Eyes Black Dragon materialized with a screeching roar (Level: 7/ATK: 2400).

"So we meet at last..." thought Knight of Dark Dragon, looking up at Percy's own dragon.

"And to make sure your dragon can't roast him-" The green-haired boy continued, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "-I'll boost his strength with Dragon Nails!"

Metallic claws appeared on Percy's dragon, granting it a 600 attack power boost (ATK: 2400 - 3000).

"They're tied." said a Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab.

"The next turn could decide the whole duel." added Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.

"Not really." interrupted the voice of Knight of Dark Dragon, causing everyone else to gasp.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Percy, just before noticing the holograms fading away. "H-Hey! What's going on?!"

"I'm finished with this duel." huffed the Dragon Knight, closing his eyes.

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: No results**

* * *

Percy was not happy. "Why? All because I summoned my own Red-Eyes Black Dragon and made it as strong as yours?"

Knight of Dark Dragon opened his eyes and smirked. "No, because I've seen enough of your dueling style. And I honestly think...it's pathetic."

"What?!" shouted the green-haired boy angrily. "What do you mean by that?!"

"You rely on cheap gambling tricks to help you get ahead instead of truly relying on your dragon's strength." explained the Dragon Knight. "A true master relys always on the cunning and brute force of his monsters... like I do."

"If you think that will help, then come on and finish the duel!"

"Not interested." retorted Knight of Dark Dragon, turning around. "If we have continued playing any longer, I would have you beaten."

Percy recoiled. "Say what?!"

The Dragon Knight then took out his set card and showed it to everyone.

"On my next turn, I would have activated my Tyrant Wing Trap card. It would have not only made my Red-Eyes much stronger, but would also allow it to attack twice in a battle phase. All of this would have allowed me to finish you off."

Everyone was surprised to say the least, but Knight of Dark Dragon didn't stop speaking...

"But to spare you the pain and humiliation your friend went through agasinst me, I've decided to just end the duel with no results."

Everyone else still remained silent. This mercenary... He seemed to be evil, yet had an honorable streak in him. Just who's side was he truly on?

"But I wouldn't go thinking for a minute that this will be the last you'll see of me." continued the Dragon Knight, beginning to glow orange. "We will meet again. Friend or Foe? That will be left up to fate!"

With that said, he vanished without a trace.

"He's gone..." whispered Stanley.

"And he's met up with the girls, too..." added James.

"We have to find them now." insisted Thomas. "Otherwise, someone else could find and attack them!"

"We don't even know where they are." argued Henry. "How do you expect we find someone without knowing their exact location?"

"I don't know, Henry..." mumbled Thomas, before turning and punching a nearby palm tree in anger. "I just don't know!"

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Sir Thomas..." added Gilford the Lightning.

Everyone else remained silent right now. Yup, this was a rather...gloomy sitatuion, wouldn't you all think?

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the American headquarters of Boxford Corp in the real world, Dark Magician Girl and Skiff were both waiting for Spencer to emerge from the nearby closet.

"Ready yet?" asked Skiff.

A minute later, the door opened... and Spencer walked out wearing his trade-mark outfit and carrying his metallic briefcase (which carried his cards and Duel Disk).

"Ready."

"Alright." nodded Dark Magician Girl, preparing the spell. "Be careful."

Skiff watched silently as the female spellcaster began to chant the spell. Spencer merely remained stoic as he started to fizzle out. But then there was trouble - the office door opened and revealed both Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"Spencer, we've got-" Mr. Gresley (Boxford) began, but suddenly stopped.

"What in the world?" gasped Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

This distraction caused Dark Magician Girl to make a mistake in her spellcasting. Spencer gave a cry of pain as he then fully fizzled out.

"SPENCER!" cried out the silver-haired boy's Mother and Father. They were horrified to see that their oldest son had disappeared in thin-air.

"What happened?" asked Skiff in shock.

"I... I don't know." Dark Magician Girl replied nervously. She was just as shocked by the outcome.

Well... this was quite the pickle. Spencer was suppose to go to the Castle of Dark Illusions... But thanks to the untiming arrival of his parents, Dark Magician Girl got distracted and made a mistake in the spell, and sending the silver-haired boy to possibly another part of the world. Just where exactly will Spencer go as a result of this mess up? Stay tuned to find out!


	18. The Shrine

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

It was all quiet in the meadowy field of the Duel Monsters Spirit World. While far from peaceful, it was still rather quiet...or it 'was' quiet...

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!" screamed a voice.

Someone was shown to be falling from the sky. And that someone was...Spencer?

(elsewhere...)

Inside Spencer's office within the American branch of Boxford Corp in Atlanta (the real world), Skiff and his parents were all still aghast at what happened to Spencer just moments ago.

"Our son..." whispered Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"What have you done to him?!" demanded Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

Dark Magician Girl was still gazing at the spot Spencer had been standing in complete shock. Thanks to that distraction a few seconds ago, she had messed up the spell and possibly sent Spencer to another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"I was trying to send him to the Duel Monster spirit world." Dark Magician Girl finally said after a moment of silence, turning to face the two humans. "But when you two came in while I was doing so, I got distracted... so now I don't know where he's ended up."

"Duel Monsters spirit world?" blinked Mrs Gresley (Boxford). "Just who are you?!"

"You know who I am." replied the female spellcaster. "I am the Dark Magician Girl, and I am from the Duel Monsters spirit world."

"Why did you send Spencer there?" asked Mr. Gresley (Boxford). "Why are you even here?"

"Mom, Dad..." Skiff spoke up. "I'm afraid there's something we need to tell you."

Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) both remained quiet. Yes, what Skiff and Dark Magician Girl both had to tell them wasn't going to be pretty in the slightest.

"Do you remember your adopted Father Gozaburo?"

Silence filled the air.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Spencer was lying on the ground. Thankfully, he wasn't injured.

"Ugh..."

The silver-haired boy's eyes opened up. Getting up, Spencer dusted himself off and started to look around the area curiously.

"I was supposed to have been taken to where my Grandfather is." he thought. "Instead, I'm lost somewhere in this strange world."

This was the last thing Spencer needed.

"Nevertheless, I'll find that old coot and make him pay for everything he's done to my parents and Boxford Corp!"

With that said, the silver-haired boy began to look around to see if he could find anyone that could help and/or give him directions.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab in the Castle of Dark Illusion, Professor Melvin was watching everything on the main computer screen. A cold, cruel smile crept onto his face when he got a look at Spencer Gresley.

"So... Spencer Gresley, I presume." he snickered. "Well not to worry, Spencer. I'm sure you and your ' _Grandfather_ ' will meet sooner than you think."

You don't think...? Well, we'll hopefully find out sooner or later.

* * *

 **Title: The Shrine**

* * *

Back in the main office of Boxford Corp (Atlanta), Dark Magician Girl and Skiff both had finished explaining to Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) about why Spencer had to be sent to the Duel Monsters Spirit World.

"It just can't be true!" exclaimed Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) in horror. "He just can't be-!"

"I'm afraid he is." said Dark Magician Girl unhappily.

"But how?"

"We don't know how he's alive." Skiff answered. "But it's very true."

"He must be wanting revenge on us for taking his company away from him." said Mr. Gresley (Boxford) gloomily.

"What's more-" went on Dark Magician Girl. "-he is in league with the Court of Darkness to revive an evil entity."

"Who?"

Dark Magician Girl sighed heavily and started to lead the three humans to some comfy chairs.

"This tale will take awhile, so you both might want to sit down somewhere comfy." she stated.

And awhile it shall take.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a forest in an unknown part of the Spirit World, Emily and Kuribon were both sitting by a campfire. The sun had gone down, and that meant one thing...

"It's night time." said Emily quietly. "I sure wish I was back home where it was safe."

Kuribon, however, suddenly started speaking to the girl in her own language. Emily looked to her Duel Monsters friend.

"What's that, Kuribon?" she asked. "Say that again."

Kuribon repeated what she had said.

"You wish to bring me to your master somewhere in the sky?"

Kuribon nodded in response. The dark green-haired girl was silent or what seemed like forever. What Duel Monsters live in a temple-like place in the sky? Kuribon stated that monsters of the wind and light attribute do...and she (Kuribon) was a light attribute monster.

"Alright." said Emily at last. "But any ideas on how we get there?"

Kuribon said something in her language. The dark green-haired girl listened carefully, but then grew shocked when her friend finished ' _speaking_ '.

"That long of a journey?" she exclaimed.

Kuribon nodded again.

"Oh dear." sighed Emily. "Why are things like these almost always happening to me? Why do I keep being put into danger? Is this my eternal punishment for what I did in Middle School?"

Kuribon was shocked to hear that and immediately hugged her human friend. She then spoke in her usual language.

"Thanks for the comfort, little one." smiled Emily, petting Kuribon. "I just wish I knew why these things keep happening to me."

Odds are, she'll find out once she meets the main guardian of that temple in the sky...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere at the Sanctuary in the Sky, a female humanoid monster was walking down the hallway. She sported two large white wings on her back and wore tribal-like clothing (with an exposed midriff) along with an eagle-like headdress and some red facial painting. The woman came up to a pair of Blade Knights.

"Move, I must see my son..." she said in a stern...yet soothing tone.

"Yes, Guardian Eatos." The two Blade Knights obeyed and stood aside from the doors.

Guardian Eatos opened the door and walked inside. Inside was a library not unlike the one Wingweaver had visited at an earlier time.

"My son, are you here?" called Guardian Eatos.

"Yes, Mother?" replied a voice.

A human male (20-years old) with spiky black hair and wearing a purple trench coat, brown pants, an army green tanktop, and heavy black boots was shown to be sitting at a table and reading a book. Guardian Eatos smiled slightly and walked over to see her adopted son.

"How are you today, Nathaniel?" she asked.

"I'm still learning the basics-" The black-haired young man replied, looking up and feeling pleased to see his adopted Mother. "-but soon I'll be ready to try the game out."

"I'm glad to hear that." smiled Guardian Eatos. Suddenly, she frowned a bit. "The time will come soon."

"Huh?" Nathaniel looked up to his adopted Mother in surprise, but remained silent.

"The time for you to accomplish your duty as a guardian of this shrine will be here very soon."

Nathaniel's look of surprise wore-off quickly. "I... I understand." he nodded. "I will not fail you, Mother."

Guardian Eatos smiled once more and gently kissed her adopted son atop his forehead. Aww, how sweet... but just who is this Nathaniel? Only time will tell...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the woods in the middle of the night, Emily had managed to make herself a sleeping bag to sleep in. Granted, it wasn't very comfy, but it was the best she could do with what supplies could be found lying around.

"Not the most comfortable experience-" she said to herself, feeling some twigs on her back. "-but it'll have to be for the best."

Kuribon floated over to sleep next to her human friend.

"Thanks." Emily smiled slightly, holding Kuribon close like a teddy bear. "Tomorrow, we'll begin our journey to the Sanctuary in the Sky...and hopefully get some light shed onto what's going on. For now... goodnight, little one."

With a yawn, the dark green-haired girl fell asleep. Kuribon's gentle cooing seemed to sooth Emily's uneasiness and allowed her to sleep peacefully... Well, had there not been for one little detail... a dream sequence.

* * *

 **DREAM SEQUENCE**

Thomas (or so it would seem) was in the middle of a duel with someone. This someone was a human male with spiky black hair and wearing brown pants, an army green tanktop, and heavy black boots.

"You may have bought yourself another turn, Nathaniel-" The blue-haired boy? snarled. "-but you're only delaying the inevitable!"

"Yes, you're right." agreed Nathaniel, closing his eyes. "I am delaying the inevitable." He then opened them fiercely. "The time where I make sure you're put down for good!"

Thomas? smirked smugly. "You sure do talk about a lot of crap. Besides, how can you even try and defeat me now? I have three powerful monsters, and you have only your pathetic ones to protect you."

Nathaniel scowled when the blue-haired boy? said something nasty about his monsters, although he said nothing in response. This allowed Thomas? to continue with his little speech...

"Actually, now that I think about it, you wanted my vessel to activate The Field of Dark Graves earlier in the duel for a whole different reason than what you claim... You wanted to bring me back because you were still feeling devastated by the tragic death of your parents years ago, and so you decided to try and bring me back so that I can conquer this world and kill everyone except for my loyal servants... The irony is so sick and twisted that I could laugh at it!"

"That is not true!" protested Nathaniel. "I did what I had to do to bring you out!"

"Well, it must be." mocked Thomas?. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have wanted me to take control. Why did you badger my host into giving into the darkness?"

Nathaniel didn't say anything back, and merely looked towards his deck.

"Mother... please lend me your power..."

The black-haired young man felt a pair of white angel-like wings appear briefly on his upper back before they vanished. From there, Nathaniel drew two cards. Almost immediately, he took and held out a Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Rebirth!" Nathaniel announced. "This shuffles one monster card in my graveyard back into my deck."

The Guardian Grarl monster card slid out from the graveyard, and Nathaniel added it back into his deck.

"Hmph! You really don't like having monsters in your graveyard, do you?" snorted Thomas?. "But it doesn't matter! The Field of Dark Graves is all I will ever need to beat you into submission!"

In the sky over the duel, Emily found herself floating high up.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Is that Thomas?"

It looked like Thomas, but his body seemed to have...transformed, and his eyes...they looked crimson red and...demonic. Worst of all was his face... It was as if his anger had transformed him into something or someone completely different.

"I don't like this." whispered Emily to herself and raised her voice towards down below. "Thomas! Thomas!"

But neither Thomas? nor the young man could hear here. The scene then began to change into something new...

"What now?"

Thomas? had a monster called Catapult Turtle, a chained up monster called Kuribabylon, and Dark Magician Girl on his side of the field. The young man had the very same monsters on his side of the field, plus a few activated Spell and Trap cards. Thomas? had drawn his card.

"Here is where it ends for you, fool." The blue-haired boy? said, drawing a card. "I will now put an end to this charade!"

Nathaniel calmly watched what his opponent was going to do. Thomas? motioned his left hand towards Dark Magician Girl and said those very words...

"I will now offer the equally useless Dark Magician Girl to finish you off!"

Hearing this made Dark Magician Girl very upset. Despite being possessed by the darkness of The Field of Dark Graves, even she still had some signs of herself.

"No...!" she whispered. The dark green-haired girl immediately raised her voice once more...this time in pure desperation. "PLEASE, THOMAS, DON'T DO IT! SHE'S ONE OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS! PLEASE DON'T GET RID OF DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!"

But no one could hear her... Back down below, Dark Magician Girl was still gazing at what used to be her friend/master, hoping that the Thomas deep within could somehow break free and stop this madness before it was too late to turn back. Alas...

"Go on!" demanded Thomas?, not giving a rat's behind on what his monster was feeling right now.

With tears in her eyes, Dark Magician Girl was forced to obey the command; leaping up, landing, and readying herself on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"And now..." grinned Diablon wickedly, beginning to point forth. "Eat this, Guardian Nathaniel... Atta-ARRRGH!"

Suddenly, Diablon grabbed the left side of his face in searing pain. He threw his head to the ground as he continued screaming in pure agony. On cue, Dark Magician Girl was launched off of Catapult Turtle's launcher and turned into a ball of light. As it got closer and closer, Nathaniel smirked triumphantly...

"I activate Shrink!" he exclaimed, holding his hand out.

The black-haired young man's final facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Your Dark Magician Girl's attack has been cut in half for the turn!"

With that said, the ball of energy shrank just before it could hit the black-haired young man. Even then, it still slammed into him and sent him flying until he crashed into a tree and destroyed it... although he didn't flinch nor shout in pain from being hit by it (LP: 100).

"W-What happened to me?" asked Thomas.

Up in the sky, Emily was very surprised. It would seem the blue-haired boy had finally managed to successfully fight for control of the body! ...although he didn't know what had happened earlier in the duel after becoming possessed.

"What have I been doing?"

Suddenly, several horrible memories of what had happened the moment he became angry began to flood Thomas's mind. In his brief fit of dark rage and desperation to free Dark Magician Girl, win the duel quickly, and then go find and save Emily from the Court of Darkness before it was too late, he had succumbed to his deepest, most darkest of desires... And that was to mercilessly, brutally, and viciously defeat and slay anyone who dared to stand in his way of rescuing Emily. Thomas was so blinded by his rage and hatred over possibly losing his friend/love interest forever, that he foolishly activated The Field of Dark Graves before finally succumbing to Diablon's will once more. This time, however, the blue-haired boy had actually transformed into the ' ** _Evil One_** ', and almost caused mass destruction in the process. While Diablon was in control of the body, Thomas had poisoned several of his beloved monsters with the darkness from the activated Field Spell card, insulted them like they were nothing more than pawns, and even selfishly sacrificed each and every single one of them in an attempt to achieve victory. A feeling of horrified shock and great remorse began to wash all over him...

"I..." Thomas whispered in horror.

Before long, the blue-haired boy then began to see a faint image of Emily floating before him him, looking at him with wet, teary, heartbroken eyes after seeing what her friend had done and become. Before long, she sadly turned her back on Thomas without saying a word.

"Emily...!" Thomas called out desperately, reaching out for her. His arm phased through Emily as she disappeared, much to his further sadness. "Emily, I... I..."

"You ARE Diablon, Thomas Billinton!" shouted Nathaniel accusingly. "Deep down, you know that!"

"No!" Thomas exclaimed, dropping to his knees. "NO! What have I done?! I... I really am a monster!"

And he began to cry out of shame and remorse. Tears dripped onto the ground as the blue-haired boy's broken sobs echoed.

"I've betrayed my monsters... It's just as Gladiator Beast Spartacus said I would do eventually!"

"Thomas..." Emily whimpered, looking like she wanted to cry from watching the duel - but mainly from seeing the suffering Thomas was going through.

But things were about to get worse...much worse - the scene began to change once again. Now Thomas, still filled with remorse and shame, had backed himself towards a cliff, as if he was intending to jump and kill himself (suicide). The black-haired young man (Nathaniel) again had the same monsters from before on his side of the field, but now possessed a powerful monster called Guardian Eatos as well. In addition, Thomas seemed to be locked in a battle against himself as he had grabbed his arm to prevent himself from activating a facedown card.

"Hurry and deliver the attack, now!" begged Thomas, trying to remain in control. "I don't know how much longer I can hold him off!"

The black-haired young man didn't have to be told twice. He didn't like what he was about to do, because it almost seemed like murder... but Nathaniel also knew full well that there was no other choice in the matter right now. The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' had to be struck down here and now before he could spread his evil all around this world. Finally, the command came...

"Guardian Eatos!" Nathaniel called to the monster version of his adopted Mother. "Destroy Diablon's monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising and slashing a great light from her sword with a great yell. A devastating wave of energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field.

"You fool!" snarled the voice inside the blue-haired boy's head, with one of Thomas's eyes shut as the other was crimson red, watching as Catapult Turtle got destroyed. "If you don't use that Trap card and save yourself, we'll both die!"

He then shut his eye and opened the other one, which was blue.

"I don't care if I die from this attack, ' _ **Evil One**_ '!" Thomas exclaimed, just as Kuribabylon was destroyed. "If I have to die, then I'll make sure to take you down with MEEEEE!"

With that said, the blast finally struck Thomas, overwhelming and causing him to scream in pain and dread as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0). But worst was to come... The force of Guardian Eatos's attack slowly began to push Thomas back some, before finally it happened... Thomas was sent flying off the edge of the cliff and soon fell down.

"THOMAAAAAAAAS!" screamed Emily with tears running down her face, helplessly watching the boy she loved fall to his death.

Everything faded to white around here.

 **END DREAM SEQUENCE**

* * *

The dream ended...and Emily shot up in a cold sweat whilst breathing hard.

"M-My God..." Emily could barely make a whisper. "It was all just a nightmare. An awful...terrifying nightmare!"

Kuribon was suddenly awake and got a look of alarm when she saw that her human friend was shaking and frightened.

"Kuribon, I've just had the most terrible nightmare." spluttered Emily. "Thomas looked like he was possessed and eventually was thrown off a cliff by someone."

Kuribon listened on, and she looked very worried for Emily, indeed.

"Thomas is in great danger." shivered Emily. After a few moments of silence, she calmed down and became more determined than ever. "I have to find him as quickly as possible."

But Kuribon spoke up urgently, reminding her that she (Kuribon) needed to bring Emily to the Sanctuary in the Sky right away.

"I know that he have to reach the Sanctuary-" replied Emily. "-but it's more important that I find Thomas. I can't let anything bad happen to the boy I love."

Kuribon suddenly said a few words in her ' **Kuriboh** ' language, and these ones caused the dark green-haired girl's eyes to widen.

"You mean the leader of that place can help me find Thomas?"

Kuribon nodded.

"And they will help protect me from the Court of Darkness, who are currently hunting me down?" Emily asked some more.

Again, Kuribon nodded.

Finally, Emily gave a sigh of defeat before giving her Duel Monsters friend a smile.

"Alright." she said. "We'll both proceed to see your master in the Sanctuary in the Sky. We leave when dawn breaks, alright?"

Kuribon agreed to the terms. With that said, Emily and Kuribon both went back to sleep. It was still nightime, and they needed their strength for the big journey ahead.

(later on...)

Later on, the sky was all gold as the sun started to rise. Emily was still asleep when the sunlight reached and tickled at her face.

"Morning already?" she flinched, opening her eyes.

Emily sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. Kuribon was also floating around her eagerly.

"Glad to see you're a morning person." chuckled Emily.

The female Kuriboh smiled and nodded, before motioning towards nearby.

"Huh? What do you want to show me?"

Emily followed where Kuribon had motioned. Moving some bushes aside, the dark green-haired girl gasped as she gazed out at a beautiful lake.

"A lake!" Emily cried out. "A clean, pure lake!"

Kuribon then said a few words in her 'Kuriboh' language, making Emily smile in response. The dark green-haired girl bent down to the lake's edge and got herself a drink of the water.

"Mmm... so delicious..." she sighed, feeling her thirst being quenched...before realizing something else... "Hey... do you think...?"

Suddenly, without any warning, Emily went and removed her shirt (which revealed her wearing a bra), much to the blushing Kuribon's shock and embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry." apologized Emily, forgetting that she wasn't alone. "I was going to try and get a quick bath before we go."

Kuribon sighed, wishing she had been warned earlier before seeing something like that. A minute later, Emily's clothes and underwear laid beside a bush with Kuribon looking after them. Meanwhile, a naked Emily was in middle of the lake (with none of her womanly parts being seen or even shown thanks to the sparkling water) soaking herself (and letting her hair get all wet) in the pure water and cleaning herself up.

"Ah..." The dark green-haired girl sighed like she was in heaven. "So much better."

Half-an-hour later, Emily was dried off and dressed once more. At that point, she and Kuribon were both ready to begin their journey to the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Here we go." thought Emily. "Hang in there, Tommy. We'll be together again soon."

(elsewhere...)

On the Island of Neo-Spacians, the boat was finally complete (very big might I add), and Thomas and the others were all boarded on it and ready to begin the search for the rest of their friends.

"Thank you very much for the help." said Thomas to the Neo-Spacians down below.

"It is you we should be thanking." replied Elemental HERO Neos. "You have saved our home from the evil of the Court of Darkness."

"That's why I'm here!" boasted James, flexing his arm. "Kicking Court of Darkness butt and taking names!"

Thomas, Percy, Toby, Stanley, Edward, Maiden of the Aqua, and Gilford the Lightning all sighed in annoyance to their friend's boasting.

"Right now, we can carry on with our journey to find the rest of our friends." Gordon spoke up.

"We will have to take care." warned Maiden of the Aqua. "It will be very difficult to find where Mavis, Rosie, and Molly have ended up."

"Agreed." added Gilford the Lightning. "The waters are vast and there are many, many islands out there."

"It'll probably be weeks, months, or maybe years before we find them." complained Henry.

"That's a chance we'll have to take." Percy pointed out. "Besides, we can't let the Court of Darkness find them before we do."

"He's right." agreed Thomas. "We can't go home until we find all four of the girls." He then thought only to himself... "Especially Emily..."

"The let's get this show on the road!" declared Gordon.

With that said, the ship started to sail.

"Have a safe voyage!" waved one Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.

"You will all be missed!" added Neo-Spacian Grand Mole.

"You are always welcome to visit the island again whenever you wish!" called out Neos.

"Thank you!" Maiden of the Aqua replied back, waving goodbye.

Eventually, the ship was out of sight of the island.

"Hold on, girls!" called Thomas to the open ocean. "We're coming!"

Is that the end of the chapter? Sorry, but not even close to being over...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the White House in the real world, someone was running down the hallway towards the President's office.

"Mr. President! Mr. President!"

Inside the main office, President Douglas Crump was busy admiring himself in the mirror when he heard his name being called outside in the hallway.

"What? Now who could be interrupting my time of admiration...namely me?" he asked aloud.

The door opened, and one of Douglas Crump's 'team members' entered out of breath.

"I bring news...!" The man panted.

Douglas Crump fixed his tie and glared. "You do? Then speak up, man! Tell me what's going on!"

"It's Spencer Gresley. He has vanished from not only Boxford Corp, but from the United States!"

Douglas Crump suddenly, and by accident, messed up his tie as he froze to hearing that statement. The man, fearing for his life, started to leave when...

"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!" shouted the US President angrily.

The man froze in fear. He thought it was game over for him. Why? Because Douglas Crump was walking over to him with a serious look on his face.

"Could you repeat what you just said?" The pompous man asked in a low voice.

"S-S-S-Spencer Gresley has v-v-v-vanished."

Douglas Crump's face seemed to remain serious and stern. The poor man thought he was about to be fired.

"Really?" Douglas Crump quizzed. "Then that means one thing for you..."

The man flinched. "Y-Yeah?" he whimpered, bracing himself for those very words.

They never came...

"A promotion!"

The man opened his eyes and gazed at the President like he was crazy. As of now, Douglas Crump was smiling widely.

"A p-promotion?" The man blinked. "Is that what you've said just now?"

"That's right." admitted Douglas Crump, holding his right hand out in an offer to shake the man's hand. "You've delivered the best news I've ever heard of within days! Because with that Spencer gone, Boxford Corp will be defenseless and vulnerable to a take over...by me!"

The man smiled in relief and accepted the handshake. Just before leaving, the President had one question regarding the matter...

"One thing... what happened to Spencer Gresley, anyway?"

"Nobody knows." said the man. "He just vanished without a trace."

"Ha! He probably ran away in shame of my amazingness." chuckled the US President. "Well, nobody could compete with me, anyway. Not even that Kimberly Hamilton in the election could beat me in becoming President!"

With that said, Douglas Crump set to fixing his tie once more. He was now in a very, VERY good mood - almost like his plans for making America great again were getting closer and closer to being accomplished.

"But first, I must get my hands on that company!"

Douglas Crump went over to his desk and started typing away. The man walked over to see what the President was doing.

"What are you doing, sir?" he asked curiously, looking over his boss's shoulders.

"To get ready to purchase me some shares." chortled Douglas Crump. Suddenly, as he typed away, he gave a great gasp. "Impossible!"

The computer monitor was showing how many shares that Boxford Corp had left...which was only 25%. Someone else had beaten the pompous man to the buyout of that menacing company!

"25% shares?" asked Douglas Crump in shock. "How is this even possible?!"

"Gee, I don't think you'll be able to get control of Boxford Corp now." remarked the man innocently.

Douglas Crump's good mood vanished and he glared at the member of his team - the exact same man who helped him win the election and become the President of the United States.

"What?"

"...you're fired." said Douglas Crump simply.

"Should have known." sighed the man sadly, turning and walking out of the office.

Okay... that was weird... moving on!

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the Duel Monsters Spirit World, Airknight Parshath was gripping onto the legs of a Tri-Horned Dragon. His search for the prisoner had begun...

"She won't get far." Airknight Parshath thought to himself. "My plan to make the girl accept her darkness will not fail!"

This could be bad... how bad, you might be asking? Well, you'll see when the time comes.

(elsewhere...)

With Emily, the dark green-haired girl and her friend Kuribon had both managed to exit the woods and find themselves nearing a village.

"A village!" cried Emily in relief. "Thank goodness. Maybe we could ask the villagers for help or directions."

Kuribon happily agreed. The two friends immediately proceeded to the village, hoping that they could get some assistance.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the village, Emily could see various Duel Monsters roaming around.

"Um, excuse me." she spoke up, hoping to get someone's attention. "I need some help..."

Sadly, it was busy, so no one could help her out. Emily felt disappointed over it.

"Oh botheration." she grumbled. "This could take awhile."

Suddenly...

"Watapon!" chirped a high-pitched voice.

Emily turned over, looked down, and gasped! ...it was a baby Watapon.

"A baby Watapon!" The dark green-haired girl squealed, picking up the little Duel Monster and holding it up. "Hello there! Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"

The Watapon nuzzled its face into the teenage girl's chest happily. This human reminded the little baby of Maiden of the Aqua, and that was a good thing. Just then...

"Hey! You there!" called a voice.

Emily looked up and turned towards the direction of the voice. She gasped at who it was...

"I know you two!"

It was the Gemini Elves. As it turned out, this was the SAME village that Thomas and the others first visited before moving on with their journey. ...what were the odds of Emily showing up in it? Rather slim, I think!

"You're the Gemini Elves!" Emily pointed out. "I have you in my deck."

She took out her deck and showed them the card.

"Hmm... yup. That'd be us." remarked the first Gemini Elf.

"Pardon my curiosity, but have either of you seen a blue-haired boy come by?" Emily suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" blinked the second Gemini Elf.

Emily took from her pocket and showed a picture of Thomas to the two Gemini Elves.

"This is him." she pointed out.

After one look... the two Gemini Elves suddenly whistled aloud to try and catch the attention of everyone else in the village.

"This girl is a friend of the Great One!" called out the first Gemini Elf.

Countless monsters surrounded the nervous dark green-haired girl.

"This doesn't look too good." thought Emily.

Suddenly...the monsters all bowed before the dark green-haired girl.

"Huh?" Now Emily was feeling very puzzled.

"You're that girl our great hero is searching for!" insisted a Big Shield Gardna. "He was here asking about you a few weeks ago."

"Hero?" Emily blinked for a moment, before... "You mean Thomas?! Thomas was here?!"

"Thomas?" quizzed a whaleless Legendary Fisherman.

"She must mean Autraius." replied a Blade Knight.

"Autraius?" asked Emily. "But my friend's name is Thomas Billinton!"

"Good lady, you might want to listen to this tale." spoke up another Big Shield Gardna. "You'll need to know about this world's great hero."

"Okay-" Emily nodded, while setting the baby Watapon down. "-I'm listening."

And so the dark green-haired girl listened quietly to the tale of Autraius the Great One. This could take awhile, so we'll just move on, okay?

(elsewhere...)

At that moment, Spencer was still looking for any sign of life he could find in the unknown part of the Duel Monsters Spirit World he was in.

"Great..." The silver-haired boy muttered unhappily to himself. "I'm lost! No town in sight... no friendly monsters to speak to... what am I going to do now?!"

Regardless of the situation he was in, Spencer wasn't gonna just give up like that. He was determined to find and stop Gozaburo while saving his company...and that mysterious girl in the process. Can he do it? Stay tuned for later on, folks!

* * *

Have a Happy Easter everyone!


	19. The Lost Girl

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Somewhere out in the open ocean of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, the ship Thomas and the others were sailing on was moving across the waters in search for the remains of the group. It had been two full days, but there was still no sign of land or any of the girls.

Thomas was inside his room looking over his deck in order to try and get his mind off of Emily...but it wasn't that easy.

"Oh, Emily..." he sighed unhappily. "Why can't I find you? Why is it that something always happens to put you in danger? Is it a sign that you and I just aren't meant to be?"

The blue-haired boy continued to cycle through his deck, showing various cards such as Queen's Knight, Magician of Black Chaos, Mirror Force, Dark Magic Curtain, Magical Hats, Dark Magician, Thousand Knives, etc.. Thomas eventually stopped and laid down on his bed...just as a pair of flashbacks began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas and Dark Marik were about to begin their Shadow Game-like duel.

"And now, I've saved the best surprise for last!" exclaimed the evil man.

He held up his Millennium Rod up near Thomas. On cue, a familiar human body shape began to materialize. Off of the platform, everyone watched carefully...until a few of the spectators gave a gasp.

"It can't be!" came from Mavis.

Up on the platform, Thomas also gave a shocked gasp at who was his sacrifice.

"No! Not her!"

It was Emily. Slowly, she began to wake up.

"Wh-what happened?" The dark green-haired girl asked groggily. "Where am I?"

Gazing around, she saw her friends looking at her with looks of horror.

"What's wrong with all of you? Is there something on my face...?"

No one spoke still, although Emily's answer came anyway...when she saw that her arms and legs were shackled to an invisible wall of a sort.

"What the-?!" The dark green-haired girl cried out. "Where am I?! What's going on?!"

"Emily!" Thomas exclaimed.

(new scene...)

Thomas had defeated Witty Phantom in a duel. The right side of the phantom-like monster's face was bleeding profusely.

"Let the girl go or your minions will meet the same fate as you!" demanded Thomas. The dark aura around him fading a little bit.

This only made Witty Phantom laugh harder than ever before.

"Oh yes... our wager." he snickered. "My partners and I will leave here as promised."

The monster then snapped his fingers and a portal opened up.

"However..."

The Lizard Soldiers started to leave...with Emily in tow.

"The girl will be coming with us!" Witty Phantom cackled madly.

"What?!" cried Emily's friends.

"You doublecrosser!" screamed Emily's parents.

"I've never mentioned that I would let her go if you won!" laughed the monster. "She is much too important to our plans of revival."

Poor Emily was dragged into the portal.

"Emily!" cried Thomas, racing towards the portal.

"You want her back?" taunted Witty Phantom. "Then go get her! The Duel Monster Spirit World will be waiting for you!"

With a psychotic laugh, the dying monster aimed his opened hand towards Thomas.

"And now, a final gift from me to you!"

"Watch it, Thomas!" called Percy.

Too late. Whatever it was the dying Witty Phantom was doing, it seemed to be unlocking the darkness in Thomas's heart even moreso.

"Enjoy my parting gift!" Witty Phantom cackled louder and harder before...finally fading away to his death, turning to light as he vanished.

"I'm coming, Emily!" cried Thomas, diving towards the portal.

Unfortunately, by the time he reached it...the portal had closed down. Thomas had failed to make it in time.

"NO!" he screamed, banging on the wall repeatedly with his fists. "Emily! EMILY!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The pair of flashbacks ended.

"It's not fair." complained Thomas to himself. "It's just not fair! Why is Emily almost always being put into danger? She's done nothing to deserve it!"

As he ranted on, some bits of that dark aura started surrounding him. A clear sign that the blue-haired boy was allowing his anger to get the best of him...something he quickly realized.

"Easy, Thomas." Thomas said to himself, trying to calm himself down. "Stay cool. Losing your head won't fix anything."

Thankfully, the aura vanished.

"Phew." sighed the blue-haired boy in relief. "That was a close one. Still...I really wish I knew why these things keep happening to Emily."

Just then...

"Thomas! Thomas!" called a frantic voice.

The blue-haired boy sat up on his bed and looked tp the nearby door.

"Henry? Henry, is that you?"

As expected, the tall green-haired boy arrived, and he was looking very panicked.

"What's the matter?" asked Thomas.

The blue-haired boy wasted no time, racing off.

* * *

 **TITLE: The Lost Girl**

* * *

Out on the deck, Percy, Gilford the Lightning, Stanley, and Gordon were all looking off the edge of the ship. In the water, unconscious atop a large log, was a young girl.

"Cinders and Ashes!" cried Percy.

"How did she get out there?" asked Stanley, sounding just as shocked.

Thomas ran up to his friends, looked off the edge of the ship, and immediately took charge of the situation.

"Get the lifeboat ready!" he ordered. "Percy and Gilford, you both are with me!"

"Indeed." nodded Gilford.

"You can count on us!" added Percy, giving a thumbs up.

Thomas looked to Gordon. "You go and get some towels ready."

"Right." nodded Gordon, racing off to get some towels.

Minutes later, the lifeboat was lowered into the water. Thomas and Percy both rowed the boat until they reached the little girl. Once close enough, Gilford picked her up and gently laid her down.

"We have her, sire." Gilford stated.

"Good." said Thomas. "Let's get her back to the ship."

(elsewhere...)

Ten minutes later, the girl was brought aboard the ship. Thomas, Percy, and Gilford the Lightning were met by both Edward and Maiden of the Aqua.

"Gordon told us what was going on." explained Maiden of the Aqua, looking at the young girl. "Will she be okay?"

"She's got a pulse." said Percy. "Just what was she doing out there?"

"An answer we'll have to find out later." Edward replied seriously.

Thomas nodded and lead the others to a guest room where the girl could rest.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a guest room, Gilford carried the little girl to a bed and laid her down.

"There we go." The warrior-type monster said gently.

Maiden of the Aqua then approached and laid a warm blanket over the girl.

"The poor thing." she sighed. "Perhaps her home was victim to an attack from the Court of Darkness."

Thomas, not getting a look at the girl's face, cast a quick glance...and gasped. The girl, who had long brown hair, had a startling appearance of some sort - she completely resembled what Emily looked like at the age of 10.

"T-Thomas?" Percy saw that his best friend looked pale.

"She looks just like Emily did when she was younger!" said the blue-haired boy in shock.

"What?!" Gordon exclaimed.

"You serious?!" added James, who had arrived in the room.

"Yes!" insisted Thomas. "Look!"

Gordon, Henry, James, Edward, Percy, and Toby all glance over the unconscious young girl...and noticed she DID look like Emily did when she was younger.

"Rumble my legs!" cried Toby. "You're right!"

"Well, bust my kneecaps!" said James. "Who would have thought that!"

"How is this even possible?" asked Edward.

As the talking continued, the little girl's eyes started to flicker open...and that was something Maiden of the Aqua noticed.

"Huh? Hey!" The blue-haired female monster cried out. "She's awake!"

Everyone else stopped talking and glanced over. The young brown-haired girl moaned a little bit, just before regaining her vision.

"Where am I?" she asked weakly. "Mommy? Daddy?"

When the girl's vision returned to her, she saw a bunch of stares from people she did not know...and this frightened her.

"Who are you?!" she cried in fright. "What's going on?! Where are my parents?!"

"Don't be afraid." said Thomas softly, reaching out. "We're not going to hurt you. We found you drifting out at sea."

The blue-haired boy attempted to touch the girl's hand, but she backed away on the bed in fright.

"Keep away!" The young brown-haired girl demanded. "And tell me where Mommy and Daddy are!"

"How would we know where they were?" asked Percy. "Like Thomas said, we found you out at sea."

"TELL ME!"

"We don't know where your parents are, kid!" snapped James. "They're probably dead! Now stop yelling at us like a brat! You're giving me a real headache!"

That did it. From being yelled at like that, he girl's eyes watered and she began to cry while getting off of the bed and running out of the room.

"No! Wait!" called Maiden of the Aqua, but failed.

"Nice going, James!" snapped Gordon.

But Thomas was far more furious. "You IDIOT! You've done it again!"

"I didn't mean to upset her!" protested James.

"The way you yelled at that girl and told her outright that her parents were dead... that probably brought her almost the exact same pain when YOU and Gordon both hurt Emily those years ago!"

The blue-haired boy's anger was reaching an alarming pitch, and he left the room to try and find the girl before something terrible happened.

"You really have to stop talking without thinking about your actions, James." scolded Edward.

"Can I help it if it's a force of habit?" asked James innocently. This earned him a smack upside the head from Gordon. "OW! What?"

Everyone else merely sighed in dismay. It was then they quickly left the room to follow Thomas.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas was exploring the large ship top-to-bottom for the young brown-haired girl.

"Please come on out, little one." he called gently. "Please! I'm not going to hurt you!" The blue-haired boy then fell into his thoughts. "What is this feeling in my chest? When I took one look at the young girl, all of my anger and darkness suddenly calmed itself..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas, not getting a look at the girl's face, cast a quick glance...and gasped. The girl, who had long brown hair, had a startling appearance of some sort - she completely resembled what Emily looked like at the age of 10.

"E-Emily?" Thomas thought to himself. "Is that...you?"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Could this child have been brought to us by Emily?" thought Thomas. "I wish I knew the answer to that..."

As the blue-haired boy continued to explore the ship, he heard some sobs coming from somewhere...

"I think I found her." Thomas said only to himself.

He was right - at the front of the ship, the familiar brown-haired girl was found crying her eyes out. Not only from being shouted at by that red-haired boy (James), but from hearing that her parents were dead.

"Hey!" called a voice.

The girl looked up to see Thomas running towards her.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

"Leave me alone." The little girl sniffled sadly.

"It's okay." whispered Thomas softly. "I'm not going to hurt you or yell at you like James did. I'm nice."

The girl still backed away from the blue-haired boy. Thomas felt hurt by this.

"Please, I-"

"Is it true?" The girl suddenly asked, making Thomas gasp in surprise. The young brown-haired girl had managed to calm down just slightly to speak up. "Are my Mommy and Daddy...both really dead?"

"I don't know." sighed Thomas. "We didn't see them when we found you drifting on that log. I don't know what had happened, but maybe you can tell me what you remember?"

The girl stared long and hard at the blue-haired boy. She saw no hostile intentions in his eyes, but of kindness.

"What's your name?" The girl asked at last.

"Thomas Billinton." said the blue-haired boy. "What's your's?"

"Iris."

"That's a nice name." smiled Thomas. "You know, you kinda remind me of someone I know."

"I do?" asked Iris.

"Yes Her name is Emily Stirling, and she looks rather like you...but much older and with dark green, almost emerald, hair."

Iris smiled. "She sounds lovely."

"Yeah..." Thomas agreed. "She's one of my closest friends."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Iris suddenly asked innocently.

Thomas blushed at the innocent question, much to the young brown-haired girl's confusion.

"N-No, of course not." he denied, flustered. "To be honest, though, I do have a crush on her, but I never told her that I liked her."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm too afraid that she wouldn't feel the same way back." explained Thomas. "But now she's been taken away by the Court of Darkness. That's why my friends and I are here. To bring her back home safely."

Iris silently looked up at Thomas admiringly.

"You're one of the bravest boys I've ever met." she said at last. "I can't help but think I've seen your face somewhere before."

"Huh?" Thomas blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"It might have been in a book my Mommy read to me once."

However, upon mentioning her ' _ **Mommy**_ ', Iris's eyes watered once more.

"Oh, please don't cry." soothed Thomas, trying to comfort the child. "It'll be okay. Why don't you tell me what had happened?"

Iris managed to calm down a bit. "Okay... It went like this..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Iris, along with her Mother and Father, were on a raft and sailing away from their little cottage near the seashore.

"It's so pretty out today." smiled Iris. "Thank you for taking me out on the raft today."

"All for our now 10-year old girl." said the young brown-haired girl's Mother happily.

"Happy Birthday, Iris." added the young brown-haired girl's Father.

Iris beamed happily - this was gonna be her best Birthday ever.

(elsewhere...)

The raft was now out in the middle of the ocean. Nobody minded; for the weather was still gorgeous.

"Look! Birds!" Iris exclaimed, looking up and saw a bunch of birds flying over the raft.

"You're right." agreed the young brown-haired girl's Father.

"It is quite a view." finished the brown-haired girl's Mother.

It was then things were about to go wrong. All of a sudden, straight ahead, the family could see storm clouds approaching.

"Are those storm clouds?" quizzed Iris.

"They are." answered the brown-haired girl's Mother. "I think we've been out here long enough. Let's turn back now."

Iris's father took a paddle and began to turn the raft around back to their cottage...but as the family began to make a return, they noticed that storm clouds had gathered around the same direction that lead back to shore.

"More clouds!" announced the brown-haired girl's Father. "Regardless, we must make it!"

The wind grew stronger, and the water went from calm to rough.

"I don't like this." whimpered Iris.

"It'll be alright, sweetheart." comforted the girl's Mother.

It started raining hard. Waves pounded the raft roughly...but that wasn't the worst of it. Oh no, there was worst to come. Iris's Father looked out nearby...and his eyes widened with horror.

"LOOK OUT!" he screamed. "TIDAL WAVE!"

It was indeed a massive tidal wave...and it was coming straight for the little raft.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" Iris screamed in terror.

Finally, the wave hit the raft...and everything went white.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Iris finally started to cry once more.

"And that was the last I saw of them." she finished sadly. "From remembering that horrible storm, I guess my parents really are..."

"I'm so sorry." Thomas apologized. "Really I am."

He then gave the crying girl a hug to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, too." came a familiar voice.

The two looked back. It was James walking into the area, and it looked like he had overheard everything.

"James?" Thomas blinked.

"Look, kid..." The red-haired boy scratched the back on his head sadly. "I didn't mean to be a bad tempered jerk towards you earlier. I kinda allowed my anger to get the better of me when I should have been a bit more calm and understanding when you were freaking out."

Iris shyly looked over to James with her tear-stained eyes. "Do you mean it?"

James knew right away that Iris didn't trust him very much, and half expected it as much due to what happened not long ago.

"I do mean it." he insisted honestly. "Even if it takes a while to fully earn your trust, I'll make it up to you."

Silence filled the area for what seemed like forever. Finally, Iris managed a small smile.

"Okay." she said. "I forgive you."

"Just don't let it happen again!" Thomas added, sounding stern.

"Okay! Okay! I won't." protested James, before adding only to himself... "Sheesh, what a grouch!"

Iris giggled a bit.

"Hey! You're smiling." said Thomas. "Does this mean you'll be okay now?"

The young brown-haired girl nodded.

"That's great to hear!" came from James. "And since we're on good terms now... do you mind telling me and potentially everyone else your name?"

"Her name is Iris." said Thomas, and then realized something as he spoke to the young brown-haired girl. "You're human!"

"Y-You're right, Thomas!" agreed James, before turning over to Iris. "How did you and your parents end up in this world in the first place?"

"Um...well..." Iris tried to speak, but got cut off.

"Were you brought here, or did you already live here?"

"Cool it, James!" Thomas butt in. "Give her a chance to speak!" He then smiled at the young girl. "Go on."

"To be honest-" Iris shook her head. "-I don't really know."

"You don't?" James quizzed.

"No."

James folded his arms with a look of thought on his face. "Man, what a drag! A girl that doesn't know if she was from our world or this one."

"Maybe Maiden of the Aqua knows?" suggested Thomas.

"You mean that aqua-haired woman?" asked Iris curiously.

"Yes, that's right."

"It's worth a shot." replied James. "Let's go see."

The two teenagers and the little girl started to leave the deck...but a new voice stopped them from doing so...

"So sorry, but I'm not about to let that girl out of my sight!"

The three humans turned quickly around to see who the voice belonged to...but saw nothing. All of a sudden, a large spout of water emerged from the distance.

"Water twister!" cried James.

"Water twister?" laughed the unknown voice. "Oh no, that's nothing of the sort."

"Show yourself!" ordered Thomas to whoever was out there.

The voice began to laugh as the nearby water twister died down. Once it did, there, floating in midair, was a monster wearing blue and black armor, had two large wings sticking out of his upperback, and a sneering smile on his face (bearing some sharp fangs).

"Here I am!" announced the Duel Monster. "My name is Ocean Neos Dragmire(!)! I rule over all of the seas of this world, and can also control the weather as a secondary power!"

"What do you want with the girl?" demanded Thomas.

"Her heart... it is filled with pure light. Such light the Court of Darkness wishes to turn into darkness!"

"Another nutcase who works with those guys?" James exclaimed.

Iris was frightened and huddled closely to Thomas for comfort.

"You leave this child alone!" demanded the blue-haired boy angrily. "If you want to take her, you will have to kill me first!"

"Kill? Oh, funny you should mention a term like that." Ocean Neos Dragmire chortled. "I actually met the girl and her parents not too long ago."

"What?"

"The heck do you mean by that?" asked James harshly. "Were you the one who caused that storm?"

"Wow! You're not as stupid as I thought!"

"Why you...!" James seethed at being insulted.

"But to answer your question...yes! I did cause that storm! By the orders of Vampire Lord from the Court of Darkness, I used my power to control the weather and ocean to destroy that raft...and drown the girl's parents!"

Iris gasped in horror from hearing this bit of info.

"You killed my parents!" she cried. "What did they ever do to you?"

"It was nothing personal, kid, just business with my masters!" shrugged Ocean Neos Dragmire uncaringly.

"Well, your masters are going to pay for everything they've done!" roared Thomas, growing enraged once more. "And so will you if you don't leave and never return!"

"Oh, but I haven't even gotten to the best part yet!" teased the aquatic monster. "There's something I didn't even bring up!"

"What do you mean?!"

"What else is there?" added James.

Ocean Neos Dragmire smiled. "How about that storm from not long ago?"

"How do you know about...wait!" Thomas came to a realization. "The storm which separated my friends and I..."

"You jerk! That was your doing, wasn't it?!" shouted James angrily, also catching onto the realization.

"Yes!" cackled Ocean Neos Dragmire. "I was the one who caused that storm and separated you all!"

"You-!" Thomas growled in fiery hatred. "Why?! Why separate us?! Why do it?!"

"To make it easier to get the targets! Something I bet one of the other members of the Court of Darkness-" The aquatic monster grinned more sinisterly. "-successfully did."

Thomas clenched his fist, growling angrily.

"You mean to say someone got to our remaining friends?!" James demanded, not sounding too happy.

Just then, the familiar dark aura started showing itself around Thomas, who was fueled with the same amount of anger from before. The red-haired boy noticed this and began backing away from his furious friend.

"Oh boy..." mumbled James. "This isn't gonna be pretty."

No, it wasn't...

"YOU MONSTER!" roared Thomas at the top of his voice. "I'm going to kill you for this!"

At this point, it looked like the Evil One would once again get a firm hold on the blue-haired boy...but fate had other plans in the form of one thing...

"Mr. Thomas!" Iris begged, her eyes wet with tears. "Please calm down! Don't hurt that Duel Monster!"

"Iris, I think it'd be best to stay away from Thomas when he's like this!" suggested James. "You could get-"

But Iris didn't listen. "Let go of your anger and hate!" she continued, coming closer and closer to crying. "Please!"

Hearing the child made Thomas calm down only slightly.

"But Iris." he began, feeling the darkness leaving him. "He was the one who murdered your family."

"I won't forgive that monster for it, but I don't want you to be drawn to doing something blood-lusting..."

Thomas cast a glance at the young brown-haired girl...and gasped. To the blue-haired boy right now, Iris really did look, and sound, a bit like Emily when she was only 10-years old.

"You're right..." Thomas agreed at last, feeling his rage and wish for revenge disappear. "It won't solve anything." Instead, he fired up his Duel Disk. "Instead, I will take down this fiend in a good old-fashioned game of Duel Monsters!"

Just then, Stanley and the others ran into the area, having overheard the loud voices from not long ago.

"What's going on?" asked Edward.

"You guys are just in time." replied James, gesturing towards Ocean Neos Dragmire. "Meet the one who separated us from everyone else!"

"You mean it was that creep that caused the storm?" asked Henry.

"Yeah, and he also killed Iris's parents, too!"

"How horrible!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

"Anybody who serves the Court of Darkness an enemy of mine!" declared Thomas. "I will ensure that you never use your powers for evil ever again!"

"Ahh... do you hear that?" asked Ocean Neos Dragmire, pressing a hand over one of his ears. "It's the sound of a storm coming...a storm you will never live through!"

Storm clouds started gathering around.

"Another storm?!" exclaimed Percy.

"Oh, not again!" groaned Toby at the sight of the arriving storm.

"Especially your friend and I will be dueling in it!" Ocean Neos Dragmire finished. "This will be the greatest match ever played!"

"Dueling-!" began Gordon.

"-within-" put in James.

"-a storm?!" finished Henry.

The wind picked up, the water went from calm to rough, and it began raining heavily.

"Is this even safe?!" came from Maiden of the Aqua.

"I don't like this." came from Stanley. "This could be very dangerous!"

"I accept the challenge!" declared Thomas, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000). "But I assure you that nothing will stop me from winning the duel and finding our lost friends!"

Ocean Neos Dragmire created a Duel Disk of his own and drew his own opening hand (LP: 4000).

"Prepare yourelf! This will be one storm none of you will ever escape from!"

"So you say!" retorted Thomas, drawing a card. "I'll go first!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Berfomet, Double Spell, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Collected Power, Five Star Twilight, and Polymerization

* * *

The blue-haired boy's drawn card was a Spell card (Polymerization) he needed.

"I activate Polymerization!" he cried, holding three glowing cards out. "With it, I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts with Berformet to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!"

Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet both briefly appeared before merging together. Once the fusion ended, the familiar twin headed beast with a snake tail appeared with a roar (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

"My turn has finished!"

Ocean Neos Dragmire chuckled. "Let me ask you this; do you really think you can win against someone like me?"

"Yes, I do." said Thomas firmly. "I won't lose to anyone who dares to try and hurt my friends!"

The aquatic monster merely smiled to himself some more as he looked at his deck.

"Fool! So long as we duel in my rein, I can never lose! And when I do win the battle, this storm will be claiming some more lives!"

Thunder and lightning came striking around the area due to the raging storm ensuring. Can Thomas win the duel and end this stormy madness? Or are he and his friends doomed to be sunk? Stay tuned to find out the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	20. Dark and Light

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up on the big ship built by the Neo-Spacians, Thomas was locked in a duel with a servant of the Court of Darkness; an aquatic fiend-type monster called Ocean Neos Dragmire. The duel had only begun, yet Thomas had called upon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast already.

"Impressive that you've summoned a strong monster on your first turn." Ocean Neos Dragmire commented. "But rest assured that I will not be so easily defeated!"

"If you can back those words up-" retorted Thomas. "-then show me!"

The aquatic monster gave a yell and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Ocean Neos Dragmire (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Lightning Vortex, Poison Jellyfish(!), Giant Red Seasnake, Aquatic King's Memorial(!), Magic Jammer, and Poison Sting(!)

* * *

Ocean Neos Dragmire's hand consisted of Lightning Vortex, Poison Jellyfish, Giant Red Seasnake, Aquatic King's Memorial, Magic Jammer, and Poison Sting.

"Time to show this fool some real power!" he thought with a smirk. From there, the aquatic monster took hold of a card and held it up. "Alright, I send one card from my hand to the graveyard to activate Lightning Vortex!"

Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning struck Chimera destroying it. Thomas braced himself from the force of the attack, but then grinned upon recovering.

"When Chimera is destroyed-" explained the blue-haired boy. "-I can summon one of its fusion materials in its place. And I choose Berformet in defense mode!"

On cue, Berformet materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 5/DEF: 1800).

"How cute..." grumbled Ocean Neos Dragmire, taking another card from his hand. "I guess I'll just have to damage your life points another way."

On cue, a large jellyfish-like monster appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 900).

"I summon the Poison Jellyfish in attack mode!"

Over with the audience...

"A 1700 attack point monster?" quizzed Percy. "Why play that?"

"That monster deals 500 points of damage to the opposing player whenever it destroys a monster successfully!" explained Edward.

"Did I mention I hate jellyfish?" asked James in a deadpan tone.

Back at the duel, Ocean Neos Dragmire slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Now I'm aware your Berfomet is stronger on the defensive side-" he said. "-but my Poison Sting Equip Spell card will easily take care of that!"

The mentioned Equip Spell card materialized face-up. Poison Jellyfish's blue body started to turn all purple as it gained some power (ATK: 1700 - 2000/DEF: 900 - 700).

"Thanks to this card, my Poison Jellyfish's attack increases by 300 points while also decreasing its defense by 200 points!"

"A 2000 attack points monster!" gasped James. "Look out for those stingers, Thomas!"

"Poison Jellyfish!" commanded Ocean Neos Dragmire. "Destroy Berformet!"

Poison Jellyfish obeyed, raise its tentacles up, and fired a surge of stinging needles. The needles pieced through Berfomet, making it roar in pain before shattering into pieces.

"Berfomet!" called Thomas.

Finally, the remaining needles struck the blue-haired boy in the chest, which caused him to cry out in pain as he lost life points (LP: 3500).

"Thomas!" cried Percy.

* * *

 **Title: Dark and Light**

* * *

Thomas collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest in pain (LP: 3500).

"Those stingers..." he mumbled. "They really hurt. Well what did I expect from a world where Duel Monsters became real?"

"Ah, but that's not the worst of it." remarked Ocean Neos Dragmire. "As you've noticed by now, you've taken 500 points of damage! That's thanks to my Poison Jellyfish's effect!"

"I'm gonna lose life points so long as it destroys a monster I control." Thomas thought to himself. "I have to get rid of that jellyfish monster now!"

Everyone in the audience watched the duel with concern. They were not even paying attention to the raging storm.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Mr. Thomas..." added Iris.

"That should do me for now." said Ocean Neos Dragmire. "It's your turn now, kid!"

The blue-haired boy managed to stand back up.

"I won't let your jellyfish keep me down!" he declared, drawing his card. "I will take it down!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Double Spell, Collected Power, Five Star Twilight, and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed! This let's me-"

"Blah blah blah!" mocked Ocean Neos Dragmire, cutting his opponent off. "I know what it does! You draw two cards from your deck."

Thomas scowled and silently drew two cards, hoping they could help him take down that jellyfish. Thankfully, his prayer was answered!

"I activate another Spell card!" Thomas announced, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the Monster Reborn card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Monster Reborn!"

"Now he can bring back Chimera to destroy that Jellyfish!" cheered Henry.

But it wasn't Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast Thomas was reviving - it was Berfomet (Level: 5/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1800).

"Using my Monster Reborn card, I've brought back Berfomet!" declared Thomas.

"He what?!" Gordon and James both exclaimed to the sound of thunder clapsing.

"Why would you waste time to revive that weak monster?" sneered Ocean Neos Dragmire. "Do you WANT to lose that badly?"

"I won't lose." Thomas insisted, slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Next I activate another Spell card!"

A Spell card materialized face-up.

"Five Star Twilight!"

"Five Star Twilight?" asked Toby. "What does that do?"

"In order to activate this card-" explained Thomas. "-I have to sacrifice a level 5 monster on my side of the field."

With that said, Berformet vanished into five different colored stars, which then started circling around the duel sight.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen-" announced Thomas, pretending he was in some sort of circus or magic act. "-I give you the most talented family of performing Duel Monsters ever seen in the Duel Monsters spirit world - The five Kuriboh Brothers!"

On cue, the five stars of light lowered onto the ground and revealed five colored Kuribohs.

"Meet Kuriboo, Kuribee, Kuribah, Kuribeh, and Kuriboh!"

The five Kuribohs all made ' _Kuribi_ ' sounds of a sort (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200) x5. Ocean Neos Dragmire snickered quietly before laughing loudly at the five Kuribohs, making them angry.

"You sacrificed a weak monster for five incredibly weak monsters?!" he chortled. "What can they even do to my jellyfish? What's more, is that you cannot even offer any of them as a tribute for your stronger monsters!"

The five Kuribohs felt further insulted by the evil monster's remark.

"Aw, don't pay him any mind, little ones." comforted Thomas, petting the five Kuribohs with his free hand one at a time. "We'll show him... Just you wait and see."

"And how, pray tell, will you do so?"

Thomas held out a Trap card. "First I'll discard my Collected Power Trap card to the graveyard to activate my Kuiboo's effect!"

With that, Kuriboo started to role, gobbling the rest of the brothers up and growing much bigger.

"Go Kuri-Ball!"

Kuriboo rolled and smashed into Poison Jellyfish, causing it reel back and get weaker (ATK: 2000 - 500).

"My monster's attack dropped?!" exclaimed Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"That it did." confirmed Thomas, smirking proudly. "When I discard a Trap card from my hand to the graveyard, Kuriboo will go and strike down your monster - dropping its attack by 1500 points for the rest of the turn!"

"Grr... like that even matters! My Poison Jellyfish is still stronger than your five puny Kuribohs!"

"Not for long!" shouted Thomas. "Kuribohs! Merge together!"

Kuribah started eating up its four brothers until it suddenly grew large, gained fangs, a large horn, and greenish blue fur (Level: 5/ATK: ?/DEF: 200).

"By banishing my five Kuribohs, I can special summon from my hand, deck, or graveyard... the mighty Kuribabylon!"

"Kuribabylon?" quizzed Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"Yes." said Thomas. "Kuribabylon's attack becomes the combined attack of all five Kuriboh monsters."

Kuribabylon grew stronger (ATK: 0 - 1500).

"Drat! Now your monster is stronger than my Poison Jellyfish!" exclaimed Ocean Neos Dragmire in worry.

"How unfortunate for you!" called out James. "When friends work together, they can overcome pretty much anything!"

The aquatic monster scowled as he waited for the attack to come.

"Kuribabylon!" called Thomas. "Destroy his Poison Jellyfish with Horn of Destruction!"

Kuribabylon obeyed, charging forward and piercing the jellyfish, destroying it and causing Ocean Neos Dragmire to grunt (LP: 3000).

"You little punk!" The aquatic monster insulted.

"Aw, what's the matter?" taunted James. "Don't like that five weaklings took down your monster?"

"Way to go, Thomas!" cheered Stanley.

"Yay, Mr. Thomas!" whooped Iris.

Ocean Neos Dragmire grinned. "Do you really think this is the end?" he asked. "I think not. Take a good look at your Kuribabylon, why don't you?"

Thomas did so... and gasped at what he was seeing.

"My monster! What's happening to it?!"

Kuribabylon was suddenly looking very sick. Ocean Neos Dragmire merely laughed at the sight.

"That's from another effect from my Poison Sting." chuckled the aquatic monster. "If your monster succeeds in destroying a monster equipped with this card, your monster gets equipped with a Toxic Counter."

"A Toxic Counter?" gasped Thomas.

"What's a Toxic Counter?" asked Iris to Maiden of the Aqua.

"A Toxic Counter is very dangerous." The blue-haired female monster explained. "What it does is it prevents a monster equipped with one from attacking or using any special effects if it even has one."

"Well, that stinks!" complain Gordon.

"That fiend!" growled Gilford the Lightning.

Back over with Thomas...

"I end my turn." said the blue-haired boy begrudgingly.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Ocean Neos Dragmire (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (3): Giant Red Seasnake, Aquatic King's Memorial, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Ocean Neos Dragmire immediately held his drawn card out.

"Well, whaddya know? I've drawn the same card you drew on your turn!" he chuckled. "I think I'll take it for a test spin!"

The Pot of Greed card materialized face-up, which allowed the aquatic monster to draw two more cards. The cards were shown to be Poisonous Vaccine(!) and Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"So, I've poisoned your monster." Ocean Neos Dragmire teased. "I think I'll go and cure it."

"Huh?" quizzed Thomas. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I activate the Spell card Poisonous Vaccine!"

As Ocean Neos Dragmire said that, the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. From there, a large needle appeared beside Kuribabylon.

"This Spell card will go and remove the Toxic Counter from your monster." explained the aquatic monster.

The needle struck Kuribabylon, healing it from the poison.

"Why did you heal my monster?" asked Thomas.

"Because now..."

Suddenly, Kuribabylon went over to the other side of the field.

"...it becomes mine!" grinned Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"Oh man!" cried Percy.

"But I'm not gonna attack with it." continued Ocean Neos Dragmire, taking another card from his hand. "I now play a Ritual Spell card!"

The Ritual Spell card materialized face-up.

"Aquatic King's Memorial!"

Suddenly a large Aquatic Temple appeared.

"To summon my most powerful beast, I must offer enough monsters from my field or hand until their total star level equals 8 or higher." explained Ocean Neos Dragmire. "And I think I'll start with your Kuribabylon..."

Kuribabylon vanished into a sort of tomb. The aquatic monster then held out another monster card from his hand.

"Oh, and I think I'll add my Giant Red Seasnake into the mix!"

A large red sea serpent appeared as well before vanishing. Suddenly, the storm started to grow worse and worse. The waves pounded on the boat and rocked everyone about.

"WHOA!" cried the audience, feeling the boat rock and such.

"The storm is ready...!" mumbled Ocean Neos Dragmire.

Iris clung to Maiden of the Aqua for comfort. She was feeling very frightened right about now...

"It's time!" The aquatic monster continued, holding his next card up. "I call upon the ruler of the storms - me!"

The temple sank below as a pillar of water shot up into the sky.

"You pathetic fools!" cackled Ocean Neos Dragmire. "Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim!"

Appearing out of the pillar of water was another Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"

The real Ocean Neos Dragmire laughed maniacally, while the Duel Monsters version of the aquatic monster glanced at Thomas menacingly (Level: 8/ATK: 2500).

"Oh great." groaned James. "Now there's two of him."

"And Thomas is wide open for a direct attack!" Stanley pointed out.

"Upon being ritual summoned to the field-" Ocean Neos Dragmire explained. "-we are both dealt 500 points of damage by the raging storms he can cause."

Bolts of lightning suddenly struck the two duelists. While Ocean Neos Dragmire merely grunted (LP: 2500), Thomas gave a mighty yell of pain (LP: 3000).

"Thomas, hang in there!" called Toby.

"You can still win!" added Edward.

Regardless, there was still an attack to go...

"Now, my doppelganger!" commanded Ocean Neos Dragmire. "Attack his life points directly!"

Ocean Neos Dragmire obeyed, drew out a sword, raised it up, and allowed a bolt of lightning to strike it.

"His sword!" exclaimed Gilford the Lightning.

"It has been charged with more lightning!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

At last, the monster charged and slashed at Thomas with his electrical blade, causing the blue-haired boy to scream in pain from being zapped (LP: 500).

"MR. THOMAS!" screamed Iris through her tears.

Thomas collapsed to his knees.

"Yes... you might as well stay down, too." taunted Ocean Neos Dragmire. "This storm is becoming way too much for you to handle, and soon it will be claiming some more lives aboard this very ship!"

Thomas growled as he tried to get up despite feeling some injuries.

"No... I won't give up!"

"Tch! A cocky one, aren't you?" The aquatic monster sighed. "Apparently, that attack wasn't enough to keep you down."

Thomas suddenly felt himself struggling to keep his inner darkness in check.

"No...!" he thought to himself in pain. "I-I can't let it happen again!"

"What's going on with Mr. Thomas" asked Iris, looking scared.

"There is a strong darkness in his heart." explained Maiden of the Aqua. "And whenever he gets angry enough, it gets out of control and takes over him."

"And judging from his struggling right now..." Edward began, but got cut off...

"Mr. Thomas!" called out Iris. "You have to calm down and let go of your anger! I don't want you to fall into darkness...!"

Thomas was still struggling to not let himself be taken over...when he heard the young brown-haired girl's voice.

"Iris?"

He looked over to see Iris looking upset for him.

"Please, you can't fall into darkness!" The young brown-haired girl begged. "I don't want to lose you! You were one of the nicest grown-ups I've ever met!"

Thomas was about to respond...when one of his cards started to glow all white.

"What...?

One of the cards glowing was an effect monster called Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. Thomas had drawn it from the use of Pot of Greed last turn.

"Gorz the Emissary of Darkness?" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "Why is it glowing?"

"Light and darkness..." echoed a voice in Thomas's head.

"Who's there?" asked Thomas mentally, looking around.

Nothing. But Iris did continue speaking to the blue-haired boy.

"Please don't let yourself lose to the darkness!" she cried. "You can fight it! I believe in you!"

In addition to the young brown-haired girl's words, the Gorz the Emissary of Darkness monster card remained glowing all white. Finally, Thomas got a clue as to what was going on.

"I special summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness in attack mode!" he cried, placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

This earned shocked reactions from everyone in the audience and even Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"He what?!" exclaimed Gordon.

"Can he really do that?" came from Percy.

"But it's still my turn!" Ocean Neos Dragmire protested.

"Think again!" boomed Thomas. "Come forth! Gorz the Emissary of Darkness!"

Appearing before them was a humanoid monster wearing black with spikey red hair, a red cape, and a large sword (Level: 7/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2500).

"Explain yourself!" demanded Ocean Neos Dragmire. "How were you able to call upon that monster when it's still my turn?"

"When I take damage from a card on your field when I control no cards of any kind-" explained Thomas. "-I can automatically summon Gorz from my hand and apply an extra ability determined by how I took damage."

"Effects?" Percy blinked. "Do you know anything about them, Edward?"

"I do." nodded Edward. "If summoned after battle damage, Gorz allows Thomas to summon an Emissary of Darkness Token with an attack and defense of the damage he took. If summoned after effect damage, Gorz can hit Dragmire with the same damage."

"He was hit by a 2500 attack point direct attack!" James pointed out.

"Meaning..." began Toby, but got cut off.

"So now I special summon an Emissary of Darkness token!" said Thomas, raising his left hand into the air. "Come forth - Kaien the Emissary of Darkness!"

Gorz the Emissary of Darkness immediately started glowing all white...before splitting in two halves.

"That light!" winced Ocean Neos Dragmire, covering his eyes.

"That's right!" confirmed Thomas hotly. "Pure, wholesome light!"

The light soon faded away. Iris was gazing at the new monster.

"So pretty..." she whispered.

There, standing before them now was a female monster in a silverish armor with a long crimson skirt, brown hair, and a large sword (Level: 7/ATK: ?/DEF: ?)

"Two monsters?!" exclaimed Ocean Neos Dragmire.

"Exactly!" nodded Thomas. "Gorz represents the dark, and Kaien represents the light!"

Kaien the Emissary of Darkness then received its stats (ATK: 0 - 2500/DEF: 0 - 2500).

"The perfect balance of Chaos." murmered Maiden of the Aqua.

"What exactly is going on?" demanded Gordon, clutching his head. "I'm getting such a headache from all of this!"

"I hear you." groaned James. "Could someone fill us in before I pass out from confusion?"

"...and delay?" joked Percy, laughing slightly.

Nobody seemed to laugh at the green-haired boy's joke. This happened to be a pretty serious moment, after all.

"I think I might be able to explain." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "It'll take time, but I can do it."

"Then please do so!" begged James. "Before my head explodes!"

So Maiden of the Aqua began her explanation.

"Okay... here goes..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside a temple somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, Maiden of the Aqua was with her own kind inside a temple.

It began long before you were brought here." Present Day-Maiden of the Aqua narrated.

"How long ago, exactly?" came the voice of James.

"Shh!" hissed the voice of Gordon.

The band of Maiden of the Aquas were all busy praying at a shrine, when two warrior-type monsters came in through the door (Male: Marauding Captain, Female: Kanan the Swordmistress).

"Hello?" called the Marauding Captain.

The maidens heard the voice and looked up.

"Who's there?" asked the first Maiden of the Aqua.

The band turned and saw the two warrior-type monsters.

"We need your help." began Kanan the Swordmistress. "My brother here has his inner darkness unlocked within his heart."

"Yeah..." moaned Marauding Captain. "We need help to tame it."

"Is there anyway you can help?"

"My kind had no idea what to do." Present Day-Maiden of the Aqua narrated. "We've never done something like this before."

"Then, what did you do?" Edward's voice asked. "How did you help him?"

"This was what we did..." answered Present Day-Maiden of the Aqua's voice.

The Maiden of the Aquas finally got an idea.

"We might have the solution." one of the blue-haired female monsters spoke up.

"It's risky, but if it succeeds we'll have accomplished something very big." added another Maiden of the Aqua.

Kanan the Swordmistress and Marauding Captain both looked at each other, and then back at the Maiden of the Aquas.

"What is it?" asked Kanan curiously.

Minutes later, Marauding Captain was lying on a stone table in the middle of a chamber somewhere in the temple. One Maiden of the Aqua, using some chalk, was drawing a weird circle with patterns all around the table.

"Just what are you hoping this will do?" asked Marauding Captain.

"We're hoping using this type of alchemy to forcibly remove the darkness from one's heart." explained one Maiden of the Aqua.

"Is it safe?" Kanan the Swordmistress questioned worriedly. "Will anything bad happen to my brother?"

"We can only hope nothing goes wrong." said another Maiden of the Aqua.

Finally, the circle was finished. They were ready to begin the spell.

"Places everyone!" called a fifth Maiden of the Aqua.

They took their places around the circle.

"From there, we begun to cast the spell." narrated Present Day-Maiden of the Aqua.

The band of Maiden of the Aquas raised their staffs up high.

"Begin the spell!" declared one of the blue-haired female monsters.

"Darkness begone!" cried another of the Maiden of the Aquas. "Trouble this poor soul no longer!"

The circle began to activate.

"W-What's going on?" asked Marauding Captain uneasily.

"Just remain calm." assured one of the Maiden of the Aquas.

The alchemy circle began shining with white light. Marauding Captain remained uneasy with what was going on, until he suddenly started moaning in agony. The male warrior-type monster was feeling his inner darkness being unlocked further in his heart, and for some reason he couldn't seem to hold it back any further.

"Make it stop!" Marauding Captain groaned. "It hurts too much!"

But the Maiden of the Aquas wouldn't stop the spell. Finally, Kanan the Swordmistress had enough.

"Enough!" she cried, running towards the circle.

That got the group of Maiden of the Aquas' attention.

"No, stop!" exclaimed one of the blue-haired female monsters...a little too late.

Kanan entered the circle to reach her brother. That was a costly mistake on her part. Why, you might be asking? Because with the spell interrupted in middle of the casting...the circle started acting all weird.

"The circle!" exclaimed a Maiden of the Aqua, watching both two warrior-type monsters groaming in pain from the circle.

"What is going on?!" demanded a male voice.

Everyone looked to the source of the voice. It was Dark Magician!

"Dark Magician!" gasped a seventh Maiden of the Aqua.

"What are you all doing!?" demanded the purple-haired male spellcaster. "This type of magic is extremely dangerous to perform!"

"But my brother's inner darkness was being unleashed!" protested Kanan, groaning in pain from something in the circle.

"Stop this before-" Dark Magician attempted to say, but got cut off by something.

The two warriors began to glow black and white each. Half of their respective glows began to flow into each other.

"Master! What's happening to those two?!" called a female voice.

Immediately, Dark Magician Girl ran into the chamber with a look of shock on her face.

"It looks as if half of their light and darkness is being swapped into each other." explained Dark Magician, looking equally stunned. "As a sort of Balance."

"What have we done?" whispered a Maiden of the Aqua.

At long last, the glowing ceased.

"What...what happened to us?" came the voice of Marauding Captain.

"What did you all-?" added the voice of Kanan the Swordmistress.

The Maiden of Aquas were just stunned by what was standing before them.

"What's wrong?" asked the voice of Marauding Captain.

The smoke cleared from the circle...and revealed two new monsters.

"What...in heaven's name-?" whispered Dark Magician.

The two monsters looked at their appearances, quite surprised.

"What are they?" came from Dark Magician Girl.

"I believe that by balancing their light and darkness-" came the voice of a Maiden of the Aqua. "-the ritual has evolved these two into more powerful beings."

The two monsters looked at each other in surprise, and then back at themselves.

"They're now known as Gorz the Emissary of Darkness and Kaien the Emissary of Darkness."

"Gorz-?" mumbled Dark Magician.

"Kaien-?" came from Dark Magician Girl.

The Maiden of the Aqua nodded.

"I don't know how we managed to do it-" narrated Present Day-Maiden of the Aqua. "-but this was a real shocker for us on that day."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"At first I thought it was the biggest mistake we've ever made." continued Maiden of the Aqua. "But now... looking back, I see we ended up making the right choice in creating a balance between light and dark."

"Amazing..." breathed Percy.

Back over at the duel, Thomas drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (2): Double Spell and Magic Formula

* * *

"This duel is done!" The blue-haired boy declared. "Because your own life points lowered from your own monster's effect-"

"What?" protested Ocean Neos Dragmire, looking at his Duel Disk and gasping. His life points were at 2500. "He's right!"

"-once I destroy your monster with Gorz, I'll attack you directly with Kaien!"

Ocean Neos Dragmire's eyes widened with horror at how much Thomas had planned ahead of time. There was no way out of this mess... the aquatic monster was about to lose.

"Gorz the Emissary of Darkness-" commanded Thomas. "-attack and destroy Ocean Neos Dragmire!"

Gorz obeyed, striking Neos Dragmire with his blade, destroying him. The real Ocean Neos Dragmire didn't blink or make a sound (LP: 2300).

"And now it's your turn, Kaien the Emissary of Darkness!" continued the blue-haired boy, motioning his right hand out. "Attack his life points directly!"

Kaien obeyed and leaped into the sky with her weapon in-hand.

"Sword of Twilight Chaos!"

The blade struck Ocean Neos Dragmire square across the chest, causing him to scream in pain. Kaien returned to join her fellow Emissary of Darkness in staring down their opponent.

"I win!" declared Thomas.

Ocean Neos collapsed to his knees as his life points reached zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

"I've lost..." muttered the aquatic monster.

Just then, the storm started to cease - the rain stopped, the wind became calm, the waves stopped pounding the ship, and the clouds disappeared to reveal the bright sun.

"Hooray!" cried Henry. "The storm has lifted!"

"We're in the clear now!" added Edward.

Ocean Neos Dragmire was still seething over losing, when Thomas approached him with a stoic look on his face.

"How dare you...!" growled the aquatic monster. "So you've won! That doesn't mean anything! I'll just go and start up another storm!"

Thomas didn't say anything back and just kept his stoic look.

"Say something, you little sh-!"

*SMACK!*

Without warning, Thomas had gone and back-handed Ocean Neos Dragmire across the face and knocked him to the side, much to the shock of everyone else watching the duel.

"He just hit him!" cried Percy.

"Good!" added James, looking pleased. "That punk deserved it for trying to do us in with that storm."

Ocean Neos Dragmire, slowly getting back up, glared at Thomas with a look of anger and hatred on his face. That boy had really asked for it now!

"Damn you, kid... I'll-!"

"Leave." commanded the voice of Thomas calmly.

"Huh?" Ocean Neos Dragmire sounded rather surprised.

"You are a cruel monster!" Thomas sneered, with his voice full of acid. "You've murdered an innocent child's family as part of some sick plan to kidnap her and force her into becoming evil! And if that weren't bad enough, when she finds friends and comfort, you try yet again to ruin her life! Leave and never return or I will make you wish you were never born!"

"Never-!" The evil monster was not about to give up his target just because he had lost. But this was a fatal mistake on his part. Why? Oh... "AGH...!"

Thomas suddenly grabbed Ocean Neos Dragmire by his throat and raised him into the air while the Millennium Puzzle was glowing all gold. It was as if the blue-haired boy was absorbing the life-force of the aquatic monster with his Millennium Item.

"What's he doing?" gasped Percy in shock.

Ocean Neos Dragmire struggled to breath, but was unable to. He was losing conscious fast...not that Thomas seemed to really care right now.

"Ahh... the power!" he chuckled evilly, with his eyes becoming crimson red in color. "So much power...!"

"Mr. Thomas!" cried Iris. "Stop, please!"

"Iris?"

The blue-haired boy's eyes returned to their normal blue color, and had suddenly realized what he had been doing. Thomas had tried to murder a Duel Monster, evil or not. He grunted and dropped the unconscious Ocean Neos Dragmire onto the ground in disgust. Iris then ran up to the blue-haired boy and embraced him tightly.

"Please don't kill him!" The young brown-haired girl begged. "Two wrongs don't make a right!"

"Iris..." mumbled Thomas, accepting the hug. "I'm so sorry. Forgive me..."

Iris cried softly. The rest of the gang slowly walked over to their two friends.

"Thomas..." murmured Maiden of the Aqua.

Yes, this was a sad scene for everyone...

(elsewhere...)

Three hours later, the ship had finally arrived on dry land.

"Land at last!" cried Percy, diving to the shore and kissing the sand in great relief.

"What a relief!" sighed Gordon.

"Hopefully we'll find the girls here." said Gilford the Lightning. "Somewhere, somehow."

Thomas and Iris both walked off the ship.

"Are you sure you wish to come with us, Iris?" asked Thomas. "This journey will be very dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"But I have to come with you." insisted Iris. "You might end up being in trouble with your inner darkness again."

"But-!"

"No buts." interrupted the young brown-haired girl. "You need me."

"She's right, Thomas." spoke up Maiden of the Aqua. "We can't risk you turning to the dark. Besides-" The blue-haired female monster then smiled. "-I think Iris here has grown quite fond of you."

Thomas looked to see Iris hugging him.

"Yeah, she sure has." he smiled, gently patting the top of the young brown-haired girl's head.

"Will you be my new Mommy and Daddy?" Iris asked Thomas and Maiden of the Aqua.

"H-Huh?!"

Thomas was blushing from this question in addition to looking to Maiden of the Aqua. The blue-haired female monster was blushing as well.

"Ha ha ha! Well, lookie here!" teased James.

"Little Thomas here has become a Father already!" laughed Gordon. "All at the young age of 15!"

"B-B-But I'm too young to be a Father!" protested the flustered Thomas. "I don't even have a job!"

Maiden of the Aqua just chuckled as she patted the younger boy on the head.

"They're just teasing, Thomas." she said, but then added with a flirting wink... "...although I do think you really look cute when flustered."

Thomas's blush deepened in response to that statement and began spluttering. Everyone shared a joking laugh at seeing this. Looks like a good laugh is always nice to share once in a while, even in a long and tiring journey. Wouldn't you say?


	21. Chaos Sorcerer's Gambit

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in a dark mountain area, Airknight Parshath was riding his Tri-Horned Dragon through the passage. Why he was here, was something only the member of the Court of Darkness knew himself.

"I must make sure I'm prepare to face the girl." Airknight Parshath said to himself. "And to do so, I must know all of her ultimate dueling tactics."

Soon, his dragon landed on a cliff-side outside a cave. Upon getting off, Tri-Horned Dragon turned itself back into a Duel Monsters card. Airknight Parshath pocketed the card and walked inside the cave.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the cave, it was bleak, damp, and only had lit torches to allow some light and vision. As Airknight Parshath continued walking, a new voice spoke up...and a rather creepy one at that.

"Halt! Who goes there?" The voice demanded in a hostile tone.

Airknight Parshath remained calm and collected. "It is I, your old battle ally! Airknight Parshath of the Court of Darkness."

"Ahhhh... Airknight Parshath, my old friend... Please, come right in."

Nodding slowly, Airknight Parshath ventured forward deeper into the cavern.

"It's nice to see you again..." continued the voice.

As the member of the Court of Darkness walked further into the cave, he saw a male spellcaster-type monster leaning against the rocky wall. He wore black clothing and had pale skin and demonic headgear (or something like that). It was an evil Duel Spirit known as Chaos Sorcerer.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Airknight Parshath halted. "I'm in need of your assistance."

Chaos Sorcerer raised an eyebrow, but said nothing back. This allowed Airknight Parshath to continue speaking...

"I am trying to find an escaped girl we've captured from the human world."

"What purpose does catching this girl serve?" asked Chaos Sorcerer, failing to see the point in kidnapping a human female.

"Because this just isn't any girl." insisted Airknight Parshath. "She is the key to reviving our fallen master!"

Chaos Sorcerer was surprised. "What?!"

"Yes! This girl has the most darkness in her heart than anyone we've captured so far! Professor Melvin even proved it to us!"

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" groaned Chaos Sorcerer.

Airknight Parshath remained silent and stoic. At least he had gotten his old ally's attention over the matter...

"As I've just mention, I'm aiming to recapture the girl." The member of the Court of Darkness pointed out. "But she isn't exactly helpless. According to some scouts, she demolished three Battleguard monsters in one single turn."

"Hmm..." said Chaos Sorcerer thoughtfully. "That powerful, eh?"

"If I am to stand a chance against her-" went on Airknight Parshath. "-I need to learn her dueling tactics...so I can counter them with the greatest of ease."

Chaos Sorcerer smirked. "You don't have to tell me twice. As you can see, I'm not one to be defeated so easily."

"Very good."

Airknight Parshath immediately tossed over a small bag full of gold coins. Chaos Sorceror caught the bag and opened it. When he was done looking over the gold, the spellcaster-type monster looked up and smiled some more.

"This will be enough." said Chaos Sorcerer in a creepy tone. "Now tell me... where might I be able to find her...?"

Airknight Parshath nodded and took out a small Crystal Ball. The device quickly activated and revealed...a 16-year old girl with long dark green (almost emerald) hair. It would seem she was in a village full of friendly Duel Monsters.

"I remember this village." Airknight Parshath remarked. "This is where Vampire Lord had kidnapped several children and lured Thomas into a trap..."

That was all Chaos Sorcerer needed to hear. "Then that's where I shall go. I will get her to embrace the darkness one way or the other."

Airknight Parshath smirked in response. Oh boy...this isn't gonna be pretty. Am I right? Scratch that - I KNOW I'm right.

* * *

 **Title: Chaos Sorcerer's Gambit**

* * *

Over in the village of Duel Monsters, Emily had just finished hearing the whole tale from some of the villagers.

"Wow." she breathed. "I don't believe it..."

"Yes." nodded a Gemini Elf. "Autraius was the one who slayed the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' and brought peace to our land."

"At the cost of his own life." added the other Gemini Elf.

"And your friend resembles Autraius very much." came from a Blade Knight.

"Then that must be why the Court of Darkness wants him." said Emily. "But why would they take me instead?"

"Your inner darkness is what the Court of Darkness needs." A Jack's Knight pointed out. "Your friend's body will eventually be needed for the revival...once his own inner darkness has gotten strong enough."

"But how can the inner darkness be destroyed?"

"Come with us." invited a Gemini Elf, gesturing to the Inn. "We have a book our old friend, Amazoness Sage, gave us a while ago."

Emily followed the two Elves inside the building.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Inn's library, one of the two Gemini Elves was searching the shelves for a book. Eventually, she found it...

"Aha! Here it is!"

The Gemini Elf brushed the dust off and brought it over to the table Emily and the second Gemine Elf were both seated at.

"The answer you seek may be in here." said the first Gemini Elf, handing the book to her sister.

The second Gemini Elf flipped through the pages, while Emily looked on with interest.

"Wow, this is so cool." she mumbled.

Finally, the page containing the prophecy was found and the description of it began...

" _One day_ -" The second Gemini Elf read. "- _the darkness will return to tarnish the land. By then, the Great One will return in a new form to vanquish it once and and for all, and truly bring peace. However, he will find himself through a trial of his own soul. If he passes, the darkness will be destroyed. If he fails, then he will be consumed by the darkness and all will be lost_."

"Trial?" Emily blinked worriedly. "What sort of trial?"

"He must battle the darkness in his heart. And if he succeeds...the darkness will be destroyed. If he fails..."

The dark green-haired girl waited for the answer...but got dismayed when it was finally given...

"He will be consumed by the darkness and the rest of our world will soon follow." finished the Gemini Elf.

"WHAT?!" screamed the dark green-haired girl. "You mean if Thomas is unable to conquer his inner darkness, he'll be consumed by it?!"

"Forever." said the Gemini Elf gravely.

"And nothing would be able to save him from it." added the other Gemini Elf.

"There just has to be a way he can be saved!" insisted Emily desperately. "I can't bear the thought of losing him!"

"The only way to prevent it is by ensuring that the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' never resurfaces...and the trial must be accomplished successfully."

"It will not be easy." added the second Gemini Elf. "For you, Emily, will have to accomplish a trial of your own."

"A trial of my own? What do you mean?"

The first Gemini Elf had a serious look on her face. "You have darkness in your heart, yes?"

Emily nodded.

"Then you will have to conqueror that darkness one way or another." added the second Gemini Elf. "Even if you have to..."

"Die?"

"Face your own inner demons." corrected the first Gemini Elf.

"Oh." sighed Emily in relief. "It's just the way you were saying that made me assume that I would possibly die from this trial."

"Do you even know what we mean by it?" The second Gemini Elf questioned sternly.

"I will most likely have to face the darkness of my past actions."

"This raises a question I have." continued the first Gemini Elf. "What exactly were your past actions?"

"What were you like back then?" added the second Gemini Elf.

Emily sighed once more. She guessed it was time to tell the Duel Monsters a bit of her dark past...even if it did hurt very much.

"Very well, I'll tell you both a bit about it... it won't be pretty mind you."

So Emily took a deep breath and told the Elves all about what she had gone through during her first year of Middle School.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It had been less than three weeks since Young Emily was warmly welcomed to Sodor Middle School (and even managed to save two lives in a short period of time). Because of her pretty face, as well as kind, gentle, friendly, self-sacrificing personality, Young Emily became quite popular with many of the students. Like so...

"Hi, Emily." called Young Edward.

"Good day, lass!" called Young Donald.

"Good of you to save Oliver from being run over!" praised Young Duck.

"You were very brave to get help for Henry when his appendix needed to be removed at the hospital!" came from Young BoCo.

Young Emily honestly thought her new life couldn't get any better. Unfortunately...

(elsewhere...)

Outside during noon hour, a 13-year old Gordon was lying on a large blanket near the race track, soaking some rays and listening to some music on his headphones. Young Emily was walking near the track field when she saw the young, tall blue-haired boy.

"Hello, Gordon!" called Young Emily cheerfully.

Unfortunately, Young Gordon didn't seem to hear her. Curiously, Young Emily walked over and tried to get the young, tall blue-haired boy's attention.

"Hello, Gordon!" The young dark green-haired girl said loudly.

That got Young Gordon's attention alright... but not in a way Young Emily was expecting...

"Goodness gracious, what cheek! Who do you think you are, interrupting music time?!" he roared.

Young Emily was surprised, and a little bit hurt, by the outburst. "I...was just trying to say hello."

"Huh! I bet..." grunted Young Gordon, standing back up. "So, you're the new student to Middle School? Phooey! I was actually expecting someone as athletic as me. Not someone as girly as you."

And the tall, young blue-haired boy grabbed his belongings and walked away in a huff. Young Emily felt rather annoyed over being called girly.

"Now what reason has he to be rude?" The young dark green-haired girl said to herself. "I was only trying to be nice."

Unfortunately, things were not gonna get any better...

(elsewhere...)

The next day, Young Emily was at her locker getting a few things. Young James, meanwhile, was walking down the hall when he saw the new girl minding her own business. Seeing how pretty she looked, the young red-haired boy smirked and decided to turn the charm on.

"Hey there." he greeted, giving a wink.

Young Emily, hearing the voice, turned towards it and saw the red-haired boy.

"Um... hi there."

"My name's James Hughes." said Young James, slicking his hair back. "You must be Emily."

"Y-Yes." The young dark green-haired girl nodded, getting the feeling that boy was trying to hit on her. She was not gonna have any of that. "Ca-"

"You're in luck." boasted Young James. "You're talking to one of the most popular kids in the whole school...and the most handsome, too."

"Listen, can-" Young Emily tried to speak up, but was cut off.

"Can you deny ever seeing such magnificence in your life?"

Young Emily was starting to get annoyed. This boy, while indeed handsome for a 10-year old, seemed to be quite vain, boastful, and liked to talk about only himself.

"Yes, I can." The new girl said as calmly as possible.

Young James was alarmed. "What?!"

"I can deny ever seeing someone as ' **magnificent** ' in my life." Young Emily continued firmly. "You are nothing but a vain, arrogant showoff."

Red faced with anger and humiliation at being told off like that, Young James gave a snort of disgust.

"Yeah? Well, what would you know?!"

And thus, he walked away in a huff. As soon as Young James was gone, Young Emily sighed to herself.

"Well... that could have gone better..." she remarked aloud.

The new girl got her books out of her locker and made her way to class.

(new scene...)

A week later, Young Emily was at her locker again, when suddenly it slammed shut on her. It was Young Gordon who did the deed, and Young James was standing beside him.

"What did you do that for?" Young Emily asked in surprise, but got nervous when she saw that the taller boy was smirking deviously. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"Lookie what we have here, James." said Young Gordon.

"Yeah..." agreed Young James, also smirking. "Someone who doesn't appreciate someone as handsome as me..."

"And someone who dares to interrupt my time when I was busy listening to music."

Young Emily was again annoyed. "Oh, you two are still upset about-"

Suddenly, Young Gordon roughly shoved the young dark green-haired girl until her back smashed into the locker. Young Emily wasn't hurt, but she was feeling scared right now. But what really made her upset...was where she was touched for the shove (her chest, that is).

"D-Did you just touch my-?" Young Emily began, getting red in the face.

"Keep quiet!" threatened Young James, cutting off what the girl was about to say. "Because of what you said to both of us, Gordon and I don't like you."

"W-Well...I-I don't like you either." retorted Young Emily, trying to remain brave...but her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Now leave me alone or I'll report you both to the principal."

This only caused Young Gordon and Young James to burst out laughing.

"You? Tell on us?" chortled Young James. "Did you hear that, Gordon?"

"You were right." laughed Young Gordon. "She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale."

"T-Tattletale?" Young Emily spluttered.

"Oh yes..." The young red-haired boy confirmed. "No likes a tattletale...like you."

With that said, Young James went and shoved Young Emily back into the lockers (touching her clothed chest in doing so) as he and his older friend both walked off laughing, unaware of what they would eventually be responsible for. Feeling humiliated, threatened, violated, and hurt, Young Emily finally started to cry as she ran down the hallway towards one of the girls' bathrooms.

(new scene...)

From that point onward, Young Gordon and Young James both continued to secretly bully Young Emily up until one night, while asleep in bed at her home, the young dark green-haired girl was moving about while sleeping and hearing voices in her head (she was definitely having a nightmare).

" _Girly girly tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon / Young James)

" _Ms. Perfect know-it-all_..." - (Young James)

" _Tell on us, and you'll be forever labelled a goody-goody tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Finally, Young Emily woke up with a start. Again, her eyes were wetting with tears...

"I wish those two would just leave me alone." weeped Young Emily. "What reason have they to pick on me? Maybe I'm too tall or something..."

That could have been one possible factor. You see, even though Young Emily was only one year older than Young Thomas (and Young Percy by the same extention), she was tall enough to be the same age as Young Gordon. This growth rate was a trait she had inherited from her Mother.

"Or maybe... Maybe it's because I'm too nice..."

(new scene...)

The bullying got to such an extreme, that eventually...Young Emily made her dramatic fall from grace. At her locker one day, a saddened Emily was getting her things for class...when Young James walked by and rudely slammed the locker shut.

"Oops, my bad!" he said sarcastically.

Suddenly, without any warning, Young Emily turned, clenched her fist, and punched Young James in the chest so hard that the young red-haired boy was knocked onto the ground.

"Oops, my bad!" growled Young Emily in the exact same sarcastic tone that the Young James had used.

And she walked away in a huff. Young James wasn't hurt badly from the punch, but he was surprised by this sudden change.

(elsewhere...)

During noon hour, Young Gordon was eating some lunch in the lunchroom when he saw that Young Emily was in a bad mood. Smirking, the young, tall blue-haired boy decided to throw his pudding at the young dark green-haired girl.

"Hey, Emily, think fast!" called Young Gordon.

With that said, Youg Gordon tossed the pudding in the air, hoping it would hit Young Emily...which it did...in the face. From there, she started getting many stares from the surprised students in the lunchroom. Almost in an instant, the tall, young blue-haired boy started laughing... not expecting this event to happen...

"Hey, Gordon! Think fast!"

Suddenly, the tall blue-haired boy was hit in the face by a container of applesauce. Everyone else in the cafeteria was shocked per say. Who did that, anyway? As it turned out...it was Young Emily who did it.

"That was for the pudding, you jerk!" she snapped, getting up and leaving.

Young Gordon could not believe it.

(elsewhere...)

Unfortunately, Young Emily also started having moments of taking her anger out on other people, teacher and student alike. One minute, she was being her regular sweet self. The next, however, she was being bossy and rude...almost like being a bully herself.

"No, no, no, no!" The young dark green-haired girl snapped at Young Edward, when they were partnered for a math-like game. "You're doing it all wrong!"

"What do you mean I'm doing it wrong?" asked Young Edward.

Young Emily responded by mixing the numbers in different orders. Young Edward, however, knew that his friend was in the wrong and tried to explain...

"I'm sorry, Emily, but that's not-"

Unfortunately, Young Emily wouldn't hear of it, and thus she and Young Edward both got into an argument over it. This attracted the attention of Mr. Starr, the math teacher, and resulted in some noon hour detention for both kids for the disturbance. That was only one such incident...

(new scene...)

Outside during gym class, the students were about to play softball. The teams were chosen and Young Emily started giving orders to her team...

"Alright, you lot!" she called in a bossy tone. "If you want a chance to win this, then just do as I say and when I say it. Got it?!"

"But, Emily, we just want to play and have fun." protested Young Percy. "You usually play the game just for the fun of it."

Young Emily got very cross. "Forget it! WE play to win it all, and nothing more!"

Mr. Baldwin then walked over to the young dark green-haired girl and gave a sigh of disapproval over her behavior.

"That is not how we do things around here, Miss Sterling." The gym teacher said sternly. "The point of sports is to have fun and to make new friends, not boss your team around just for the sake of winning."

"But, sir-!" objected Young Emily, but was cut off.

"Furthermore, this is the third time this month you've bossed everyone about when we go outside to play sports. I'm afraid you'll have to go see Mr. Arkwright in his office."

Young Thomas could only watch sadly as his dark green-haired friend was lead back to the school by Mr. Baldwin. Over with the other team, Young Gordon and Young James both snickered quietly over Young Emily getting into trouble.

(new scene...)

Later in the winter, Young Thomas and Young Emily were both in Knapford park trying to build a big snowman...but the latter wasn't exactly being very...responsive in teamwork - she was being rather being bossy than helpful.

"You alright, Emily?" asked Young Thomas. He had heard about what his friend had been doing and he was feeling rather worried about her.

"I'm fine." huffed Young Emily. "Now go and make that bottom half! The snowman won't build itself, you know."

"There's no reason to be so bossy." snapped Young Thomas, just as he set to work. "I'm just concerned with this new attitude of your's. Lately you've been bossing the others around and getting into trouble for it. Why are you acting like this, anyway?"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Rubbish!" replied Young Thomas. "Please, Emily, just tell me what's-"

Finally, the young dark green-haired girl lost her temper. "I SAID I'M FINE, YOU LITTLE TWIT!"

With that said, she pushed her young blue-haired friend down into the snow, turned about, and stormed out of the park to go home and cool off from her outburst. Rather than be angry or upset for being pushed down like that, Young Thomas merely felt more worried than ever for his new friend.

"What's wrong with her?" he thought to himself. "I thought we were friends...?"

As she walked out of the park, Young Emily looked back, feeling bad for what she had done.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas." The young dark green-haired girl whispered only to herself, with a teardrop of regret falling from her eye.

(new scene...)

Christmas Break had helped Young Emily feel a little bit better. During that free time, she would be free from Young Gordon and Young James's bullying and even feel a little more like her old self once again (including when she and her family spent some time with Thomas and his family). But I'm afraid that her new-found attitude became so much worse only a month after the Christmas holidays and school resumed; a new student named Molly Russell had been accepted into the Middle School. But rather than be warm and welcoming like she usually was in the past, Young Emily instead began to bully Young Molly upon meeting her! Like so...

"Look at you!" Young Emily said in a taunting tone. "You look almost like me, yet you don't even have any curves. But take a good look at me...!" The young dark green-haired girl pulled her shirt up a bit and showed off her own figure (her waist-line) before wiggling her hips in a rather...suggestive matter (for a young old girl, nonetheless). "I am tall and beautiful enough to be in high school already! But then again, I suppose not every girl at this school can be as lucky as me. Oh well!"

Poor Young Molly felt very embarrassed over this.

(new scene...)

Later during the transition from 3rd to 4th period, Young Molly was walking down the hallway when she suddenly tripped and fell on her face.

"How was the fall, loser?" laughed a voice.

Young Molly looked up and saw that it was Young Emily, smirking in a mean gesture.

"Why did you do that?" asked the young black-haired girl, feeling hurt.

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe you should watch where you're going?"

Young Molly honestly felt like crying right about now.

(new scene...)

In May, Young Emily and Young Molly were both partnered for a project. The young black-haired girl worked the best she could, but that was sadly not good enough for Young Emily.

"Geez, you're so slow!" The young dark green-haired girl criticized. "Do you want us to fail?"

"I'm doing it as best as I can!" protested Young Molly. "If you're not happy, then do it yourself!"

"This is a group project, dummy! We HAVE to work together if we wanna pass!"

Yup, things weren't getting any better.

(new scene...)

During a bake sale one day in April, Young Emily was working with both Young Percy and Young Toby in selling baked goodies. They were making lots of money, but it didn't seem to satisfy Young Emily at all.

"This isn't working." said Young Emily. "We need a better sales approach."

"I think we're doing just fine." commented Young Toby.

"Me too." agreed Young Percy.

"That's your opinion, but mine is final. We NEED a better idea!"

"Well, what do you suggest?" asked Young Percy.

"Not what I suggest-" snapped Young Emily. "-what YOU both suggest! You two started this event, you two should have an idea and not me!"

Rather than just argue with their troubled friend, Young Toby and Young Percy both got up from their and walked away, leaving Young Emily to yell and call for them to no success.

(new scene...)

One year later, despite her short recovery during Summer vacation, Young Emily (now 12-years old) and her new attitude had hit an all-time low. She continued to bully Young Molly, continued to get bullied by Young James and Young Gordon, and continued to be troublesome all-around with everyone else. Like the year before, one minute she was being sweet. The next minute, she was being bossy, rude, and/or mean. The worst part was that no one knew why the young dark green-haired girl had suddenly changed in personality. The only one who Young Emily had not been nearly as rude to was Young Thomas, but he was now even more worried than ever before.

One night, while she was asleep in bed at her home, Young Emily was once again tossing and turning about while hearing voices in her head (a nightmare of a sort). This time, however, it was worse than from before...

" _I hate her guts! She's nothing but a bully_." - (Young Arthur)

" _We hate you, Emily_!" - (Young Duck)

" _You're nothing but a bossy, short-tempered, witch_!" - (Young BoCo)

" _You know what the scariest monster in the world is? YOU ARE_!" - (Young Charlie)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Finally, Young Emily woke up with a heavy start, and then started to cry herself back into a very uncomfortable sleep. Unfortunately, she was completely unaware of feeling something growing within her tainted heart. Something dark... evil... and powerful.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily, once she had finished her story, had buried her hands in her face and began crying.

"I never meant for any of that to happen! I only became so desperate to stop it, but in the end I failed to prevent it from getting worse!"

"Then why did you let those two bully you in the first place?" asked the first Gemini Elf. "Why did you not tell your friends what was wrong?"

Poor Emily weeped some more. "I... I was afraid."

"Afraid?" blinked the second Gemini Elf. "Afraid of what?"

"I was afraid that if I told on Gordon and James-" explained Emily, sniffling and hiccuping. "-everybody would refer to me as nothing but a goody-goody tattletale and hate me for it."

"Well, what made you stop acting that way?" asked the first Gemini Elf.

Emily then shuddered. It was one memory she did NOT want to give away to anyone who didn't know.

"Emily?"

"I... I can't tell you." The dark green-haired girl said meekly. "I'm too ashamed of it."

"It's for the best that you let it out." reassured the second Gemini Elf. "We want to help you."

Emily sighed. She had heard that exact same phrase before. And these Duel Monsters spirits looked like they truly wanted to help her.

"Alright." The dark green-haired girl said at last. "I'll tell you more."

But before anymore talking could ensure...

"Come out, little girl!" called a voice (male). "I know you're here somewhere!"

"Who's that?" asked Emily, standing up.

The door to the Inn burst open and revealed a Blade Knight.

"We've got trouble in the town square!"

The three followed Blade Knight outside to see what the matter was.

(elsewhere...)

In the middle of the village, Chaos Sorcerer was firing magic blasts at anything he could hit. The point of it? For the laughs and such.

"Come on out!" The evil monster called out. "I know you're here somewhere!"

At last, Emily came out into his view.

"Hey, you!" The dark green-haired girl called out. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Chaos Sorcerer was pleased that his target had arrived to confront him. Now the fun could REALLY begin!

"So you've finally showed yourself!" The spellcaster-type monster said pleasantly. "Good! The Court of Darkness will be very pleased."

"So they ARE after me." Emily thought to herself. She then gave a fierce glare at her enemy. "Sorry, but you're not gonna get a hold of me!"

"Then fight me!"

"What's happening to our village?" The two Gemini Elves showed up and joined their human friend.

"It looks like this guy is from the Court of Darkness." answered Emily. "And he's trying to take me back as prisoner. Well, that's not going to happen!"

With that said, she activated her Duel Disk. Chaos Sorcerer activated his own Duel Disk in response.

"I think this will be a fun little duel!" Chaos Sorcerer cried joyfully.

The two then drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"DUEL!"

Kuribon, who had not been seen since Emily told some of her story to the two Gemini Elves, appeared as a faintly spirit.

"Kuribon, what do you know about this guy?" asked Emily mentally.

Kuribon spoke in its own ' ** _Kurbi_** ' language to the dark green-haired girl.

"A Chaos deck?" quizzed Emily mentally. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I will take the first move." insisted Chaos Sorcerer, drawing a card from his deck.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Black Luster Soldier, Magician of Black Chaos, Dark Magician of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and Chaos Sanctuary(!)

* * *

The monster's drawn card was a Spell card called Chaos Sanctuary. Upon seeing it, Chaos Sorcerer started to snicker quietly before bursting into loud laughter.

"Huh?" Emily gasped.

"I have already drawn the card that will ensure my victory!" Chaos Sorcerer cackled, slotting the drawn card into his Duel Disk. "I activate Chaos Sanctuary!"

A facedown card materialized on the field... but then flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Chaos Sanctuary?" Emily quizzed.

"Now, watch what happens!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a large palace with different tones of light and darkness appeared.

"This is a very powerful Continuous Spell card!" declared Chaos Sorcerer. "Once per turn, I may send one monster from my deck to the graveyard. Whenever I do so, I can special summon from my hand, ignoring the summoning conditions, one monster from the ' _Chaos_ ' archtype."

"' _Chaos_ ' archtype?" Emily blinked.

Chaos Sorcerer merely ignored the dark green-haired girl's question as he sent a monster card from his deck to the graveyard.

"I've sent a copy of Black Luster Soldier from my deck to the graveyard." he declared, taking a card from his hand. "From there, I will special summon Magician of Black Chaos from my hand to the field in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was the similar blue-skinned magician that Thomas had used once before (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600).

"A 2800 attack point monster on the first turn!?" Emily stepped back in shock.

"Impressed, are you not?" asked Chaos Sorcerer arrogantly. "Let's see if you can do any better."

"My pleasure." nodded Emily. "I took on three Battleguard Kings in one turn, so you'll be much easier."

With that said, she drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Kuribon, Waboku, Ultimate Offering, Damage Mage, Wingweaver Shield(!), and Wingweaver

* * *

Emily added the drawn card to her hand and looked a bit dismayed.

"Not as good as I was hoping." she sighed to herself.

Regardless, the dark green-haired girl took another card from her hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk (sideways).

"I summon Damage Mage in defense mode!"

A woman wearing a black cloak materialized on the field in a defensive stance (Level: 6/DEF: 1200). A facedown card then materialized behind her.

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Emily finished.

"Heh! Is that really the best you've got?" teased Chaos Sorcerer, drawing his card. "Then allow me to get the ball rolling once more!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (5): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Black Luster Soldier, Dark Magician of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and Chaos Slavery(!)

* * *

His drawn card was another Spell card called Chaos Slavery.

"For this turn, I will not use the effect of my Chaos Sanctuary." The spellcaster-type monster then slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "Instead, I'll play this Spell card - Chaos Slavery!"

The mentioned Continuous Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Now when you lose a monster by battle to a ' _Chaos_ ' monster, you take 500 points of damage!"

"That's not fair!" protested Emily.

"It's the life of war! Get used to it."

Emily knew she was in a tight spot. She was faced with a powerful monster, and didn't have a very good hand dealt to her, right now.

"Magician of Black Chaos-" command Chaos Sorcerer. "-Spell of Destruction - Death Ultima!"

Magician of Black Chaos fired a blast from his scepter at Damage Mage, destroying her in an instant.

"And thanks to my Spell card, you've lost 500 life points!"

Emily frowned as she took slight damage (LP: 3500).

"If I can get either Wingweaver or Serapheem out, I can win this duel!" she thought to herself, looking at her hand. "It won't be easy, but I won't quit until I get the cards I need to defeat this guy."

"My turn is over." said Chaos Sorcerer proudly. "Now give me your best!"

Emily silently drew her card, hoping it would be a good one.

"Please let it be something useful."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): Kuribon, Ultimate Offering, Wingweaver Shield(!), Wingweaver, and Cry of the Wingweaver

* * *

Her prayers were answered. The drawn card was shown to be the Cry of the Wingweaver Spell card.

"I activate Cry of the Wingweaver!" Emily cried out, slotting her card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"This must be one of her big strategies." Chaos Sorcerer thought with a smirk. "It seems to usually help her win duels... But not today, I'm afraid."

"This Spell card allows me to pay 1000 life points in order to special summon, from my hand, my deck's ace; Wingweaver!" explained Emily, taking a life point hit (LP: 2500).

On cue, the mighty Wingweaver appeared on the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2400).

"In addition - her attack points double for the remainder of my turn!"

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" Emily blinked dumbly. "I said Wingweaver's attack points double!"

Still, nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that my Slavery card prevents your monsters from gaining any sort of attack or defense buffs from Spells or Traps?" teased Chaos Sorcerer. "Silly me!"

"Oh no!" cried Emily. "Now my Wingweaver can't take down your magician!"

"Exactly! And the moment you lose, you'll be returning to the Court of Darkness."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (5): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Black Luster Soldier, Dark Magician of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and Black Magic Ritual

* * *

Upon adding his drawn card to his hand, another card slipped out from Chaos Sorcerer's deck.

"I shall activate my Chaos Sanctuary's effect one more!" The spellcaster-type monster declared, taking and holding his card up. "I will send a copy of Magician of Black Chaos from the deck to the graveyard to special summon Black Luster Soldier from my hand to the field!"

Now appearing onto the field was the Black Luster Soldier (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Any last words before you lose?" asked Chaos Sorcerer mockingly. "Never mind... Chaos Blade, now!"

Black Luster Soldier obeyed and charged forth towards Wingweaver. Just before that scimitar could slice through the fairy-type monster...

"Reveal Trap card!" Emily announced, motioning her right hand up. "Waboku!"

Her facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"For one battle phase, your monsters cannot touch my Wingweaver or my life points!"

The first Gemini Elf sighed. "Saved..."

"But how is Emily gonna get herself out of this?" The second Gemini Elf added.

Chaos Sorcerer chuckled. "Buying time until your defeat, eh? That's what makes hunting you down so much fun! So go ahead and make your final turn!"

"I'm not about to lose this duel!" insisted Emily, drawing her card. "Not against a creep like you!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (5): Kuribon, Ultimate Offering, Wingweaver Shield(!), and Pot of Greed

* * *

The dark green-haired girl looked at the card. Hopefully it could help her turn things around...otherwise...

"This has to get me what I need." she thought to herself. "Otherwise, I'll have no chance of winning."

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" announced Emily. "This lets me draw two cards."

The two cards were shown to be Luminous Rays(!) and Cestus of Dagla.

"These cards might help me." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "Alright, I first activate the Spell card Luminous Rays!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field behind Wingweaver.

"This can only be activated if I control a light attribute monster. Now, all your Spell and Trap cards, set or face-up, are destroyed and 500 points of damage is dealt per card!"

"What?!" cried Chaos Sorcerer.

True to Emily's words, the spellcaster-type monster's face-up Spell cards were all destroyed, causing him to take damage (LP: 3000).

"Not my two Chaos cards!"

"That's right." grinned Emily, taking another card from her hand. "But there's more to come."

On cue, the Cestus of Dagla Equip Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Next I activate an Equip Spell card called Cestus of Dalga! This increases the attack power of any fairy-type monster I control, like Wingweaver, by 500 points - and thanks to the destruction of your Chaos Slavery card, nothing is to stop my Equip Spell from powering up my monster!"

Two blade-like weapons materialized and Wingeaver took hold of them. This granted her a power boost (ATK: 2750 - 3250).

"Now, attack the Magician of Black Chaos!" ordered Emily. "Luminous Spark Rain!"

Wingweaver obeyed, causing a rain of light to fall, striking and destroying Magician of Black Chaos.

"The light!" winced Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 2550).

Kuribon reappeared and happily said a few ' ** _Kurbis_** ' to her human friend.

"That's right." said Emily. "Pure, wholesome light... But I'm not done!"

The blades Wingweaver was wielding suddenly started glowing all white... and so did the dark green-haired girl.

"Wh-What?!" gasped Chaos Sorcerer.

"Damage you're dealt when a fairy-type monster attacks while equipped with Cestus of Dalga restores my life points equal to the exact amount of damage taken!"

Emily ceased glowing as her life points recovered a bit (LP: 2950).

"So, this must be another of her strategies..." thought Chaos Sorcerer. "Powering up her monsters and recovering lost life points... very interesting."

"I'm not out of this duel yet." continued Emily. "You are not taking me back to the Court of Darkness! I now end my turn."

"Heh! You're so stubborn." teased Chaos Sorcerer, drawing his card. "But that's the fun of the challenge!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (5): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Dark Magician of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, Black Magic Ritual, and Chain Destruction

* * *

Black Luster Soldier suddenly went into a defensive stance.

"I switch Black Luster Soldier to defense mode." The spellcaster-type monster said simply. "I'll end my turn, now."

"I have him on the ropes." Emily thought to herself. "If I can keep up the pace, I will win!"

The dark green-haired girl drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2950)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (4): Kuribon, Ultimate Offering, Wingweaver Shield(!), and Emergency Provisions

* * *

The drawn card was the Spell card Emergency Provisions.

"This could come in handy later on." Emily remained in her thoughts. She then slotted the card into her Duel Disk and spoke aloud. "I set two cards facedown!"

Two facedown cards materialized on the field. Wingweaver then began to attack once more.

"LUMINOUS SPARK RAIN!"

Wingweaver obeyed, attacking and destroying Black Luster Soldier.

"My turn is over!" concluded Emily confidently. But was caught off-guard by some laughter. "Huh?"

The laughter was coming from Chaos Sorcerer. Even though he had lost both his powerful monsters AND best Spell cards... the monster was laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Forgive me if I sounded...crazy." replied Chaos Sorcerer coolly. "But did you honestly think your monster can beat me? All along, I've been toying with you. Learning all I need to know to stop your best strategies."

With that said, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (6): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Dark Magician of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, Black Magic Ritual, Chain Destruction, and Pot of Greed

* * *

"First-" Chaos Sorcerer held out his drawn Pot of Greed Spell card. "-I'll use my own copy of Pot of Greed to draw two more cards from my deck!"

The cards were shown to be Chaos Sorcerer and Chaos Return(!). Upon seeing one of the cards he had drawn, Chaos Sorcerer started to laugh once more.

"And this card will prove it! Prove that you cannot hope to beat me!"

Emily was worried. "What did he draw?"

"And now, I'll activate it!" The spellcaster-type monster declared, slotting the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Chaos Return!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"What does that do?" asked Emily, feeling more and more worried.

Chaos Sorcerer drew about ten cards from his deck and sent them to the graveyard.

"Very simple; I must send ten random cards from my deck to the graveyard-" As the monster explained his Spell card's effect, two monster cards slipped out of the graveyard. "-and I can revive two monsters that were destroyed previously while ignoring summoning conditions!"

Black Luster Soldier and Magician of Black Chaos both returned to the field.

"I've destroyed those two monsters once-" reminded Emily. "-and I'll do it again!"

"Oh, you're so naive!" taunted the spellcaster-type monster. "Can't you see why I'm building up my field... or sending ten cards from my deck to the graveyard?"

Hearing that made Emily and Kuribon both feel uneasy. It looked like the dark green-haired girl was in trouble... REALLY big trouble.

"And now... I banish a light and dark attribute monster from my graveyard out of the game!"

A Dark Magician of Chaos (Dark) and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (Light) appeared briefly before fading away.

"By doing this-" explained Chaos Sorcerer, selecting another card from his hand. "-I'm allowed to call forth one of the two Envoys of Chaos."

A powerful blast of fire erupted the field.

"And I choose to play... the almighty Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End!"

From the flames came the silhouette of a huge dragon.

"Meet the instrument of your defeat, you foolish girl!" cackled Chaos Sorcerer madly. "AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

A huge dragon with bone-like parts emerged from the flames with a powerful roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"C-Chaos Emperor Dragon?" Emily sounded very scared now.

"That's right." confirmed Chaos Sorcerer, suddenly taking a life point drop (LP: 1550). "And now, for its special ability! By giving up 1000 life points, my dragon can wipe out every card on the field and in our hands. Then you lose 300 life points for each card sent to the graveyard!"

He started counting up the cards on the field and in both players hands. There were...

"Five in my hand and three on my field. That makes eight. And as for you, there's a total so far of four on the field and three in your hand. That makes seven."

"That's 4500 points of damage!" Emily gasped with horror.

The two Gemini Elves were equally terrified at the fact Emily was about to lose the duel to the legendary Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End.

"Chaos Emperor Dragon-" commanded Chaos Sorcerer. "-destroy all of the girl's cards, now... CEMETERY OF FIRE!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End obeyed and started to torch the field with an enormous blast of fire. Emily screamed in agony as the fire surged around her. Chaos Sorcerer, meanwhile, was laughing at his impending win.

"I'VE WON!" he shouted in triumph. "I'VE DEFEATED THE GIRL WITH DARKNESS IN HER HEART!"

The Gemini Elves were solemn that their human friend had been beaten.

"Emily..." The first Gemini Elf whispered.

The flames eventually died down, and Emily was revealed...to still be standing (LP: 450).

"Emily!" called the second Gemini Elf.

"She's still standing?" added the first Gemini Elf in shock.

"What?!" shrieked Chaos Sorcerer. "You should have lost! Why are you still standing?"

His question was answered when the smoke cleared to show a face-up Spell card.

"Emergency Provisions?!"

"Correct-" panted Emily. "-before I lost my cards, I went and activated this set card to send my other facedown card and face-up Cestus of Dalga both to the graveyard to gain 1000 life points per card. This increased my life points up to 4950 before being reduced by 4500 points. This allowed me to survive your Chaos Emperor Dragon's devastating effect with 450 life points."

Chaos Sorcerer felt enraged that his best move was survived by a girl.

"You may have survived that-" he screamed. "-but you're barely standing! Now make your final move!"

With her hand and field completely wiped out, Emily had to make this final draw REALLY count... or it could be all over for her.

"One last chance..." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "Either I make it count... or I never see my friends again."

The two Gemini Elves wished the best for their human friend.

"Come on, Emily..." The first Gemini Elf mentally said.

"You can do it..." The second Gemini Elf mentally added.

Kuribon closed her eyes and wished for her human companion to win, too. Finally, Emily drew her card, slashing a wave of color from her deck (Destiny Draw).

"Please, Heart of the Cards..."

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Emily Sterling (LP: 450)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (1): Heavenly Light - Type B(!)

* * *

Emily looked at her drawn card and gasped at what it was.

"What is this card?" The dark green-haird girl thought to herself. "I've never seen or added it to my deck!"

It was a Spell card called Heavenly Light - Type B.

"How did it get in here?"

Kuribon opened her eyes and said a few words to the confused Emily.

"Kuribon?" asked Emily. "Was this your doing?"

Kuribon nodded before adding a few ' ** _Kurbis_** ' that seemed to resemble ' _Play that card, and you'll witness its power_ '. Quickly getting the hint, the dark green-haired girl nodded.

"Alright." she said mentally. From there, Emily slotted the card into her Duel Disk. "I activate Heavenly Light - Type B!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field. The Gemini Elves were shocked to see the card.

"Such a rare and powerful card!" gasped the first Gemini Elf.

The card emitted a powerful beam of light.

"AGH!" wailed Chaos Sorcerer. "T-The light...!"

"This is an exceptionally powerful Spell card that allows me to send five light attribute monsters from my deck to the graveyard." explained Emily, taking her whole deck out of her Duel Disk. "Once that's done, I can special summon a light attribute ritual monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

Upon sending five light attribute monster cards to the graveyard, a ritual monster card slipped out in response.

"And I choose to summon my guardian angel - Serapheem!"

The beam of light shot into the sky as the clouds parted. From there, the most powerful form of Wingweaver descended from the bright heavens (Level: 12/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2500).

"Such a beauty..." whispered the second Gemini Elf.

"You don't think...?" added the first Gemini Elf, with a look of realization on her face.

Many of the other monsters in the village looked up and noticed Serapheem, too.

"Is that...the legendary Serapheem?" asked a Jack's Knight.

"It is... and she's the true form of Wingweaver!" protested a Legendary Fisherman.

"Could it be that this girl-" said a Big Shield Gardna. "-is blessed by the gift of the angels of our land?"

"This can't be!" protested Chaos Sorcerer, shocked to see Serapheem in action.

"Yes, it is!" confirmed Emily hotly. "I do in fact wield the legendary power of Serapheem! And she gets 600 attack points stronger for every light attribute monster I have in my graveyard!"

"600?!"

Emily nodded in affirmation. "And right now, I believe that's 7 in total I have. Meaning Serapheem gains 4200 attack points!"

Serapheem started glowing all gold-like as her attack stat climbed up to VERY high heights (ATK: 2900 - 7100).

"Amazing..." breathed a King's Knight. "This girl IS blessed by the angels of our land!"

"Leave a message to the Court of Darkness, Chaos Sorcerer!" bellowed Emily. "I will never turn over to the dark side! Not now, not ever! Serapheem, direct attack!"

Raising her hands into the air, Serapheem started raining down from the sky numerous beams of light. Chaos Sorcerer was eventually struck by one (but didn't give a scream or anything), and that was more than enough to finish him off (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

When the light faded away, Chaos Sorcerer was gone. Destroyed or escaped? No one really knew what happened.

"He's gone..." whispered the first Gemini Elf.

"Good riddance." said Emily to herself.

Serapheem then looked towards the dark green-haired girl and lowered herself down.

"Hmm?"

The angel-like monster finally reached Emily and stared into her eyes while smiling warmly while she (Emily) looked up at one of her favorite monsters.

"Child, you have a special gift." Serapheen said softly. "You are this world's gift from the heavens. You will be the one to clear the dark from this land."

Emily was speechless, while Kuribon merely floated beside her while looking up at the beautiful Duel Monsters spirit happily.

"I wait for your challenge at The Sanctuary in the Sky... farewell..."

With that said, Serapheem disappeared into spores of light, leaving Emily to try and think things over.

"I'm..." The dark green-haired girl tried to speak, but couldn't seem to finish.

"Our village's newest savior!" cried out a voice.

The village monsters began to cheer for Emily. Unfortunately, the dark green-haired girl did not smile, she only remained silent over the words Serapheem had said to her before departing. Those words, and I quote, were...

" _Child, you have a special gift. You are this world's gift from the heavens. You will be the one to clear the dark from this land_."

What could this mean? This will be something we'll find out much later.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the village and in the woods where Thomas and Vampire Lord first clashed, Chaos Sorcerer was running through the place trying to make his escape. When he stopped to take a breather, the monster...smiled to himself.

"I may have lost-" he thought to himself. "-but I was able to reveal her strategies. Including the one to summon Serapheem..."

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up. "You've done well, my old friend."

Chaos Sorcerer looked up to see Airknight Parshath standing atop a tree branch.

"The girl's strategies, I think you'll be most interested in hearing them."

And Chaos Sorcerer explained all of Emily's big strategies (especially in summoning Serapheem). Once the explaination was finished, Airknight Parshath smiled from all he heard.

"So that's her game?" asked Airknight Parshath knowingly. "Heh! She'll be no match for me and my deck when I eventually confront her."

"She even went as far as to insist that she will never give in to the dark side." added Chaos Sorcerer.

"Hmm..."

The spellcaster-like monster was feeling confused by his ally's thoughts. "Do you have a plan to ensure she falls into the darkness one way or another?"

Eventually...

"Yes, I do." Airknight Parshath spoke up, grinning at his plan. "Do you remember anything about my master's old ' ** _special_** ' arena?"

Chaos Sorcerer gasped at first at being reminded of that secret arena... but them smirked evilly in response (confirming that he did indeed).


	22. A Long, Lost Pharaoh

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening in the middle of a desert somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Thomas and the others were searching for Rosie, Molly, and Mavis. Unfortunately, it was as hot as...well, a desert.

"So thirsty..." whined Gordon.

"So hot..." put in James.

"So tired..." finished Henry.

They wanted nothing more than to stop and relax. But Thomas wouldn't have it for obvious reasons...

"We can't rest until we find the girls."

"This desert is vast." Gilford the Lightning pointed out. "And with this intense heat, we will have to find somewhere to rest eventually or perish in the trying."

"Couldn't you make it rain?" Percy asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"Unfortunately, the desert heat is wearing down my ability to make rain." sighed the blue-haired female monster. "The only way I'll be able to do so is if we find some water soon."

"And sooner the better." agreed Edward, looking towards the newest member of the party.

"So hot..." moaned Iris. Being a very young girl, she got tired very easily from being out in the intense heat.

Thomas, feeling sorry for Iris, took his jacket off. "Here." he offered kindly. "You could use this for shade until we find help."

"Thank you, Mr. Thomas..."

James, while looking around the distance, spotted something to his great excitement.

"LOOK! A CITY!"

Everybody looked in the direction James was pointing towards.

"Where?" questioned Gordon. "I don't see anything."

"It's over there!" exclaimed James, grinning widely. "I can see it!"

In the distance, the red-haired boy could see lots of buildings and vehicles. Thomas and the others...didn't see a thing.

"James, we don't see anything." Stanley pointed out.

But James, still insisting he could see a city, started running off from the group.

"James, wait!" called Percy, taking off after him.

"Percy, no!" cried Henry.

James and Percy both ran off towards the nearby ' _ **city**_ ', completely unaware that it was only something many called...a mirage.

"At last!" cheered James. "Shelter! Food!"

"Wait up, James!" panted Percy.

As soon as the two teenage boys reached the ' _ **city**_ '...everything faded away. This left only sand and hills behind.

"Wha-?" James gawked. "Where's that city? It was here a moment ago!"

The remains of the group approached, while Gordon was shown to be laughing.

"You fell for a mirage, little James!" The tall blue-haired boy chortled. "M-i-r-a-g-e!"

"A mirage?!" groaned James, collapsing into the sand from annoyance. "Oh, come on!"

Despite being in a dangerous place, the rest of the gang couldn't help but laugh merrily at what their friend went through just now.

* * *

 **Title: A Long, Lost Pharaoh**

* * *

Later on, Thomas and the others were still walking through the desert. The hot sun was still shining brightly, and the gang was growing more and more exhausted.

"We can't go on anymore." panted Stanley. "This desert is just too vast!"

"We can't give up..." protested Thomas, looking very tired. "We just can't!"

Maiden of the Aqua, despite being hot and tired as well, soon spotted something in the distance. It looked like an oasis of some sort...

"An oasis?" she mumbled. "Or is it another mirage?"

Fortunately, as they got closer to their destination, the oasis didn't vanish like a mirage.

"It's real!" cheered James. "Thank the Lord!"

"Water at last!" cried both Gordon and Henry.

"Hear that, Iris?" Thomas asked the young brown-haired girl, who he was currently carrying. "We're gonna be okay."

"Hooray!" cheered Iris.

The gang soon reached the mucher cool oasis and started to drink the cold, refreshing water.

"Much better..." sighed Toby.

"There's even fruit on some of the trees!" Gilford pointed out. "Bananas, Apples, Mangos, you name it."

"And here I was worried we would die out here." remarked Henry.

Iris placed her sore feet in the water and sighed as she felt the pain go away from the cold, refreshing spring.

"So much better." The brown-haired girl sighed wearily but happily.

"Will you be okay?" asked Thomas. "I mean, don't try to-"

"I'll be fine, Mr. Thomas." Iris insisted, wincing a bit.

"It's decided." The blue-haired boy then went on, looking to his friends. "We'll rest here for a bit, and then move on once it cools down tonight."

Nobody seemed to be complaining. Just then, Thomas felt his deck beginning to glow.

"Huh?"

"What's with your deck, Thomas?" quizzed Percy, eating a banana.

Thomas looked to his deck. "It's glowing." he murmured. "But why?"

"I feel a surge of great anger coming from one of your cards, Thomas." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up, looking quite worried.

"Anger?"

Thomas was rather concerned. He drew one of his glowing cards just to be certain...and gasped.

"The Winged Dragon of Ra...!"

It was true - the third Egyptian God card was glowing in multicolors.

"Mr. Thomas, what's the matter?" asked Iris, noticing that her ' _ **Daddy**_ ' was looking at one of his cards in shock.

Thomas was too surprised to answer.

"Um...why is Ra glowing like that?" quizzed Gordon.

"I don't know." said James, not liking the looks of this. "But I have a bad feeling that Ra wants to kill us for some reason."

"No." said Thomas quickly. "It has to be something else." He looked back to his glowing card in great concern. "What has happened to anger you, Ra? Is it something I have done?"

Just then...

"You trespassers!" called a voice.

Everyone looked up.

"What was that voice?" asked Toby.

"Not sure..." replied Edward. "But I think this oasis belongs to someone."

In the nearby distance, several monsters known as Ra's Disciple were approaching.

"In the name of our missing Pharaoh and Sun God, you will be arrested for your trespassing!" The Duel Monsters declared at once.

"We are not trespassers!" protested James.

The gang of Ra's Disciples halted as soon as they saw the red-haired boy.

"Could it be?" gasped the first Ra's Disciple.

Suddenly there was murmuring between the gang of monsters before they all started bowing towards James.

"Umm...what's up with that?" asked the puzzled red-haired boy.

"It is him!" cried a second Ra's Disciple. "Our missing Pharaoh!"

"Missing Pharaoh?" asked both Gordon and Henry at once.

Thomas looked up. "What?"

"Me? A Pharaoh?" James blinked a few times...before bursting into laughter. "Yeah right! If I were a Pharaoh, then Gordon is the king of a castle!"

"Oh, but you are!" insisted a new voice.

The crowd of Ra's Disciples broke rank and allowed a newcomer to walk forth. It was a Duel Monster call Ra's Advisor(!).

"What do you mean I'm a Pharaoh?"

The Ra's Advisor responded by holding up a rather large drawing (and rather good-looking might I add) of a red-haired boy wearing an outfit resembling something the gang of Ra's Disciples and the single Ra's Advisor.

"Is that James?" asked Henry in bewilderment.

"His name is Pharaoh Jason IV." explained Ra's Advisor. "You see, we've been waiting for many years for his return! ...and as of now...he has come to us."

James just could not believe it.

(elsewhere...)

Much later, the gang, now riding some camels, were travelling with the Ra's Disciples and Ra's Advisor.

"James, a Pharaoh?" bemoaned Gordon. "We already have someone who is a descendant of a Pharaoh!"

"So Thomas isn't the only one with a famous ancestor." grinned James. "Man, I can't wait until Molly hears about this."

"Oh no, you ARE that Pharaoh!" corrected the Ra's Advisor.

"What?"

"Our great Pharaoh must have forgotten about his life at the palace." A Ra's Disciple whispered to another.

"Maybe when we return to the palace, his memory will be jogged." replied the second Ra's Disciple.

At long last, they arrived at the temple.

"Our Pharaoh... welcome home." said Ra's Advisor.

Everyone was gazing at the magnificence of the temple.

"Cinders and Ashes..." whispered Thomas.

"What a beautiful palace!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

"Finely crafted design." remarked Gilford the Lightning.

"Remarkable! Simply remarkable..." breathed Edward.

James was the most amazed of all... "I...lived here?"

Ra's Advisor was smiling pleasantly, but it then evolved into a secretly evil grin.

"You won't for long..." he whispered quietly, while chuckling evilly. The Duel Monster then raised his voice in a cheerful tone. "And now... a feast to celebrate our Pharaoh's return!"

"A feast?!" cried Henry.

"You must've heard my stomach growling." grinned Gordon.

"We sure could use a good meal." added Edward.

"To the Great Hall!"

"To the Great Hall!" chanted the Ra's Disciples. "All hail the return of Pharaoh Jason IV!"

"One question..." James spoke up. "What about my friends here?"

"Can we join the feast?" asked Iris hopefully.

Ra's Advisor glared at the rest of the gang for a moment...but then shrugged.

"Meh... why not?"

And so it was on...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Great Hall, countless large tables were set and lots of differet foods were shown on said tables. Various Ra's Disciples were gathered (along with Thomas and the others), while at the head of the table was both James (now decked out in Ra's Disciple/Advisor clothing) and Ra's Advisor, with the latter beginning to speak...

"Are you satisfied, my Pharaoh?" The Egyptian-like monster asked.

James didn't listen; he was far too busy chowing down on some of the food...not that Ra's Advisor minded that. After swallowing a large amount, the red-haired boy let loose a loud burp that shook the whole room.

"Does that answer your question?" joked James.

"Good one!" cheered both Gordon and Henry at once.

Ra's Advisor chuckled. Over with Thomas, he was enjoying some of the food when Iris spoke to him...

"Mr. Thomas-" she began. "-what about your card from earlier?"

"It was The Winged Dragon of Ra." said Thomas, taking his card out once more...it was calm now. "It must have been angry for some reason. I just wish I knew what it was."

As the feast went on, Ra's Advisor had an announcement to make...

"Once the feast is over with, we will begin the entertainment hour!"

"Alright!" cheered Percy. "Some entertainment."

"Sounds cool." smiled James. "What's the event gonna be?"

"Why, heh heh, a game of Duel Monsters, my Pharaoh." chuckled Ra's Advisor. "And I want you to be my opponent."

"Me? Why me?"

"Oh, no reason." Ra's Advisor shrugged innocently. "It's a game, after all."

"Um... Your Highness..." spoke up Thomas, looking towards James. "But isn't there something important we have to attend to right now?"

"Yeah." agreed Stanley. "We still have to find the girls and rescue Emily. Remember?"

"Aw, come on! What's the harm in one little duel?"

Thomas was aghast. "But-"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Ra's Advisor. "The Pharaoh has spoken!"

Thomas reluctantly said no more.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the temple, an arena had been prepared by a Ra's Disciple. Everyone had gathered nearby.

"Now don't take this the wrong way-" said James to Ra's Advisor. "-but I don't expect you to go easy on my just because I'm the Pharaoh."

"Oh, don't worry." reassured Ra's Advisor. "I won't go easy on you."

"Great!"

While Ra's Advisor was smiling pleasantly on the outside, on the inside...

"Because when I end up winning, it will be the end of you fools." he thought to himself wickedly.

At that point, James and Ra's Advisor both went over to the duel field with their Duel Disks equipped to their left arms.

"Well now, shall we get started?" asked James pleasantly.

"Yes, let's..." agreed the Duel Monster. "But first, I wish to suggest something to make our duel all the more interesting."

"Like what?"

"Like... Hmmm..." replied Ra's Advisor thoughtfully. "How about a little wager?"

"A wager?" blinked James.

"Oh yes, a wager."

The red-haired boy was a bit puzzled by this suggestion, but felt there was no harm in doing something like that.

"Okay." said James. "What's the wager?"

"I thought you'd never ask. For my wager..."

Suddenly, Ra's Advisor gave a evil smile and snapped his fingers, and several Ra's Disciples, armed with spears, surrounded Thomas and the others.

"H-Hey!" cried Toby.

"What's going on?" added Percy.

James watched his friends get captured. "Guys!" He glanced at Ra's Advisor angrily. "What are you doing? Call them off! Your Pharaoh demands it!"

Ra's Advisor merely cackled in an evil tone.

"I take orders from nobody." he declared. "As for my wager; if I win, all of you, except for your male blue-haired friend, will be executed!"

"I said call off your cronies!" demanded James. "As Pharaoh, you must listen to me!"

Ra's Advior merely laughed once more at how foolish the red-haired boy was acting like now.

"You don't get it... You're not a Pharaoh! You never were one!"

"What do you mean?" gasped James. "Wait! Are you telling me-?"

"It was all a lie!" admitted Ra's Advisor. "My ' _cronies_ ' and I were monitoring you and your friends the moment of arrival in our desert! By command of Vampire Lord from the Court of Darkness, I will succeed in killing all of you...expect for him!" He pointed at Thomas. "He must remain alive!"

James was not happy. "What does the Court of Darkness want with my pal?"

"Let's just say a human named Professor Melvin needs him...and a certain girl...for an experiment of some sort."

"Are you talking about Emily?" demanded Thomas.

"Is that her name? Huh! I had no idea..." teased the Egyptian-like monster.

"Where is she?!" screamed the blue-haired boy, growing infuriated.

"I see no reason to be so angry." teased Ra's Adviser. "Once I win, you'll soon be with her again."

Thomas was shaking with growing anger...but quickly calmed himself when Iris held onto him in fright. It was then he had a thought about earlier...

"Was Ra trying to warn me about this?" Thomas thought to himself.

Over with James...

"You scumbag!" insulted the red-haired boy.

"Why such a harsh insult?" asked Ra's Advisor teasingly.

"It's bad enough that you try to kill my friends, but you even lied to me about being a Pharaoh! Couldn't you at least have had the guts to go after us right there and then?"

"Where would the fun be in that?" The Egyptian-like Duel Monster remarked innocently. "So, tell me... what will your wager be in our duel?"

"If I win-" said James. "-then not only do you let us go on our way, but you also send us to where the rest of our friends are!"

"Oh, very well. I'll do that...IF you win the duel."

The two duelists activated their Duel Disks. Over with everyone else...

"Guys, I think The Winged Dragon of Ra was trying to warn us." Thomas informed the rest of the gang. "The way it was glowing, I think it knew what was about to occur."

"Wish we had known that sooner." groaned Henry.

Over with Ra's Advisor, who had drawn his opening hand. "Since you're the ' _Pharaoh_ ', I'll let you go first."

"Gladly!" James accepted the offer and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Elemental HERO Neos, Card Trooper, Elemental HERO Wildheart, Elemental HERO Necroshade, Necro Illusion, and Polymerization

* * *

His drawn card was the Polymerization Spell card.

"Alright!" James thought to himself in triumph. He then took three cards from his hand and held them out. "I begin my turn by activating Polymerization to fuse Elemental HEROES Wildheart and Necroshade!"

The two Elemental HEROES appeared before fusing together.

"I fusion summon Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman!"

Once the fusion was complete, standing before them was a warrior with red hair and a sort of shaman mask (Level: 5/ATK: 1900).

"Next I activate the effect of Elemental HERO Necroshade from my graveyard!" continued James, just as his graveyard started shining light from it. "If Necroshade is in my graveyard, I can go and special summon one level 5 or higher monster from my hand!"

On cue, Elemental HERO Neos materialized with a grunt (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"And I choose my ace monster - Elemental HERO Neos!"

"Way to go, James!" called Gordon.

Ra's Advisor smirked with such confidence. "I'm not afraid of your so-called ace monster, ' _Your Highness_ '!" He then drew his card. "My deck is more dangerous than you think."

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Ra's Advisor (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Ultimate Offering, Trap Booster, Ra's Disciple, Magic Jammer, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Mound of the Bound Creator

* * *

The Egyptian-like monster's drawn card was a Spell card called Mound of the Bound Creator, and he added it to his hand...which also consisted of Ultimate Offering, Trap Booster, Ra's Disciple, Magic Jammer, and The Winged Dragon of Ra

"And now-" Ra's Advisor continued, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I summon Ra's Disciple in attack mode!"

One of the Ra-like soldiers appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1100).

"His affect allows me to add two more copies of the card from my deck to my hand."

The Egyptian-like monster drew two cards and added them to his hand...which were also Ra's Disciples.

"But I'm not even close to being done!" Ra's Advisor went on, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Next I activate the Spell card Trap Booster."

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Ra's Advisor discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard.

"By discarding a card from my hand, I can activate one Trap card from my hand...and I choose to play-" The Egyptian-like monster held his card out. "The Continuous Trap known as Ultimate Offering!"

The Trap card materialized face-up before Necroid Shaman, Neos, and James.

"Now for every 500 life points I give up-" explained Ra's Advisor, holding two cards up as he took a life point hit (LP: 3000). "-I am allowed to summon another monster. Like so..."

Two more Ra's Disciples joined the first one.

"Huh! Three weak monsters." snorted James. "I can see you're anxious to lose to me."

Ra's Advisor smirked. "Oh, I plan to win... win with the use of a God."

James was confused. "God?"

Over with Thomas...

"No... it can't be!" he whispered. The blue-haired boy raised his voice. "If you have what I think you do, you mustn't play it!"

"Thomas?" Maiden of the Aqua questioned.

"I believe he's are about to summon The Winged Dragon of Ra!" said Thomas urgently. "...a copy of Ra!"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the rest of the gang.

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

'Marik' finally made a decision on what to do next.

"I have a better idea on how to defeat you, Mr. Avonside." he said to Percy. "I'll activate my Mystical Beast of Serket's final ability!"

Suddenly, a lid on the coffin inside the temple began to slide off as gold light began to shine.

"By offering both my beast along with my Temple of the Kings Spell card...I can call upon ANY monster from my hand or deck, or a fusion monster from my extra deck! And the one I choose to summon...is The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

The Rare Hunter leader held out a card from his hand...which was the third Egyptian God monster itself.

"Then he really DOES have it!" Lady exclaimed.

"This is not good!" Thomas added in shock.

Spencer watched with anticipation. Mystical Beast of Serket vanished and the Temple of the Kings itself was beginning to reduce itself into rubble as golden light rose high into the forming storm clouds.

"The...third God card!" gasped Thomas.

"What's going on, Marik?" demanded Percy, even though he had a clear idea.

'Marik' was facing the sky...or rather the heavens.

" _ **Ancient one! I call upon thee, right now**_!" he called. " _ **Show yourself - by the name of the next great Pharaoh! ...Marik Ishtar**_!"

Out of the clouds descended a large, golden dragon. It gave an enormous, screeching roar. Its body almost looked like fire than gold. Soon, The Winged Dragon of Ra had finished lowering from the stormy clouds.

"Behold the fires of The Winged Dragon of Ra!" announced 'Marik' proudly.

Everyone was gawking at the magnificent power the beast had.

"That's The Winged Dragon of Ra?!" came from Michael.

"It looks unstoppable!" added Matt, looking just as horrified.

"It is, I'm afraid." said Discord with shock.

"The final Egyptian God monster..." whispered Spencer in amazement. "At last, we meet face-to-face!"

Percy was looking up in awe and shock at the huge monster.

"Behold the most powerful of the three Gods!" called 'Marik'. "Now, prepare to lose this duel and your chance at winning this tournament, Mr. Avonside!"

He gave an evil laugh. Percy, meanwhile, stared on in defiance.

"Then what are you waiting for?" The green-haired boy asked. "Give me your best shot!"

"Don't mind if I do!"

"Thomas, remember what happened when you used Slifer the Sky Dragon in your duel?" Toby asked in complete worry.

"I do." replied Thomas grimly.

"Those things are dangerous!" protested Mavis. "Percy could get serious hurt or worse!"

"Too bad Spencer won't call the match off" Gordon muttered, glaring over to his cousin nearby.

Back on the duel platform...

"This is the end for you, Mr. Avonside." declared 'Marik'. "Winged Dragon of Ra, attack his life points directly!"

But Ra...just stood there doing nothing. Suddenly, 'Namu's' deck began glowing all rainbow-like colors from the fury of the real Winged Dragon of Ra within the deck, and the Millennium Rod was glowing all gold. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst bit...

"My Millennium Puzzle!" Thomas exclaimed, seeing that his own Millennium Item was glowing, too.

"What's going on?" asked Emily.

"Shouldn't Percy be roasted by now?" questioned James.

The blue-haired boy didn't know what was happening. "Something is seriously wrong."

"Yes, I agree." said Discord. "Something is wrong. No... it's worse than that."

"What's that suppose to mean, Discord?" asked Edward.

"Marik must have made, and then foolishly played, a counterfeit of The Winged Dragon of Ra. Now the fury of the real Gods with be unleashed upon those taking part in the duel!"

"What?!" Everyone in the group gasped in shock.

On the dueling platform, 'Marik' was still trying to get his monster to attack...

"Obey me! Attack my opponent now!" he called out in desperation.

Suddenly, the huge dragon roared defiantly as if to say ' _ **No**_!'. To 'Marik's' further shock, the fake card glowed before bursting into flames. Suddenly, once The Winged Dragon of Ra was gone, lightning began striking the duel field.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"That's the same mistake Odion made." said Percy in shock. "Which resulted in our near deaths!"

"And the awakening of Marik's dark half!" put in Edward.

"If the copy gets played-" added Gordon. "-we'll have one ticked off God on our hands."

Over at the duel area...

"The time has come." said Ra's Advisor slowly (LP: 2500), with his face growing demented. "I sacrifice my three Ra's Disciples!"

"No! Don't do it!" called Thomas pleaddingly. "You're making a big mistake!"

It was too late; the three monsters faded into blue streaks. The sky started to darken with storm-like clouds.

"To summon forth the most powerful Egyptian God of them all!"

"I've warned him!" thought Thomas furiously, watching at what was about to happen.

James also watched and waited anxiously for the arrival of the God monster, just as Ra's Advisor began a very familiar summon chant...

" **Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry. Appear in this Shadow Game when I call your name... come forth Winged Dragon of Ra**!"

Lowering from the darkened sky was, you guessed it, The Winged Dragon of Ra! ...not the real one mind you, but it still almost looked like the real thing.

"Behold the mightiest Egyptian God of them all!" roared Ra's Advisor, starting to laugh insanely.

Once lowered enough, The Winged Dragon of Ra gave a mighty roar. The roar was so powerful that it unleashed a powerful wind blast across the entire arena. Alas, Thomas began to feel his deck glowing multicolored with great rage.

"No!" The blue-haired boy thought in horror. "The real Ra is reacting in anger to the copy of itself..."

"Get ready to lose it all, James Hughes!" shouted Ra's Advisor. "Thanks to the tributes, my Egyptian God now has the attack and defense of all the monsters I have tributed."

Ra gave a low growl (Level: 10/ATK: 3300/DEF: 1800).

"Heh heh heh...you must be so anxious to be burnt to death right about now, right? Then allow me to make your wish come true!"

"YOU FOOL!" shouted a voice angrily.

Everybody looked around.

"Who said that?" demanded Ra's Advisor.

It came from Thomas... "Do you realize what you've just done?! By playing a counterfeit copy of an Egyptian God monster, you've set us all up for destruction at the hand of the real Gods!"

The blue-haired boy took the glowing Winged Dragon of Ra card out of his deck and held it out.

"I am the wielder of the true Winged Dragon of Ra! And your actions have made it furious! Prepare to face the consequences of your actions!"

Suddenly, Ra's Advisor snickered quietly before erupting into loud laughter once more, catching Thomas off-guard.

"You think I don't know that?" The monster taunted. "I know full well that I've played a counterfeit of the real Winged Dragon of Ra... because now I'll be able to control its power as if it were my own!"

"But how?" Thomas demanded.

"Allow me to demonstrate." went on Ra's Advisor, taking another card from his hand. "I activate this Field Spell card - Mound of the Bound Creator!"

"The what?!" Edward exclaimed.

"You've heard of that card?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"According to Discord J. Crawford-" began the intelligent blue-haired boy. "This was one of several cards that were never completed or released."

"So how did they get their hands on it?" asked Toby.

Unfortunately, Edward has no answer on the matter. Over at the duel site, the Mound of the Bound Creator card materialized face-up.

"Now watch what happens!" declared Ra's Advisor.

Suddenly several large chains shot out of the ground.

"What the-?!" exclaimed James. "Chains?"

The chains began to bind the counterfeit Ra.

"The chains are constricting the copy of Ra?" blinked Gilford the Lightning.

The fake Winged Dragon of Ra gave a roar in agony. Thomas, meanwhile, noticed that the glow on the real Winged Dragon of Ra card had suddenly stopped.

"What's going on with Ra?" asked Thomas aloud. "It has stopped glowing."

"You should be thanking me!" called Ra's Advisor. "Now the fury of the Gods won't be unleashed upon us! Thanks to my Field Spell card, the real Ra will not attempt to interfere with this offering. In addition, whenever my monster destroys one of your own, you take 400 additional points of damage, James! And now, my Winged Dragon of Ra... destroy Necroid Shaman with God Blaze Cannon!"

The fake Ra, despite being in pain, obeyed and fired a powerful blast of fire. Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman was roasted alive by the attack, causing James to brace himself from the devastating attack (LP: 2600).

"And now-" continued Ra's Advisor. "-say goodbye to 400 more life points!"

A bolt of lightning struck James, causing him to shout in pain (LP: 2200).

"James!" called Gordon.

"Hang in there!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

Thomas looked up at the fake Winged Dragon of Ra, and gasped at what he saw...

"Huh? What?"

A small tear seemed to drop from the copy's eye as it gave a sad growl.

"It's crying..." murmured Thomas, feeling sorry for the fake God monster. "The pain it's in..."

"Before I make my move-" said James. "-I want answers. Why are you working for the Court of Darkness? They're evil!"

"What else?" snickered Ra's Advisor. "Because I want power and control over these worthless Disciples who worship The Winged Dragon of Ra! To allow me to control the fake version of the God, Professor Melvin gave me the Mound of the Bound Creator card... once he had finished it."

"Professor Melvin finished that card?" asked Henry.

"More to the question-" Gilford spoke up. "-who is this Professor Melvin you speak of?"

"I'm not one to give details so easily." replied Ra's Advisor. "If your friend here wins the duel, I'll add some info to the bargain."

"Fine by me!" agreed James. "It's my turn!"

He then drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : James Hughes (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (3): Card Trooper, Necro Illusion, and Burst Impact

* * *

Unfortunately, it was not a good draw.

"Dang!" thought James. He then spoke aloud. "All I can do is switch Elemental HERO Neos into defense mode..."

Elemental HERO Neos went into a defensive stance.

"But I'm not finished yet-" The red-haired boy went on, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "I'll summon Card Trooper in defense mode as well."

Appearing to the field was a small robot-like monster (Level: 3/DEF: 400).

"My turn is over now!"

"Ha ha ha ha! You're no match for me and Ra!" laughed Ra's Advisor, drawing his card. "Let the battle continue!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Ra's Advisor (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (1): Nubian Guard

* * *

Immediately, the Egyptian-like monster placed his drawn card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Nubian Guard, come forth!"

Appearing to the field was a zombie-like guard (Level: 2/ATK: 500).

"And now, Ra... attack and destroy Elemental HERO Neos!" command Ra's Advisor.

The counterfeit Ra reluctantly obeyed, firing another blast of fire at Neos, striking and destroying it.

"Neos!" called James, taking 400 points of damage due to Mound of the Bound Creator (LP: 1800).

"And now Nubian Guard-" continued Ra's Advisor. "-wipe out that Card Trooper!"

Nubian Guard obeyed, slashing Card Trooper with its spear. James braced himself from the destruction of his last monster.

"When Card Trooper's destroyed-" The red-haired boy exclaimed, drawing a card from his deck. "-I can draw another card!"

"So be it." grunted Ra's Advisor.

Over with the rest of the gang...

"I hope James can be able to win." prayed Percy. "Otherwise we're done for."

"It won't be easy." Thomas pointed out.

"Especially against an Egyptian God card - real or not." added Edward.

James looked to his hand. "I know there has to be a way to overcome this counterfeit of The Winged Dragon of Ra... but I just wish I knew what that card was." He prepared to draw his next card. "Guess I'll have to draw and hope it's that card."

The red-haired boy drew his card, while Ra's Advisor merely stared on with disinterest.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : James Hughes (LP: 1800)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (4): Necro Illusion, Burst Impact, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, and Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was Pot of Greed.

"This is a good start." thought James, before looking up. "First I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards from my deck."

"Proceed." insisted Ra's Advisor.

With that said, James drew his two cards. They were Elemental HERO Burstinatrix (monster card) and Damage Off Zone (Spell card).

"These could work!" thought the red-haired boy. From there, he took the monster card and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix in attack mode!"

The female Elemental HERO appeared (Level: 3/ATK; 1200). Just then, the Spell card Burst Impact materialized face-up.

"Next I activate the Spell card Burst Impact!" continued James. "This card allows Burstinatrix to destroy all other monsters on the field and deal 300 points of damage per monster card!"

A flaming Aura surrounded Burstinatrix as she fired the blast at Ra's Advisor's monsters. Only Nubian Guard was destroyed.

"Unfortunately, Ra cannot be destroyed that easily!" Ra's Advisor pointed out. "Monster destruction cards like that don't affect an Egyptian God monster!"

True to his words, the fake Ra withstood the attack...although the Egyptian-like monster lost 300 life points still (LP: 2200).

"Aw man." groaned James, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Wasted a move. In that case I play the Continuous Spell card Damage Off Zone."

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"What this does is whenever we take battle damage, it gets halved down."

"So even if Ra attacks-" said Stanley. "-James will be okay."

"Yeah." agreed Gordon. "Nothing can go wrong now."

Bad saying...

"Your annoying Spell card won't save you this turn!" insisted Ra's Advisor, drawing. "There's more to Ra than you think."

"What does he mean by that?" thought Thomas. Suddenly, he realized something... "Could it be... that effect?"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Ra's Advisor (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (1): De-Fusion

* * *

Adding the card to his hand, Ra's Advisor suddenly lost 1000 life points (LP: 1200).

"I give up 1000 life points to activate Ra's special ability!" he declared. "And also the most powerful of all!"

On cue, The Winged Dragon of Ra went from its battle form...into the frightening Egyptian God Phoenix form.

"Egyptian God Phoenix!" whispered Edward.

"Not this form again!" added Percy.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Percy was dueling Dark Marik, who had just revived The Winged Dragon of Ra from the graveyard.

"And now you are about to be burnt alive by the most powerful God card of them all!" declared the evil man (LP: 900). "Now watch as I activate Ra's third ability!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra started breathing fire...all around its whole body. Dark Marik was also chanting something in an Ancient Egyptian language.

"What's he doing now?" Percy questioned, not losing his look of shock.

"Ra's covering itself in flames!" Thomas answered. "...or transforming."

"Its final ability." muttered Spencer. "It's activating!"

Once the flames stopped being breathed, Ra was now completely on fire...

"Meet The Winged Dragon of Ra's final form!" announced Dark Marik. "Egyptian God Phoenix!"

"Egyptian God Phoenix!?" gasped Percy. "It looks completely different than the one you've used to beat Lady!"

Dark Marik snickered. "I never thought I would have to actually show you, nor anyone else, the true form, power, and nature of Ra... You can be proud of that, little Percy!"

"So beautiful..." whispered Mrs.. Gresley (Boxford).

"...yet very dangerous." added Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"This is the end, Percy Avonside!" announced Dark Marik. "You will die this turn!"

Gilford the Lightning and the mighty Egyptian God Phoenix form of The Winged Dragon of Ra faced off against each other.

"Go, my Phoenix! Destroy Gilford the Lightning and kill Percy Avonside!" commanded Dark Marik with wicked glee.

Ra obeyed, dive-bombing towards both Percy and his monster with a great screech. Finally, the firebird struck both Gilford the Lightning and Percy, setting them ablaze. Gilford the Lightning roared in agony from the flames consuming his body, but was nothing compared to the pain Percy felt...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"James is about to go through what I went through in Battle City!" cried Percy.

"Alas, I'm not finished yet." continued Ra's Advisior, as his life points went further down (LP: 1). "I activate yet another effect of Ra!"

"He's activating Ra's other ability!" panicked Gordon.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Fire started surrounding the field as the familiar Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Monster Reborn! Be reborn again - Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Dark Marik's graveyard glowed with golden light as The Winged Dragon of Ra returned to the field. The Egyptian God monster gave an almighty mighty roar in the face of both Thomas and Emily.

"And now... it's time for the One Turn Kill strategy!" announced Dark Marik, folding his arms and beginning to chant an ancient language.

"One Turn Kill..." thought Spencer. "One of Ra's most powerful and dangerous abilities."

Slowly, purple fog covered Dark Marik from head-to-toe as he began to vanish right into the darkness until the top part of his body was sticking out of The Winged Dragon of Ra's forehead. The other thing missing, other than his lower half, was his right eye.

"Behold!" The evil man announced with a look of pure insanity on his already deranged face. "My true form! This is the power granted to me by the ancient scriptures on The Winged Dragon of Ra card! I'll be sure to burn it straight into your memory, provided you live long enough to see me kill the both of you!"

He resumed his cackling laughter. Down below the duel platform...

"He... he merged with Ra?" blinked Molly, looking every bit as terrified.

"How did Marik do that?" asked Gordon with a speechless look on his face.

"I...don't know." Edward admitted.

Up atop of The Winged Dragon of Ra's head, Dark Marik was laughing harder and harder than ever before.

"Are all of you watching?!" he called out to everyone who was atop the Duel Tower. "THIS is Ra's next ability! I can donate all but one of my life points to increase the attack and defense points of my God monster!"

Dark Marik's life points dropped to almost nothing (LP: 1).

"And now take a good look at my weaker self!"

Light Marik's body faded away until all that was left was an eye. The Winged Dragon of Ra also got a power boost (ATK: 0 - 2999).

"Then to boost Ra's power even more-" continued Dark Marik. "-I sacrifice my Juragedo!"

Juragedo shattered into bits of dust... and Ra began to absorb the remains.

"Another effect of Ra?" asked Emily in shock.

"That's right!" cackled Dark Marik. "Now Ra is even stronger than before!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra grew even more powerful (ATK: 2999 - 4699).

"4699 attack points!" Thomas winced (LP: 3300).

"Rumble my legs!" cried out James. "That's more than enough to finish off Thomas AND Emily!"

Dark Marik was delighted beyond belief. "THIS is the power of One Turn Kill! Thomas and Emily... you both are dead right now!"

He began to cackle madly yet again. From there, The Winged Dragon of Ra began to charge up its signature attack.

"Prepare yourselves! I'll boil your blood until it turns to steam! Winged Dragon of Ra, burn both of my opponents into ash! GOD BLAZE CANNON!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra finally went and fired an extremely powerful blast of fire towards Obelisk the Tormentor.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"One Turn Kill!" scowled Thomas, remembering the attack well.

Suddenly, Ra's Advisor began to merge with Egyptian God Phoenix.

"Behold!" he laughed psychotically. "I've become one with the Phoenix!"

Egyptian God Phoenix gave a mighty screech as its stats went up (ATK: 3300 - 4499/DEF: 1800 - 2299).

"Uh-oh." whispered James. "Am I ever dead...!"

"And now... bombard all who stand in your way, my Phoenix!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra's Phoenix form fired a blast of fire, destroying Burstinatrix. But James wasn't gonna lose just like that.

"I activate the second effect of my Damage Off Zone!" The red-haired boy announced (LP: 900). "By halving my life points, I can send this card to my graveyard and reduce all battle damage I take this turn to zero!"

"What?!" exclaimed Ra's Advisor.

"That means your attack will be wasted!"

While Burstinatrix remained destroyed, James at least survived.

"That was a close one." sighed Henry.

"Scary..." whimpered Iris.

Maiden of the Aqua held the young brown-haired girl close to comfort her. Down near the feet of Ra, a facedown card materialized.

"I set this card facedown and end my turn!" growled Ra's Advisor. "You may have survived the might of Egyptian God Phoenix, but what else can you even do now? I'm invincible with The Winged Dragon of Ra on my side of the field!"

"Thomas was able to beat Ra." insisted James. "So why can't I?"

"No one can beat Ra in a straight up battle!"

"No..." thought the red-haired boy to himself. "I know there is a way! I just need to draw the right card..." He then spoke aloud. "It isn't over until the last card is played!"

Ra's Advisor sighed. "Tch! So stubborn... then go ahead and draw your card!"

With that said, James slashed a wave of color as he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : James Hughes (LP: 900)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (3): Necro Illusion, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, and Skyscraper 2 - Hero City

* * *

To the red-haired boy's surprise, it was his Skyscraper 2 - Hero City Field Spell card...and a card he needed to win. With a plan on hand, James added his drawn card to his hand and selected another card and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"I place a card facedown!"

A facedown card materialized. James then selected his drawn card and placed it near his opening Field Spell zone.

"Next-" James continued. "-I play a Field Spell card called Skyscraper 2 - Hero City! This will liberate your Egyptian God monster copy from its pain and sadness!"

The ground shook as a futuristic city began to arise.

"An excellent move!" exclaimed Gilford. "If a second Field Spell gets played, the one being used by the opposing player gets destroyed!"

Indeed he was right. The chains binding the counterfeit Ra snapped.

"My chains!" yelled Ra's Advisor in shock.

James then explained his Field Spell card's effect. "Once per turn, I am able to special summon an Elemental HERO from my graveyard if it was destroyed by battle. ...and I choose Elemental HERO Neos!"

On cue, Elemental HERO Neos appeared (Level: 7/ATK: 2500). This was followed by the appearance of Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (Level: 3/ATK: 300).

"Next I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss in attack mode!"

Ra's Advisor smirked. "Two weak monsters... you must be desparate to be defeated by me, ' _Your Highness_ '!"

"You seem to forget a very important detail." said James, wagging his index finger. "By draining almost all of your life points for Ra, you now have only one left. If I can successfully attack you directly, I will win!"

"But my dragon has almost 4500 attack points! None of your monsters are even capable of striking me down!"

James smirked some more. "Actually, I'm positive that Glow Moss can do it. Attack The Winged Dragon of Ra, now!"

Glow Moss obeyed, firing a spike of glowing energy.

"When Glow Moss attacks-" explained James. "-you get to draw a card. Then what happens next depends on the type of card you draw."

"Hmph! A waste of time." huffed Ra's Advisor, drawing a card. "But so be it."

It was a Spell card (Monster Reborn). Without any interest whatsoever, the Egyptian-like monster showed his card.

"Monster Reborn - Spell card!"

"Great!" grinned James. "Now my Glow Moss's attack becomes a direct one towards you! And with only one life point left, you lose!"

"This can't be!" winced Ra's Advisor. "I can't be defeated by you!"

"But it is! This is what you get for disrespecting the very Duel Monster your people worship!"

Glow Moss unleashed its blast towards Egyptian God Phoenix...but then Ra's Advisor began to laugh.

"I would lose...had I not set this card earlier!"

James's eyes went bloodshot. "What?!"

"I activate De-Fusion!" announced Ra's Advisor.

The Egyptian monster's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Thomas knew this play all too well for one reason...

"Marik's dark side used this strategy on me as well." he said to himself.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The blast of fire struck the Metal Fiend Token and caused a massive explosion to cloud the entire platform.

"Marik!" announced Thomas defiantly. "YOU LOSE!"

The smoke on the blue-haired boy's side of the field faded away...only to reveal that the Metal Fiend Token was still standing.

"My token is still alive?!"

But that wasn't the worst of it... suddenly, they heard an evil laugh coming from the other side of the platform. As the smoke lifted, almost everyone gasped at what they saw. There, standing perfectly safe behind his God monster, was Dark Marik (LP: 4700)!

"Hello." he greeted.

Everyone else (even Spencer) gasped in horror at what they had just seen. The evil man then chuckled calmly at first...but then he erupted into incredibly maniacal laughter.

"Marik is still standing!" exclaimed Percy.

"And his life points shot up to 4700!" added Zack.

"Marik, explained yourself!" demanded Thomas.

Dark Marik silently poked a button on his Duel Disk, causing his facedown card to flip up and reveal itself to be...

"De-Fusion?!"

"Yes..." Dark Marik confirmed slowly. "The moment Ra attacked the Metal Fiend Token, I activated this Spell card I took from you. Remember Exchange?"

Thomas frowned. "So you did take a good card after all."

"Very observant!" taunted Dark Marik. "Exchange helped both of us!"

"I never knew De-Fusion could be used in a situation like that." The captive Emily thought to herself. "I'll admit it was clever of Marik to use it..."

Off of the platform...

"Aw man!" grumbled James unhappily. "So close!"

"That's not all-" Discord spoke up. "-because Ra's attack got drained by the use of De-Fusion, it also raised Marik's life points."

He was right... Thanks to De-Fusion, Light Marik's body was fully restored as well.

"Well, how do you like that?" teased Dark Marik sadistically. "My ' _host_ ' has been restored to his full form... I really should thank you for allowing me to take that card!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Using De-Fusion, I'm gonna be removed from my Egyptian God monster!" explained Ra's Advisor.

With that said, he was immediately split from The Winged Dragon of Ra.

"Because I've been removed from Ra, I gain all the attack points it possessed as life points!" The Egyptian-like monster proclaimed (LP 4500). "Nice try, but you can't beat me that easily!"

"We'll see about that!" huffed James, still not done. "Glow Moss's direct attack will still continue!"

Glow Moss's attack hit Ra's Advisor, but he didn't yell or flinch (LP: 4200).

"That attack hardly hurt me." The Egyptian-like monster boasted.

But James wasn't finished yet. "Your turn, Neos... Attack Ra!"

Elemental HERO Neos obeyed and leaped up into the sky towards Egyptian God Phoenix.

"COSMIC CRUSH!"

Neos sliced Ra in two, destroying it in a massive explosion. Ra's Advisor grimaced in pain while trying to resist the force of the attack (LP: 1700).

"And Ra...has fallen!" James winked proudly.

"Way to go, James!" cheered both Gordon and Henry.

"Hooray!" whooped Iris.

But was Ra's Advisor worried? Not at all.

"This isn't the end." The Egyptian-like monster proclaimed, growing more and more insane. "I have Monster Reborn in my hand now. On my upcoming turn, I'll use it and revive Ra once more...and then... then..."

"There is no next turn for you." James spoke up, cutting off his opponent.

"What!?"

"I activate my final card!" announced the red-haired boy, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Quick-Play Spell - Necro Illusion!"

"Necro Illusion?" blinked Ra's Advisor.

"This card lets me special summon one monster from your graveyard and control it for the rest of this turn." explained James, before pointing forth at his opponent. "And I choose The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

"Go ahead!" smirked the Egyptian-type monster. "Even then, if you attempt to control the ' _fake_ ' God, we'll all be struck down!"

"That's what you think." retorted James, before looking to where his friends were. "Right, Thomas?"

"Agreed!" nodded the blue-haired boy, with his Millennium Puzzle glowing all gold...namely with whatever power it had left.

On cue, the fake Winged Dragon of Ra emerged in a powerful stream of fire (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"We'll all be doomed now!" insisted Ra's Advisor, not losing his insane smile.

But nothing was happening... much to the Egyptian-like monster's confusion, anger, and shock.

"Huh? What?! Why isn't-?"

"That's because the Ra before you is being controlled by the spirit of the TRUE Winged Dragon of Ra in my deck." answered Thomas. There was a Millennium Eye symbol shining brightly on his forehead. "And your actions have made him furious. Prepare for your punishment!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra gazed down at Ra's Advisor, glaring and growling angrily at the selfish monster's actions.

"Like you before-" began James. "-I offer almost all the remains of my life points to increase the God's attack power!"

The fake Ra started glowing as its attack went up (ATK: 0 - 899).

"In addition, I sacrifice both my remaining monsters to further increase Ra's power!"

Neos and Glow Moss both faded into blue streaks and were absorbed into Ra (ATK: 899 - 3399 - 3699).

"And now, your punishment for misuse of the power of Ra..." bellowed James.

"GOD'S JUDGEMENT!" thundered Thomas.

"Ra!" Both boys commanded at once. "Smite that blasphemer for good! ...GOD BLAZE CANNON!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra obeyed and fired a powerful blast of fire towards Ra's Advisor. The blast struck him and caused a massive explosion on the Egyptian-like monster's side of the field.

"What power!" cried Stanley.

Ra's Advisor screamed in agony from the scorching flames of the God monster as his life points reached zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

The holograms faded away. Everyone else was relieved that James had won the duel and their freedom... but then Thomas's deck started glowing once more. It was the sign that Ra's rage wasn't yet quelled.

"Ra must still be angry." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. He then spoke aloud. "Do you see now? By disrespecting the God card by playing a counterfeit of it, you've awoken its fury and wrath!"

"Wrath of the God?" Ra's Advisor weakly asked, while lying on the ground.

"That's right!" nodded Thomas in anger. "If you truly worshiped Ra, then why would you make a mockery of it like this?"

All of a sudden, thunder and lightning started striking around the whole area. Thus, the wrath of Ra had become quite clear.

"COME ON!" screamed Edward. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

No one had to be told twice. The Ra's Disciples were all scattering around in widespread panic, while Ra's Advisor, managing to get to his knees, could only watch the chaos and destruction going on due to God's anger.

"My palace..." he mumbled sadly. "My faith... my people... was I wrong to disrespect the power of Ra all this time?"

Lightning continued to strike about, destroying many buildings, burning trees, and possibly killing many citizens.

(elsewhere...)

In the far distance, lightning was striking the temple and buildings still, while Thomas and the others watched solemnly.

"Oh man." said Percy quietly.

Thomas could only watch on silently before looking at The Winged Dragon of Ra card in his hand (it had soon ceased glowing with rage).

"Ra..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "It looks like your anger has finally been appeased... but at what cost?"

"Mr. Thomas..." spoke up Iris, causing the blue-haired boy to stare at her. "Would those monsters have had more peaceful life if...if..."

Thomas immediately knelt down to the young brown-haired girl's level and laid both hands on her shoulders while giving a kind smile.

"Easy there, Iris." The blue-haired boy said softly. "You're correct; if it weren't for evil beings like Ra's Advisor manipulating the minds of those Ra's Disciples into using their God's power for greedy, selfish reasons, they could have had a more peaceful, happy life."

"It's a real shame." sighed Iris in a sad tone.

"Yes, it is." agreed Maiden of the Aqua.

"I second that." threw in a gloomy Gordon.

"I guess we'll never know now." finished Toby unhappily.

"It's also too bad that jerk didn't keep his end of the bargain and take us to where the girls were." huffed James. "Now we have to just move on and find them the old fashioned way!"

"Yeah... Geez, what a way to go!" complained Percy.

With that said, the gang set off once more to continue with their search.


	23. The Master Warrior

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

After a long walk through the scorching desert (and dealing with someone from the Court of Darkness), Thomas and the others had managed to find their way out of the area and into a meadowy field.

"Cool air!" wailed James, falling to his knees and beginning to kiss the grass in relief. "We've finally gotten out of that desert!"

"Much better..." sighed Maiden of the Aqua, feeling all the water in her body becoming cool and refreshing once more.

"So much better." agreed Iris.

Suddenly, Gilford the Lightning took out his sword and got into a defensive stance.

"Huh?" blinked Henry.

"Is something the matter, Gilford?" asked Edward.

"We're not alone." replied the warrior-type monster.

"Someone's watching us?" asked Percy.

"Be on your guard, everyone."

Nobody said a word. They just watched wearily for any attackers.

"Stay close to me, Iris." Thomas said to the young brown-haired girl.

Iris was more than happy to do so. Everyone waited and waited...but no one was coming to attack.

"Maybe it's a false alarm." suggested James.

Gilford lowered himself to the ground and pressed his ear onto the earth. He could hear footsteps of some sort. Very quick and light type footsteps, that is.

"No." The warrior-type monster insisted. "I hear footsteps."

"Well, whoever it is-" said Toby. "-he can't take on all of us."

Soon, the footsteps could be heard by everyone else.

"They're getting louder..." mumbled Gordon.

Suddenly, from the nearby trees, Ninja-like monsters started leaping out from above.

"Ninja Soldier Katanas!" gasped Edward. "Lots of them!"

Soon, there were about twenty of the Ninja-type monsters in the area.

"So, the Court of Darkness dares to send shape-shifting spies into our domain?" asked one of the Ninja Soldiers in a hostile tone. "Get them!"

"Run!" cried Henry.

Thomas, Percy, and James each sprung into action, drawing the top card of their respective decks.

"Not on my watch!" remarked James. "Come forth Elemental HERO Sparkman!"

"Help us out, Flame Swordsman!" called Percy.

"Dark Magician Girl!" finished Thomas.

The three monsters appeared to fight off the ninjas.

"Go get 'em!" called Edward.

Despite the protagonist monsters cutting down the Ninja Soldier Katanas, the enemy would not stop coming. In addition, stronger Ninja Commander Ikusas started joining the frey.

"Blast! There is no end to the number of enemy ninjas!" shouted Gilford the Lightning, using his sword to cut down the Ninja Soldier Katanas.

"What do they even want with us?" demanded Gordon.

"Less talk, more running!" suggested James.

Thomas, however, drew another card from his deck.

"Go Dark Burning Attack!" he shouted, holding it out. "This Spell card allows Dark Magician Girl to destroy all enemy monsters!"

Just then, a thrown dagger struck the Spell card and destroyed it.

"What?" cried Thomas. He then looked to see who it was that had destroyed his Spell. "An Armed Ninja?"

The Armed Ninja raised a hand and summoned a bunch of Ninja Commando Kabukis.

"Take the woman for questioning." ordered the Armed Ninja, referring Maiden of the Aqua as ' _the woman_ '. "Destroy the rest!"

The ninjas charged into battle.

* * *

 **Title: The Master Warrior**

* * *

The gang watched in worry as the army of Ninja-like monsters got closer and closer.

"Run!" cried Thomas.

No one had to be told twice. They took off running, hoping to evade the ninjas.

"You won't get away!" The Armed Ninja declared, taking a long chain out.

On the end of the chain was a large kunai.

"Take this!"

Twirling the chain about, the monster hurled it forth. Little Iris's feet got chained together and made her fall down.

"Iris!" cried Thomas.

Poor Iris could only look up and see three Ninja Soldier Katanas leaping up and throwing three kunai apiece.

"NO!"

Iris screamed and shut her eyes. But death never came for her...why? Because Gilford the Lightning had suddenly stepped in to take the fatal blow.

"Gilford!" shrieked Maiden of the Aqua.

"No way!" came from Percy.

Gilford immediately collapsed. Quickly, Thomas drew another card from his deck and held it up as it shined brightly.

"Swords of Revealing Light!"

The large swords appeared, halting the ninjas. This gave everyone else enough time to rush over to their gravely wouned ally.

"Gilford! Gilford!" screamed Maiden of the Aqua. "Speak to me, please!"

The warrior-type monster opened his eyes weakly.

"I... couldn't let the child be hurt." he coughed.

"You...saved my life." The young brown-haired girl mumbled, as she crawled over to the fatally wounded Gilford the Lightning. "Oh, this is all my fault! I got you into this situation!"

"You mustn't blame yourself, little one." said Gilford, growing weaker by the second. "It was...my duty to protect..."

Thomas watched with a sad look on his face...mainly from seeing both Iris AND Maiden of the Aqua cry. Suddenly, he clenched his right hand into a fist and turned towards the Ninja-like monsters trying to break through the Swords of Revealing Light.

"You..." he snarled in fury.

Percy and Edward were both noticing that Thomas was about to lose it (thanks to the dark aura beginning to form).

"Thomas, wait!" protested Percy.

"They're not worth it!" cried Edward.

Just before anything more could be done, a new voice could be heard.

"Enough!"

The Ninja-like monsters all turned and bowed to the source of the voice. The gang was confused over what was happening.

"Who said that?" asked Henry.

Emerging from the nearby bushes came the seeming leader of the ninja band.

"T-Total Defense Shogun!" spluttered Gilford.

"Do you know him?" asked Edward.

The Total Defense Shogun saw the group of humans...before finally seeing the wounded, and dying, Gilford the Lightning.

"Gilford, my old friend!"

"Old friend?" asked Gordon, James, and Henry, each at once.

"What has happened?!" demanded Total Defense Shogun, turning to the ninjas. "Why did you attack my old friend?"

"He got in our way." protested the Armed Ninja. "We thought they were spies working for the-"

"Fools!"

The Armed Ninja flinched at being yelled at. Total Defense Shogun was very cross with the band of ninjas, indeed.

"These humans don't work for the Court of Darkness!" exclaimed the leader. "Why ever would you attack them?!"

"Court of Darkness?!" exclaimed the humans (and Duel Monster in Maiden of the Aqua).

"I guess you all know of them." Total Defense Shogun remarked, before turning his attention to the ninja band. "I'm disgusted with all of you right now!"

The Ninja Soldier Katanas, Ninja Commander Ikusas, Ninja Commando Kabukis, and the lone Armed Ninja all felt ashamed at what they had been doing.

"O-Our apologies, Master Total Defense Shogun..." bowed the Armed Ninja apologetically.

"We were not thinking." added a Ninja Soldier Katana.

Total Defense Shogun walked over to the gang of humans and knelt down to the dying Gilford the Lightning.

"Old friend, I had wished we would meet again one day... but not on terms like this."

"It wasn't your fault." coughed Gilford.

"Sir, is there any way to save him?!" begged Maiden of the Aqua. "Please, you must tell us!"

Total Defense Shogun shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid there isn't..."

"But why not?" asked Iris, about to cry. "Why must he die?"

"The wounds he sustained are far too great."

"Then that's it?" asked Percy angrily. "There isn't anything that could save Gilford?"

"We just have to sit here and wait for him to die? That's not fair!" added James, looking and sounding just as upset.

"I am sorry..." apologized Total Defense Shogun.

"However!" spoke up the Armed Ninja, walking forward. "We do have one thing. It won't save your friend's life, but it would make what time he has left much more comfortable."

"What is it?" asked Thomas.

"A duel."

Percy's eyes widened. "A duel?"

"How would a duel help?" quizzed Stanley.

"It's something we've been doing for years." answered Total Defense Shogun. "It's somewhat similar to a Japanese ritual suicide what you would call ' _ **seppuku**_ ', but instead the person/Duel Monster dueling would face their opponent and live long enough to either win or lose...before finally dying."

"I see." said Edward to himself.

"As what I've just said, it's far more comfortable than a normal death." added the Armed Ninja.

Gilford nodded weakly. "I will...gladly accept that challenge."

"So who will be his opponent?" asked Toby.

Thomas was about to speak up when Percy automatically stepped forth.

"I will."

"Sir Percy..." moaned Gilford weakly.

"Are you sure about this, Percy?" asked James.

"Gilford has been there for us since we met him and Maiden of the Aqua." Percy pointed out. "I'd like to repay him for all of that."

"If that is your wish-" said Total Defense Shogun. "-then so be it."

With the snap of his fingers, a Ninja-type monster named Kunoichi Ayame the Ninja Girl suddenly appeared carrying a syringe.

"What's that?" asked Henry.

Kunoichi Ayame the Ninja Girl didn't answer and just approached Gilford the Lightning. Once the Ninja-like monster was close to the dying warrior-type monster, she injected something from the needle into the male monster's arm.

"Ugh..."

Gilford, with a cry of pain at first, suddenly regained all of his strength and go back onto his feet like he wasn't wounded at all.

"Hey! You said there was nothing to prevent Gilford from dying!" protested Gordon.

"There isn't." insisted the Armed Ninja.

"Then why is Gilford standing once more and looking like he'll live?"

"The injection is meant to make him live long enough for his final duel." explained the Armed Ninja. "It was made by someone we've know for many, many years."

"Yes." added Total Defense Shogun. "It will last until the duel ends, no matter how long it takes."

"Better than nothing." sighed Stanley.

Gilford the Lightning sheathed his sword and took out a deck of Duel Monsters cards from a pocket on his tunic.

"Sir Percy, let's make what time I have left a good one."

"Right you are." agreed Percy, activating his Duel Disk.

"Gilford, catch!" called James, tossing the warrior-type monster his Duel Disk.

"Thank you." said Gilford the Lightning, catching and equipping the Duel Disk onto his left arm.

From there, both duelists approached each other and handed one another their deck.

"Shuffle well." Gilford advised.

Percy nodded. "I will."

After shuffling, they returned their decks.

"Gilford..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Percy..." whispered Thomas.

Once the two duelists took their spot on the dirt road, Gilford activated the Duel Disk.

"It has begun." said Total Defense Shogun to the gang.

"Commence the duel!" announced the Armed Ninja.

Both duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"DUEL!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside the American headquarters of Boxford Corp in Atlanta, Dark Magician Girl had finished explaining to Skiff, Mr. Gresley (Boxford), and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) all about the Court of Darkness and Gozaburo's plan to revive the Evil One.

"So that's why all these monsters have been appearing?" asked Skiff.

"Correct." nodded Dark Magician Girl.

"And you're saying that Thomas Billinton plays a role in this?" asked Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

The female spellcaster nodded once more.

"Do you think Spencer will want to help Thomas if they were to somehow meet up?" Mr. Gresley (Boxford) questioned.

"Considering that even though they've made peace-" added Mrs. Gresley (Boxford). "-Spencer tends to let his pride do the talking for him."

"I just hope he doesn't make the wrong decisions." said Skiff worriedly.

Dark Magician Girl wished she had a possible solution for that statement...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the meadowy field somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, the duel between Percy and Gilford the Lightning had commenced.

"The first attack will go to me!" announced Percy, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Question, Axe Raider, Swordsman of Landstar, Foolish Burial, Battle Warrior, and Scapegoat

* * *

The green-haired boy added his drawn card to his hand and gazed at his opponent carefully.

"I don't know what his strategy is." he thought. "So I'd better be careful." The green-haired boy then took a card from his hand. "I place one card facedown and summon Swordsman of Landstar in defense mode!"

A facedown card appeared, followed by the little cartoon-like swordsman appearing in a defensive stance (Level: 3/DEF: 1200).

"That's all for me!"

"My time will run out once the duel is finished." Gilford thought to himself. "So I have to show Sir Percy a great duel." He spoke aloud. "Here I come! My turn!"

The warrior-type monster drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Gilford the Lightning (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cost Down, Jar of Greed, Command Knight, Marauding Captain, Marauding Captain, and Total Defense Shogun

* * *

Gilford's drawn card was the Total Defense Shogun monster card.

"My old friend." he thought, keeping a neutral expression on his face. "And now..."

On cue, the Cost Down Spell card materialized face-up.

"Watch, Sir Percy, as I activate Cost Down!"

Over with the rest of the gang...

"Cost Down?" quizzed Iris.

"With it, Gilford can lower the level of every monster in his hand by two after he discards a card." explained Edward.

"Precisely!" confirmed Gilford, over hearing the conversation. "I send my Jar of Greed Trap card to the graveyard to lower the star level of every monster in my hand by two."

"With his monsters lowered in level-" Stanley thought to himself. "-what will Gilford summon to oppose Percy?"

The gray-haired boy got his answer when Gilford selected a card from his hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Total Defense Shogun in defense mode!"

On cue, a Duel Monsters version of Total Defense Shogun materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 6/ATK: 1550/DEF: 2500).

"Total Defense Shogun, you said?" spluttered Percy.

"My old friend..." thought the spirit version of Total Defense Shogun.

"Yes." confirmed Gilford. "Now attack his Swordsman of Landstar!"

"What?!"

"That's cheating!" objected James. "Monsters in defense mode cannot declare an attack!"

"Total Defense Shogun can!" corrected Edward. "That is its effect."

"Sir Edward is again correct." agreed Gilford. "As long as Total Defense Shogun remains in defense position, it can still attack."

Total Defense Shogun jumped into the air and slashed at Percy's monster, knocking it onto its back and destroying it.

"My Swordsman of Landstar!" cried Percy.

"That Total Defense Shogun can be tricky to beat.." commented Stanley. "He has an average attack stat of 1550."

"But has a high defense stat of 2500." Thomas pointed out.

"And since he's in defense mode-" said Toby. "-Percy can't destroy it that easily."

"My turn has come to an end." Gilford the Lightning announced. "And now, Sir Percy, show me what else you've got!"

Sweating nervously, Percy complied and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Question, Axe Raider, Foolish Burial, Battle Warrior, and Gearfried the Iron Knight

* * *

"Looks like it's time to kick things up a notch." Percy to himself. "I just wish I knew how to do so."

Gilford waited patiently for his opponent to make a play. Although he would die no matter what, it wouldn't happen until the end of the duel. After a few more seconds, the green-haired boy took a card from his hand.

"I summon Axe Raider in attack mode!" announced Percy.

The axe-wielding monster materialized in a fighting position (Level: 4/ATK: 1700).

"I think I have found a glitch in your monster, Gilford."

Gilford the Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Glitch?" he quizzed.

"Although your monster can attack while in defense mode-" Percy spoke on. "-it uses its attack point value like every other monster when attacking. So while I have a stronger monster out, I'm safe."

"For now."

The green-haired boy blinked. "What?"

"You know things could change at any time." reminded Gilford the Lightning, drawing his card. "And I will prove it to you right now."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Gilford the Lightning (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Command Knight, Marauding Captain, Marauding Captain, and Shogun's Blade(!)

* * *

Immediately, the warrior-type monster held his drawn card out..

"As so... Equip Spell card - Shogun's Blade!"

"Shogun's Blade?" repeated Percy.

"This will create a new weapon for Total Defense Shogun, increasing its attack by 1000 points!" explained Gilford the Lightning.

A blade appeared in the shogun monster's hand, making him far stronger (ATK: 1550 - 2550).

"2550 attack points!?" winced Percy.

Over with the rest of the gang...

"Mr. Percy summoned his monster in attack position!" Iris cried out. "He'll not only lose his monster, but also some life points!"

"Total Defense Shogun!" called Gilford. "Attack Axe Raider!"

Total Defense Shogun readied his new weapon.

"Shogun's Blade Cut!"

The blade slashed at Axe Raider, destroying him in an instant.

"Tch... that smarts!" groaned Percy, bracing himself from the force of the attack (LP: 3150).

"That ends my turn." concluded Gilford. He then eased up on his pose. "So, what do you think so far, Sir Percy?"

The green-haired boy grinned. "You're good. That Total Defense Shogun monster won't be easy for me to get by."

"Sir Percy..." thought Gilford.

From there, Percy drew his next card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Percy Avonside (LP: 3150)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (5): Question, Foolish Burial, Battle Warrior, Gearfried the Iron Knight, and Star Blaster

* * *

Sadly...

"Nuts!" The green-haired boy thought to himself in disappointment. "This won't help me."

Taking another card from his hand (after adding the drawn one to it), Percy placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in defense mode!"

The metal armored knight appeared to the field (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"I'll have to hold out a bit longer before I go on the offensive." Percy thought to himself. He then spoke aloud. "That ends my turn!"

"It is my turn." said Gilford, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Gilford the Lightning (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (4): Command Knight, Marauding Captain, Marauding Captain, and Warrior's Spirit(!)

* * *

The warrior-type monster's drawn card was a Spell called Warrior's Spirit. Upon seeing what the card was, a smile began to appear on Gilford's face.

"Sir Percy, before I play my next card, let me ask you something..."

"Huh?" Percy blinked. "Ask me something?"

"I don't like the sound of this." mumbled Toby.

"Do not be concerned." Gilford reassured. "This is just a harmless question."

"Alright then." nodded Percy. "Ask away."

"Do you have a warrior's spirit in you?"

"Huh? A warrior's spirit?" Percy blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

Gilford smiled. "I mean... have you ever wanted or tried to fight for something or someone, and you would never let anyone try and stop you? ...even if you lost in the end?"

Percy blinked for a few seconds before remembering.

"Yes..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Weeks earlier, Thomas and Percy were both in the middle of their promised duel.

"What's the matter, Percy?" teased Thomas (LP: 3000), having just declared a direct attack. "Bring it on! Give me your best!"

"I will!" grinned Percy, having recovered after eating a direct attack by Dark Magician Girl (LP: 1200). "So look out!"

The green-haired boy drew his card. It was the Roll of Fate Spell card.

"Alright, Thomas! I activate Roll of Fate!"

On cue, the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up, causing a dice to be launched into the air.

"Let's hope Lady Luck's on my side." though Percy.

The die landed on a four.

"Whoo hoo!" cried Percy. "Now I get to draw four cards!"

The green-haired boy drew four cards and then drew and banished four more. With a plan in mind, he took one of the drawn cards and held it out.

"I activate Landstar Forces!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Landstar Forces?" blinked Thomas.

Dark Magician Girl looked just as puzzled.

"This Spell card lets me call out as many level 3 or lower Landstar monsters from my hand as possible." explained Percy, taking and readying three of his drawn cards. "And I have three of them right now!"

Three monsters began to materialize on the green-haired boy's side of the field.

"Meet Brigadier of Landstar! Grappler of Landstar! And Knight of Landstar!"

The first monster was a cartoon-like warrior wearing clothing from the 1700's and wielded a rife (Level: 3/ATK: 900/DEF: 1200). The second monster was also a cartoon-like warrior that wore army-like clothing (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 500). And the final monster was also a cartoon-like warrior that wore medieval armor (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1200).

"But they won't be around for very long." Percy continued, taking the final card from his hand. "I tribute all three of my monsters!"

The three Landstar monsters faded away in blue streaks. On cue, the Gilford the Lightning monster card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"...to summon Gilford the Lightning!"

Out of the card appeared the mighty warrior himself (Level: 8/ATK: 2800).

"And since I summoned Gilford with three tributes-" continued Percy. "-I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field! Go Lightning Thunder!"

Gilford the Lightning obeyed and raised his sword into air, causing lightning to strike about. One of the bolts struck Dark Magician Girl, who then gave a scream before being destroyed by the effect.

"Dark Magician Girl!" cried out Thomas.

"Hey, Thomas!" called Percy. "Mind if I ask you a quick question?"

The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything back.

"Do you have a warrior's spirit in you?"

"A warrior's spirit?" Thomas repeated.

"I mean... have you ever wanted or tried to fight for something or someone, and you would never let anyone try and stop you?" continued Percy. "...even if you lost in the end? Well, I'm currently fighting for my Red-Eyes Black Dragon! And I'm not gonna let any of your tricks and strategies stop me from earning it back!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I asked that exact question back when Thomas and I had our promised duel." thought Percy. "And now Gilford asked me it..."

"Well, Sir Percy?" cut in Gilford the Lightning. "Do you have a warrior's spirit within you?"

Percy thought for a minute.

"If you won't answer my question-" continued the warrior-type monster, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I'll show you mine!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Continuous Spell - Warrior's Spirit!"

"Warrior's Spirit?" asked Gordon.

"What does it do?" came from James.

"Warrior's Spirit allows me to, once per turn, pay 1000 life points to special summon a warrior-type monster from my hand." explained Gilford (LP: 3000). "As so..."

A monster called Command Knight materialized (Level: 4/ATK: 1200).

"Meet Command Knight!"

"Command Knight grants Gilford's warrior monsterss an extra 400 attack points." explained Edward.

"400?!" James and Gordon both freaked out.

"Next I normal summon Marauding Captain in attack mode!" continued Gilford, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The warrior captain appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1200).

"And when Marauding Captain is summoned, I can summon another monster from my hand." The warrior-type monster took the final card from his hand and held it out. "And I choose another Marauding Captain!"

A second Marauding Captain materialized to join his comrades.

"And now, Command Knight-" ordered Gilford. "-increase the power of all my monsters!"

Command Knight, with a loud battle cry, raised her sword into the sky as Gilford's monsters all grew much stronger:  
-Total Defense Shogun (ATK: 2550 - 2950).  
-Command Knight (ATK: 1200 - 1600).  
-Marauding Captain (ATK: 1200 - 1600).  
-Marauding Captain (ATK: 1200 - 1600).

"Fortunately, I'll give you one chance to turn things around." said Gilford honorably. "However, if you fail to pull a strategy to beat me-"

"I understand." interrupted Percy. "You'll finish me off."

Slowly, the green-haired boy reached for his deck.

"Maybe I'll get lucky with my draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 3150)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (5): Question, Foolish Burial, Battle Warrior, Star Blaster, and Dragon Nails

* * *

Sadly, it was a useless card.

"On the other hand..." The green-haired boy then spoke aloud. "Unfortunately, I have to pass this turn."

"Disappointing." sighed Gilford, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Gilford the Lightning (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (1): Ultimate Commander(!)

* * *

"I've been expecting a great duel from you, Sir Percy, before my time comes. But you've disappointed me...and I must end the duel now."

Percy frowned a bit. Gilford then gave up 1000 more life points thanks to his Warrior's Spirit card (LP: 2000).

"I pay 1000 more life points to special summon, from my hand, the Ultimate Commander in attack mode!"

A monster resembling Command Knight (but with different colored armor and purple-colored hair) materialize with the other monsters (Level: 5/ATK: 1600 - 2000).

"My monster shares a similar effect with Command Knight." explained Gilford. "She grants my warrior-type monsters an attack bonus. But unlike Command Knight, it is 600 points rather than 400!"

"Uh-oh..." mumbled Percy.

"Poor Percy!" exclaimed Maiden of the Aqua.

Ultimate Commander, with a loud battle cry, raised her sword into the sky as Gilford's monsters all grew even stronger:  
-Total Defense Shogun (ATK: 2950 - 3550).  
-Command Knight (ATK: 1600 - 2200).  
-Marauding Captain (ATK: 1600 - 2200).  
-Marauding Captain (ATK: 1600 - 2200).  
-Ultimate Commander (ATK: 2000 - 2600).

"Five significantly buffed monsters!" wailed Toby.

"First things first..." Gilford began his battle phase. "Total Defense Shogun, destroy Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

Total Defense Shogun obeyed, slashing Gearfried the Iron Knight to pieces. But that wasn't the worst bit...

"Huh?!" Percy was shocked to see that his life points took a significant drop (LP: 1200). "My life points got hurt?!"

"That's another effect of my Warrior's Spirit." explained Gilford. "Whenever a warrior-type monster I control battles and destroys an opponent's warrior-type monster, the opposing player is dealt piercing damage."

"Percy!" cried Thomas.

"You'd better not lose!" warned James.

Back at the duel, all was now quiet. Gilford looked rather solemn with how he was about to win the duel.

"I was hoping for more of a fight." he thought. "I guess it wasn't meant to be..."

Percy merely closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame.

"DIRECT ATTACK!"

The rest of Gilford's monsters charged at the green-haired boy.

"Sir Percy... I win." said Gilford the Lightning.

Over with Percy's side of the field; the green-haired boy, with his head still bowed and eyes closed, suddenly smirked.

"Do you?"

Gilford winced a bit, but remained silent. At that point...

"I activate Scapegoat!" announced Percy, poking a button on his Duel Disk.

The green-haired boy's facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself...just before creating four colored sheep token monsters.

"But how-?" gasped Gilford.

The four warriors cut down the sheep tokens with ease.

"I'm still in the game!" declared Percy, raising his head back up and eyes fully opened (LP: 1200).

Over with the rest of the audience...

"Your green-haired friend is quite the lucky one." remarked Total Defense Shogun.

"That's what his deck's based on." said Stanley. "Luck."

"And giving most of us near heart attacks!" added Gordon, clutching his chest.

"But is he lucky enough to pull off a win here?" Edward questioned.

"Mr. Thomas, do you think Percy can win?" Iris asked Thomas hopefully.

"He's been in tighter situations before." said Thomas confidently. "I'm sure he'll win here."

Back at the duel, Percy was looking at his Duel Disk once more.

"There has to be a card in my deck that can help me turn this duel around." he thought. "Even then, I might need some help to pull it out."

"Sir Percy-" called Gilford. "-before you make your play, you need to answer my question. Do you have a warrior's spirit?"

Percy looked up. This time, he had an answer.

"I do." The green-haired boy began. "That spirit was what helped push me towards winning my Red-Eyes Black Dragon back and becoming a True Duelist like Thomas."

Gilford raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as his opponent continued to speak...

"And that spirit is going to help me push towards winning this duel as well!"

"That's what I like to hear!" nodded Gilford the Lightning. "Now show me how you live up to your vow!"

"Don't mind if I do!" cried Percy, reaching for his deck. "I can feel the spirit reaching out to my heart. And now is the time...to unleash it!"

The green-haired boy drew his card, slashing a wave of color from the deck.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (6): Question, Foolish Burial, Battle Warrior, Star Blaster, Dragon Nails, and Roll of Fate

* * *

Percy's drawn card was the Roll of Fate Spell card.

"Yes!"

From there, he slotted the car into a Spell/Trap Slot on his Duel Disk. The Spell card immediately materialized face-up.

"I activate Roll of Fate!" Percy announced. "With this, I can roll a die and draw a number of cards from my deck depending on what I roll! After that, I must draw and banish the same number from the top of my deck."

"This could be your last chance, Sir Percy." Gilford pointed out. "Make sure your number is sound."

The giant dice soared into the air.

"Come on..." thought Percy. "I NEED that number!"

Everyone else watched anxiously as they waited for the final results. Finally the die started to fall down, land, roll, and stop at a...

"OH YEAH!" cheered Percy. "It's a five!"

The green-haired boy happily drew five cards from his deck...before drawing five more and banishing them. The five cards were shown to be Brigadier of Landstar, Grappler of Landstar, Knight of Landstar, Landstar Forces, and Gilford the Lightning.

"These are the cards!" Percy grinned big. he then spoke aloud. "Hey, Gilford! I hope you're ready!"

Gilford remained stoic, watching as the green-haired boy then slotted one of the drawn cards into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate Landstar Forces!" Percy cried out.

"Huh?" Gilford gasped.

The Landstar Forces Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Just before three monsters began to materialize.

"Meet Brigadier of Landstar! Grappler of Landstar! And Knight of Landstar!"

he first monster was a cartoon-like warrior wearing clothing from the 1700's and wielded a rife (Level: 3/ATK: 900/DEF: 1200). The second monster was also a cartoon-like warrior that wore army-like clothing (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 500). And the final monster was also a cartoon-like warrior that wore medieval armor (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1200).

"I remember this move." thought Thomas.

"Does anyone know why Percy summoned three really weak monsters?" asked James. "Because I think he might be going bonkers right now!"

"These guys might look weak-" said Percy, holding up another card. "-but they won't be around for long."

"Hey, guys..." spoke up Edward. "Didn't we see a similar move pulled by Percy when he and Thomas had their promised duel weeks ago?"

"Hey, you're right." Henry realized.

"And if I remember correctly-" added Toby. "-when Percy summoned those three monsters..."

The sky darkened with storm-like clouds as Percy made his play.

"I sacrifice my three Landstar monsters to call forth my Gilford the Lightning!" announced the green-haired boy, placing the card onto a sparking monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

More and more thunder and lightning struck. One bolt struck the around and revealed the Duel Monsters version of Gilford the Lightning, who then gave a loud bellow of a battle cry to signal his arrival (Level: 8/ATK: 2800).

"Tada!" grinned Percy.

The five enemy monsters faced down the green-haired boy's version of Gilford the Lightning.

"And I'm sure you know what happens when Gilford is summoned with three tributes. Lightning Thunder!"

Gilford the Lightning obeyed, drew his sword out, raised up, and allowed lightning to strike the blade. With a mighty roar and chop, the five warrior-type monsters were destroyed.

"Now Gilford's wide open for a direct attack!" cried Maiden of the Aqua.

"Oh yeah!" cheered Percy. "Go and get 'em, Gilford! Attack my-"

He suddenly stopped and solemnly remembered what would happen if he either won or lost the duel. Gilford the Lightning would die from his wounds.

"Gilford... I..."

"It's quite alright, Sir Percy." said Gilford kindly. "Go right ahead. I'm just proud that my last opponent was as skilled as you are."

Percy sadly looked to his friends in the audience. He could see some of the sad looks on a few of their faces (especially with both Maiden of the Aqua and Iris).

"I really don't want to do this." he sighed.

"Percy..." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up, trying her hardest to not cry. "As much as this pains us...you must attack."

"But if I do, he'll die."

"Sir Percy-" Gilford spoke up. "-I will die no matter the results of the duel."

"But it's not fair!" protested Percy.

"A warrior with spirit would not allow his emotions to get the better of him." lectured the warrior-type monster. "I know this is hard for you, but sometimes in life you have to do things that hurt you emotionally..."

"Percy, a True Duelist would also sometimes have to do things that they hate." added Thomas.

Deep down inside, Percy knew they were right.

"I...guess you got a point." The green-haired boy said at last. Finally, he gave the command. "Gilford the Lightning...attack my opponent directly!"

Gilford the Lightning obeyed, charging his sword with lightning, and charging at his opponent.

"Well done, Sir Percy..." The spirit version of Gilford thought to himself with a sad smile.

He was struck by the electrically charged weapon, yet the warrior-type monster did not scream, flinch, say or do anything about it (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Percy Avonside wins!**

* * *

The holograms had faded away.

"It looks like we have our winner." remarked Total Defense Shogun.

Gilford smiled some more...before the serum he was injected with wore off and his wounds took affect once more, causing the poor warrior-type monster to collapse onto the ground.

"Gilford!" cried Percy, running over.

"GILFORD!" screamed the rest of the gang, also running over.

Once the reached the wounded Duel Monsters spirit, Maiden of the Aqua took Gilford into her arms.

"Oh, Gilford! Please don't leave us!" The blue-haired female monster sobbed.

"Please forgive me for all of this." pleaded the Armed Ninja.

"Why did you have to attack us?!" demanded Percy through his tears.

"We thought you were members of the Court of Darkness..."

Total Defense Shogun sighed. "That was partially my fault. We had heard that someone had entered our domain, and I thought it was a member of the Court of Darkness, mainly because we had been attacked by their forces most recently... Had I been wiser, perhaps this could have been avoided."

"It wouldn't have." coughed Gilford. "Even if I hadn't been injured from this, my remaining wounds would have slowly done me in eventually..."

The dying warrior-type monster then looked at his human companions and addressed each and every one of them in his usual respectable manner.

"Sir Stanley-" he began. "-I hope you succeed in avenging your father's death."

Stanley tearfully nodded.

"Sir Toby and Sir James-" Gilford continued. "-I know you'll find your loved ones again."

"D-Darn right..." James sniffled, trying to not cry.

Gilford then looked to Gordon and Henry. "You two...don't every lose hope for your friends in even the darkest of situations."

"Never." agreed Henry sadly.

"Heck no." added Gordon.

"Sir Edward..." Gilford looked over to the intelligent blue-haired boy. "May your vast knowledge help everyone in your journey."

"Thank you." sighed Edward.

Gilford smiled faintly and looked over to Percy. "Sir Percy... continue to grow into a True Duelist. And remember that you have a warrior's spirit in your soul..."

"I will." promised Percy.

Finally, the dying warrior-type monster looked to Thomas, Iris, and Maiden of the Aqua.

"You three..." he went on. "You must be brave and never give into the darkness."

"We won't." said Maiden of the Aqua with tears in her eyes.

"Never give up hope, Sir Thomas." Gilford continued, about to breathe his last breath. "You WILL find Emily one day, I know it."

"Gilford..." whispered Thomas.

Gilford finally said his final words... "My friends, I will...never...forget..."

That did it; the warrior-type monster had breathed his last breath. As a result, his body finally went limp and lifeless. Gilford the Lightning was finally dead, much to the sadness of everyone else in the area. Slowly, the monster's body began to turn to light.

"No...!" Poor Iris could do nothing but cry.

Finally, the body was gone.

"He's gone..." said Percy quietly.

Everyone else merely bowed their heads solemnly in respect to their first fallen ally of the adventure...


	24. Shadows of Night (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, hundreds to thousands of Duel Monsters were patrolling the grounds from intruders.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the castle's throne room, Vampire Lord had his back turned to whoever he was currently speaking to.

"Tell me...just what makes you think you can do it?" he asked with a hiss.

"We are two of the best hunters around." said a male voice. "Finding our target will be as easy as ABC."

"Not only that-" added a female voice "-but I'm well gifted into making people do what I tell them to."

The two Duel Monsters Vampire Lord was speaking to were Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer.

"Together-" The duo finished at once. "-we will accomplish what you need!"

"Excellent." grinned Vampire Lord, finally turning around. "That's the kind of determined attitude the Court of Darkness requires. Now go out, capture Thomas Billinton, and force him to give in to his inner darkness."

"At once, sire!"

Once Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer both left the throne room, Professor Melvin arrived.

"Hmph! Rotten monsters." he muttered. The man then looked towards Vampire Lord. "So, I can tell it went well?"

"Indeed it did." confirmed Vampire Lord. "With the might of those two warriors, Billinton will embrace his destiny as the new King of Darkness... whether he wants to or not!"

Professor Melvin grinned evilly. "Always glad to help out. Convincing those two wasn't easy, but I...persuaded them to visit you."

"Your knowledge in technology never fails to amuse me."

With that said, the two evil beings cackled. This was going to mean big trouble for Thomas and his friends.

* * *

 **Title: Shadows of Night, Part 1**

* * *

Somewhere in another part of the spirit world, Thomas and the others were traveling through a large forest. It was morning, and the the gang didn't get much sleep after what happened to their friend Gilford the Lightning.

"Poor Gilford." sighed Toby.

"At least he died happy." put in Edward.

"I miss him..." whimpered Iris.

"We all do, little one." agreed Maiden of the Aqua, gently putting a hand on Iris's shoulder. "But we must be brave and carry on."

The young brown-haired girl immediately hugged the blue-haired female monster around her waist while beginning to cry softly.

"Iris..." Thomas whispered with sympathy.

Everyone else felt sorry for Iris.

"Poor kid." sighed James.

"Only 10/11-years old, and already she's experienced some..." began Gordon.

"...tragic incidents." finished Henry. "Nobody deserves to go through any of this."

"Especially Emily..." whispered Thomas.

"Thomas..." Percy thought to himself.

"The sooner we find her, the sooner we can go home." The blue-haired boy then looked back to Iris. "Maybe Emily will like Iris, and will want to have her as her own little sister. She could have a brand new home, and a brand new family."

"You know what, Thomas-" Edward spoke up. "-that sounds like a great idea."

"I second that." agreed Stanley.

"Me three!" added Henry.

"What do you say, Iris?" asked Thomas. "When we find my friend Emily, would you like her family to adopt you?"

Iris turned her head towards the kind blue-haired boy.

"Why not you, Mr. Thomas?" The young brown-haired girl asked with her eyes still watering with tears.

Thomas was surprised. "Me? Um...well..."

"As we've said before-" Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "-she's grown very fond of you, Thomas."

"You're my Daddy, after all. While Maiden of the Aqua is my Mommy." Iris pointed out.

Hearing this again made Thomas blush in embarrassment.

"Oh don't be so shy on the subject, ' _honey_ '." giggled Maiden of the Aqua teasingly.

Gordon, Henry, and James each snickered.

"Man, imagine if Emily found out about this..." said Gordon.

"She'd want to kill Thomas for becoming a Father and she wasn't the Mother." James chuckled. "Thomas Billinton going and making love with another girl, resulting in her getting pregnant? What is the world com-"

Suddenly, he, Gordon, and Henry stopped their joking when Thomas shot a cold glare at the trio.

"Are you worried that this Emily's going to be jealous that Maiden of the Aqua's my new Mommy and she isn't?" asked Iris innocently.

"Eh...heh heh..." Thomas laughed sheepishly. "It's...rather complicated to...explain, Iris."

"That's okay." smiled Iris, hugging Thomas. "I don't want her to be unhappy. Emily can be my other new Mommy, too."

Thomas hugged the young girl back. Cue ' _Aww_ ' from everyone else.

"Two wives and a child." snickered Gordon.

"Just how lucky can our friend be getting?" laughed James. "He's only 15, and already he's got girls coming at him left and right."

Another glare from Thomas shut the two up. Meanwhile...

"Any sign of the girls yet?" asked Stanley, who was looking up a nearby tree.

As Henry, Gordon, and James teased Thomas playfully, Percy had climbed to the top of a nearby tree to scout out what was ahead.

"Hmm..." said Percy to himself. "Nothing comes up so far." The green-haired boy squinted hard, hoping he could see farther. "Maybe..."

"Percy!" called the voice of Stanley.

Percy yelped from the sudden yell and started to fall down the big tree...thankfully, he grabbed a strong tree branch just in time.

"Man... that was a close one..." thought Percy to himself.

The green-haired boy then climbed down the tree until he reached the bottom. Once there, he was greeted by Stanley.

"Anything?"

"I saw something." said Percy. "But it was far too away to see what it was."

"How long do you think it would take us to reach what you just saw?" came the voice of Toby.

Thomas, Iris, Maiden of the Aqua, Toby, and Edward all walked over to join Percy and Stanley.

"If we keep going by foot-" answered Percy "-We'll be able to reach within at least two days time."

"Two days..." mumbled Edward. "Couldn't we just fly over on some of the flying Duel Monsters?"

"Red-Eyes wouldn't be able to hold enough people." reminded Percy, before turning towards Thomas. "And Thomas..."

"My flying monsters are still missing." said Thomas. "The only ones I have left are Slifer and Ra."

"Yeah..." muttered James. "And likely not the best monsters to call upon, either."

"Exactly. It's far too dangerous."

James sighed. "Then I guess we're gonna have to move on by foot..."

And so it was agreed. As the gang proceeded on their way, two figures were hiding up on a nearby tree branch...

"There he is." said one voice (male). "Shall we ambush him now, or wait until nightfall when he is defenseless?"

The voice belong to Warrior Dai Grepher. He and his partner, Shadow Tamer, were both observing the heroes in the woods.

"Let's observe them a little longer-" suggested Shadow Tamer. "-maybe even test their skills in battle..."

As the female monster spoke, she held up three Duel Monsters cards. getting where his partner was going, Warrior Dai Grepher smirked and drew three cards of his own.

"Let us shall..."

The cards glowed briefly.

(elsewhere...)

The gang continued walking through the woods. Along the way, James was singing a song of a sort.

"He's a really useful engine, you know  
All the other engines they'll tell-"

"Umm... what are you singing, James?" questioned Gordon.

"Just a little tune I got in my head." shrugged James. "I've heard it from somewhere, but I can't remember the exact name..."

Suddenly, they heard some rustling.

"Huh?"

"What was that?" peeped Percy.

"Something tells me we're not alone..." Stanley mumbled.

"Keep on your guard, everyone." warned Thomas, getting his deck ready.

Iris, feeling scared, huddled close to the blue-haired boy for comfort.

"M-Mr. Thomas...?"

"Shh... we'll make sure you are safe, Iris." soothed Thomas.

No one else dared to make a sound. Soon the bush rustling ceased.

"It's quiet now..." whispered Henry.

Gordon sighed in relief. "Must have been our imaginations."

But I'm sorry to say it wasn't. Suddenly, a silhouette shot from the bushes.

"Look!" cried Henry, pointing to nearby.

Everyone else looked to the bushes yet again.

"What?"

On cue, three Makyura the Destructors and three Gil Garths jumped out of the bushes. While atop the three branches, six Vorse Raiders jumped down. By that point, Thomas and the others were surrounded.

"We're trapped!" cried Percy.

"Well, what are we doing sitting like this?" asked James, readying a drawn card. "Let's fight back!"

"Count me in!" agreed Stanley, readying to draw a card from his deck.

"Don't forget me!" added Percy.

Just before Thomas could also draw a card from his deck, three Flash Assailants appeared before the blue-haired boy as well as Iris.

"Mr. Thomas, look out!" cried Iris.

A Flash Assailant was just about to stab his dagger down at the young brown-haired girl when Thomas grabbed hold of her and dove to the side.

"Thomas, hang on!" called Percy, drawing and holding up a card. "Help us out Goblin Attack Force!"

The army of goblins appeared and charged at the Flash Assailants. James, meanwhile, held his own card up.

"Come forth Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

Stanley held a card up. "Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster!"

The two heroes appeared to help with the battle as well.

"Thomas!" called Edward. "Take Iris and run! We can handle this situation!"

Thomas didn't want to. He was worried that his friends would be killed.

"No..."

"Go!" insisted James. "If you don't, I'll kick your butt!"

"What he means-" Percy spoke up...after elbowing the red-haired boy's side. "-is that we'll be okay! Now go!"

Realizing it was pointless to argue, Thomas nodded in agreement.

"Okay..." he whispered, before taking Iris by the hand. "Let's go, Iris!"

With that, the two quickly ran off.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the treetops, Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer both watched the battle going on down below, when the latter noticed that Thomas and the young girl both had escaped.

"He's getting away!" protested Shadow Tamer.

"Not to worry." smirked Warrior Dai Grepher. "With his friends busy, they can't protest him. Now we'll find out just how good he really is."

With that said, the warrior-type monster held three glowing cards up.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere else in the woods, Thomas was still leading Iris to safety when a sudden earth tremor stopped and knocked them to the ground.

"What's going on now?" cried Iris.

Some trees were knocked over, and three large and powerful skeleton-like T-Rex dinosaurs came stomping through.

"Fossil Dragon Skullgios!" gasped Thomas. "Three of them!"

Iris screamed in fear and held tighter to the blue-haired boy.

"Don't worry." reassured Thomas. "I'll deal with them." He then drew three cards from his deck. "Come forth Buster Blader, Black Luster Soldier, and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"

Three of Thomas's most powerful monsters materialized and leaped into battle!

"Magnet Sword!" commanded Thomas to Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.

Valkyrion slashed its magnet-like sword and destroyed one Fossil Dragon Skullgios.

"Chaos Blade!" commanded Thomas to Black Luster Soldier.

Black Luster Soldier slashed his scimitar and destroyed the second Fossil Dragon Skullgios.

"Dragon Sword Attack!" commanded Thomas to Buster Blader.

Buster Blader slashed his huge sword and destroyed the final Fossil Dragon Skullgios.

"Hooray!" cheered Iris.

Thomas, with a grim look of triumph on his face, held up his three cards and returned the monsters.

"Just what is going on here?" he asked himself.

"Thomas!" called the voice of Percy.

To the blue-haired boy's relief, his remaining friends were still in one piece and running towards him.

"I'm glad you guys are not hurt."

"Heh! It was a piece of cake." boasted James. "Funny thing though, once we got the upper hand, the remaining monsters all disappeared."

"Why did they come after us?" asked Stanley.

"I wish I knew, Stanley-" replied Thomas, sighing heavily while looking around the area. "-I wish I knew..."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the treetops, Shadow Tamer and Warrior Dai Grepher were, despite the destruction and retreating of their monsters, both pleased with what they had witnessed just now.

"They are indeed strong." said Shadow Tamer.

"But the Thomas-boy is the strongest of all." remarked Warrior Dai Grepher. "Tell me, how effective are your powers in controlling the shadows?"

"Effective enough to bring shadows to life."

Warrior Dai Grepher smiled. "That's good. Because I have an idea..."

Oh dear, this can't be a good sign, can it?

(elsewhere...)

Several hours later, Thomas and the others were getting tired from walking through the forest. The sun was going down, too.

"The sun's going down." reported Edward, looking up at the orange sky. "We'd better find a place to set up camp."

"Maybe near a lake?" suggested Henry. "That way, we'll have plenty of drinking water or bath water."

"That'd be great." agreed Toby.

Before long, the gang found an abandoned cabin.

"A cabin!" gasped Stanley.

"It's perfect." smiled Maiden of the Aqua. "It should have a bed inside for Iris."

Thomas opened the door and looked inside. It was dark and a bit creepy, yet looked safe enough.

"It seems alright." remarked Thomas. "And there is a bed in the corner."

"Not to mention two large tables and some chairs." put in Gordon.

"Hey! There's even a wood-burner stove!" added Edward. "If it still works, I can possibly cook dinner."

"Alright!" cheered James. "Food!"

Minutes later, after gathering some wood, Edward prepared the stove and lit a fire. To everyone's relief, the stove worked.

"Alright!" grinned Edward. "Thanks to Total Defense Shogun and his people giving us more food and supplies, I'm gonna prepare dinner."

"We'll go fetch water from the nearby lake." Gordon and Henry both offered.

"What can I do to help?" offered Iris.

"That is sweet of you to offer, little one." said Maiden of the Aqua sweetly. "But I'm afraid you're too young to help us cook or get water."

Iris felt disappointed, and Thomas could see that. Fortunately, he had a solution...

"You can come and help me and Percy clean up the cabin a bit." The blue-haired boy suggested.

"Okay, Mr. Thomas."

An hour later, after chores were done, Edward rang the dinner bell.

"Come and get it!" he called. "We have pasta, baked beans, and salad!"

Everyone soon gathered to eat.

"Hmm!" mumbled Iris, enjoying some of the pasta. "This is so good!"

"Edward's a very good cook." said Thomas. "He read about cooking in many books, and also got taught how to cook by his parents."

A loud belch was heard coming from Gordon.

"'scuse me." he chuckled.

James gave an even louder belch in response.

"Et tu, Brute?" asked Thomas.

"Oh, the indignity!" groaned Gordon unhappily.

"Jealous that you got beat?" teased James.

The rest of the gang laughed. Iris merely blinked and whispered something to Thomas.

"Do they always act like this?"

"They sure are." Thomas whispered back.

After a rather eventful dinner, everyone gathered outside the sit around a campfire.

"Sure is nice out." commented Percy.

"Look at all the stars!" Stanley pointed up into the night sky.

"So many of them..." gasped Iris.

"So beautiful..." breathed Maiden of the Aqua.

"I wonder if the girls are seeing this wherever they are." said Toby.

Good question...let's go find out.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the spirit world, a campfire was burning brightly.

"Hey! How many stars do you think are out there right now?" came the voice of Rosie.

Nearby, Mavis, Rosie, and Molly were all lying on the ground looking at the beautiful night sky. Accordingly, they were still in the Amazoness Village for the time being.

"There must be at least millions of them." suggested Molly.

"I really miss Toby." sighed Mavis unhappily, sitting up.

"We all miss our friends." came from Rosie. "I only wish we knew where they are right now."

"I know..."

Mavis laid back down and continued to watch the stars with her two friends. Molly then sat up and stretched her arms out with a brief yawn. From there, the black-haired girl took the time to look around the area and her two friends...until something caught her eye.

"Hmm?"

Molly was gazing down at Mavis's slightly raised shirt as she laid down flat on the ground, too busy gazing up at the stars in the night sky to pay attention to anything else. The blonde-haired girl's tummy (and more importantly, her navel) was shown slightly. Grinning mischeviously at an idea she had, Molly went and positioned the index figer of her right hand above Mavis's slightly exposed tummy and lowered said finger until it had touched or entered the middle of blonde-haired girl's navel and reached bottom, wiggling the finger about...

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Mavis shrieked with laughter.

In an instant, the blonde-haired girl shot up (while Molly retracted her hand), covered up her exposed midriff with both arms, and laughed from the touching-feeling she had just experienced on her sensitive-to-touch tummy. The loud shriek had also alerted Rosie and caused her to sit up as well.

"Who!? What!? Where!? Why!? When!?" The pink-haired girl cried out in alarm while looking around. "Is there a fire!? Are we being attacked again!?"

"Someone was tickling my belly!" wailed Mavis, hiking her shirt back down to cover her whole tummy. "But mainly poking the inside of my bellybutton!"

Molly giggled. "Guilty as charged." she admitted.

"That was you, Molly?" The blonde-haired girl asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why'd you do that? You know full well how ticklish I am!"

"It was just to try and cheer you right up...and see? It worked!"

"Oh, so you want to play, eh?" grinned Rosie.

"Leave some of her for me, Rosie." added Mavis, also grinning.

The two girls then pounced at Molly. The three of them were now engaged in a harmless tickle fight. Oookay... let's move on, shall we?

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of the woods, it was all quiet...at least until a large shadow appeared while slithering in the ground towards the lone cabin. While Percy and everyone else slept in sleeping bags outside, Thomas and Iris both slept on the bed inside the cabin (because the young girl felt much safer with the 15-year old blue-haired boy). Sneaking into the cabin, the shadow slithered like a snake around the inside of the cabin until it reached the bed - which had Iris under the covers and Thomas asleep on the other side. Silent as the night, the shadow seemed to envelope Thomas before everything faded to black.

(elsewhere...)

Slowly but surely, Thomas's eyes began to open.

"Hm...?"

The blue-haired boy sat up and looked around...but as soon as his vision came back, Thomas saw he was no longer inside the cabin.

"That's odd." he said to himself. "How did I end up here?"

The blue-haired boy was in a meadow of some sort, with lots of trees surrounding the dirt field.

"Whatever the case, I'd better return to my friends before they discover I'm gone."

He picked himself up and was about to leave when a whip crack startled him.

"Stay right where you are." warned a female voice.

Thomas looked about. "Show yourself!" he demanded.

"As you wish..."

From behind the trees, a Shadow Tamer showed herself.

"A Shadow Tamer..." whispered Thomas.

The Shadow Tamer cracked her whip once more, and giggled malevolently.

"Were you the one who brought me here?"

"Correct!" came another voice (male).

From behind the trees also came Warrior Dai Grepher.

"Warrior Dai Grepher..." thought Thomas. He the spoke aloud. "Why am I here? What do you two want with me?"

"We have been tasked to capture you and persuade you to embrace your inner darkness." explained Dai Grepher.

"Why?"

"Because it is your destiny!" insisted Shadow Tamer. "Surely you would not be foolish enough to deny fate which has been arranged for you."

Thomas clutched his chest. So these two monsters knew all about his inner darkness, too. Regardless, the blue-haired boy was never gonna submit to the dark. No way! He was gonna continue to fight it and save Emily from the Court of Darkness.

"I will never give in to the darkness!" declared Thomas boldly. "And there is nothing you can do that will change my mind!"

Warrior Dai Grepher grinned. "If you don't submit, then we'll just have to MAKE you submit!"

"What!?"

Without any warning, Shadow Tamer cracked her whip at the blue-haired boy a third time.

"You and Warrior Dai Grepher here will engage in a duel." explained the female monster. "Win, and we'll let you leave. Lose? Then you will have no other choice but to fall into darkness and accept it!"

With that said, Warrior Dai Grepher activated a Duel Disk on his arm.

"Are you ready to duel?" The warrior-type monster asked. "And ready to lose yourself to the dark?"

"I'm always ready to duel." insisted Thomas, activating his Duel Disk. "But the only one who will lose is you!"

Shadow Tamer watched the duel with a smile on her face...but then grimaced as she felt something in his head...sting.

"What is this pain?" she thought.

It was almost something was fighting in her head for control...but then Shadow Tamer's evil look returned.

"Huh! Must have been nothing."

Over with Thomas an Warrior Dai Grepher, the wind started to picked up as the duel commenced (LP: 4000) x2.

"Alright, kid, let's see what you've got!" dared the warrior-type monster, with his opening hand.

"It's time to duel!" announced Thomas, upon drawing his opening hand.

This was gonna be good...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the cabin where Iris is currently sleeping, the youn brown-haired girl slowly started to open her eyes.

"Mr. Thomas?" she asked. But to her shock, Thomas was gone. "Huh? Mr. Thomas?"

Getting out of bed, Iris started to search the cabin for her ' _Daddy_ ', but he didn't seem to be there anymore.

"Mr. Thomas! Oh no, something terrible must have happened to him!"

Quietly, the young brown-haired girl opened the door to the cabin and peeked outside. The nearby campfire was out, and the rest of the gang was fast asleep.

"Where could he be?" Iris whispered to herself.

Without awakening anyone, Iris snuck away from the camp and into deeper into the woods to try and find Thomas. She hoped that her 'Daddy' wasn't lost and/or injured.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the area Thomas had been taken to. The duel had begun, and the blue-haired boy had offered to take the first turn.

"The first turn will go to me!" he declared, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Thousand Knives, Big Shield Gardna, Magician Navigation, Book of Secret Arts, Dark Effigy, and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian

* * *

Immediately, the blue-haired boy placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

"I will first summon Big Shield Gardna in defense position!"

The large shield-wielding warrior appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 2600).

"My turn is over!" Thomas concluded.

"Big Shield Gardna, eh?" quizzed Warrior Dai Grepher. "That monster has a great defensive stat...but hardly any attack to speak of."

With that said, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Stop Defense, Makyura the Destructor, Shadow Tamer, Reckless Greed, Warrior Dai Grepher, and Bronze Knights

* * *

Upon seeing his card, the warrior-type monster smirked.

"First up, I play this Spell card..."

Thomas gasped in surprise. Back on Warrior Dai Grepher's side of the field, the Stop Defense Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Stop Defense!" announced Warrior Dai Grepher. "This card forces your Big Shield Gardna into attack mode!"

True to his words, Thomas's monster was forced into attack mode (ATK: 100).

"Oh no!" cried Thomas.

But it wasn't over yet - Warior Dai Grepher took another card from his hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Makyura the Destructor, come forth!" commanded the warrior-type monster.

The fiendish looking warrior monster appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Destroy his Big Shield Gardna!"

Makyura obeyed and lunged forth, slashing its claws. Big Shield Gardna fell back before shattering into pieces.

"Big Shield Gardna!" Thomas exclaimed (LP: 2500). The blue-haired boy fell into his thoughts... "I can't lose here and now... if I do, then I'll never see Emily or my other friends ever again!"

Can Thomas pull through this duel? Or will his inner darkness be unleashed forever? Stay tuned!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	25. Shadows of Night (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some brief language and gruesome violence (with gore). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening somewhere in the woods in the middle of the night, young Iris was busy searching for Thomas, who had somehow gone missing. Where was he? No one knew at this point.

"Oh, Mr. Thomas..." whispered Iris. "Where are you?"

(elsewhere...)

Back at the camp site, everyone else was asleep. Unaware of what was going on right now.

(elsewhere...)

Back somewhere else in the woods, Thomas was dueling Warrior Dai Grepher...and had just lost his Big Shield Gardna.

"Care to try a better move than that?" asked Warrior Dai Grepher. "Or would you prefer to surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment?"

"I will never surrender!" snapped Thomas. "It's my turn!"

With that said, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (6): Thousand Knives, Magician Navigation, Book of Secret Arts, Dark Effigy, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Immediately, the blue-haired boy held his drawn card out

"I play Pot of Greed! With it, I draw two more cards from my deck."

He then drew two cards from his deck and added them to his hand. Currently, Thomas's hand contained Thousand Knives, Magician Navigation, Book of Secret Arts, Dark Effigy, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and two added cards (Brave Attack and Flash Fusion)

"Those two cards will come in handy later on." he thought to himself. From there, Thomas took the Dark Effigy card from his hand and spoke aloud. "I summon Dark Effigy in defense mode!"

The large blackish cube appeared (Level: 4/DEF: 0), much to Warrior Dai Grepher's amusement.

"Hmm... trying to stall for time, are we?" teased the warrior-type monster. "Then let me ask you this; why delay the inevitable?"

"Agreed." added Shadow Tamer. "The darkness in your heart is growing stronger with every passing minute. Eventually, it will be too late to turn back, anyway."

"Nothing you do will ever make me turn to the dark side!" retorted Thomas. "So long as my light is shining brightly, I will never fall into the darkness!"

Warrior Dai Grepher merely glared. This boy was being so stubborn right now... Well, he'll show him!

* * *

 **Title: Shadows of Night, Part 2**

* * *

And so the duel continued.

"It's my turn now!" declared Warrior Dai Grepher, drawing a card. "I draw!"

Thomas stood ready for whatever Warrior Dai Grepher had planned.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (6): Shadow Tamer, Reckless Greed, Warrior Dai Grepher, Bronze Knights, and Training Academy(!)

* * *

The warrior-type monster added the drawn card to his hand and gave the command.

"Makyura the Destructor, destroy the boy's Dark Effigy!"

Makyura obeyed, slashing the Effigy to pieces.

"That's not all!" Warrior Dai Grepher continued, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate from my hand Bronze Knights!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Bronze Knights?" Thomas blinked.

"For every card I discard from my hand-" explained Warrior Dai Grepher, sending three cards from his hand to the graveyard. "-I am allowed to special summon a Bronze Knight Token."

On cue, three Bronze Knights appeared (Level: 1/ATK: 500 - 800).

"Their attack points increased?!" Thomas was shocked to say the least. "But how?"

"Thanks to a Spell card sent to my graveyard." explained Warrior Dai Grepher, motioning to his graveyard. "It's called Training Academy. When it is in my graveyard, all my warrior-type monsters gain 300 attack points!"

Thomas was stunned to hear that.

"Now attack my opponent's life points directly, my Bronze Knights!"

The three Bronze Knights obeyed and slashed Thomas across the chest with their swords one at a time. The blue-haired boy yelled in pain as he took a step back and scowled (LP: 100).

"One more attack-" said Warrior Dai Grepher, smiling. "-and you will lose. Do you see now that it is useless to resist? You're struggling with only 100 life points, while I myself am still at a full 4000!"

"Never!" thundered Thomas.

"Still as defiant as ever..." sighed Shadow Tamer. "So be it!"

"Indeed." agreed Warrior Dai Grepher. "Now make your final move!"

With that said, Thomas drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (7): Thousand Knives, Magician Navigation, Book of Secret Arts, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Brave Attack, Flash Fusion, and Dark Magic Curtain

* * *

The blue-haired boy had drawn Dark Magic Curtain.

"This is it..." He then spoke aloud. "This duel isn't over by a long-shot."

Warrior Dai Grepher raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

On cue, the Dark Magic Curtain Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Dark Magic Curtain!" announced Thomas. "This powerful Spell card allows me to special summon a mighty spellcaster from my deck!"

A large machine with a red colored curtain materialized upon the life points being paid.

"A spellcaster?!" winced Warrior Dai Grepher.

"Correct!" confirmed Thomas (LP: 50). "I just need to lower my life points by half, and I can call upon my ultimate ally! Dark Magician!"

The machine took hold of the curtain and tossed it away. Upon the curtain being tossed away, there stood the purple-haired, male spellcaster (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

Shadow Tamer gasped. "Dark Magician!"

"That's right." said Thomas. "And he is going to help me deal with you creeps."

The sight of the ultimate spellcaster caused Shadow Tamer to grip her head for some reason.

"W-What...?"

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In the Duel Monsters spirit world capital city, Shadow Tamer and Warrior Dai Grepher were both speaking to Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl.

"You wished to see us?" asked Shadow Tamer.

"We have." nodded Dark Magician. "According to my apprentice here, Emily Sterling from the real world has been captured by the Court of Darkness."

"Who?" questioned Warrior Dai Grepher.

"She is a very dear friend of our master, Thomas Billinton." explained Dark Magician Girl.

"But why has she been taken?"

"Because of the darkness in Emily's heart." Dark Magician pointed out. "It holds the key to reviving...him."

Shadow Tamer gasped. "You don't-?"

"I do." Dark Magician confirmed grimly. "It has to do with...the ' _ **Evil One**_ '."

"But that can't be possible!" protested Warrior Dai Grepher.

"It is possible." said Dark Magician Girl. "A human going by the name Professor Melvin, has found a way to extract the darkness from people's hearts..."

"...and use it as fuel to help revive 'him'." Dark Magician finished.

"We must stop him." insisted Shadow Tamer.

"At all costs!" agreed Warrior Dai Grepher.

"The best way to do so would be to rescue Emily and the people who were captured." Dark Magician Girl pointed out. "But the Castle of Dark Illusions is extremely fortified."

"We have no other choice." said Warrior Dai Grepher. "We will find a way to save Emily and the other captured humans."

"Please be careful." warned Dark Magician. "There's no telling what danger you two will encounter out there."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Shadow Tamer was still gripping her head with both hands like she was fighting something.

"These... memories..." she murmured.

Another flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Shadow Tamer and Warrior Dai Grepher were both somewhere in a lab within the Castle of Dark Illusions. As they both looked around curious of their surroundings, some footsteps were heard. Entering the lab was a human male in his 50s to 60s.

"Welcome." greeted the man.

"Professor Melvin, I presume." said Warrior Dai Grepher.

"We have come to set free the humans you have captured!" proclaimed Shadow Tamer. "Now let them go!"

Professor Melvin chuckled. "I think not. You two are prisoners of the Court of Darkness now! ...and the latest test subjects of my next experiment."

"What experiment?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Professor Melvin then snapped his fingers, causing the two Gil Garths to stand tall in obedience. "Strap them on the tables right over there."

The two Gil Garths obeyed and grabbed their prey by their arms.

"Get your filthy hands off of us!" demanded Warrior Dai Grepher, trying to break free.

"Let us go!" added Shadow Tamer

(new scene...)

Before long, Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer were both strapped to a respective table. Professor Melvin then walked over.

"Just relax..." he said softly. "This won't hurt..much."

"What are you gonna do to us?" quizzed Shadow Tamer.

"I am merely going to 'persuade' you two to serve Court of Darkness instead of fighting us."

"Never!" snapped Warrior Dai Grepher. "The Court of Darkness is evil!"

Other than just snap right back, Professor Melvin instead snapped his fingers once more. From there, two Slate Warriors carrying special helmets walked up.

"Put those on our test subjects here." ordered Professor Melvin.

The Slate Warriors obeyed, putting the helmets on the two warrior monsters. Once that was done, the same Slate Warriors attached two pairs of long tubes into the helmets.

"What matter of experiment is this?!" demanded Shadow Tamer.

"You'll find out soon enough." cackled Professor Melvin.

Once everything was set, the mad human flipped the switch nearby. Purple liquid went through the tubes towards the helmet wearing Duel Monster spirits.

"Now, before you ask-" Professor Melvin said mockingly. "I said this will be painful...but only briefly."

The liquid entered the helmets of Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer. before long, the two monsters began to scream in pain as more and more purple liquid seemed to somehow enter their heads to the brain.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Shadow Tamer was still gripping her head...before looking up with her mind still under Professor Melvin's control.

"Someone must be playing with my mind." she thought.

Back at the duel...

"Dark Magic Attack!" commanded Thomas.

Dark Magician fired a blast of black magic at Makyura the Destructor. The blast struck the warrior-type monster and caused the air all around it fizzle and flash in a multitude of colors before before destroying it.

"Your Makyura the Destructor has been vanquished!" declared Thomas.

Warrior Dai Grepher grunted as he took damage (LP: 3100). By the angry look on his face, it was clear that he hated losing life points due to his warrior's pride. He then slotted a card into his Duel Disk.

"When Makyura gets sent to my graveyard-" The warrior-type monster announced. "I can activate any Trap cards from my hand!"

"Trap cards?!" Thomas winced.

"And I choose this Trap card...!" said Warrior Dai Grepher, as his chosen card materialized face-up. He then drew two cards from his deck. "It's called Reckless Greed! It allows me to draw two cards so long as I skip my next two draw phases"

The two cards were shown to be Give 'n' Take(!) and Swords of Revealing Light (both were Spell cards).

"So be it." remarked Thomas. He then slotted a card into his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized.

"It's my turn!" said Warrior Dai Grepher.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 3100)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): Give 'n' Take and Swords of Revealing Light

* * *

Taking one of the cards from his hand, the warrior-type monster slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate a Spell card called Give 'n' Take!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. Dark Magician suddenly turned itself back into a card and returned to Thomas's hand.

"My Dark Magician!" gasped the blue-haired boy. "What has happened?"

"Give 'n' Take returns a level 7 or higher monster to your hand." explained Warrior Dai Grepher. "In addition, both players gain life points equal to your returned monster's attack points."

Both of their life points went up (LP: 5600)(LP: 2550).

"And now you're wide open for a direct attack once more! Bronze Knights, go show the boy over there the wrath of your blades once more!"

The Bronze Knights obeyed and went in for another direct attack... but Thomas was more prepared for this one!

"Open facedown card!" he shouted, motioning his right hand up. "Magician Navigation!"

The blue-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"This Trap card lets me to special summon Dark Magician from my hand...which you so ' _kindly_ ' returned it to." explained Thomas, placing his returned card back onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Dark Magician returned to the field with a mighty yell (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"But that isn't all." The blue-haired boy continued, taking his deck out of his Duel Disk. "Magician Navigation also allows me to special summon a level 7 or lower spellcaster from my deck."

"Another high level spellcaster?" thought Warrior Dai Grepher. "What else is there for him to play?"

A card ejected from Thomas's deck and came to his hand before holding it out.

"Come forth... Dark Magician Girl!"

The female spellcaster materialized beside her teacher (Level: 6/ATK: 2000). Upon seeing Dark Magician Girl, Shadow Tamer once again felt some pain in her head as she gripped the sides with both hands.

"Yet again!" The female monster cried out to herself. "What's wrong with...?!"

Back over at the duel...

"My turn isn't over yet!" insisted Warrior Dai Grepher, taking his final card. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"

The familiar large swords of light appeared, trapping the two spellcasters.

"This Spell card will prevent you from attacking for three turns."

"I won't let them stop me!" shouted Thomas defiantly, drawing a card. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Thousand Knives, Book of Secret Arts, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Brave Attack, Flash Fusion, and Dust Tornado  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : Three Turns

* * *

Immediately, a facedow card materialized.

"I set this card facedown and end my turn!"

"My turn!" said Warrior Dai Grepher.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 5600)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (0): N/A

* * *

Seeing as he had no other cards in his hand and was forced to skip his draw phase once more, Warrior Dai Grepher could only do one thing right now...

"I switch my three Bronze Knights into defense mode!"

The three knights knelt into a defensive stance (DEF: 500).

"Facedown card, open!" Thomas suddenly announced.

"What?!" Warrior Dai Grepher gasped.

The blue-haired boy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Dust Tornado will destroy one Spell or Trap card on your side of the field! So now... say goodbye to your Swords of Revealing Light two turns sooner."

The large tornado swept across the field and shattered the light swords.

"My swords!" exclaimed Warrior Dai Grepher. He then growled in frustration. "My turn is over!"

"My turn!" Thomas drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (6): Thousand Knives, Book of Secret Arts, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Brave Attack, Flash Fusion, and Graceful Charity

* * *

"Now behold the Spell card Graceful Charity!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. An angel materialized above Thomas and started to sprinkling some gentle raindrops down towards his deck.

"This lets me draw three more cards, while discarding two from my hand to the graveyard." said Thomas as he drew his three extra cards. He immediately discarded both Thousand Knives (Spell card) and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (Effect Monster card) to the graveyard.

The blue-haired boy's hand now consisted of Book of Secret Arts, Brave Attack, Flash Fusion, King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and De-Fusion.

"And with your swords now gone early, I will now go onto the offensive!" continued Thomas. "Attack now, Dark Magician! Destroy a Bronze Knight with Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician obeyed, firing a blast of black magic from his scepter, shattering one of the Bronze Knights upon striking.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the woods, little Iris was still searching for Thomas. She was feeling lost and afraid, but her determination to find her 'Daddy' was not gonna stop her.

"I have to find Mr. Thomas." Iris said to herself. "He might be in trouble."

Before the young brown-haired girl could move another step, a loud explosion suddenly rocked the area and nearly knocked her off her feet.

"What was that?" she cried out in shock.

Without wasting another second, Iris continued running through the woods.

(elsewhere...)

Back in another section of the woods, the explosion had come from the destruction of a second Bronze Knight Token, compliments of Dark Magician Girl attacking.

"Thanks to Dark Magician Girl, another of your Bronze Knights have fallen!" declared Thomas proudly.

Warrior Dai Grepher scowled unhappily. Over with Shadow Tamer, the female monster was still grimacing and wincing from the pain in her head.

"Make it stop!" Shadow Tamer begged in agony.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside the lab within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Warrior Dai Grepher and Shadow Tamer were both screaming in intense pain from the torture-like experiement Professor Melvin was forcing upon them. The scientist, meanwhile, merely cackled sadistically at their pain.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Shadow Tamer once again failed to break free.

"No more of these tricks!" she exclaimed, suddenly speaking to Thomas. "Whatever you're trying to do to me, it won't work!"

Thomas was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Just get on with the duel!"

Thomas scowled in response. "I end my turn." he announced, looking back at Warrior Dai Grepher.

Warrior Dai Grepher smirked and drew his card (now that Reckless Greed's effect had worn off).

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 5600)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

"Well now... this will certainly refresh everything."

Thomas raised an eyebrow, yet didn't say a word. Warrior Dai Grepher went ahead and slotted his drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Card of Sanctity!" announced Warrior Dai Grepher.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Now both of us draw until we hold six cards in our hands." explained Warrior Dai Grepher. "Too bad you already have a full hand."

Thomas remained silent still, while his opponent actually drew six new cards.

"I think I'll pull off a little fusion summon..." Warrior Dai Grepher said to himself, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Call of the Warrior - Ryu(!)!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"By tributing my final Bronze Knight Token, I am able to special summon a level 6 or lower warrior-type fusion monster from my extra deck with an extra 500 attack points and its effects negated."

The Bronze Knight Token vanished.

"Now I fusion summon Ryu Senshi!" announced Warrior Dai Grepher, taking a card out of his pocket and placing it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field was a rather powerful version of Warrior Dai Grepher with a purplish helmet and shoulder pads that looked like bat wings (Level: 6/ATK: 2000).

"And thanks to my Spell card, it gains 500 extra attack points!"

Ryu Senshi immediately grew stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"Now it's as strong as Dark Magician!" Thomas thought to himself.

"My turn is not even close to being finished yet." continued Warrior Dai Grepher, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown..."

A facedown card materialized. It was followed by the materialization of an Equip Spell card called Fusion Weapon.

"Then I activate Fusion Weapon." added Warrior Dai Grepher. "This Spell card increases Ryu Senshi's attack by a further 1500!"

Thanks to Fusion Weapon (because Ryu Senshi was a level 6 or lower fusion monster), Ryu Senshi grew even stronger (ATK: 2500 - 4000). Finally, the Polymerization Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Lastly, I'll use Polymerization to fuse the Lord of Dragons and Divine Dragon Ragnarok in my hand together!"

The two monsters appeared breifly before fusing together.

"With the conditions met-" declared Warrior Dai Grepher. "-I fusion summon King Dragun!"

An explosion hit the field as the silhouette of the monster appeared before them.

(elsewhere...)

A distance away from the duel, Iris got closer until she could see the explosion.

"Whoa!" The young brown-haired girl cried out in surprise. "What's going on?"

Without wasting a second, Iris moved on towards the duel grounds.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the duel grounds, the full body of King Dragun was shown.

"Two powerful monsters I control..." chuckled Warrior Dai Grepher. "Who should I target on your field first?"

Thomas stood firm, but he knew how grave the situation was. If both of his monsters were attacked, he would have nothing left to stop Warrior Dai Grepher from winning.

"I think I'll start with your Dark Magician Girl..." said Warrior Dai Grepher at last. "I'll use King Dragun to attack and destroy the Dark Magician Girl! Fire Scourge now!"

King Dragun obeyed, firing a blast of flames at Dark Magician Girl. The poor female spellcaster-type monster was overwhelmed by the flames and got roasted alive.

"Dark Magician Girl!" screamed Thomas (LP: 2150).

"Mr. Thomas!" called a familiar child's voice.

"Iris?"

Thomas looked towards the bushes and saw Iris running towards him.

"Mr. Thomas, it's you!" The young brown-haired girl exclaimed in relief.

"Iris, what are you doing here?" Thomas cried in alarm. "Stay back! It's not safe!"

"Your Dark Magician is next!" called Warrior Dai Grepher. "Ryu Senshi! Attack and destroy the Dark Magician at once!"

Ryu Senshi obeyed, raised his weapon, and slashed it forth. This was powerful enough to launch a razor sharp shock slash-like beam flying forth, cutting Dark Magician right in half (separating the lower half of his body from the top half) before shattering him into pieces. But that wasn't the worst bit, it soared forth towards Thomas.

"MR. THOMAS!" wailed Iris, getting closer to her 'Daddy'.

"IRIS, STAY BACK!" shouted Thomas pleadingly.

It was too late... As the razor sharp shock slash-like beam got closer and closer to Thomas, Iris, with her back turned, got in front of the blue-haired boy...

...and took the blow instead.

"IRIS!" screamed Thomas in sickening horror.

The poor young brown-haired girl screamed in agonizing pain as the blade repeatedly spun and sawed into her back, leaving quite the bloody mess behind. Soon the attack ceased, and Thomas lost a large amount of life points thanks to Dark Magician being destroyed just now (LP: 650), but that didn't matter to him right now. Why not, you might be asking? Because Iris, fatally wounded, then collapsed into his arms.

"IRIS! IRIS! SPEAK TO ME, PLEASE!"

"M-Mr. Thomas..." The young brown-haired girl whispered quietly. It was a sign she was not gonna last much longer.

"Iris..." mumble Thomas as tears came to his eyes. "Why did you do that?"

Iris coughed a bit before looking up. Some clothing and skin on her back had been torn right off. In addition, there was an ENORMOUS gash on her mid-upper back with massive amounts of blood spewing out of the wound... it looked positively sickening.

"I... had to... protect you." she insisted slowly, looking up at Thomas weakly. "That attack... would have killed you."

"You just have to hang in there, Iris... please!" begged Thomas. "I can't bear to lose you!" Suddenly, he remembered something important. "The Millennium Puzzle! If I used it before to heal Emily and prevent her from disappearing into the shadows, then perhaps I can do the same for Iris!"

Aiming the Millennium Puzzle towards the young girl, Thomas tried to make it glow.

"Please!" he wailed, shaking the puzzle. "Please, you have to heal Iris! I'm begging you!" More and more tears were streaming down his face as the blue-haired boy's voice started to break. "DON'T LET HER DIE!"

But the Millennium Puzzle...didn't glow.

"PLEASE!" The blue-haired boy screamed in desperation. "DO SOMETHING, DAMN YOU!"

But alas, it did nothing still.

"Never mind, Mr. Thomas." said Iris with another cough. The loss of so much blood reached its limit. "It's for the best. Thank you so much for taking care of me."

"No... NO!" Thomas started to cry. "No, Iris, this can't be the end! I can't lose you! You're like a little sister to me! I love you!"

"I love you too, Mr. Thomas." Iris responded quietly and weakly. "Never give in to the darkness...Daddy..."

With that said, she closed her eyes and turned to light. Thomas, with his voice cracking, collapsed to his knees while reduced to a sobbing mess over losing someone he thought as another little sister.

(elsewhere...)

Maiden of the Aqua shot up wide awake.

"EVERYONE, WAKE UP!" she cried out.

At the camp site, everyone quickly woke up from their sleep.

"What's the matter?" asked Percy.

"You look terrible." added James.

Maiden of the Aqua was shivering fiercely. "Sometime terrible is about to happen. Thomas is missing... and he's about to lose himself once more."

"Oh...not again." groaned Gordon. "If Iris is with Thomas, he should be okay."

"She can't help him now..." Maiden of the Aqua looked like she was about to start crying. "She's...dead."

This earned a collective gasp from everyone in the area.

"What?!" gasped Percy in shock. "Dead?! How can she be dead?!"

Maiden of the Aqua couldn't answer the question.

(elsewere...)

Back in the middle of the woods, Thomas was still unresponsive after Iris's death...not that Warrior Dai Grepher seemed to notice.

"Are you still alive over there?" he asked harshly. "Who cares about what happened to that little girl? It was her own fault for getting in the way."

No response from Thomas.

"Speak!" demanded Warrior Dai Grepher. "Why don't you say anything?"

A dark aura started to form around Thomas as he stood back up. Warrior Dai Grepher glanced at his opponent in surprise, but remained silent. Once the blue-haired boy had gotten back to his feet and raised his head, a most terrifying sight was shown... and it was enough to surprise Warrior Dai Grepher and scare Shadow Tamer.

"Good heavens..." she whispered.

Thomas's eyes had turned to crimson red, and he had a very angry, almost demonic, expression on his face... which had turned gray with scales of a sort. No doubt he had been possessed by the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' once again... Except the hold was even stronger this time around.

"You son-of-a-bitch..." The blue-haired boy snarled in fury. "This... this was all your doing! You've murdered an innocent child!"

Warrior Dai Grepher reeled back in shock. This was certainly a new appearance for his opponent. Suddenly, he smelled something.

"That smell..." The warrior-type monster whispered to himself and sniffed the air, and got a strong whiff of darkness. "Was this what Professor Melvin told us about...?"

Shadow Tamer smelled it as well, and suddenly became more aware.

"Was this what we were hired to do?" she thought to herself.

"I want you two to give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you both here and now!" roared Thomas (possessed).

"No matter what, the duel WILL continue!" insisted Warrior Dai Grepher. "And I will win, too!"

Shadow Tamer was about to speak up when she gripped her head once more. The pain seemed to be stronger than ever before.

"What is this pain?" she thought.

The pain got so intense that Shadow Tamer started screaming and stumbling about. Thomas (possessed), meanwhile, began his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 650)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (7): Book of Secret Arts, Brave Attack, Flash Fusion, Queen's Knight, King's Knight, De-Fusion, and Royal Calling

* * *

The possessed blue-haired boy's drawn card was a Spell card called Royal Calling.

"I activate a Spell card!" Thomas (possessed) thundered, slotting his card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Royal Calling Spell card materialized face-up at once. "Royal Calling!"

"R-Royal Calling?" quizzed Warrior Dai Grepher.

"Yes! At the cost of 500 life points, I can proceed to special summon from my hand as many members of the ' ** _Three Musketeer of Face Cards_** ' archtype as I'm able to!" Thomas (possessed) then took two cards from his hand and placed them onto monster field slots. "Meet Queen's Knight and King's Knight!"

The two King and Queen Poker Knights appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)(Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400). In addition, the possessed blue-haired boy took a life point hit (LP: 150).

"When these two knights are in play-" went on Thomas (possessed), holding another card. "-I can automatically special summon Jack's Knight from my deck!"

The third Poker Knight appeared beside his two comrades (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000).

"And now... it's time for you to pay for your misdeeds...!"

The three Poker Knights overheard the change in voice from their master and turned to look at him... they all got the shock of a life time when they saw the demonic look on Thomas's usually friendly face. Clearly, the monsters had not expected this to happen at all.

"This boy..." thought Warrior Dai Grepher to only himself. "How does he expect to win with only his three knights?"

Thomas (possessed) wasn't done just yet. "Now I activate Brave Attack!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. Warrior Dai Grepher grimaced when he saw what the card was...

"A powerful and rare card..."

"This Spell card allows all three of my knights to combine their attacks together and strike down your Ryu Senshi, destroy it, and inflict damage to you for the difference of the combined attack." explained Thomas (possessed), before motioning his left hand forth. "Now go, my knights! Triple Majestic Slash!"

Queen's Knight charged in first, slashing Ryu Senshi. King's Knight followed suit, slashing Ryu Senshi. Finally, Jack's Knight charged in and delivered the final blow. Ryu Senshi was finally destroyed by the triple attack.

"1500 + 1600 + 1900 equals 5000 base attack." said Thomas (possessed). "Your Ryu Senshi had 4000 attack points." He then pointed forth fiercely. "Because of the difference in power, you lose 1000 life points!"

Warrior Dai Grepher grunted in pain as he took damage (LP: 4600).

"Tch! Don't forget Brave Attack's other effect..." The warrior-type monster remarked. "At the end of the battle phase, your knights will be destroyed!"

"I think not!" boomed Thomas (possessed) once more, holding out a card from his hand. "I activate a Quick-Play Spell card - Flash Fusion!"

The three Poker Knights leaped into the sky to fuse together.

"Using this card, I merge my Poker Knights together to fusion summon the mighty Arcana Knight Joker!"

The tall, purple-haired Poker Knight appeared, brandishing his sword and defending with a shield (Level: 9/ATK: 3800/DEF: 2500).

"Attack and destroy King Dragun right now!" commanded Thomas (possessed)

Arcana Knight Joker obeyed and charged forth to do the deed.

"I activate my set card!" announced Warrior Dai Grepher, just as his facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "The Quick-Play Spell card Fusion Disrupter(!)! Now your new monster will be destroyed, while damage to your life points will be sustained by the total attack the fusion monster had!"

Thomas (possessed) quickly discarded one of the last card froms his hand (Book of Secret Arts) to the graveyard.

"I activate Arcana Knight Joker's special ability!" The possessed blue-haired boy declared.

"What?!"

"If a card effect is activated-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-I can discard a card of the same type. Then my Arcana Knight Joker can negate and destroy your card!"

Arcana Knight Joker slashed his sword at the face-up Fusion Disrupter and destroyed it. Whats more, he then sliced King Dragun in half and destroyed it, too.

"My King Dragun!" cried Warrior Dai Grepher (LP: 3200). He growled then at his opponent. "No matter... your Arcana Knight Joker will be destroyed once your turn is all over!"

"Wrong again!" rebuffed Thomas (possessed), holding out the last card from his hand. "I activate my final card; De-Fusion!"

The possessed blue-haired boy's final Quick-Play Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This splits my fusion monster back into the three Poker Knights used to summon it!"

With that said, Arcana Knight Joker vanished as Queen's Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600), King's Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400), and Jack's Knight each returned in his place (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000).

"This can't be happening!" exclaimed Warrior Dai Grepher, taking a step back from shock.

"It is!" thundered Thomas (possessed). "Consider this punishment for your misdeeds!"

Over with Shadow Tamer, she finally released her hands from the sides of her head once more. But this time, the female monster's look was not of evil, but rather of confusion and fear.

"Where am I?" she asked. "W-What's going on?"

From there, Shadow Tamer witnessed Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight all attacking her friend/comrade (Warrior Dai Grepher) directly and all at once (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULT: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

"Warrior Dai Grepher!" cried out Shadow Tamer.

The warrior-type monster collapsed to his knees, but the worst wasn't over by a long shot. Thomas (possessed), with his Millennium Puzzle glowing (not white/gold, but purple/black), slowly approached, grabbed Warrior Dai Grepher by the throat, lifted him up, and gave quite possibly the most frightening smile known to mankind.

"You love darkness so much?" The possessed blue-haired boy taunted ruthlessly. "Then prepare to be destroyed by the very darkness you worship!"

Warrior Dai Grepher at first groaned, but it soon evolved into screams of intense pain as he felt his own life-force energy leaving him and being absorbed into the Millennium Puzzle.

"THIS IS FOR WHAT YOU DID TO IRIS!" screamed Thomas (possessed) furiously.

Eventually, it became too much for the defeated warrior-type monster and his body became limp. Shadow Tamer watched in horror as Warrior Dai Grepher then faded away to his death. She felt even more horror when she saw Thomas (possessed) beginning to walk menacingly towards her, with his demonic, glowing, rage-filled, red eyes and strong, thick dark aura surrounding him.

"S-Stay back! Stay away from me, you demon!" The female monster cried out in fear, beginning to run away.

Big mistake.

Shadow Tamer had hardly ran two feet before she was viciously grabbed by the neck and thrown fiercely (and painfully) onto the ground by Thomas (possessed), who pinned her down by the neck with his left hand, strangling the female monster ruthlessly, while raising is free right hand directly over her face and clenching it into a fist!

"RRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" roared Thomas (possessed), with deep, unrelenting rage over Iris's death.

Shadow Tamer, too terrified to scream or beg for mercy, shut her eyes in terror and waited for the impact of the possessed blue-haired boy's fist. But just then...

"Mr. Thomas!" cried a familiar voice (female).

Thomas (possessed), froze, his fist inches from the petrified Shadow Tamer's face. He heard a familiar voice in his head, calling him. It sounded just like...Iris's voice. Shadow Tamer nervously opened her eyes after realizing that he had stopped his punch...only for Thomas (possessed) to unleash another roar and raised his fist once more, and instead of punching Shadow Tamer in the face...he punched the ground, so hard his fist went slightly through the ground...just inches away from the female monsters face. Thomas (possessed) raised his fist, now covered in blood from smashing into the ground (not that he even noticed of cared) and tightened his grip on Shadow Tamer's neck, pulling her up from the ground until she was eye level with him, forcing her to look into his terrifying, demonic red eyes. The poor female monster was trembling in fear from the possessed blue-haired boy's glare.

"Crawl back to your army...let them know that I will hunt you all down...I will destroy each and every last of one you...and bathe in the afterglow of your demise...!"

Then, once again, Thomas (possessed) slammed Shadow Tamer's head back onto the ground, just as painfully as the first time, and finally released her from his grip and stood back up, leering at her. Shadow Tamer, clearly shaken by the possessed blue-haired boy's threatening demand, shakily picked herself up from the ground, ignoring the sharp pain at the back of her head, and ran as far away from Thomas (possessed) as she could. As soon as the female monster was far from sight, Thomas (possessed) clutched his forehead with his bloodied hand as he felt a sudden pain, falling to his knees as the dark aura surrounding him disappeared. When he raised his head up, Thomas's face returned to normal, while his eyes went back to their normal blue color.

"My head..." The blue-haired boy groaned wearily. "What happened? The last thing I remember is... Iris..."

Poor Thomas then remembered during the duel...that she died trying to save him from a direct attack of a sort. Collapsing to his knees once more, all of this was enough to bring him to tears once more.

"Iris... She was too young and pure of heart to be killed..."

As Thomas cried some more, he felt someone put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Looking back, the blue-haired boy could see that it was his Queen's Knight. Standing beside her was both King's Knight and Jack's Knight. Although they remained silent, the looks on their faces could tell it all. It was clear the three monsters felt nothing but pity and care for how their master/friend was feeling right now. Eventually, the three Poker Knights faded away, while Thomas looked down towards his Millennium Puzzle.

"Why?" he asked quietly and sadly. "Why didn't you save Iris? Why did you let her die? Was it just to punish me for something I might have done?"

The Millennium Puzzle still didn't glow white/gold or anything. Falling more and more into despair, poor Thomas began shaking his Millennium Item roughly a few times in hope that something would happen, but no reaction seem to come from the item still. Now screaming out in a tearful rage, the blue-haired boy tossed the ' ** _useless_** ' Millennium Puzzle aside and resumed crying over Iris's death.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the camp site, Percy, Maiden of the Aqua, and the rest of the gang were busy making plans to go out into the forest and try to find Thomas.

"Should we split up and look around?" asked James.

"No!" objected Edward. "What if we were to be attacked? We have to stick together."

Just then, there came a solemn voice...

"Don't bother searching."

Everyone turned to a path leading deeper into the forest. Walking and approaching the camp site...was a heartbroken Thomas.

"THOMAS!" cried out the gang.

Maiden of the Aqua ran over and hugged the blue-haired boy tightly in relief.

"We were so worried about you!" she exclaimed.

Thomas didn't say a word in response. He only kept his solemn look.

"What's the matter?" asked Percy, looking concerned for his best friend.

"Iris..." Thomas started to breakdown into tears once more.

Everyone else was puzzled at first, but then they started to realize the horrible truth... Little Iris really was dead.

"Who could have done such a terrible thing?" asked Henry.

Unfortunately, no else answered the question. Instead, the group bowed their heads and remained silent in order to pay their respects to that wonderful young girl who was only with them for a short amount of time.


	26. The Angel's Arrival

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of the woods, Thomas was in the middle of a duel, but was unresponsive after witnessing Iris's death...not that his opponent, Warrior Dai Grepher, seemed to notice.

"Are you still alive over there?" he asked harshly. "Who cares about what happened to that little girl? It was her own fault for getting in the way."

No response from Thomas.

"Speak!" demanded Warrior Dai Grepher. "Why don't you say anything?"

A dark aura started to form around Thomas as he stood back up. Warrior Dai Grepher glanced at his opponent in surprise, but remained silent. Once the blue-haired boy had gotten back to his feet and raised his head, a most terrifying sight was shown... and it was enough to surprise Warrior Dai Grepher and scare Shadow Tamer.

"Good heavens..." she whispered.

Thomas's eyes had turned to crimson red, and he had a very angry, almost demonic, expression on his face... which had turned gray with scales of a sort. No doubt he had been possessed by the ' ** _Evil One_** ' once again... Except the hold was even stronger this time around.

"You son-of-a-bitch..." The blue-haired boy snarled in fury. "This... this was all your doing! You've murdered an innocent child!"

Thomas (possessed), with his Millennium Puzzle glowing (not white/gold, but purple/black), slowly approached, grabbed Warrior Dai Grepher by the throat, lifted him up, and gave quite possibly the most frightening smile known to mankind.

"You love darkness so much?" The possessed blue-haired boy taunted ruthlessly. "Then prepare to be destroyed by the very darkness you worship!"

Warrior Dai Grepher at first groaned, but it soon evolved into screams of intense pain as he felt his own life-force energy leaving him and being absorbed into the Millennium Puzzle.

"THIS IS FOR WHAT YOU DID TO IRIS!" screamed Thomas (possessed) furiously.

Eventually, it became too much for the defeated warrior-type monster and his body became limp. Shadow Tamer watched in horror as Warrior Dai Grepher then faded away to his death. She felt even more horror when she saw Thomas (possessed) beginning to walk menacingly towards her, with his demonic, glowing, rage-filled, red eyes and strong, thick dark aura surrounding him.

"S-Stay back! Stay away from me, you demon!" The female monster cried out in fear, beginning to run away.

Big mistake.

Shadow Tamer had hardly ran two feet before she was viciously grabbed by the neck and thrown fiercely (and painfully) onto the ground by Thomas (possessed), who pinned her down by the neck with his left hand, strangling the female monster ruthlessly, while raising is free right hand directly over her face and clenching it into a fist!

"RRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" roared Thomas (possessed), with deep, unrelenting rage over Iris's death.

Shadow Tamer, too terrified to scream or beg for mercy, shut her eyes in terror and waited for the impact of the possessed blue-haired boy's fist. But just then...

"Mr. Thomas!"

Thomas (possessed), froze, his fist inches from the petrified Shadow Tamer's face. He heard a familiar voice in his head, calling him. It sounded just like...Iris's voice. Shadow Tamer nervously opened her eyes after realizing that he had stopped his punch...only for Thomas (possessed) to unleash another roar and raised his fist once more, and instead of punching Shadow Tamer in the face...he punched the ground, so hard his fist went slightly through the ground...just inches away from the female monsters face. Thomas (possessed) raised his fist, now covered in blood from smashing into the ground (not that he even noticed or cared) and tightened his grip on Shadow Tamer's neck, pulling her up from the ground until she was eye level with him, forcing her to look into his terrifying, demonic red eyes. The poor female monster was trembling in fear from the possessed blue-haired boy's glare.

"Crawl back to your army... let them know that I will hunt you all down... I will destroy each and every last of one you...and bathe in the afterglow of your demise...!"

Then, once again, Thomas (possessed) slammed Shadow Tamer's head back onto the ground, just as painfully as the first time, and finally released her from his grip and stood back up, leering at her. Shadow Tamer, clearly shaken by the possessed blue-haired boy's threatening demand, shakily picked herself up from the ground, ignoring the sharp pain at the back of her head, and ran as far away from Thomas (possessed) as she could. As soon as the female monster was far from sight, Thomas (possessed) then looked up and let loose a psychotic laugh into the night sky as his darkness grew more and more powerful.

 **END DREAM**

* * *

The dream sequence ended, and Emily shot up wide awake, becoming very upset in the process. She was currently in bed inside a room provided by the Gemini Elves of the very village she saved from a Chaos Sorcerer not long ago.

"Another horrible dream..." Emily whispered to herself.

All of a sudden, little Kuribon, who had been sleeping on a nearby chair, awoke and saw the distressed look on her friend's face and floated over with a few 'kuribis'.

"I had another nightmare." explained Emily. And she told her little friend about it.

* * *

 **Title: The Angel's Arrival**

* * *

The next morning, Emily and Kuribon both went downstairs to the dining room for some breakfast before departing the village to continue their journey to the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"I only hope things don't get any worse for us hear on out." said Emily to herself.

Kuribon, feeling worried, got closer to her human friend and immediately started to softly nuzzle against her face.

"Aw, thanks for that, little one." smiled Emily, hugging Kuribon. "You sure do know how to cheer me up."

(elsewhere...)

After a hearty breakfast, it was finally time for Emily to depart and continue her journey. Everyone in the village came to see her off.

"Thank you all for the hospitality." The dark green-haired girl bowed gratefully.

"No... thank you." corrected a King's Knight.

"For saving our village." added a Big Shield Gardna.

"Are you sure you won't stay for a little bit longer?" asked a Mystical Elf.

"You're more than welcome to stay for as long as you like." said a Celtic Guardian

"I wish I could-" Emily shook her head politely. "-but Kuribon here needs to take me to see Wingweaver."

Cue some collective gasps from the villagers.

"You mean...THE Wingweaver?" asked one Gemini Elf in bewilderment.

"Yes, that's right. She's my ace monster and fellow Duel Monsters spirit like Kuribon here. You've seen her before?"

"She is one of our world's guardians!" exclaimed a Legendary Fisherman. "And among one of the most powerful and respected, too!"

"The other respected guardians include the Dark Magician!" added a Jack's Knight. "An his apprentice, Dark Mag-"

"Dark Magician Girl?" finished Emily. "I know those two monsters!"

"You do?"

"They're Thomas's ace monsters." Emily pointed out. "My friend has used them in nearly every duel he's been in."

"Yes, that is correct." said a new, but familiar voice.

Emily turned to the source of the voice, causing her eyes to widen in complete surprise.

"Bubbling Sodas...!"

Many of the Duel Monsters in the village were surprised, too.

"It's him..." whispered a Mystical Elf.

"The Great One's ultimate servant..." added a Big Shield Gardna.

Standing before them was none other than Dark Magician.

"The Dark Magician..." Emily whispered.

The Duel Monsters all bowed...even Kuribon.

"What brings you here?" asked a Queen's Knight.

"And where's Dark Magician Girl?" added a Gemini Elf. "Isn't she usually with you?"

"She's in the real world at the moment." explained Dark Magician. "Recruiting help."

Emily blinked for a few moments from wondering just who on Earth Dark Magician Girl could possibly go to visit.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Spencer had arrived at a beach.

"Hello?" he called out. "Is anybody there?"

No one responded, causing the silver-haired boy to sigh to himself. Suddenly, he felt his deck beginning to glow.

"Huh?"

Drawing the top card, the card in question was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Blue-Eyes?" Spencer whispered. "What's wrong?"

The card immediately stopped glowing for some reason. Although he couldn't figure it out, Spencer knew something seemed to be wrong with Blue-Eyes.

"I wish I knew what was going on." The silver-haired boy said only to himself.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a lab somewhere in another part of the Spirit World, Professor Melvin was busy watching Spencer on a large computer monitor. Nearby, there were several humanoid Duel Monsters trapped inside plasma tubes of a sort.

"That's it, Spencer." Professor Melvin chuckled. "Soon I'll have you right where I want you."

He then looked to one of the nearby plasma tubes. Inside was the same white-haired, pale skinned young woman.

"And I know that a certain someone will also be here waiting for you...Seto."

The young woman's eyes widened with horror as she started letting off some muffled screams in protest. This...can't be a good sign, can it?

(elsewhere...)

Back at the village, Emily was more shocked than ever once Dark Magician finished his explanation.

"Spencer is being summoned here?"

"Yes." said Dark Magician. "For what purpose? Only he can tell you."

Emily sighed. "Great, now I have to find him?"

"No. Your main task right now is to head for the Sanctuary in the Sky and visit Wingweaver."

"Could you perhaps help me get there?" asked Emily hopefully.

But then Kuribon spoke up in its usual 'kuribi' language. Dark Magician listened on before speaking up in response.

"I'm afraid this is something you must do on your own." he said wisely.

"What?" Emily was dismayed. "But why? It's too dangerous out there on my own. The Court of Darkness could still be hunting me down."

"You need to make yourself stronger."

The dark green-haired girl was puzzled. "Stronger?"

"Yes, stronger." confirmed Dark Magician.

"But why? Aren't I already a strong individual like Thomas and the others?" quizzed Emily.

"Not exactly." sighed Dark Magician. "While you seem strong on the outside, there is still part of you that isn't."

"What?" blinked Emily.

"Like Thomas, you have your own inner darkness to overcome."

Emily was more confused than ever. "My own inner darkness?" Suddenly, she remembered something important. "Wait...!"

Kuribon looked at the dark green-haired girl with a curious look as she (Emily) continued to speak...

"That could be why the Court of Darkness is after me." she said aloud. "The darkness in my heart must have been created from that Middle School incident years ago."

"Your own darkness was born from the pain, anger, and despair you were feeling as you were bullied." explained Dark Magician. "While it has been chained when you were saved by Thomas, it can be almost impossible to get rid of forever."

"But how can it be destroyed?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you." replied Dark Magician heavily. "This is something you and Thomas will both have to discover for yourselves...even if it takes years to do so."

Emily felt very unhappy by this. But while her darkness was somewhat covered, a certain someone's darkness was getting worse...

(elsewhere...)

Within the woods in one part of the Spirit World, Thomas and the others were gathering their belongings together, for they had to move on with finding Mavis, Rosie, and Molly. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy...

"I still can't believe Iris is gone." said Percy sadly.

"She was so young." put in Stanley.

Nearby, sitting on a rock broodingly, Thomas was still badly affected by the young brown-haired girl's death.

"It was my fault..." he mumbled.

"Thomas..." James mumbled, watching his blue-haired friend continue to blame himself.

"I should have been able to save her. Oh why did the puzzle let her die?!"

"Iris HAD to die, Thomas." insisted Maiden of the Aqua gently. "She sacrificed herself to protect you. If she hadn't taken the hit from that attack, you would have been killed."

"I COULD'VE SAVED HER!" screamed Thomas. "I COULD'VE SAVED HER, DAMMIT!" His voice started breaking. "I could've saved...! I-I could've..."

The blue-haired boy then broke down in a sobbing mess once more.

"Thomas, it wasn't your fault." said Gordon gently. "You did the best you could, and that's all..."

"THE PUZZLE REFUSED TO HEAL HER!" Thomas screamed yet again, with more and more tears falling from his eyes. "Why didn't it heal her?! Why did it allow her to die?!"

Unable to take it any longer, the blue-haired boy threw the Millennium Puzzle off and ran deeper into the woods.

"Thomas, stop!" called Percy, but went unheard.

"Here we go again." groaned James.

"No." Edward spoke up. "Thomas needs some time to grieve."

"How much time? We're on a serious rescue mission here!"

"James, can you just-" Henry started to say, but got cut off.

"We can't stop our journey every time someone has a trauma moment!" argued James. "Otherwise, our missing friends will die!"

*SLAP*

All of a sudden, Maiden of the Aqua went and slapped James across the face, hard. The red-haired boy stumbled back and gazed at the blue-haired female monster with a look of shock and surprise.

"What was that for?" asked James angrily, but became quiet when he saw the angry look on Maiden of the Aqua's face.

"Look, I know it's important that we rescue the remainder of our group-" said Maiden of the Aqua, trying to remain calm despite being very upset with James. "-but it's also important to be there for our friends when they need it most."

The red-haired boy knew that the blue-haired female monster was right on the button. Instantly, James felt regret over being somewhat insensitive to the fact Thomas was taking Iris's death the hardest.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "It's just I miss Molly so much."

"As I miss Mavis." Toby pointed out.

"And Rosie for me." finished Stanley.

"We know you three do." reassured Edward.

"Agreed." added Maiden of the Aqua.

"But I'm afraid that they may have to wait a little longer." Percy threw in. "Just until Thomas is feeling better."

But for how long?

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere deep in the woods, sitting on a log all along, Thomas was weeping some more because he was unable to shake the awful memories of Iris dying.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas looked towards the bushes and saw Iris running towards him.

"Mr. Thomas, it's you!" The young brown-haired girl exclaimed in relief.

"Iris, what are you doing here?" Thomas cried in alarm. "Stay back! It's not safe!"

"Your Dark Magician is next!" called Warrior Dai Grepher. "Ryu Senshi! Attack and destroy the Dark Magician at once!"

Ryu Senshi obeyed, raised his weapon, and slashed it forth. This was powerful enough to launch a razor sharp shock slash-like beam flying forth, cutting Dark Magician right in half (separating the lower half of his body from the top half) before shattering him into pieces. But that wasn't the worst bit, it soared forth towards Thomas.

"MR. THOMAS!" wailed Iris, getting closer to her 'Daddy'.

"IRIS, STAY BACK!" shouted Thomas pleadingly.

It was too late... As the razor sharp shock slash-like beam got closer and closer to Thomas, Iris, with her back turned, got in front of the blue-haired boy...

...and took the blow instead.

"IRIS!" screamed Thomas in sickening horror.

The poor young brown-haired girl screamed in agonizing pain as the blade repeatedly spun and sawed into her back, leaving quite the bloody mess behind. Soon the attack ceased, and Thomas lost a large amount of life points thanks to Dark Magician being destroyed just now (LP: 650), but that didn't matter to him right now. Why not, you might be asking? Because Iris, fatally wounded, then collapsed into his arms.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Why?" sobbed Thomas. "Why did it have to be Iris? I should have been the one to be killed by that attack!"

Suddenly, he gripped head in searing pain.

"W-What's?!"

All of a sudden, Thomas had a vision.

* * *

 **VISION**

The world was nothing but smoke and ash. Everyone had tried their best to confine him, but their best wasn't enough.

The 'Evil One', the devil himself had been reborn after thousands of years, and with his revived power he had managed to achieve the impossible. The Three Sacred Beasts, the three demons, had been revived as well, and thanks to the 'Evil One's' new powers, he had fused the three beasts themselves together to form a beast of catastrophic and unrelenting power. Duelists from all over the Spirit World, including Percy Avonside, Spencer Gresley, and the rest of the humans that had come to the Spirit World, fought in retaliation against the revived devil. However, each and everyone of them had been defeated and had died, even both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl had fallen, along with the Sanctuary in the Skies guardian, Wingweaver, they were all defeated and killed by the devil.

Now there was no one left who could stand up the devil. He reigned supreme over everything. There was only one person remaining who knew the true identity of the one buried beneath the demonic exterior. That person was Emily Sterling. When she discovered who the monster really was, her heart broke, learning that the once cheerful, cheeky and selfless boy she cherished had a devil resting inside him. And now that thousand year old devil had returned from the dead. Pumping her legs as hard as she could, Emily reached the top of a building that the devil and the merged beast were passing.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Emily screamed with all her might.

Now, normally Emily absolutely hated using swear words of any kind (even 'damn' or 'hell') in any given situation, but this time it was different... It was also only at her words did those red eyes finally meet her own eyes. As full as they were, a vile mixture of rage and blood-lust, a shadow of recognition passed over them.

 **END VISION**

* * *

The vision ended, and the pain ceased in Thomas's head.

"W-What was that?" he gasped. "A vision? And why were my friends—including Spencer—dead?"

It was mysterious, indeed.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Duel Monsters village, Emily, Kuribon, and the remaining villagers were all listening to what Dark Magician had to say.

"As long as your inner darkness remains-" said Dark Magician. "-the Court of Darkness will not give up their search for you."

"I just wish I knew how to destroy my darkness once and for all." moaned Emily. "What I really want is to just go home and be with my friends again."

Kuribon floated over to Dark Magician and said a few words in its 'kuribi' language before the purple-haired, male spellcaster spoke up once more.

"While it will be very difficult to destroy your darkness-" began Dark Magician. "-there is someone who can help you."

Emily looked over to Dark Magician pleadingly. "Please! You MUST tell me!"

"It is the very Duel Monster you're going to visit - Wingweaver."

"My Wingweaver?" asked Emily.

Smiling, Dark Magician started fade away...but not before speaking one last time...

"You will know when the time comes." he said slowly. "Farewell..."

With that said, Dark Magician was gone.

"There he goes..." whispered a Jack's Knight.

Emily remained silent. This was going to indeed be quite a journey she would have to go through. Deep down inside, she was afraid to do it alone.

"Am I afraid?" The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "Am I afraid...that I'll never get strong enough? Will I just end up like those female protagonists in many of those anime shows that always get the short end of the stick?"

Kuibon once again nuzzled against Emily's face to try and comfort her. As she (Kuribon) nuzzled against the right side of the dark green-haired girl's face, Kuribon said a few words in her 'Kuriboh language'.

"You're right." sighed Emily in some relief. "I'm not truly alone as long as you're by my side."

Kuribon nodded happily. Emily smiled a bit and looked to the villagers once more.

"Wish me luck." she said. "And thanks again for everything."

Suddenly, the two Gemini Elf sisters walked out of the crowd and towards the dark green-haired girl. They were both carrying some stuff in their arms.

"Here's some provisions." informed the first Gemini Elf, carrying a full backpack. "Food, drink, fire wood, etc.."

"And a sleeping bag for you to sleep in." added the second Gemini Elf, carrying what she said it was; a sleeping bag.

"Thank you." said Emily gratefully, accepting the gift. "I will never forget your kindness during my visit."

"Likewise, Emily."

With that said, Emily finally set off for the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Goodbye!" called the monsters, waving. "You will never be forgotten!"

"This is it." thought Emily, walking down the road. "The beginning of my most dangerous adventure yet. Thomas, everyone, I promise I will find you soon enough."

(elsewhere...)

Despite being on the run from the Court of Darkness, Emily pressed on. Very quickly, she encountered her first challenge...nine Battle Steers.

"Surrender and come quietly." demanded one Battle Steer. "Do so, and we won't eat you for lunch!"

Rather than surrendering, Emily merely drew the top card of her deck.

"Wingweaver, come forth!"

The six-winged angel appeared and did battle with the Steer.

(elsewhere...)

Later on after being ambushed, it was night time, and Emily had stopped to make camp. She had a fire started, and make a quick meal with some of the food given to her by the villagers.

"So far so good." Emily thought to herself. She then looked up and smiled. "Look, Kuribon! Look at all of the stars in the night sky!"

Kuribon did so.

"Even the moon is beautiful." continued the dark green-haired girl, carefully taking some meat off of a make-shift grill over the fire with a metallic fork. "You know something? If this world wasn't currently at war with the Court of Darkness, it would actually be very beautiful and peaceful, you get me?"

Kuribon nodded in agreement. From there, Emily ripped some of the meat off of the fork and held it out to the female Kuriboh.

"Here, you might like some of this."

Kuribon took a small nibble.

"How is it?" asked Emily kindly.

Kuribon let out a few happy 'kuri' noises. Obvious, she liked the meat. After taking a bite out of her share of the meat, Emily smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that." The dark green-haired girl replied. "We'll need our strength for tomorrow morning. Oh, and since there is a nearby lake, I'd like to take a quick bath before we leave. Is that alright?"

Kuribon nodded in agreement. At least she was warned beforehand unlike last time (where Emily suddenly stripped herself nude without telling Kuribon before-hand). Despite Emily smiling big, she couldn't help but wonder what Thomas and the others were up to at the moment.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the camp site somewhere in the woods, Percy and the others were still waiting to see if Thomas would come back yet...or maybe even never come back.

"I guess he's not coming back." sighed Toby.

"You don't think he's so depressed that he...committed suicide?" Percy asked with a greatly worried look on his face.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

Just then, they heard rustling from the nearby bushes.

"Company?" whispered Henry. "Now?"

"More members of the Court of Darkness?" complained James. "Gimme a break!"

But it wasn't any member or soldier of the Court of Darkness. Out of the bushes came Thomas, and he was looking much better.

"Hey, everyone."

"Thomas!" Everyone else was deeply relieved.

The gang was...almost...reunited. James, however, had a question for the blue-haired boy.

"I thought you were gonna sit this out?"

"I've changed my mind." explained Thomas, with a growing look of determination on his face. "I'm going to fight to avenge Iris AND save Emily's life!"

(elsewhere...)

The next morning with Emily once more, she had just summoned Wingweaver to combat a moderate number of Sword Arm of Dragons.

"Bring it on, Court of Darkness! Nothing you do will stop me!"

Wingweaver attacked with rays of light and destroyed the dinosaur-type monsters without effort. Emily, upon returning Wingweaver into her card, started to feel exhausted for some reason.

"Why am I feeling so tired?" she asked herself. "What's happening to me?"

Kuribon noticed this, too. Unfortunately, she didn't know what to make of it. Very soon, Emily sat down on a rock to rest.

"I sure hope Wingweaver can help me."

(elsewhere...)

Back with Thomas and the group; once the rest of camp was cleaned up, the blue-haired boy and his friends were ready to resume their journey to find Mavis, Rosie, and Molly, and to also rescue Emily from the Court of Darkness.

"Hold tight, girls." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "We'll rescue you no matter what."

From there, the gang proceeded to try and find their way out of the woods and head for the next possible location in their search.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a church-like room somewhere in the Sanctuary in the Sky, Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos were both watching something coming from a large crystal ball.

"The Great One moves onward." said Wingweaver.

"But his darkness continues to grow more and more powerful." Guardian Eatos pointed out. "Eventually, it will become too much for him to resist."

"If that time does come-" agreed Wingweaver. "-then only one will be able to save him."

Guardian Eatos frowned. "Even then, it might be too late. The only other alternative at the present...would be to destroy him."

The angelic-like monster was not pleased to hear that. "Absolutely not! I will not stoop to such a low as to murdering someone just to get what we want. Only a cruel monster would do such a thing."

"Look, I'm not entirely supportive of the idea either, but if the Evil One's hold on the boy gets strong enough...he could take his body permanently...or even worse...revive in a new form."

After what seemed like forever, Wingweaver finally gave a heavy sigh to Guardian Eatos' observations on the matter.

"I understand." she said at last. "But if we attempted murder on the boy, we would be no better than the Court of Darkness."

Guardian Eatos remained silent on the matter.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Emily and Kuribon, the latter had lead the former to...a mountain?

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Emily. "Is there something important that has to be done here?"

Kuribon shook her head and then looked up, causing Emily to look up as well.

"But all I can see are clouds. What are you trying to tell me?"

The female Kuriboh made a few 'kuri' noises like she was trying to tell Emily something...whiched shocked the dark green-haired girl when she figured it out.

"You mean I have to scale this whole cliff just to reach our destination?" Emily asked in dismay.

Kuribon nodded sheepishly.

"Oh well." sighed Emily. "Better get started now or I'll never get there."

Approaching the cliff and looking up...and seeing just how high it reached...the dark green-haired girl was rather concerned about falling, but she wanted to get stronger and this was one of her first trials to doing so.

"Okay..." Emily thought to herself. "I can do this!"

So, gripping hold of part of the rock, she slowly began to climb. Because of how high the cliff was, it was gonna take Emily quite a bit of time to reach the top. Thankfully, Kuribon slowly floated beside her human companion.

(elsewhere...)

Riding a Tri-Horned Dragon, Chaos Sorcerer was flying somewhere in the Spirit World.

"What does Airknight Parshath have in mind for that girl?" he wondered. "He said that the master's old 'special' arena would be needed. I just wish I knew what for."

Either way, Chaos Sorcerer continued on his way to where ever it was he needed to go to.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Emily and Kuribon, the dark green-haired girl had been climbing the cliff for the past twenty minutes, and so far...she was so high up that one false move could send her falling to her death.

"Can't... slip... up." breathed Emily, trying to catch her breath.

The growing wind conditions were making the climb very dangerous indeed, but our heroine was not gonna give up. Eventually, however, the dark green-haired girl's right foot slipped on something and nearly caused her to fall.

"Whoa!"

Fortunately, Emily managed to keep a firm grip on the ledge with her hands. With some deep breaths and mind calming, the dark green-haired girl was able to regain some footing and continue to climb the cliff. Before long (or maybe forty-five minutes later), Emily finally reached the top of the cliff. She was tired and sore, but also triumphant for making it without summoning a monster to help her.

"I did it!" Emily panted in exhaustion. Once enough breath was regained, she looked up and gave a great gasp. "Good heavens! Is this the place?"

Kuribon smiled and nodded. Straight ahead were stone steps leading to a large sanctuary-like temple, and it was crawling with light and/or wind attribute monsters. It was clear this...was the Sanctuary in the Sky; Kuribon's home and Emily's destination.

"Thank goodness." sighed Emily. "Now to go and find Wingweaver."

With that said, she began to ascend the steps towards the huge temple. What will she expect to see there? That's for us to know, and all of you out there to read and find out.


	27. Emily's Guardian Angel (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence and some suggestive themes. Chapter also contains some minor gropping on a female character (by another female character). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Slowly walking up the stone steps leading to the big temple of the Sanctuary of the Sky, Emily could not believe the size and magnificence of the whole place. There were hundreds to thousands of both light and wind attribute monsters roaming or flying around talking, minding their own business, or doing various odd jobs around the place.

"Is this where you live, Kuribon?" asked Emily, looking at her friend. "Because if you do, this is all truly amazing!"

Kuribon nodded, making some 'kuribi' noises.

"Well, I'll glad to-"

"Hold it right there!" interrupted a new voice (male).

"Eep!" squeaked Emily, stopping in her tracks.

Approaching the dark green-haired girl were a small number of Blade Knights. Obviously, they sensed the pretense of a human arriving at the temple and went to intercept the visitor.

"What be your business at this place?" demanded the first Blade Knight.

"And do not lie to us." warned another Blade Knight. "We won't hesitate to retaliate."

Emily, despite being a little frightened at the moment, gathered all of her courage to explain the situation.

"My Kuribon friend here told me to come here so we may speak with Wingweaver." she explained. "I'm being honest here! I'm-"

Suddenly, Kuribon showed herself and spoke to the Blade Knights in her ' _Kuriboh_ ' language. Immediately, the Blade Knights stood down.

"You may proceed." offered the first Blade Knight.

Emily was surprised. "Huh?"

"Forgive the rude greetings." apologized the other Blade Knight. "The war with the Court of Darkness has put the whole place on high alert. We...thought you were a spy."

With that said, Emily walked further up the steps towards the temple with Kuribon following close behind. The Blade Knights then spoke to each other.

"What do you guys make of her?" asked the first Blade Knight.

"She seems like an innocent sort." replied the second Blade Knight.

"I've been hearing rumors about the girl." said a third Blade Knight.

"As have I." agreed the fourth and final Blade Knight.

"Rumors?" quizzed the first Blade Knight.

"That an angel from the heavens would arrive in this world to cleanse it of the darkness." explained the third Blade Knight.

"And you believe the angel is this child?"

"We believe so." nodded the fourth Blade Knight.

The remaining Knight-like monsters seemed hopeful that Emily was indeed the angel sent to save them.

* * *

 **Title: Emily's Guardian Angel, Part 1**

* * *

Inside the temple, it was as big as Emily had expected it to be. There were hundreds of rooms, shrines, libraries, etc.. If it wasn't for Kuribon showing her around, the dark green-haired girl would have gotten lost finding her way around.

"This place is so huge." said Emily to herself.

All of a sudden...

 ***CRASH!***

Emily was knocked onto the floor. She was so busy thinking about the size of the whole temple that she wasn't watching where she was going.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a male voice.

"I think so." groaned Emily, rubbing the top of her head. Looking up, the dark green-haired girl gasped at who it was. "You...!"

It was Nathaniel, the young man Emily had seen in one of her dreams. Again, the young man had spiky black hair and was wearing a purple trench coat, brown pants, an army green tanktop, and heavy black boots.

"I've never seen someone like you here before." Nathaniel remarked. "Are you new to these parts?" He smiled and held a hand out. "Why don't I show you around?"

Emily stared at the young man for what seemed like forever...before narrowing her eyes and slapping Nathaniel's hand away, much to his surprise.

"Huh?"

"Get away from me!" snapped Emily. "I saw a vision of you killing my friend Thomas!"

Nathaniel was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You may look nice, but at some point you're gonna track down and kill the boy I'm in-love with!"

"What seems to be the trouble here?" came a voice (female).

Emily and Nathaniel both turned to the source of the voice.

"Mother!" The latter gasped with surprise.

It was the black-haired young man's Mother; Guardian Eatos. On sight, Emily panicked even more.

"You..." she stammered. "You were the one...who... who..."

"I take it you've seen me before." said Guardian Eatos calmly, approaching the dark green-haired girl.

Emily, feeling vastly overwhelmed over meeting the ones who would kill Thomas when the time came, started backing away. She was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"S-Stay back!" Emily nearly started crying. "Don't come any closer!"

But she didn't watch where she was going and backed into someone.

"Emily, calm yourself." said a familiar voice (female) kindly. "They will not hurt you."

Emily turned around, and became deeply relieved at who she had bumped into.

"Wingweaver!"

That's right; the beautiful, angelic woman with long brown hair, wearing yellow clothing, and with...count 'em, six wings, was present and smiling warmly at the young teenage girl. Emily was so relieved that she hugged the monster by her waist and started crying.

"Oh, Wingweaver!" The poor dark green-haired girl sobbed. "Thank God! I was so scared I would never find you! I... I..."

"Shhh." hushed Wingweaver, petting Emily's head. It was almost like the monster was acting like the girl's Mother right now. "It's alright, little one. Tell me what the matter is."

Once Emily had calmed down enough, she told Wingweaver about her dream involving both Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos.

"And that's it. I don't know if it was a nightmare... or something that is yet to happen. In either case, I don't want to lose Thomas. I can't live without him after everything he's done for me."

More tears streamed down the helpless Emily's face.

"I just don't know what to do..." she whimpered. "Please help me..."

Wingweaver continued to comfort the crying Emily. Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos both watched the scene sadly before the latter spoke up.

"Emily, I know this is a hard time for you right now-" Guardian Eatos began. "-but we need to talk."

Emily wasn't sure that she wanted to listen. But something inside her told her that she would have to at one point.

"Alright." The dark green-haired girl sighed, drying her eyes before looking to Guardian Eatos. "I'm listening."

(elsewhere...)

A few minutes later, Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos, and Kuribon were each leading Emily to a library.

"The secret of the Sacred Beasts?" Emily quizzed. "What are the Sacred Beasts?"

"Three of the most powerful and wicked monsters in existance." explained Wingweaver. "Consider them evil versions of the Egyptian Gods."

"But why haven't my friends and I ever heard of them?"

"Their origins and histories were sealed away in order to prevent corrupted minds from seeking them out." explained Guardian Eatos. "Once we arrive at the library and get the book, we will show you what they look like."

Emily nodded slowly.

(elsewhere...)

Finally, the gang of females (Emily, Kuribon, Wingweaver, and Guardian Eatos) arrived in one of the libraries.

"This is it." said Guardian Eatos.

Approaching one of the shelves, Wingweaver took out a book and looked through it.

"Here!"

And she showed Emily the page of one of the Sacred Beasts. The dark green-haired girl looked both surprised and a bit frightened at what one of them looked like.

"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames?" she asked, reading the name of one of the monsters aloud. The image of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames looked like a more wicked version of Slifer the Sky Dragon. "It looks like Slifer the Sky Dragon."

"Indeed." agreed Wingweaver, turning the page. "And here, we have the remaining two Sacred Beasts..."

Emily took a look at the two pages and grew more distressed upon seeing the pictures.

"Obelisk the Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra..."

The pictures showed wicked versions of the mentions God monsters.

"Those would be Raviel, Lord of Phantasms and Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder." Guardian Eatos pointed out.

"As you can see-" added Wingweaver. "-the ' ** _Evil One_** ' used these creatures in the great war many years ago."

"He must have had a huge advantage to command such beasts." Emily commented. "I'm surprised they were able to be stopped."

"That's because the three Gods of Egypt...helped this world's great hero."

Emily was shocked.

"Before you say anything, it's true." Guardian Eatos assured. "We both know all about the Egyptian Gods and Ancient Egypt."

"How?" breathed Emily.

And so, an explanation began...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the White House within the real world, Douglas Crump was in the dining hall enjoying some dinner. Sadly, he was in a bitter mood ever since discovering he would never be able to buy out Boxford Corp due to someone else getting it first.

"Blast it all..." The pompous US President scowled. "That forsaken company should have been all mine! Who was the wise guy buying up all the shares? I'd like to get my hands on the culprit and tear him limb from limb...!"

Just before he was finished eating, one of his secretary entered the dining hall.

"Mr. President..." she greeted.

Douglas Crump grunted. "What is it?"

"According to some news reporters, there has been another monster sighting and attack near Seattle."

"Not another attack." groaned Douglas Crump, giving a facepalm. "When will it all end?"

Despite being upset over the attacks, the pompous President could still use the attack and sighting to try and defame Boxford Corp some more.

"Let's go and get Boxford Corp in trouble again."

Geez! This guy REALLY must hate Boxford Corp and their Presidents/Vice Presidents, doesn't he?

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the Sanctuary in the Sky's library within the Duel Monsters spirit world, the explanation on how Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos both know all about Egypt 3000 years ago had finished.

"Wow." gasped Emily. "You two were around that long?"

"Indeed." confirmed Guardian Eatos.

"After the Egyptian Gods served their purpose many years ago-" added Wingweaver. "-they came to protect this land."

"And it's a good thing they did."

"Another thing I don't understand-" Emily interrupted. "-is how the ' ** _Evil One_** ' came upon the Sacred Beasts in the first place."

"No one truly knows to be honest." said Wingweaver. "Some say he found them hidden somewhere in a cavern... Others say he created them with his own life-force energy."

"Really?"

"I'm afraid so." confirmed Guardian Eatos grimly. "We don't truly know how they came to be."

Emily felt very disappointed by this. If only she could find out more about the Sacred Beasts and learn how they came to be in this world. Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to stop them if they ever returned. Just then, a Blade Knight entered the room with news.

"Your Highness." bowed the Blade Knight to Wingweaver. "It has been prepared as you've requested."

Emily was puzzled, but Wingweaver gave a smile instead.

"Very good." she said kindly. "Give us a few more minutes, and we'll be right there."

"Yes, Your Highness." obeyed the Blade Knight, leaving.

"What was that all about?" quizzed Emily, looking at the spirit of her ace monster.

"You'll soon see." reassured Wingweaver. "But first, I take it you have some questions for me."

Emily nodded. She was so busy trying to learn about the ' ** _Evil One_** ' and the Sacred Beasts that she nearly forgot about the questions and answers section.

"Well, one that's been on my mind for quite a while." began Emily. "Why am I almost always being put into danger and treated like a damsel-in-distress?"

Guardian Eatos smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you know the answer to that."

"I do? How so?"

Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos both remained silent at first, much to the dark green-haired girl's frustration.

"Please tell me." Emily begged, really wanted answers to her constant endangerments.

Guardian Eatos cleared her throat as she walked towards Emily... who began to feel uneasy about what the female monster was about to do or say to her (Emily).

"If...you will permit me to touch."

Emily realized what this was all about and began to blush fiercely. Naturally, she didn't like it at all (any girl wouldn't)... But if this was to help give her an answer, so be it.

"P-Proceed." Emily nervously complied.

With that said, Guardian Eatos moved closer, knelt down to Emily's level, and carefully brought and laid a gentle hand onto the blushing teenage girl's chest. After a full minute of feeling the dark green-haired girl's strongly beating heart, Guardian Eatos retracted her hand and sighed gravely.

"It's the darkness in your heart." she said at last. "I had suspected that as much."

"What does the darkness in my heart have to do with it?" asked Emily curiously.

"Again, you know the answer to that."

Emily remembered indeed. "The Court of Darkness wants to extract the darkness from my heart to help revive the ' ** _Evil One_** '. But I was referring to the several other times I was put in danger, like during the San Francisco Tournament or Battle City."

Guardian Eatos folded her arms and gave Emily a look... which the dark green-haired girl understood instantly.

"Let me guess... the darkness?"

"Yes." nodded the female monster firmly.

"So, all of my constant endangerments are punishments for having darkness in my heart?" asked Emily, growing upset. "That's not fair!"

"They're not punishments." corrected Guardian Eatos. "They are merely parts of your trial."

"Trial?"

"You wish to become stronger, don't you?" asked Wingweaver, walking forth to join her fellow guardian. "Those were the first steps."

"How does being constantly in danger count as steps to becoming stronger?" Emily questioned in confusion.

"Again, you know the answer to that question."

Emily started to have a flashback of some sort.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Emily and Kuribon, after dealing with some Gil Garths sent to recapture the former, were taking a brief break before continuing their trek to the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"These guys just won't give up." sighed Emily. "Why must these things happen to me?"

Kuribon then said a few words in her ' ** _Kuriboh_** ' language.

"What was that, little one?" asked Emily. "Are you saying that by defeating that Chaos Sorcerer earlier, I've taken a step towards becoming stronger?"

Kuribon nodded.

"Thanks for your kind words-" The dark green-haired girl smiled, but soon had a sad look on her face. "-but that doesn't excuse that I've been kidnapped more times than I have been able to hold my own. It's not fair! I did nothing to deserve this."

Kuribon then started speaking once more. Emily listened carefully until her friend had finally finished.

"You're saying that even in despair lies the greatest of hope?" asked Emily.

Kuribon nodded once more.

"And that I can become even stronger on the way to your master's temple?"

Yet again, Kuribon nodded in confirmation.

"Alright." sighed Emily, standing up. "I guess we have to keep going. And one more thing..."

The female Kuriboh gazed at her human friend curiously.

"I WILL become stronger. No matter what happens to me now, I have to grow as an individual. No more playing the role of the damsel in distress! This time, I will save Thomas from his darkness."

With that said, the two carried on.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I remember now." said Emily quietly.

"You've risked your own life to scale that cliff and reach this place." Wingweaver pointed out. "That is a sign you will become a stronger individual one way or another."

"I agree." added Guardian Eatos.

The dark green-haired girl finally managed a smile after what seemed like forever.

"Thank you." Emily praised, bowing to the two monsters politely. "I promise I'll continue to grow stronger."

"Indeed, you shall." agreed Wingweaver. From there, she started to leave. "Now, I want you to come with us."

"Huh?"

"You and Wingweaver are needed at the heart of the temple." Guardian Eatos pointed out.

"What for?" asked Emily.

No one explained the reason, and so Emily decided to just follow the two guardians.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in part of the Sanctuary in the Sky, Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos, Kuribon, and Emily were walking down a hallway towards the heart of the temple.

"A duel?" quizzed Emily. "I have to duel someone?"

"Yes, indeed." nodded Wingweaver.

"But why?"

"This is something you need to do." answered Guardian Eatos. "If by dueling someone from this place, you can potentially rid yourself of the darkness in your heart."

"Really?" asked Emily hopefully.

Guardian Eatos said nothing else, but the look on her face seemed to confirm it.

"Wonderful! But who's my opponent?"

Eventually, the group of females arrived at the temple grounds. The Blade Knights were waiting when they saw Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos.

"We have arrived." announced Wingweaver.

"Your Highness!" The Blade Knights bowed, with one of them speaking up. "As requested, the grounds have been cleared for your duel against the angel from another world."

"What?" asked Emily. "You mean Wingweaver is my opponent?"

Wingweaver smiled at the human girl. "Yes, my dear. I'm your opponent."

Emily could not believe it.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions, the Court of Darkness was watching what was going on at the Sanctuary in the Sky on a Crystal Ball. Despite the fact Emily was about to duel in an attempt to rid herself of inner darkness, the present Court of Darkness members were not worried at all.

"Win or lose-" said Vampire Lord. "-nothing she can do will stop the growing darkness in her heart."

"And once Airknight Parshath recaptures the girl, we'll have all the darkness we need for our master's revival!" added Earl of Demise, grinning wickedly.

"But what if we are wrong and the girl finds a way to conquer it?" asked Vampire Lady. "Without her darkness, we have no use for her."

"If what Airknight Parshath tells us is true, then we won't have to worry about that happening." replied Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Besides-" added Vampire Lord. "-whoever said we needed only her darkness?"

With that said, they continued their watch.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the temple grounds, Emily was currently looking over her deck.

"I hope I have what it takes." she thought to herself. "I have no idea just how powerful Wingweaver is as a duelist."

Looking up, the dark green-haired girl was looking towards her ace monster, who was waiting patiently for Emily to finish making changes to her deck before the duel begins.

"Are you ready?" asked the angel-like monster.

"I... I think I'm ready." said Emily, slotting her deck back into the Duel Disk. "But first, I'd like to know something."

"Go ahead."

Emily gave a shaky sigh. "Am I really what you call an angel to this world?"

"Yes, indeed." confirmed Wingweaver. "You are an angel summoned by the heavens."

"But how? I've no wings and no halo."

Wingweaver smiled kindly. "Whoever says you need that to be an angel? You have the goodness in your heart despite the darkness. With this duel, I know we can show you that."

With that said, the two duelists both walked to their ends of the field. Emily activated her Duel Disk and drew her opening hand (LP: 4000).

"It's time to duel!" she declared boldly.

"Indeed, it is!" agreed Wingweaver, activating her own Duel Disk (LP: 4000).

And so, the fated duel between Wingweaver and Emily began! The only other person watching the duel was Guardian Eatos.

"Would you like to go first?" asked Emily.

"Fate has chosen you for that." Wingweaver pointed out. "Now then, show me what you've got!"

Emily nodded and prepared to draw her card.

"As you wish! My draw!"

She drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Bound Wand, Mystical Elf, Ultimate Offering, Bad Reaction to Simochi, and Kuribon

* * *

Emily's opening hand contained Freya, Spirit of Victory, Bound Wand, Mystical Elf, Heavenly Light, Bad Reaction to Simochi, and the added Kuribon.

"Kuribon... I'll save you for later." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. She then took another card from her hand. "I summon Mystical Elf in attack position!"

On cue, the blue skinned, female spellcaster-like elf materialized (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"Attack mode?" quizzed Wingweaver. "Wouldn't it have been wiser to summon her in defense mode?"

"You're right; she would be better in defense mode." agreed Emily, as she slotted another card into her Duel Disk. "But I can still power her up with this card!"

The Equip Spell card Bound Wand materialized face-up.

"Bound Wand!"

A wand tipped with a large red gem appeared in Mystical Elf's hand.

"This Spell raises her attack by 100 for her total level." explained Emily. "Because my elf is a level 4 monster, this would give her an extra 400 attack points!"

Mystical Elf grew stronger (ATK: 800 - 1200). Wingweaver seemed to smile at this good play.

"A clever move." she admitted. "But let's see if I can improve on that."

With that said, the angelic monster drew a card from her deck.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Wingweaver (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cry of the Wingweaver, Mystical Shine Ball, Banisher of the Radiance, Graceful Charity, Cards from the Sky, and Urgent Ritual Art

* * *

On cue, the Graceful Charity Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Graceful Charity... This lets me draw three more cards while discarding two cards from the hand afterwards."

Emily nodded. "Go ahead."

With that said, Wingweaver drew three extra cards and discarded two of them. From there, a monster card called Banisher of the Radiance materialized face-up.

"Banisher of the Radiance, come forth!"

An odd looking creature appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Attack the Mystical Elf!" commanded Wingweaver.

Banisher of the Radiance obeyed and threw a punch at the Mystical Elf. the female elf was struck, fell back, and shattered into pieces.

"Your elf has been defeated!" declared Wingweaver.

Emily grunted a bit (LP: 3600), but then smirked from her monster being destroyed.

"I activate the other effect of Bound Wand!" she declared. "When the monster equipped with it is destroyed, I can bring that monster back."

But nothing happened.

"What?!"

"As long as Banisher of the Radiance is out-" explained Wingweaver "-any card sent to the graveyard is banished instead." She then pointed forth. "Meaning your Mystical Elf is not brought back to the field!"

Emily was worried. "I gotta get rid of that monster before it's too late!"

From there, a facedown card materialized behind Banisher of the Radiance.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Wingweaver concluded.

With that said, Emily drew her card, hoping for a miracle.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3600)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Ultimate Offering, Bad Reaction to Simochi, Kuribon, and Gemini Elf

* * *

Luckily, she had drawn her Gemini Elf card.

"Yes!" thought Emily happily. She then placed the card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!"

The twin elves appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"Attack Banisher of the Radiance!" called Emily.

The twin elves obeyed, leaping into the air and going in for an aerial kick.

"Activate Trap card!" announced Wingweaver. On cue, her facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Heaven's Judgement!"

"What?" gasped Emily.

A card slipped out of Wingweaver's deck and she discards it to the graveyard.

"I can only activate this card when you declare an attack." explained the angelic monster. "By sending a fairy-type monster with an equal level to your monster from my deck to the graveyard, I can negate the attack and destroy your monster!"

A beam of light shot at Gemini Elf, destroying them.

"My Gemini Elves!" cried Emily. "And now they're banished, too...!"

"I'm sorry, dear." apologized Wingweaver. "But it won't be that easy to get to my monsters and my life points."

Looking unhappy, Emily slotted a card into her Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"I'm starting to think this duel will be pointless." thought Emily. "So far, Wingweaver still has a full 4000 life points and a monster that will banish any card that goes to the graveyard. What is there I can do?"

The dark green-haired girl knew, however, that she couldn't give up. She needed to grow stronger and break free of being seen as a damsel by others. Unfortunately, that was gonna be easier said than done when facing her own spirit monster in battle.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	28. Emily's Guardian Angel (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up somewhere in the Sanctuary in the Sky's temple grounds, a Duel Monsters match was going on between Emily and her own spirit monster in Wingweaver. Too bad it wasn't going to be easy for the former to win it.  
-Emily (LP: 3600), in addition to only having one facedown card, had lost her only monster to a Trap card her opponent used just recently.  
-Wingweaver (LP: 4000) had a monster called Banisher of the Radiance on her side of the field.

"As long as she has that monster on the field-" Emily thought to herself. "-every card that goes to the graveyard gets banished. So, I have to find a way to defeat it!"

Briefly, she glanced at her facedown card.

"Although it will cost me more life points, my facedown card should help protect me from an attack." The dark green-haired girl spoke aloud. "My turn is over!"

"It's my turn." said Wingweaver, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Wingweaver (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (5): Cry of the Wingweaver, Cards from the Sky, Urgent Ritual Art, Serapheem, Mirror Mail, and Celestial Transformation

* * *

With Emily's field clear of any monsters, the angelic monster had a chance to deal out some serious damage to her opponent.

"Banisher of the Radiance, attack Emily directly!"

Banisher of the Radiance obeyed, charging a blast.

"Reveal facedown card!" cried Emily. "Continuous Trap - Ultimate Offering!"

The dark green-haired girl's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Immediately, Emily felt herself taking 500 points of damage (LP: 3100).

"By giving up 500 of my life points-" began Emily, explaining her card's effect. "-I can right away summon a monster during the battle phase to take the hit!"

On cue, the female Kuriboh appeared (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"I'll use Kuribon to protect myself! ...and I'll put her in attack mode."

"But why in attack mode?" asked Wingweaver. "That would make you take a serious amount of damage."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening." smirked Emily.

"Why do you say that?"

"When Kuribon is attacked-" The dark green-haird girl pointed out. "-I take no battle damage during damage calculation."

Wingweaver had a look of approval on her face... just as her life points suddenly went up (LP: 5600).

"Your life points!" Emily gasped. "They've just increased! But how?"

"That's one of Kuribon's other abilities." explained Wingweaver. "She increases my life points by the attack points of my monster."

The dark green-haired girl was dismayed to hear that. She knew about Kuribon's battle damage negating ability... but the opponent gained life points afterwards? Talk about unfair. Just as Banisher of the Radiance destroyed Kuribon, the furry little monster turned to light and returned to Emily's hand.

"Wait, did Kuribon just return to my hand?" Emily quizzed.

"That she did." confirmed Wingweaver.

"But how?"

"That is a third of Kuribon's abilities." explained Wingweaver. "Instead of being destroyed when attacked, she returns to your hand. Now tell me, how often did you use Kuribon in your duels?"

"T-This is my first time using her." Emily admitted. "The first time I got her, I only knew of her first effect... not the other two."

"Well, you learn something new everyday." smiled Wingweaver, taking another card from her hand. "I place this card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized. As Emily watched on with worry, Kuribon flew over to speak to the human girl.

"This is harder than I thought it would be, Kuribon." sighed Emily. "What can I do?"

The female Kuriboh spoke to the dark green-haired girl with a few ' ** _Kuribis_** '.

"What? Are you saying your card and my face-up Ultimate Offering Trap card are both the first steps into winning the duel?"

Kuribon nodded.

"I won't need Serapheem to win?" Emily mumbled, looking to her hand. "Can I even pull it off?"

Deep down inside, the poor girl was feeling rather doubtful of herself. But she couldn't give up. Emily had come too far to even think of quitting.

* * *

 **Title: Emily's Guardian Angel, Part 2**

* * *

With that thought on hand, Emily finally begun to take her turn.

"It's my turn!" announced Emily, drawing her card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3600)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Bad Reaction to Simochi, Kuribon, and Pot of Greed

* * *

The drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" said Emily, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field. "This allows me to draw two more cards."

With that said, the dark green-haired girl drew her two cards. The good news, they could help her out.

"Light Effigy and Mage of Fairies... these could help me." Emily throught to herself. Finally, she made a move... "I special summon Mage of Fairies in attack mode!"

A fairy monster wearing magic-like armor materialized (Level: 5/ATK: 1800/DEF: 500).

"I can special summon this monster from my hand by allowin you to add one Spell card from your deck to your hand."

A card came out from Wingweaver's deck and she added it to her hand.

"I've added Monster Reincarnation to my hand." The angelic monster thought to herself. "I will need it for when the time comes."

"Next, I'll normal summon Light Effigy in attack mode!" continued Emily, placing another card onto a monster field slot on he Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field was a cluster of pink light (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"Get ready to attack, my monsters!"

Mage of Fairies went first, firing light from her hands towards Banisher of the Radiance.

"With your monsters gone-" announced Emily. "-my cards won't be banished anymore!"

Wingweaver smiled. "My monster will take your Mage of Fairies down with it."

On cue, the angelic monster's facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Reveal facedown card! Mirror Mail!"

"Mirror Mail?" questioned Emily. "Is that-?"

"A Trap card that makes my monster have the same attack as yours." confirmed Wingweaver, interrupting Emily. "Your Mage of Fairies has 1800 attack points..."

"...meaning your monster will have 1800 attack points as well!"

Banisher of the Radiance's attack points went up slightly (ATK: 1600 - 1800). Due to this, both monsters were destroyed.

"But now you're wide open for an attack!" Emily pointed out. "Light Effigy, attack her life points directly!"

Light Effigy obeyed, charged, and tackled Wingweaver hard in her chest. Wingweaver winced and stumbled back as she took damage (LP: 4100).

"Yes!" cheered the dark green-haird girl proudly. "I was able to take out that Banisher AND deal damage at last!"

"I'm proud of you, my child." praised Wingweaver. "You're doing well so far in our duel, and do have what it takes to become the best of the best."

"Thanks."

The angelic monster then smirked. "Even then, you still have quite the ways to go if you want to beat me."

With that said, she drew her card. But Emily stood firm. The dark green-haired girl was ready for whatever was in store.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Wingweaver (LP: 4100)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (7): Cry of the Wingweaver, Cards from the Sky, Urgent Ritual Art, Serapheem, Celestial Transformation, Monster Reincarnation, and The Forgiving Maiden

* * *

Wingweaver's drawn card was a monster called the Forgiven Maiden.

"I summon The Forgiving Maiden in defense mode!" she announced.

A woman wearing maiden-like clothing materialized (Level: 4/DEF: 2000).

"This will protect my life points from your attacks."

Meanwhile, Guardian Eatos was still watching the duel and thinking about Emily.

"The girl shows much potential." The female Guardian monster thought to herself. "Could she truly be the one who will save the boy from the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' influence?"

Over with Emily, the dark green-haired girl drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3100)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (4): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Bad Reaction to Simochi, Kuribon, and Burial from a Different Dimension

* * *

Her drawn card was the Burial from a Different Dimension Spell card.

"Burial from a Different Dimension?" she thought to herself. "This can be helpful later on." With that thought on hand, Emily took two cards from her hand and slotted them into Spell/Trap slots on her Duel Disk. "I set two cards."

Two facedown cards materialized.

"That's all for me." finished Emily. "It's your turn, Wingweaver!"

"As you wish." The angelic monster nodded, drawing a card. "And now...!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Wingweaver (LP: 4100)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (7): Cry of the Wingweaver, Cards from the Sky, Urgent Ritual Art, Serapheem, Celestial Transformation, Monster Reincarnation, and Seraphim Saber

* * *

Emily waited patiently for Wingweaver to make her move, wondering what she was up to. At last, the angelic monster took a card from her hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Seraphim Saber, come forth!"

"Seraphim Saber?" asked Emily. "I've never heard of that card before.

On cue, an angel-like monster materialized in a battle position. (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1500).

"And for every other fairy-type monster on the field-" said Wingweaver. "-my monster gains 300 attack points."

"300 points?" gasped Emily. "Knowing Wingweaver, her deck is filled with that type."

Seraphim Saber glowed as he became stronger (ATK: 1600 - 2500).

"Now, attack!"

Seraphim Saber obeyed and sliced through Light Effigy in two with its wings, causing the pink monster to disappear into nothingness. Emily winced as she took more damage (LP: 2100).

"Bother." she groaned.

Kuribon reappeared and spoke to her human friend once more.

"I know, little one." Emily was saying. "Just keep trying."

On cue, one of the dark green-haired girl's facedown cards flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Burial from a Different Dimension!" announced Emily. "This Quick-Play Spell card allows me to return up to three banished monsters to my graveyard."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, three monster cards flew around Emily before they soared straight into her graveyard.

"The monsters chosen were Mage of Fairies, Mystical Elf, and Gemini Elf!"

"An interesting play." Wingweaver admitted. "But will it be enough?"

"I don't know." Emily thought to herself. "But I hope so."

With that thought on hand, the dark green-haired girl drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2100)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Kuribon, and Angelic Gift

* * *

"Angelic Gift! And with Mage of Fairies back in my graveyard, I can draw two cards and hopefully draw something to help me."

With that thought on hand, Emily slotted the card into her Duel Disk. from there, a facedown card materialized on the field...before flipping face-up and revealing itself.

"Behold the Angelic Gift Spell card!" Emily announced pridefully.

"Angelic Gift?" blinked Guardian Eatos.

"This allows me to draw two cards if I banish a fairy-type monster from my graveyard." explained Emily. "The more fairy-type monsters I banish, the more cards I draw."

A card ejected from her graveyard.

"So I'll banish my Mage of Fairies-" Emily then drew two more cards. "-to draw two cards from my deck!"

The two cards were shown to be a Trap card (Graceful Tear) and effect monster card (Skelengel).

"Next I place one card facedown and summon one monster in defense mode."

Two facedown cards materialized (one of them was side-ways).

"My turn is done." Emily concluded.

As Wingweaver was about to draw her card, she felt something come from the top of her deck.

"It must be time to play it." The angelic monster thought to herself.

Finally, she drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Wingweaver (LP: 4100)  
 **Deck** : 26  
 **Current Hand** (7): Cry of the Wingweaver, Cards from the Sky, Urgent Ritual Art, Serapheem, Celestial Transformation, Monster Reincarnation, and Wingweaver

* * *

Indeed, it was time.

"I activate the Spell card Cry of the Wingweaver!" called Wingweaver.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Oh no..." gasped Emily, knowing what was coming next.

"By giving up 1000 life points-" explained Wingweaver (LP: 3100). "-I may call forth myself!"

In a pillar of light came the Duel Monsters version of the incredibly beautiful monster known as Wingweaver (Level: 7/ATK: 2750).

"And because Wingweaver was summon by that card..." thought Emily, knowing what was about to happen.

"And because I used Cry of the Wingweaver to summon my monster-" continued Wingweaver. "-she now has, for the remainder of this turn, doubled attack points!"

The Wingweaver monster glowed as she became stronger (ATK: 2750 - 5500). Finally, the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up.

"Lastly I'll use the Monster Reborn card you gave me to revive your Light Effigy in attack mode!"

Light Effigy came out of Emily's grave to Wingweaver's side of the field.

"First, your facedown monster must be dealt with." announced Wingweaver. "Seraphim Saber, attack now!"

"Seraphim Saber obeyed, attacking the facedown monster.

"You've attacked Skelengel!" declared Emily, drawing a card. "Her destruction upon being flipped face-up allows me to draw one card."

From there, the dark green-haired girl's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Next I activate my Graceful Tear Trap card!" Emily tossed her drawn card over to her opponent. "By giving you a card from my hand, I gain 2000 life points!"

She then recovered lots of life points (LP: 4100).

"You're still open for a direct attack." Wingweaver reminded. "And I will now use myself to finish you off!"

Wingweaver began to unleash an attack, but Emily wasn't beaten yet.

"I use Ultimate Offering!" she cried out (LP: 3600). "I summon Kuribon to take the attack!"

Kuribon reappeared. Wingweaver fired a light orb and destroyed the female Kuriboh. From there, Emily regained the card to her hand while Wingweaver gained a massive amount of life points (LP: 8600).

"Again, you're open to attack!" continued Wingweaver. "Light Effigy, attack Emily now!"

Light Effigy obeyed and lunged towards Emily, who then payed 500 more life points.

"And again!" she announced (LP: 3100). "Kuribon, come forth!"

Yet again, the female Kuriboh reappeared. On cue, the dark green-haired girl's final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"In addition, I activate my set Bad Reaction to Simochi Trap card!"

"What?!" gasped Wingweaver.

"Whenever you gains life points-" explained Emily "-this Trap card turns it into damage instead!"

Light Effigy destroyed Kuribon, and Wingweaver was dealt damage instead of gaining life points (LP: 7100).

"How's that?" asked Emily, adding Kuribon back to her hand. "Now you won't be able to gain life points from Kuribon if you decide to attack her!"

"Well played." admired Wingweaver. "And since it's my end phase, my attack points are lowered back to their original amount."

The monster Wingweaver's attack went back to normal (ATK: 5500 - 2750).

"I bought myself some time-" Emily thought to herself. "-but I still need a plan on how to win!"

Once again Kuribon spoke to her human friend.

"What was that, little one?"

Kuribon again spoke in her **_'Kuriboh_** ' language.

"You say there's still a chance for me to win?" repeated Emily.

The female Kuriboh nodded.

"Then I guess I'll have to keep fighting, right?" remarked the dark green-haired girl, looking at her deck. "But I'll need more time to pull off my win."

With that said, she drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3100)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Freya, Spirit of Victory, Kuribon, and Swords of Revealing Light

* * *

"This should be a good start."

From there, Emily slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" she announced.

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Countless swords of light rained down and trapped Wingweaver's monsters.

"Thanks to this Spell card-" declared Emily. "-none of your monsters are able to attack me for three turns!"

Guardian Eatos smiled while watching the dark green-haired girl make that play.

"Very clever, Emily." she said to herself. "This will buy you some more time to work up a counter."

Over with Wingweaver, the angelic monster had to agree.

"A good move, Emily, but do you mind if I point something out?"

Emily looked up, but said nothing.

"Your combo of Kuribon, Ultimate Offering, and Bad Reaction to Simochi is very effective." said Wingweaver. "But why didn't you activate your Trap the moment I planned to send Wingweaver to attack? It would have won you the duel right away."

"There would have been a replay." Emily pointed out. "If I had pulled this move too early, you would have likely decided to call off your attack."

Wingweaver was impressed. "Very clever." smiled the angelic-like monster. "You certainly know how to think ahead."

"I've learned all I need from the best."

"From Thomas, I bet?" teased Wingweaver.

That comment made Emily blush. "M-Maybe."

"Easy there, Emily." giggled Wingweaver. "I was only playing around."

Emily felt slightly better. It was then Wingweaver drew her next card.

"But let's see how long your swords will help you!"

The dark green-haired girl readied herself for the angelic monster's play.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Wingweaver (LP: 7100)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cards from the Sky, Urgent Ritual Art, Serapheem, Celestial Transformation, Monster Reincarnation, and Card Destruction  
Swords of Revealing Light: Three turns

* * *

On cue, a facedown card materialized, followed the materialization of the Card Destruction Spell card.

"I set these two cards facedown, and activate Card Destruction!" announced Wingweaver. "Now we send both of our hands to the graveyard and draw the same amount."

While Emily drew only one card, Wingweaver drew three cards. From there, the angelic monster held out the Pot of Greed card.

"With Pot of Greed, I draw two more cards!"

Wingweaver drew two more cards. On cue, the Monster Reincarnation Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Finally, I'll activate my set Monster Reincarnation card!" announced Wingweaver. "By sending a card from my hand, I get back a monster from my graveyard."

She held up a card she was gonna discard.

"And this-" The angelic monster grinned. "-is the card I'll discard."

Wingweaver turned it over to show her opponent, and Emily gasped at what it was.

"Heavenly Light?!"

"That's right." confirmed Wingweaver. Taking a card from her graveyard. "And this is the very monster I'll take back..."

She turned the card over and showed her opponent once more.

"Serapheem!" Emily exclaimed, taking a step back out of reflex.

"Correct, little one! Your most powerful monster and guardian angel is now back in my hand."

"But without Heavenly Light-" protested Emily. "-you have no way of summoning her! Why didn't you discard something else?"

"I have other ways to summon her..."

Emily was shocked. "There's another way?!"

"You remember a certain card that Kuribon supplied you when you faced Chaos Sorceror, right?" questioned Wingweaver.

Emily winced a bit as a flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Emily looked at her drawn card and gasped at what it was.

"What is this card?" she thought. "I've never seen or added it to my deck!"

It was a Spell card called Heavenly Light - Type B.

"How did it get in here?"

Kuribon opened her eyes and said a few words to the confused dark green-haired girl.

"Kuribon?" asked Emily. "Was this your doing?"

Kuribon nodded before adding a few 'Kurbis' that seemed to resemble 'Play that card and you'll witness its power'. Getting the hint, the dark green-haired girl nodded.

"Alright." she said mentally. From there, Emily slotted the card into her Duel Disk. "I activate Heavenly Light - Type B!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. The Gemini Elves were shocked to see the card.

"Such a rare and powerful card!" gasped the first Gemini Elf.

The card emitted a powerful beam of light.

"AGH!" wailed Chaos Sorcerer. "T-The light...!"

"This is an excetionally powerful Spell that allows me to send five light attribute monsters from my deck to the graveyard." explained Emily, taking her whole deck out of her Duel Disk. "Once that's done, I can special summon a light attribute ritual monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

Upon sending five light attribute monster cards to the graveyard, a ritual monster card slipped out in response.

"And I choose to summon my guardian angel - Serapheem!"

The beam of light shot into the sky as the clouds parted. From there, the most powerful form of Wingweaver descended from the bright heavens (Level: 12/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2500).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Y-Yes." said Emily nervously. "You also have it, don't you?"

"Actually, no..."

"HUH?!" The dark green-haired girl gawked. "You don't?!"

"I'll show you when the time comes." insisted Wingweaver, before easing up. "My turn is now over."

Emily was stunned that Wingweaver had another method to summoning Serapheem without the use of Heavenly Light.

"I-It's my turn." said the dark green-haired girl a bit nervously, just as she drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3100)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (3): Spring of Rebirth, Kuribon, and Wonder Wand

* * *

Sadly, Emily was very dismayed with her draw.

"Nothing..." she moaned, before speaking aloud. "I pass this turn!"

"It's my turn once more!" announced Wingweaver, drawing her card.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Wingweaver (LP: 7100)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (5): Serapheem, Heavenly Rays(!), Seraphim Blaster, Angel Sacrifice, and Seraphim Gardnan

 **Swords of Revealing Light** : Two turns

* * *

A monster card called Seraphim Blaster materialized face-up.

"Watch as I summon Seraphim Blaster in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a fairy with some sort of large gun (Level: 4/ATK: 1800).

"My new monster shares the same effect as my Seraphim Saber." explained the angelic monster. "It gains 300 attack points for every other fairy-type monster on the field."

The new monster's attack rose (ATK: 1800 - 3600), while Seraphim Saber also got more powerful due to another fairy being present (ATK: 2200 - 3400). On cue, a Spell card called Heavenly Rays materialized face-up.

"Finally, I'll activate Heavenly Rays!" continued Wingweaver. "While its name does sound very similar to the Solar Ray Spell card you own while also possessing a very similar effect, this card instead deals 600 points of damage to your life points for each and every light attribute monster I control on the field!"

"No!" screamed Emily (LP: 3100).

Numerous lays of light rained down and struck the dark green-haired girl.

"Because I control five light attribute monsters-" said Wingweaver. "-you lose 3000 life points!"

Poor Emily was now in a very dangerous situation as the rays of light ceased (LP: 100). She was now down to 100 life points and still had nothing to stop Wingweaver's monsters. What was she going to do?

"I can't give up!" The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "With two turns remaining, I must have SOMETHING that can help!"

She drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Emily Sterling (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (3): Spring of Rebirth, Kuribon, Wonder Wand, and Diffusion Wave-Motion

* * *

Alas, Emily still didn't draw what she needed.

"Nothing." she sighed unhappily. "I end my turn."

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Wingweaver (LP: 7100)  
 **Deck** : 18  
 **Current Hand** (4): Serapheem, Angel Sacrifice, Seraphim Gardna, and Angelic Gift  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : One turn

* * *

Immediately, a Spell card called Angel Sacrifice materialized face-up.

"First up, I'll activate a Spell card called Angel Sacrifice!" continued Wingweaver. "By tributing my The Forgiven Maiden, my next monster will gain twice its standard attack points!"

The Forgiven Maiden faded away in a blue streak. On cue, the Angelic Gift Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I'll activate a card that should be very familiar to you..." Wingweaver announced. "Angelic Gift!"

Emily gasped, watching as two cards slipped out from the angelic monster's graveyard.

"Oh no." she thought. "She'll be able to draw more cards now..."

"By banishing two light attribute monsters from my graveyard, I draw four cards!"

Wingweaver then drew her four cards. Upon looking at them, she gave a nod and held one of them out.

"Now I summon Seraphim Gardna!" The angelic monster declared, placing her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

An shield baring angel appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1000 - 2000). Then another Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I activate Wingweaver's Prayer(!)!" continued Wingweaver, with her two fingers at a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "Since I control Wingweaver, I can negate the effect of one face-up Trap card on the field for the rest of my turn!"

Emily gasped once more. "My Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

"With it negated, I can gain life points once more! ...as so..." Wingweaver slotted yet another of her drawn cards into a Spell/Trap slot. "I activate Radiation of Light(!)!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This reduces the attack of all my monsters to zero...but their total attack will be added to my life points!"

"But why do that?" asked Emily in shock. "Your life points are already even higher than mine."

"This serves as part of testing your fighting spirit." explained Wingweaver.

With a combined total of 3600 + 3400 + 2000 + 2750 + 1500, that gave Wingweaver a grand boost of 13250 life points (LP: 20350).

"And now, it's time to summon Serapheem..." The angelic monster proclaimed.

"But how?" demanded Emily. "You have Heavenly Light in your graveyard!"

"Young one, I want you to take a good look at my facedown card."

On cue, Wingweaver's facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Urgent Ritual Art?!" exclaimed Emily.

"That's right." confirmed Wingweaver. "As I control no ritual monsters, I can banish a Ritual Spell card from my graveyard to have this Trap card's effect become that of the banished card. And I shall banish Heavenly Light!"

Heavenly Light ejected from the angelic monster's graveyard. Urgent Ritual Art then turned itself into the Heavenly Light Ritual Spell card.

"Now I shall offer all five of my monsters to ritual summon...Serapheem!"

All five monsters vanished in beams of light.

"Here it comes..." Emily whispered to herself.

Out of the large form of light was none other than Serapheem; the evolved form of Wingweaver (Level: 12/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2500).

"For every light attribute monster in my graveyard, my monster receives 600 attack points." explained Wingweaver.

Emily absolutely dreaded the answer. "How many do you have there?"

Several monster cards slid out of Wingweaver's graveyard.

"The amount I have..." The angelic-like monster began, while taking the cards.

Guardian Eatos continued to watch the duel as her fellow guardian gave the answer.

"I have four monsters!" announced Wingweaver. "One of which had originally belonged to you, so it doesn't count. That gives my Serapheem an additional 2400 points!"

Serapheem grew extremely powerful (ATK: 2900 - 5300).

"5300 attack points?!" Emily reeled back in shock. "There's no way I can beat a monster that powerful!"

"You still have one more turn before I can attack again." reminded Wingweaver. "As of now, your swords still prevent me from attacking."

Emily collapsed onto her knees in complete defeat.

"I can't do it." she sighed quietly. "I can't beat her. She's got over 20000 life points and a monster with 5300 attack points, and there's nothing in my hand that can help me. I'm...I'm starting to think my journey here was all for nothing."

With that said, Emily slowly brought up her hand with the intention of putting her palm on her deck in an act of surrendering.

"I give-"

"Do not despair, Emily." interrupted Wingweaver, causing the dark green-haired girl to look up. "There is a way."

"How?" asked Emily. "I've only got 100 life points left and a bad hand. You, on the other hand, have over 20000 life points and have Serapheem at 5300 attack points."

"Remember Kuribon's words?"

Emily thought for a minute. "Even the weakest of cards can defeat an opponent... you just need to combine the right ones together..."

Currently, the dark green-haired girl had Kuribon, Ultimate Offering, and a temporarily de-activated Bad Reaction to Simochi. Her hand contained Spring of Rebirth, Wonder Wand, and Diffusion Wave-Motion.

"But can I truly do it? Is there really a card in my deck that can complete the combo?"

"You will never know until you try, young child." replied Wingweaver.

"Alright." sighed Emily. "I'll try."

With Wingweaver's turn now over, the dark green-haired girl stood back up and prepared to draw her final card.

"This is it." she thought to herself. "Please, Heart of the Cards, I need your help."

Closing her eyes tightly, she felt a hand touch her own hand.

"Huh?"

To her great shock, it was a fading image of a smiling Thomas (along with Kuriboh).

"T-Thomas?" The dark green-haired girl stuttered. "It's you...! But how?"

"I know that you can do it, Emily." said Thomas kindly. "You're much stronger than you think you are."

Kuriboh bashfully floated over to Kuribon and said a few words in his 'Kuriboh' language, thus causing the female Kuriboh to blush in response.

"Aww, how sweet." gushed Emily, thinking that was so adorable (Kuriboh encouraging his female counterpart).

"So what do you say?" asked Thomas. "Want to win together?"

Emily nodded. "Together." she agreed.

The images of both Thomas and Kuriboh faded away, and the dark green-haird girl was ready to make her final play.

"It's my turn!" she exclaimed, slashing a wave of color as she drew her card.

Guardian Eatos gasped as she felt a powerful force come from Emily.

"Such power..." The female monster whispered.

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Emily Sterling (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (5): Spring of Rebirth, Kuribon, Wonder Wand, Diffusion Wave-Motion, and Battle Mania

* * *

Emily took one look at her drawn card and was surprised by it.

"Battle Mania?" she whispered. The dark green-haired girl began to read the card's effect in her thoughts... "'Activate only during your opponent's Standby Phase. All face-up monsters your opponent controls are changed to Attack Position, and cannot change their battle positions this turn. All monsters your opponent currently controls must attack this turn, if able'."

Emily then looked to both Kuribon and the face-up Ultimate Offering.

"This could all work." she thought, before slotting the drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and activate Spring of Rebirth!"

A facedown card materialized, followed by the mentioned Continuous Spell card materializing face-up.

"Now whenever a monster card returns to my hand, I'll gain 500 life points! And finally I'll normal summon Kuribon in attack mode!

The female Kuriboh reappeared (Level: 1/ATK: 300).

"That's all for me." said Emily, concluded with her turn.

Wingweaver was surprised to say the least, and so was Guardian Eatos.

"Will this be enough for her to win?" Guardian Eatos thought to herself. "At this point, I cannot be sure..."

"Very well." said Wingweaver, drawing. "We shall see if this move will help you win the duel."

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Wingweaver (LP: 20350)  
 **Deck** : 13  
 **Current Hand** (5): Shining Friendship, The Golden Apple, Negate Attack, Condemned Maiden, and Change of Heart

* * *

Upon seeing the drawn Change of Heart card, Wingweaver knew she had won.

"It has been three turns!" she announced. "Your swords have been dispelled!"

Swords of Revealing Light faded away. Suddenly...

"Because it's currently your standby phase-" Emily spoke up, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "-I will activate my set card! Battle Mania!"

The dark green-haired girl's facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Battle Mania?" Wingweaver blinked. "That's an extremely rare card!"

"What it does-" explained Emily. "-is it switches all monsters you have on the field into attack mode. In addition, it forces your monsters to attack if possible!"

Wingweaver watched as Serapheem began to attack.

"No... stop!" she cried out. But it was too late.

Serapheem caused rays of light to rain down. Kuribon was hit and destroyed.

"Kuribon now returns to my hand." Emily pointed out (LP: 600). "I gain life points from my Spell card, and you take damage because Bad Reaction to Simochi is now usable once more!"

Wingweaver grunted as she took damage (LP: 15050).

"But that isn't all!" continued Emily. "Because Serapheem attacked a light attribute monster, she HAS to attack once again." Her life points then took a hit (LP: 100). "In addition, I'll use the effect of my Ultimate Offering card to pay 500 life points and summon Kuribon back onto the field!"

Kuribon right away reappeared on the dark green-haired girl's side of the field.

"This has resulted in an unbreakable loop; Serapheem attacks a light attribute monster, she is FORCED to attack again! Kuribon returns to my hand, you take damage because of my Bad Reaction to Simochi, I gain 500 life points from Spring of Rebirth due to Kuribon returning to my hand, and I can then pay 500 life points from Ultimate Offering to resummon Kuribon. From there, she becomes the target of attack!"

Wingweaver was beyond speechless.

"Now watch as Serapheem is forced to attack Kuribon once again!" declared Emily.

True to her word, Serapheem was forced to shower another rain of light upon Kuribon. Instantly, the female Kuriboh returned to Emily's hand, and the human gained more life points (LP: 600).

"Say goodbye to another 5300 life points!" The dark green-haired girl exclaimed.

Wingweaver took more damage from the attack (LP: 9750).

"And the attack is forced to continue!" went on Emily (LP: 100). "Come forth, Kuribon!"

Kuribon yet again reappeared as Serapheem continued to attack. Guardian Eatos watched from nearby in complete surprise.

"She has done it..." she thought. "This girl has created an unbreakable loop..."

Kuribon once again returned to Emily's hand (LP: 600). And once again, Wingweaver took damage from Emily's Trap card (LP: 4450).

"I'm completely trapped..." Wingweaver thought to herself, watching as Serapheem began to attack again.

"And now Serapheem-" Emily called out to her opponent's monster (LP: 100). "-attack one last time!"

Kuribon appeared one last time as Serapheem had no chose but to attack her, returning her to Emily's hand (LP: 600).

"And you know what happens next."

Indeed, Wingweaver did know as she lost the rest of her life points from Emily's Trap card (LP: 0).

"I've...been defeated?" she stuttered.

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

The holograms faded away. Nearby, Guardian Eatos, joined by many more monsters, were beyond surprised by the outcome of the duel.

"She did it." murmured Eatos.

With Wingweaver, she was silent at first, but then closed her eyes and smiled.

"I admit defeat." she said aloud. "Thus I reward the duel...to you, Emily. A true angel of this land."

Emily was thrilled. "I did it!" she cried out in joy. "'I've won without needing to use my Serapheem! I've finally conquered my inner darkness!"

It was a celebration of a life-time for our heroine! ...sadly, the celebration had to be cut short by something...

 ***BOOM!***

"What was that?"

Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos both had serious looks on their faces. It would seem the Sanctuary in the Sky was under attack! By whom, you might be asking? That's a tale for another day.


	29. The Fallen Angel Descends

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter also contains some minor gropping on a female character (by another female character). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in a hallway within the Sanctuary in the Sky, Emily was running down the hallway in a big hurry. What was the big rush? Oh, because the whole place was currently under attack by someone! ...likely a member of the Court of Darkness.

"Whoever's attacking-" she said to herself. "-we have to help stop it!"

Beside the dark green-haired girl was Kuribon, while behind her was both Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos. Soon, the boy Nathaniel joined up with them.

"Mother, mistress Wingweaver!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"We are under attack." explained Wingweaver.

"We think it's the Court of Darkness!" added Guardian Eatos.

"Then we have to stop them!" insisted Nathaniel. "We can't let them take our home!"

With that said, they made their way out to the center of the sanctuary.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the grounds, various innocent Duel Monsters spirits were running away in terror at the destruction going on. Emily, Kuribon, Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel all arrived outside when Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos both froze at who they saw.

"It's him..." whispered Wingweaver.

"Who?" asked Emily. "Someone you know?"

"Zerato..."

Nearby, a shadowed monster overheard his name being mentioned and gave a cruel chuckle.

"Did someone mention my name?" he questioned.

Guardian Eatos seethed. "You've returned after we banished you years ago... why?"

"Can't a monster feel homesick every once in a while?" asked Zerato jokingly, walking out of the shadows. "Especially since you did banished me for no reason."

Zerato was shown to be a large demonic fairy-type monster with two large wings and a sword in his left hand. His real name was Darklord Zerato.

"That's not true!" objected Wingweaver. "You gave yourself into the darkness on your own free will and joined the enemy in attempting to conquer our world. That's why we banished you!"

Emily gazed at Darklord Zerato in shock. So there was actually a dark attribute fairy-type monster? She always thought that fairy-types were of the light or wind attribute, and occasionally earth.

"Lord Diablon opened my eyes to the truth!" protested Darklord Zerato, raising both his arms up dramatically. "That good and evil don't need to exist!"

"When the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' started his conquest-" Guardian Eatos explained to Emily. "-he promised a Golden Age of power and prosperity to this land to many creatures in this land. Unfortunately, many such monsters, such as Zerato, believed him and took his side."

"But how did-" Emily began, but got interrupted.

"I become this way?" Darklord Zerato cut in, noticing the dark green-haired girl. "If you must know I used to be a normal light attribute fairy by the plain old name of Zerato(!)! When I was sent to stop Lord Diablon and his Sacred Beasts, he opened my eyes to the truth!"

"He blinded you to reality!" snapped Wingweaver.

"Lies! The truth is that good and evil doesn't truly exist. Only power and those that are too afraid to seek it. Once I agreed to join Lord Diablon's side, he granted me this mighty new form and all the power I could ever want!"

"What is it you want here?" Guardian Eatos demanded angrily.

"What I want-" said Darklord Zerato, pointing towards Emily. "-is the girl. The Court of Darkness has very important plans for her and will reward me handsomely for succeeding in the mission."

"And what make you think I'll willingly surrender myself to you?" Emily retorted hotly.

"If you refuse to come with me... I'll proceed to destroy this whole sanctuary!"

The dark green-haired girl became angry. "Leave this sanctuary alone!" she snapped, standing defiantly. "No one here has done anything to deserve being attacked!"

Suddenly, Wingweaver took a step forth, making the dark green-haired girl look up in surprise.

"Wingweaver...?"

"You must leave here at once." The angelic-like monster interrupted. "We've done all we could to help you. Now you need to continue with your journey."

"No, I can't!" Emily shook her head. "I won't abandon my friends here!"

Darklord Zerato was getting annoyed with the constant interruptions to his plans. He turned...and saw a baby Winged Kuriboh trying to get away from the chaos and destruction going on.

"What's a guy got to do to get something done right around here?" he said to himself. The evil fairy then smirked. "Perhaps something like this!"

He raised his sword and prepared to throw it. Guardian Eatos was the first to notice this action.

"What are you doing?!"

"Target practice!" cackled Darklord Zerato. And he threw the sword towards the baby Winged Kuriboh.

"Look out!" exclaimed Emily, running to the rescue.

* * *

 **Title: The Fallen Angel Descends**

* * *

The sword soared through the air towards the baby Winged Kuriboh, who got incredibly frightened and froze in place. Emily ran as fast as she could to try and rescue the baby from being skewered in half, but it was clear she would never make it in time.

*SLASH*

Emily froze as a look of great shock slowly melted onto her face.

"No..."

The Winged Kuriboh had its eyes closed at first while bracing for the impact, but soon opened them and saw it was unhurt... but when it looked up ahead, it wished it hadn't opened its eyes... Wingweaver had managed to get in the path of the sword just in time...and was impaled in the lower back (with the sword tip slightly sticking out of her bloodied stomach).

"Wingweaver!" cried Emily.

Wingweaver was shivering, spluttering, and coughing in great pain before finally closing her eyes and collapsing onto the ground. Emily, Kuribon, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel all approached the critically wounded angelic monster.

"Mistress Wingweaver! Mistress Wingweaver!" pleaded Nathaniel, shaking Wingweaver gently.

Guardian Eatos carefully remove the blade out of Wingweaver's lower back and turned her body over. She was bleeding heavily from both the back and the stomach.

"She's still alive, but is gravely injured and losing blood really fast." said Guardian Eatos urgently. "We have to get her medical attention at once!"

Darklord Zerato gave a loud laugh as he stood in the Guardians' path.

"No one will be leaving this area until I claim my prize!"

Nathaniel stood up and gazed at the dark fairy angrily, but before he could even speak up...

"In that case, I challenge you!" shouted Emily, activating her Duel Disk. She was now REALLY angry. "I never forgive fiends like you for attempting to wound or kill my friends!"

"Your darkness..." Darklord Zerato remarked. "I can feel its growing power..."

"What are you talking about? I've conquered my darkness!"

Darklord Zerato started to snicker quietly before bursting into loud laughter at the human girl's naive state.

"So naive... did you really think it would be that easy to simply get rid of your inner darkness?" he asked snidely.

Emily was beginning to feel upset. Had her duel with Wingweaver been all for nothing? Was her inner darkness still lingering about?

"No... I just... don't..."

"If you wish to prove that I'm wrong-" continued Darklord Zerato, making an already activated Duel Disk appear on his left arm. "-then go ahead and face me!"

With that said, both drew their opening hands (LP: 4000).

"Your darkness will be the Court's key to reviving the fallen Evil One!" declared Darklord Zerato. "Now I will make you embrace it!"

"Just try it!" dared Emily.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Darklord Zerato (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dark Mirror Force, Tainted Wisdom, Ancient Brain, Polymerization, Black Pendant, and Soul of the Black Hearted(!)

* * *

Darklord Zerato's hand contained Dark Mirror Force, Tainted Wisdom, Ancient Brain, Polymerization, Black Pendant, and the just added Soul of the Black Hearted.

"I begin with the Spell card Polymerization!" he said. "And I'll use it to fuse both Tainted Wisdom with Ancient Brain together."

Two monsters materialized before merging together.

"I fusion summon Skull Knight in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a green-skinned knight with armor made to look like skulls (Level: 7/ATK: 2650/DEF: 2250).

"Quite the strong monster, wouldn't you say?" teased Darklord Zerato. "But he's about to get even stronger!"

On cue, the Spell card Soul of the Black Hearted materialized face-up.

"This is the fearsome Soul of the Black Hearted card. What it does is each turn, on all of my standby phases it allows me to throw one Spell or Trap card from my hand to the graveyard if I'm able to. When I do, I can special summon a copy of one dark attribute monster I control with completely identical stats!"

"Standby phases..." thought Emily. "That means more strong monsters to deal with!"

"Fortunately, my turn is over now because I cannot do anything more." sighed Darklord Zerato. "Now let's see what your so-called 'light' can do for you!"

"Gladly!" said Emily, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Diffusion Wave-Motion, Wingweaver, Forbidden Dress, Mystical Elf, Seiyaryu, and Graceful Charity

* * *

The dark green-haired girl was sweating bullets right now.

"Not many choices so far." she thought. "But I can't give up." Emily held out her newly drawn card. "I activate Graceful Charity!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and created a fairy wearing a beautiful green dress.

"With its celestial rays of light-" explained Emily. "-I can draw three extra cards from my deck and then discard two cards afterward."

Hoping for a miracle, Emily drew her three cards. Her prayers were answered...

"Yes! I've drawn it..."

Quickly, she discarded two cards to the graveyard (Diffusion Wave-Motion and Magic Formula). From there, the dark green-haired girl slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"Now it's time for you to meet your fate!" continued Emily. "Watch as I activate Cry of the Wingweaver!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"By giving up 1000 life points-" explained Emily (LP: 3000) "-I can special summon from my hand... Wingweaver!"

On cue, the Duel Monsters version of Wingweaver appeared from the monster card (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2400).

"So she thinks her Wingweaver can get her out of this mess?" thought Darklord Zerato only to himself. "I very much doubt it."

Emily then smirked. "My Spell also doubles her attack points for the rest of this turn."

Wingweaver grew much stronger than ever before (ATK: 2750 - 5500).

"Your Skull Knight is doomed!"

"Oh, I highly doubt it." grinned Darklord Zerato. "But if you really think so... go right ahead and attack me."

"Don't mind if I do!" declared Emily. "Wingweaver, attack his Skull Knight!"

Wingweaver obeyed and charged an orb of light in her hands. Instantly, Darklord Zerato discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard.

"You've triggered the second effect of my Continuous Spell card! By sending a Trap card to the graveyard, I can protect my dark attribute monster from being destroyed while reducing all battle damage I would have taken to zero!"

The orb struck Skull Knight, but the evil monster sliced through the wave of light with his sword.

"Nice try." taunted Darklord Zerato (LP: 4000). "But your ace monster won't be doing squat against Skull Knight!"

Emily scowled unhappily before taking and slotting another card into her Duel Disk.

"I place this card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized.

"You're making this far too easy!" laughed Darklord Zerato. "Would it be too much trouble if you just gave yourself up willingly?"

"I would rather die than give in to the darkness like you did!" snapped Emily.

"You would die, eh? I believe that isn't the smartest of ideas."

Emily silently raised an eyebrow. What was he even talking about?

"I've heard rumors that the Great One has returned... and he's searching for his lost light...you." continued Darklord Zerato.

"The Great One... I'm his light?" Emily thought to herself, before speaking aloud. "What are you talking about?!"

"Many years ago-" explained Darklord Zerato. "-there was a young woman who looked just like you. She and the Evil One were in love. She was considered the one thing that made him truly happy and at peace in his mind. But then one day... she deliberately took her own life. No one knows why she did it, but it shattered his heart to pieces."

Emily remained silent on the matter...before speaking up.

"The Evil One-" she said. "-what... what did he look like?"

Darklord Zerator held out his empty hand and with some dark magic, created a small replica of the Evil One. Emily gasped to herself at what she saw...

"Thomas?"

"Thomas? Was that the original name of the Evil One?" joked Darklord Zerato. "I always thought it was Diablon! Gee, how stupid of me to think of that..."

Guardian Eatos and Nathaniel were both tending to Wingweaver nearby, but they could also hear the conversation going on.

"But if The Evil One was in love with this girl-" went on Emily. "-then what does Autraius have to do with it? This doesn't make any sense to me!"

"He was in-love with her as well."

"What?" Emily quizzed.

Darklord Zerato smirked to himself. What he had said was a black lie, but no one knew that. He carried on with the lie to try and manipulate his opponent...

"Autraius wanted her all to himself." The dark fairy-type monster went on. "He didn't care what The Evil One thought. He was truly selfish..."

That was enough to catch Guardian Eatos' attention. The very mention that Autraius was selfish made her very angry.

"How dare you speak ill of the Great One like that!" she screamed. "He was not selfish at all!"

"Was he?"

Guardian Eatos froze.

"Was Autraius a great hero?" continued Darklord Zerato curiously. "What he all that you've read about? ...or was Autraius actually a tyrant, and the so-called Evil One was the true hero?"

Guardian Eatos growled angrily with her fist clenched. Nathaniel watched his adopted Mother with concern.

"Mother..." he whispered.

Darklord Zerato then drew his card. "But maybe I've said too much already. Why don't we get on with our...friendly duel?"

Emily merely grunted a little bit.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Darklord Zerato (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (2): Black Pendant and Pot of Greed

* * *

"Your Wingweaver's attack points have now returned to their normal value!"

Wingweaver's attack points dropped to their original value (ATK: 5500 - 2750).

"And-" continued Darklord Zerato. "-since it's still my standby phase, I use the effect of my Soul of the Black Hearted to throw one Spell or Trap card from my hand to the graveyard and special summon a Skull Knight token!"

He discarded his Black Pendant card and a second Skull Knight appeared (Level: 7/ATK: 2650).

"Unfortunately, my token cannot attack the turn it was summoned." Darklord Zerato grumbled, but then held his only card left. "But Pot of Greed here disagrees with me! This lets me draw two cards from my deck!"

He drew two more cards from his deck.

"And now, you will say goodbye to your Wingweaver!"

Emily watched on defiantly, but gasped as she saw a familiar card materialize face-up.

"Raigeki?!" she exclaimed.

"That's right." said Darklord Zerato. "This powerful Spell card destroys all monsters on your side of the field."

Bolts of lightning started to reach for Wingweaver, but Emily wasn't gonna lose her monster just like that.

"Set card, open!" The dark green-haired girl announced, as her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Quick-Play Spell - Forbidden Dress!"

A white robe appeared on Wingweaver, protecting her from the lightning while also reducing her attack points (ATK: 2750 - 2150).

"Her attack is reduced by 600 points, but it projects her from being destroyed by card effects for the remainder of the turn!"

"Very interesting..." commented Darklord Zerato. "But I hate to say this... but Raigeki was all a decoy!"

"What do you mean?" questioned Emily. "Skull Knight is stronger than Wingweaver now, so you can attack and destroy her!"

"I have something far better in mind!"

From there, Darklord Zerato took the last card in his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk. A Spell card called Skull Knight's Decoy(!) materialized face-up.

"Skull Knight's Decoy?" blinked Emily. "What does that do?"

"If I fail to destroy your monster with a Spell or Trap card during the main phase one-" explained Darklord Zerato (LP: 3000). "-I can pay 1000 life points to allow my Skull Knight to... proceed to attack you directly!"

"Oh no..." winced Emily, takin a step back.

"Skull Knight, attack her life points directly!"

Skull Knight obeyed and charged seemingly at Wingweaver, who was ready to step in and defend her master/friend from harm.

"There's no point in resisting!" laughed Darklord Zerato. "It's useless!"

Skull Knight then split himself in two, leaving Wingweaver to deal with the copy as the real one attacked Emily with his sword.

"AAAAUUUUHHHHH!" she screamed (LP: 350).

"Emily!" cried out both Guardian Eatos and Nathaniel.

Darklord Zerato continued to laugh. "Your darkness will soon be all mine!"

Emily stumbled back weakly. Her life points were dangerously low right now, and one mistake would cost her the whole duel.

"I will never lose to you!" she snapped.

"So you say..." Darklord Zerato sighed, sending his Spell card to the graveyard. "I now activate my Skull Knight Decoy's other effect; it allows me to draw one card from my deck when Skull Knight delivers a successful direct attack."

He drew his card.

"My turn is now over! If you were wise, you'd forfeit the match right now!"

"Never." refused Emily, motioning a clenched fist about. "I will never surrender. And I will never embrace the darkness!"

"Already you are giving into the darkness." retorted the dark fairy monster. "Anger... that is the first step towards giving into the dark..."

Emily didn't want to listen to him. "Just shut up about the darkness!" she exclaimed. "I'm an angel of light!"

"You're allowing yourself to accept it..." chuckled Darklord Zerato. "An angel of light would never allow that..."

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Emily screamed angrily once more, while drawing her card.

Guardian Eatos and Nathaniel both watched how uncontrolled the dark green-haired girl was becoming.

"Her anger is getting to her." said Eatos.

"And this is what Darklord Zerato is counting on." agreed Nathaniel. "And seeing Wingweaver getting badly hurt like this only made things worse."

"We have to help get her back under control before it is too late."

Unfortunately...

"You will do no such thing!" retorted Darklord Zerato, turning and thrusting his empty hand forth. "This girl is going to embrace her darkness whether she wants to or not!"

Suddenly, a powerful force of wind blew and threw Guardian Eatos and Nathaniel both a distance away.

"No!" cried Emily, who then gazed back at Darklord Zerato hatefully. "You rotten...!"

"Are you angry?" teased the dark fairy. "Do you hate me? If so, then strike me down with all your hate...if you're able to."

Emily tried to keep herself calm. She wanted Zerato to pay for his actions, but she didn't want to kill him or risk being engulfed by darkness.

(elsewhere...)

Inside an office within the American branch of Boxford Corp in Atlanta, Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) both had called an important staff meeting to discuss a few things.

"As you may know-" said Mr. Gresley (Boxford). "-someone has been stealing our company's shares."

"But the culprit is not President Douglas Crump." added Mrs. Gresley (Boxford). "He does have his sights on the company, but a new party is the one truly behind it."

"Does this mean we're all going to be fired?" asked a staff member.

"No, of course not." insisted the woman.

"But... what's gonna happen to us if we-?"

Just before the female staff member could continue to speak, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Come in." called Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

The door opened, and another member of the staff (male) ran inside frantically.

"Sir and Ma'am, there's... there's..."

"Easy, slow down." soothed Mrs. Gresley (Boxford). "Now tell us what's wrong?"

"I have some terrible news!" panted the staff member, holding out a piece of paper in his right hand. "Read this, and you'll know what I mean."

The two vice-Presidents of Boxford Corp took hold of the paper and looked at it, reading whatever was on it for a full minute before reeling back in horror.

"Goodness gracious!" gasped Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"Are you sure?" questioned Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).

"100%." answered the staff member. "I've discovered it as soon as I found out."

"What? What is it?" asked Skiff, not liking where this was going. "Is President Crump going around and spreading more lies about us?"

"No, Skiff..." Mrs. Gresley (Boxford). "We've..."

"Boxford Corp has been completely bought out by that unknown party." finished Mr. Gresley (Boxford) in a very upset tone.

"What?!" gasped Skiff. "T-That can't be!"

The silent, grim, and devastated looked on the two adults' faces confirmed it was all true.

(elsewhere...)

Outside Atlanta, somewhere along the coastline of Atlantic City in New Jersey, Douglas Crump had made a weekend retreat to his grand mansion for some much needed rest. After all...running all of America while trying to defame and sink Boxford Corp into the ground did take a lot out of you.

Douglas Crump, out of his suit and in something far more casual, was currently on the deck resting on a hammock under the warm sun. Despite not being able to buy out Boxford Corp, he was...rather glad to be away from all the madness of those monster attacks for at least a while.

"This is what a man like me deserves." The pompous man said to himself, enjoying the rays from the lovely sun. "Some time away from all of this chaos."

"Some lemonade, sir?" asked the voice of the butler.

"Yes please."

Douglas Crump took the glass of lemonade off the tray and took a sip of it. All in all, he was in a very, VERY good mood.

"Very good..." The pompous man sighed like he was in heaven. "Beautiful summer weather, resting in my hammock, and no trouble around America... I can get so used to this."

"Does this mean you'll give me a raise?" asked the butler hopefully.

"I'll think about it... okay, I've thought about it; no!"

Douglas Crump immediately burst out laughing over his little joke, while the butler merely walked sulkingly away with the empty tray.

"Last time I work for politics." The butler muttered.

Yup, this average day could never go wrong, right? Wrong. It was about to go horribly wrong. How so? Well... Douglas Crump was enjoying himself that he didn't see a large monster fly right above him...nor did he hear the sudden cry of panic from the butler right away...well, at least until...

"DRAGON!"

This caused the US President to spin on the hammock until he fell onto the floor of the deck.

"Oh not again..." he groaned, but a great look of shock came when Douglas Crump got to his feet and saw one little thing... "MY MANSION!"

The whole building was on fire all over. The flames that the dragon monster had breathed had set the expensive mansion ablaze, and it was very clear that it could not be saved in time! Once his shock over the fire had worn off, Douglas Crump once again became outraged at one certain company...

"CURSE YOU, BOXFORD CORP!"

Wow... a skyward scream. Could this event be the first sign of the end of his tyranny? Who knows... let's move on now, shall we?

(elsewhere...)

Back at the Santuary in the Sky, Emily had drawn her card...but was becoming more and more uncontrolled.

"That monster..." she thought angrily. "How dare he attack innocent monsters like this."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Emily Sterling (LP: 350)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (4): Heavenly Light - Type B, Seiyaryu, Tears of Serapheem(!), and Dimensionhole

* * *

The dark green-haired girl saw that her drawn card was the Dimensionhole Spell card.

"No idea what good this card could do for me." she thought to herself, but then saw a card in her hand. "Wait... maybe it could work for me."

Immediately, Emily slotted the card into her Duel Disk.

"I activate Dimensionhole!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This Spell card lets me banished one monster on my field until my next standby phase." explained Emily. "And the only one I have is my Wingweaver!"

A vortex appeared in the sky, and Wingweaver was absorbed into it.

"But why?" demanded Darklord Zerato. "You'd be wide open for a direct attack!"

"My turn is not over yet!" insisted Emily, holding out a new card. "Now I activate Heavenly Light - Type B!"

"That just might help her!" exclaimed Guardian Eatos.

"This Spell will help me in summoning my Serapheem." explained Emily, drawing and discarding five cards. "My sending five light attribute monsters from my deck to the graveyard, I can special summon Serapheem from my hand, deck, or graveyard while ignoring its summoning conditions!"

"Ignoring summoning conditions?!" grimaced Darklord Zerato.

"That's right." confirmed the dark green-haired girl. "Serapheem, let your light of truth pierce the darkness of deceit!"

Lowering from the cloudy, and sunny, sky was Emily's ultimate version of Wingweaver (Level: 12/ATK: 2900).

"Serapheem..." whispered Darklord Zerato in bewilderment. He recovered and smirked. "Nice try, but even she won't be enough to stop me! Remember my little Spell card? You attack, and I'll just-"

"Whoever said I was done?" asked Emily. "Next comes the Spell Tears of Serapheem!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"If Wingweaver is either in my graveyard or banished from the game, I can return her to my deck!"

An orb of light entered the dark green-haired girl's deck.

"Now take a look at Serapheem!" insisted Emily.

"What about her?" asked Darklord Zerato.

He could see Serapheem was crying, making the dark fairy curious.

"Your monster is crying?"

"Yes, and now your monsters...are becoming something you were once a part of!" Emily pointed out.

"What are you talking about?"

"Light!" called out Guardian Eatos. "They've become creatures of light! Which is what YOU initially were before betraying us!"

Darklord Zerato looked to his two monsters and gasped due to Eatos being right. On cue, the two Skull Knights began to glow with bright, golden light.

"This can't be!" The dark fairy protested.

"It is!" corrected Emily. "Thanks to my Spell card, all your monsters are treated as light attribute monsters for the rest of the turn! However... Serapheem does not get a power boost from any of the light attribute monsters in my graveyard... BUT her effect of being able to attack more than once when defeating a light attribute monster my opponent controls still lingers about!"

"No!" cried Darklord Zerato.

The dark green-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "Consider this your punishment for not only for betraying your own kind, but for attempting to kill ANY friend of mine!"

Serapheem began to attack...but then Darklord Zerato held up a Spell card and prepared to discard it.

"You've forgotten all about my Soul of the Black Hearted's second effect! I can send this-"

"It won't work this time!" interrupted Emily.

"What?!" exclaimed the dark fairy-type monster. "Why not?"

"Because your Spell only protects Dark monsters." explained Emily. "And thanks to my own Spell, your monsters are Light monsters now!"

"This... this can't be possible!" Darklord Zerato reeled back.

"The first to fall will be your Skull Knight token!"

Serapheem fired a shower of rain that destroyed the Skull Knight token. Darklord Zerato took some slight damage (LP: 2750), but it wasn't over yet.

"Since I've destroyed a light attribute monster with Serapheem, she can attack again!" declared Emily. "This time your REAL Skull Knight!"

Serapheem showered another rain of light and destroyed the real Skull Knight (LP: 2500).

"And now for the final attack!" concluded Emily, motioning a finger forth. "Serapheem, atta-"

Suddenly, she stopped before declaring an attack.

"Wha-?"

The dark green-haired girl fell to her knees and grasped her chest like it was in pain or something.

"What's... happening?" she asked weakly.

Kuribon, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel were each shocked to see something like this happen to Emily as well.

"What is happening to her?" asked Nathaniel.

Guardian Eatos closed her eyes and stood motion like she was thinking or something. After a few moments, the female guardian opened her eyes and got a serious look on her face.

"The darkness in her heart." she finally said. "It's growing... becoming stronger..."

"Growing? But how?"

"I don't know..." replied Guardian Eatos. "It might have something to do with her anger, but I...cannot be sure on it."

Back with Emily, she was still clutching her chest while trying to fight whatever was going on in her heart.

"Stop..." she told herself. "Stop the pain!"

Darklord Zerato noticed what was happened...and started to chuckle quietly to himself.

"In her earlier moment of rage against me, her darkness is now beginning to unlock..."

All he had to do now was wait until the darkness had taken full control over Emily before he could cancel the duel and capture her. ...alas, it was not meant to be.

"I... refuse... to... submit!" declared Emily, standing back up with a pain, angry look on her face. "DIRECT ATTACK!"

Serapheem obeyed, firing a rain of light at Darklord Zerato. The rays of light struck the dark fairy head on.

"L-LORD DIABLON!" he screamed out (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

The holograms fade away and Darklord Zerato collapsed onto his front. Emily, meanwhile, managed to recover from her 'heart attack'... but her anger with the dark fairy monster wasn't satisfied just yet.

"You..." she growled, walking over.

The dark green-haired girl picked up Darklord Zerato by his neck with surprising strength, and started to use her other hand to go and slap the dark fairy-type monster across the face, hard and repeatedly.

"This is for hurting Wingweaver!"

Before Emily could continue with her vengeful rant, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder...by Guardian Eatos.

"That is enough." she said sternly. "You mustn't let your anger take control of you. You've won, and that's all that matters."

"But what will be done with him?" asked Emily. "You can't banish him again without risking him retreating to the Court of Darkness."

Nathaniel then approached. "We have a special prison we rarely ever use. We'll keep him in it."

With that said, Emily glared at Darklord Zerato before dropping him onto the ground as several Blade Knights finally arrived and surrounded the dark fairy-type monster.

"Darklord Zerato, you are under arrest!" declared one Blade Knight. "You have the right to remain silent."

From there, Darklord Zerato was taken away. Emily could on watch on bitterly, thinking about some of his words.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Wingweaver's bed chambers, a bunch of Mystical Elves were busy tending to the badly hurt angelic monster. Outside the chambers, Emily, Kuribon, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel were all waiting to see if Wingweaver would make it.

"I hope she'll be okay." said Emily quietly.

Kuribon floated over and gently nuzzled into the left side of the dark green-haired girl's face to comfort her.

"As do all of us." agreed Guardian Eatos.

Finally, the door opened and the Mystical Elves exited.

"Well?" Emily questioned immediately. "Will Wingweaver live?"

"She'll be just fine." said one of the Mystical Elves. "Right now, she needs some rest."

"I must speak to her." insisted the dark green-haired girl. "This is very important to me."

And thus, the Mystical Elves allowed Emily, Guardian Eatos, and Kuribon inside. Nathaniel had to leave to attend some personal duties of his own. Inside the room, Wingweaver was now lying in bed (under the covers) while wearing nothing but a bra and panties...with her lower torso wrapped in bandages. Kuribon was so happy to see that Wingweaver would be okay that she floated over and started hustling her head into the angelic monster's chest in relief.

"I'm happy to see you, too." chuckled Wingweaver, petting Kuribon.

Emily and Guardian Eatos both walked over.

"We're so relieved that you'll be okay." said Guardian Eatos. "We thought that you died protecting that Winged Kuriboh."

"It'll take much more than a wound like that to kill an angel like me." Wingweaver remarked, laughing a little bit.

Guardian Eatos couldn't help but laugh as well...only Emily wasn't shown to be smiling or laughing at all.

"Emily? My child, are you alright."

"Is it true?" The dark green-haired girl spoke up. "Is the darkness still lingering around within my heart?"

Wingweaver stopped smiling and had a look of sadness on her face. The look seemed to confirm everything.

"Did you know all this time?" Emily asked hurtfully. "If so, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to break your spirit." explained Wingweaver. "If I had told you, then you would have given up without finishing your journey."

"But I thought our duel was to destroy my darkness."

"It partly was...but it wasn't enough." The angelic monster pointed out with big regret. "It would have been a miracle if it did, but it just wasn't enough to succeed. I wanted to at least try."

"Now I'll never be free of it." sighed Emily unhappily. "I'm going to be hunted by the Court of Darkness for the rest of my life."

Guardian Eatos spoke up. "You mustn't think that, Emily. I KNOW there must be a way to wipe out the growing darkness in your heart."

"Agreed." added Wingweaver. She then blushed a little bit and gave a slight 'ahem'. "If you would come here for a moment..."

Curiously, Emily leaned closer.

"If...you will let me."

Emily, who began blushing as well from what Wingweaver needed to do, nodded shyly and the angelic monster, like what Guardian Eatos did earlier, brought up and laid her hand directly onto Emily's breast, holding it there for a while.

"The darkness is continuing to grow at a serious pace." said Wingweaver, feeling the dark green-haired girl's heart beat strongly. "You're not in any immediate danger, but you mustn't allow your anger to take over you anymore times. If you do, it will accelerate the darkness even more so, and it could result in some rather...fatal consequences."

"I'll try not to." said Emily bravely, despite still blushing over her chest being gropped...again...even if it was for a good cause.

"You must take care and find Thomas." continued Wingweaver. "Only together can you two conquer your trials and defeat the darkness."

"It won't be easy. But I can't give up."

Finally, Wingweaver released her hand. "My spirit shall always watch you over, my child."

From there, she managed to get up and gently kissed Emily on the forehead.

"I won't let you down, Wingweaver." promised Emily, tearing up a bit.

Kuribon then floated over to Emily, before looking back at Wingweaver.

"Do you want to stay here to look after her, little one?" asked Emily, while wiping her tears away.

Kuribon looked ashamed, but did nod in confirmation.

"Do you want Nathaniel to accompany you to find Thomas?" asked Guardian Eatos. "If my son is with you, then the Court of-"

"No!" exclaimed Emily hastily, before blushing over her outburst. "Um...sorry, but no thanks. I don't trust him very much right now...no offense or anything."

"None taken."

Wingweaver smiled proudly. "You really want to do this all on your own, don't you?"

Emily nodded. "It's the only true way I can become strong." she said.

Yes, this was to be a very big journey for the dark green-haired girl. Will she be able to finally find Thomas and conquer her darkness? What about the Evil One and the power of the Sacred Beasts, will we find out more about them? That is a lesson for another day, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a jungle of some sort, the two Amazoness Scouts were leading Rosie, Molly, and Mavis somewhere.

"Wouldn't it be easier just to gather wood from the woods?" asked Mavis. "Why come here?"

"Because the wood we gather here is much more durable for building huts." explained the blue-haired Sky Scout.

Mavis merely shrugged and continued to follow her friends and the two Amazoness Scouts. Very soon, however...

"OUCH!"

Something had bitten her on the neck.

"You okay, Mavis?" asked the red-haired Sky Scout.

The blonde-haired girl sighed wearily while rubbing the side of her neck. "I think a bug might have bitten me... but I should be fine regardless."

"Did you see what kind of bug it was?" asked Molly.

Mavis wasn't sure what the bug was. Surely it won't lead to something bad happening, right? Right...?


	30. Queen of the Jungle

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for major moments of fanservice from a female character. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up somewhere within a jungle of some sort, a seemingly harmless bug was shown to be flying around some trees looking for something sweet to eat. Just then, it heard some voices...

"Wouldn't it be easier just to gather wood from the woods?" asked the first voice (female). "Why come here?"

"Because the wood we gather here is much more durable for building huts." replied another voice (also female).

Emerging from some bushes down below were two Amazoness Scouts (one with red hair, and the other with blue hair) and three human teenage girls. The first girl had shoulder-lengthened pink hair, the second girl had long black hair, and the third girl had shoulder-lengthened blonde hair. The little bug was gazing at the third girl for what seemed like forever... just before finally flying straight towards her neck and...

"OUCH!"

With a hard clap from her left hand, the bug was squashed and killed off.

"You okay, Mavis?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

The blonde-haired girl sighed wearily while rubbing the side of her neck. "I think a bug might have bitten me... but I should be fine regardless."

"Did you see what kind of bug it was?" asked Molly.

Mavis wasn't sure what the bug was. For now, the group should focus more on gathering that wood. Mavis, however, still couldn't stop thinking about what had bitten her.

"I sure hope it wasn't poisonous." The blonde-haired girl thought only to herself.

At last, the Amazoness Scouts found the perfect trees to chop.

"These should do nicely." smiled the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Our chief should be very pleased." added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

They took their axes and began chopping. While Molly, Rosie, and Mavis each watched what was going on, the final human girl...started to feel strange.

"Oh... what's..."

Rosie turned to see the blonde-haired girl. "Mavis? Are you feeling okay?"

"I... think so..." groaned Mavis, bringing a hand to her suddenly warm forehead.

"Maybe you're just tired." said Molly.

"Maybe... may-be..."

Suddenly, the blonde-haired girl fell to her knees and collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Mavis!" cried both Rosie and Molly at once.

This caught the attention of both Amazoness Scouts, who had almost finished chopping enough wood, and they ran over to see what was the matter.

"What happened?!" demanded the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"We don't know." said Rosie worriedly. "Mavis looked like she wasn't feeling well and just passed out."

The two Amazoness Scouts immediately approached Mavis. The blue-haired Amazoness Scout knelt down, turned over the blonde-haired girl, and felt her forehead.

"She's warm, but seems to be running no fever." she reported. "Regardless, we should bring her back to the village and have our chief look her over just in case."

Carrying Mavis on their shoulders (both Amazoness Scouts), the four females started to make their way back to the village while hoping that they could help their blonde-haired friend.

* * *

 **Title: Queen of the Jungle**

* * *

Later on inside the Amazoness Sage's hut back at the village of the Amazons, the unconscious Mavis was laying on a stone table in the back room. The Amazoness chief was busy looking over the blonde-haired girl while Rosie, Molly, and the two Amazoness Scouts all watched on.

"Anything?" asked Molly worriedly.

The Amazoness Sage then noticed the bite mark on the side of Mavis's neck.

"A bug bite..." whispered the chief thoughtfully. She then looked to the females standing nearby "Did anything happen to bite her while you were out?"

"While we were gathering wood-" explained the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "-Mavis suddenly yelled 'ouch' and told us a bug had bitten her."

"Later on, while we watched the two Amazoness Scouts chop down some trees-" added Rosie. "-Mavis suddenly felt warm and fainted on the spot."

"This can't sound good." mumbled Amazoness Sage, now looking very serious. "From what you're telling me, it would seem she had been bitten by the rare Jungle Fever Bug."

Molly looked puzzled. "Jungle Fever bug? What's that?"

"Just give me a minute to find that book on rare Duel Monsters spirit world insects. I'll be right back."

As soon as the Amazoness Sage left the back room, Rosie started to notice something about Mavis.

"She's waking up!" she announced in alarm.

Everyone turned quickly. It was true; the blonde-haired girl's eyes were slowly opening as she began to regain consciousness.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the jungle, some bushes were rattling about before Thomas suddenly emerged from them.

"How much further?" came the voice of James.

"Just a little bit longer." answered the voice of Percy.

Yup, the group had been travelling long and hard for the past couple of days. They still had yet to find the rest of the group, but they were not about to just give up like that. Unknowingly, however, they were going to find Rosie, Mavis, and Molly real soon...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the Amazoness Sage's hut...

"Mavis, we're so relieved you're not sick!" sighed Molly in relief.

Mavis stated to speak, but in completely broken English...

"Mavis? Who she? Jane's name is Jane!"

"Huh?" Molly blinked.

"What?" came from Rosie.

Mavis got up off the table and looked to her surroundings rather curiously. Finally, she saw the two human girls and two Amazoness Scouts.

"Who be you?" The blonde-haired girl demanded in a hostile tone.

"Mavis, don't you recognize us?" Molly asked in bewilderment. "We're your friends!"

Mavis, leaning down like she was an ape, moved closer to Rosie and started sniffing at her.

"Ehhhhh...?" The pink-haired girl felt uncomfortable.

"What be you?" The blonde-haired girl questioned, starting to grip and poke at Rosie's body curiously. "Are you ape like Jane?"

"Mavis, cut it out!" The pink-haired girl gasped, before slapping Mavis's hands off of her shirt when she (Mavis) started to pull it up and expose her (Rosie) tummy. "It's me, Rosie! Don't you remember?"

Mavis, getting quite angry from being slapped, started making grunting noises like a gorilla and began tearing the entire place apart in a rage.

"Somebody stop her!" cried Molly.

The two Amazoness Scouts tried to grab and hold the rampaging blonde-haired girl, but they got thrown aside by the human's greatly enhanced strength.

"You no can stop Jane; queen of jungle!" Mavis declared. "Must return to jungle... Jane must return to jungle!"

Laughing crazily, she climbed the walls and exited the hut through the roof. Once outside, Mavis leaped off the top of the hut and raced off towards the jungle like she was an ape. Everyone watched the now psychotic blonde-haired girl escape in complete shock. It was also then Amazoness Scout returned with the book.

"Here it is, I've found the..." The village chief stopped speaking when she saw the complete mess her medical room was in. "What in thunder happened here?!"

"Mavis woke up and suddenly went all gorilla." answered Molly.

"We tried to stop her, but she escaped." added the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

Sighing irritably, the Amazoness Sage brought the book over to the table and opened it.

"What was that bug, anyway?" questioned Rosie.

"The rare Jungle Fever Bug." explained Amazonzess Sage, flipping to a picture of the bug in question. "It acts a bit like what you humans would call a mosquito, biting people and sucking their blood. However, when it does that it leaves behind mild poisons within the bloodstream, leaving their victims to look ill before becoming rather loopy."

"Is the poisons...fatal?"

The Amazoness chief shook her head. "It isn't fatal... but if it isn't cured soon, then the person who got bit by one of the bugs will stay loopy forever."

"What's the cure for it then?" asked Molly.

"I'll need a blood sample from Mavis and the Jungle Fever Bug that bit her." answered Amazoness Sage.

"Easier said than done." groaned Rosie.

"Unless you have a better idea, we'd better go find Mavis and get that blood example before it's too late to cure her." retorted the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"And that bug." agreed the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

Nothing more was said.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the jungle, Rosie, Molly, and the two Amazoness Scouts were busy searching for Mavis.

"Mavis!" called Molly. "Where are you?"

No answer.

"Nothing..."

Rosie then spotted something ahead. "Look over there!"

The females ran over and found a pair of shoes and socks.

"Those are Mavis's!" The pink-haired girl pointed out.

"Why would she go bare-foot?" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout quizzed.

"Apes don't wear shoes obviously." answered the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

The females soon continued walking through the jungle. Very soon, the blue-haired Amazoness Scout looked down onto the ground and found something that made her gasp with relief.

"I've found it! This is the bug that bit Mavis!"

Quickly, the Amazoness Scout picked the dead bug up and put it inside a glass bottle and corked it up.

"Well, we got that." said Molly.

"Now we need that blood sample." added the red-haired Amazones Scout.

Suddenly, Rosie freaked out over something she saw straight ahead...

"Oh, good Lord! Look over there!"

Molly looked...and gasped at what she saw.

"Oh my..." The black-haired girl whispered in a flustered tone.

Laying nearby was Mavis's dirty clothes and underwear. The four females approached the clothes while picking them up.

"Did...your friend just strip off her clothes completely?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"That must mean Mavis is...roaming the jungle...while naked!" Molly exclaimed with an embarrassed blush on her face.

"All because she thinks she is a Jungle Queen..." added a flustered Rosie.

Suddenly, there was loud jungle yell of a sort.

"That must be her!" exclaimed the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

The yell got louder as a shadowed female figure was shown swinging on a vine before landing on a branch high up a tall tree.

"Leave now! Jungle don't belong to you!" said the voice (female) sternly.

"Mavis!" shouted Rosie. "It's only us; your friends! Come down from there and put your clothes back on, right now!"

"Jane's name is Jane!"

The female figure then leaped gracefully off the tree branch until she landed on the ground before Rosie, Molly, and the two Amazoness Scouts. Emerging from the shadows was Mavis alright, but she wasn't in the nude; the delusional blonde-haired girl was instead decked out in a skimpy loincloth made entirely out of leaves.

"At least your friend knows how to accessorize." The blue-haired Amazoness Scout whispered to Molly and Rosie.

Rosie wasn't too amused. "At least put your clothes back on!"

"Leave!" commanded the delusional blonde-haired girl once more. "Me protect jungle from poachers like you!"

"Now, hold on!" interrupted the red-haired Amazoness Scout, walking forth. "We're not poachers at all. We just want to-"

"Lies!" cried Mavis, throwing a coconut at her ' _enemies_ '.

With a surge of coconuts now being thrown at them, the four females were forced to fall back to the village and rethink their strategy. Mavis, once she was alone once more, folded her arms with satisfaction.

"Me keep jungle safe." she said proudly. The delusional blonde-haired girl then felt sad. "Jane feel lonely... Jane need mate!"

Oh boy... I can only wonder who her ' _mate_ ' will be...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Amazoness Village, Thomas and the others had just arrived.

"What is this place?" questioned Henry. He looked to Maiden of the Aqua. "Do you know anything about this village?"

"This is the village of the Amazons." explained Maiden of the Aqua.

"Amazons?" quizzed Gordon.

"We've seen some of them in action before." reminded Edward. "Lady has some of that archtype in her deck."

"Hopefully, they can help us find our friends." added Thomas.

Just then...

"Okay, so that didn't work out very well." came a familiar voice (female). "Looks like we'll need a new plan."

"Yeah." agreed another familiar voice (female).

"Rosie?" whispered Stanley.

"Molly?" came from James.

From a nearby hut, the two girls emerged with some bandages on their faces (a few thrown coconuts hit them). Thomas and the remains of the group, upon seeing Rosie and Molly, were deeply relieved and overjoyed.

"Girls!" called Percy. "Over here!"

Molly and Rosie both overheard the green-haired boy's voice.

"Could it be?" asked Molly.

"It's Percy!" cried Rosie. "And that means-!"

On cue, the two girls saw Thomas and the rest of the group.

"THOMAS! EVERYONE!" Rosie and Molly both screamed out.

It was a heartwarming reunion for the friends.

"We were so worried!" wailed Rosie. "We thought that storm claimed your lives!"

"As we thought of you!" came from Toby.

"Well, well... Who do we have here?" said a new voice (red-haired Amazoness Scout).

The two Amazoness Scouts walked up to the reunite group of friends.

"These guys, plus Maiden of the Aqua, are the friends we were waiting for to show up." Rosie pointed out.

"Wait, where's Gilford?" questioned Molly, when she saw that Gilford the Lightning was not with them.

"Gilford's dead." answered Percy sadly. And he told them about the Ninja ambush and his duel with Gilford the Lightning.

"Poor Gilford..." whimpered Molly.

It was then Toby spoke up. "Wait, where is Mavis? Is she here with you two?"

The blue-haired Amazoness Scout sweatdropped. "Yeah, she's here... but we have a small problem."

"Problem?"

"I think it'd be best to just show you." sighed the red-haired Amazoness Scout, beginning to leave. "Follow me into the jungle, please."

"Oh." Molly spoke up, remembering something important. "Before I forget, I found these."

She took the monster cards she had found out of her pocket and showed them to Thomas. They were Curse of Dragon, Archfiend of Gilfer, and Seiyaryu.

"My cards!" said Thomas happily, taking the three monster cards back. "Thank you so much for finding them, Molly."

"You're welcome, Thomas."

At that point, the gang left the village and proceeded back into the jungle to try and find Mavis.

(elsewhere...)

Deep in the jungle, Rosie, Molly, and the Amazoness Scouts were leading Thomas and everyone else through to find Mavis.

"So, let me get this straight..." began James. "Mavis got bit by a little bug, and is now acting all crazy like she's Queen of the Jungle? Ha ha... I don't see it."

"You'll believe us quite soon." responded the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

As they traveled, Stanley accidentally step on a twig and snapped it in two.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Just then, a loud jungle yell was heard echoing through out. A shadowed female figure was shown swinging on a vine before landing on the ground before the large group of friends.

"You no learn lesson!" said the female figure in broken English. "Be gone or suffer more thrashing!"

Thomas squinted his eyes. "Mavis?"

The female figure emerged from the shadows...and revealed it to be Mavis looking dirty in the face and...wearing nothing but a loincloth made entirely out of leaves (said loincloth resembled a top-like bra for the top half and hot pants for below the waist).

"Jane's name is Jane!" corrected the delusional blonde-haired girl.

The sight of Mavis wearing such a skimpy looking outfit caused Thomas to blush.

"Oh, Fizzling Fireplaces..." he thought only to himself. "Why is it always seem to be Mavis who gets decked out in clothing like that? Why could it not be Emily instead?"

"You enemies!" sneered Mavis. "Jane hate enemies trying to hurt jungle!"

"Mavis!" called Toby. "It's us! We're not your enemies! Please get out of that getup!"

The delusional blonde-haired girl merely looked at the brown-haired boy for what seemed like forever before running forth, pushing the two Amazoness Scouts aside, and tackling him to the ground.

"TOBY!" cried out Henry, Rosie, Edward, and Molly at once.

But Mavis wasn't hurting Toby at all... Although the delusional blonde-haired girl was laying atop of the brown-haired boy, she was looking at him rather curiously. Even then, Toby didn't dare move or make a sound in case it made Mavis want to attack.

"Do Jane...know you?" she asked slowly.

"Mavis?" quizzed Toby. "What has happened to you? Don't you remember who I am? It's me... Toby."

Mavis was silent for what seemed like forever. Finally...she smiled at the brown-haired boy.

"To-by..."

Toby smiled hopefully. "Does this mean you remember me?"

Alas...

"You be good mate!" The delusional blonde-haired girl announced so suddenly, standing back up and picking the poor brown-haired boy up. "Jane now bring mate to treehouse!"

"This does not look good." thought Toby, looking panic-stricken.

"Grab her!" called Molly.

Rosie and Stanley both rushed forth and tried to tackle Mavis to the ground, but the blonde-haired girl suddenly jumped so freakin' high that the two teenagers missed their target and slid into a large rock. Mavis, meanwhile, landed on a tree branch skillfully.

"You too slow for Jane, queen of jungle!" she laughed.

With that said, Mavis, with Toby in captive, leap from branch to branch in an attempt to escape.

"Mavis! MAVIS!" called Thomas desparatedly.

But it was no good, Mavis was long gone.

"Oh, botheration!" groaned Rosie, rubbing her sore cheek irritably.

Thomas sighed. "It looks like we'll have to go after them. Isn't that right, Percy?"

No answer.

"Percy?"

"You might want to take a look at him, James, and Gordon." Maiden of the Aqua insisted, sounding annoyed.

Thomas and the rest of the gang did so, and saw that the three mentioned teenagers were staring blankly into space from seeing Mavis in that skimpy loincloth...with nosebleeds to match.

"Soooo sexy." mumbled James, now grinning.

"Very much so." agreed Gordon, also grinning.

"I didn't know Mavis could become THIS hot." added Percy. "Makes me almost want to dump Lady and pursue Mavis instead!"

Thomas couldn't help but facepalm. "Totally saw this coming." he deadpanned.

Edward approached James, Henry approached Gordon, and Stanley approached Percy. From there, the three teenagers began shaking their friends in an effort to get them to snap out of it.

"Come on, you three!" exclaimed Stanley. "This is serious!"

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" cried Percy. He then noticed that his nose was bleeding. "Um, why is my nose bleeding?"

"And mine?" came from James.

"Also mine?" finished Gordon.

"You saw Mavis in a loincloth." explained Rosie, looking very annoyed. "A loincloth made out of leaves."

"Oh yeah..." grinned James. "She looked really hot in that-"

An angry and jealous scowl from Molly quieted the red-haired boy from saying anything more about Mavis.

"Right now, Toby has been captured." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "We must find him and Mavis before something bad happens!"

"What's the worst that could happen?" asked Gordon dismissively.

This earned the older blue-haired boy a nasty glare from Thomas, Maiden of the Aqua, Rosie, and Molly.

"What?"

"Mavis, with her newly enhanced strength, could potentially tear Toby limb from limb if he upsets her in some way." Rosie pointed out.

"Or she could even perform female-on-male rape on him." added Thomas.

"So we gotta find them both at once." The two tenagers finished at once.

"Not only to save Toby, but to get that blood sample." put in the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Without Mavis's blood, our chief can't put an antidote together." finished the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "And your friend would remain in that state forever."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked James, getting ready to leave. "Let's go save Toby and bring the sexy Jungle Qu-" Some angry glares were enough for the red-haired boy to retract the last part of his sentence into something else. "Err... I mean bring Mavis back to herself!"

With that said, the gang raced off to the rescue.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere deeper in the jungle, Mavis was still carrying Toby from tree to tree until she finally stopped.

"We home now." The delusional blonde-haired girl announced cheerfully. She had stopped in front of a makeshift treehouse. "Come, we rest."

Inside the house, Toby was feeling very worried. Not only for himself, but for his Jungle Queen-obsessed girlfriend, too.

"Are you sure it's safe?" he asked. "What about termites?"

"What termites? Jane and Toby no worry about termites." Mavis reassured, before patting her tummy. "Termites delicious."

Toby shuddered a bit at the thought of Mavis eating bugs.

"And now..." Mavis suddenly got onto her hands and knees and began crawling over to the brown-haired boy in an attempt to seduce him (however an ape does so). "Tell Jane...about you."

The way the delusional blonde-haired girl was currently dressed and positioned while crawling on the ground was enough to show off plenty of breast cleavage and even a slight smidge of her butt. Poor Toby was feeling very uncomfortable right about now; the brown-haired boy really hoped that help arrived soon, otherwise...he would be in for the ride of his life.

"M-Mavis..." Toby began, trying to think of something to say. "P-Please try to understand... This... this isn't right! You're-"

He suddenly stopped himself from saying anything more. Toby really didn't wanna upset the one girl he fell in-love with after she saved him from death—yet at the same time he didn't want to endure yet another dirty seduction from a girl wearing VERY skimpy clothing (be it human or Duel Monsters spirit).

"Tell Jane..." swooned Mavis, getting up and close to the blushing brown-haired boy. "Jane not get mad. Jane never hurt mate..."

"You're, err... being a bit silly at the moment." stuttered Toby, trying to find the right words.

"Silly?"

"Going about in a loincloth made of leaves, eating bugs and bananas, and throwing things at our friends." The brown-haired boy pointed out as nicely as possible. "This isn't you at all."

"But Jane an ape." Mavis protested, taking three steps back. "Me protect jungle from bad people!"

"They're not bad people." insisted Toby. "They're our friends. They only want to help you. You have to believe it. And you're not an ape. You're a human, just like me." He then took a mirror out of his pocket and showed Mavis her reflection. "See?"

Mavis gazed long and hard... At least before voices could be heard from outside...

"They've got to be around here somewhere."

"Bad people find us!" cried Mavis, rushing to the door.

"Mavis, wait!" called Toby, but was too late.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, Thomas and the others were still searching for Mavis and Toby.

"Mavis! Toby!" called Stanley. "Where are you?"

"Mavis! We only want to help you!" came from Edward.

"No harm has ever been intended!" put in Maiden of the Aqua.

"Please come out!" finished Molly.

Suddenly, they heard a jungle yell.

"Yup, that yell is sounding familiar." grumbled James.

Swinging on a vine right before them was Mavis herself.

"Mavis, you have to release Toby and come with us back to the village of Amazons!" begged Rosie. "We can help you!"

"You no trick Jane!" snapped Mavis. "Me protect jungle from poachers like you lot!"

At last, James lost patience. "Okay, that's it! I don't care if you look sexy in that getup, but you've clearly gone bonkers and need to be taught a lesson."

With that said, he activated his Duel Disk.

"Well, so-called Jungle Queen? You know how to play the game, right?"

Mavis activated her Duel Disk in response to that. "Jane play game!" she answered, just before turning around. "Jane also have better place for game. Follow now."

Thomas and the others looked to each other, nodded, and followed the delusional blonde-haired girl.

(elsewhere...)

Standing atop two large rocks and facing each other were James and Mavis.

"You ready to duel?" asked James, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000).

"Jane only have this to say..." retorted Mavis, drawing her own hand (LP: 4000). "It time to duel!"

Down off the rocks, the gang as watching the duel.

"Be careful, James." said Molly quietly.

"Win this duel so we can save Toby AND Mavis!" added Percy.

"I will." promised James.

"Ahem!" coughed Mavis, drawing her first card. "Queen of Jungle first!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Raregold Armor, Polymerization, Falling Current, Mind on Air, Etoile Cyber, and Doble Passe

* * *

Her drawn card was the Doble Passe Trap card. The delusional blonde-haired girl's hand also contained Raregold Armor, Polymerization, Falling Current, Mind on Air, and Etoile Cyber.

"Jane summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode!" announced Mavis, placing one of her cards onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field was a woman with a red/light blue body suit and long browish hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1200).

"Next, Jane place one card facedown." continued Mavis, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot. "And turn end!"

A facedown card materialized.

"My draw!" announced James, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Polymerization, Elemental HERO Clayman, Kishido Spirit, Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, and Elemental HERO Sparkman

* * *

The red-haired boy's drawn card was the Elemental HERO Sparkman monster card.

"I call on Elemental HERO Sparkman... and I play him in attack mode!"

The electrical Elemental HERO emerged to attack (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Say goodbye to Etoile Cyber!" declared James. "Sparkman, attack, now!"

Sparkman fired an electrical blast from his hand towards Mavis's monster.

"Activate Trap card!" cried Mavis. "Doble Passe!"

The delusional blonde-haired girl's facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This make attack turn to direct attack towards Jane."

"Attack directly?!" exclaimed James. "Why would you want me to attack you directly?"

"Because then Jane monster can attack you directly." answered Mavis, smirking slightly.

"Molly and I've seen that card in action once before!" Rosie explained to the rest of the gang. "Pretty handy early on."

Sparkman's attack circled around Etoile Cyber before striking Mavis on the face, causing her to grunt like a gorilla for a moment (LP: 2400).

"Now Etoile Cyber go attack!" commanded Mavis.

Etoile Cyber obeyed and leaped over Sparkman before aerial kicking James in the face.

"AGH!" The red-haird boy yelled in pain (LP: 2200). He then saw his life points dropped to 2200 instead of 2800. "Wait! My life points dropped to 2200?!"

"When Etoile Cyber attack directly-" explained Mavis "-she gain 600 attack points during battle only."

"A pretty good combo." remarked Edward.

"I'll say." agreed Gordon.

Back atop one of the tall rocks...

"Jane turn, now!" said Mavis, drawing a card. "She draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (5): Raregold Armor, Polymerization, Falling Current, Mind on Air, and Blade Skater

* * *

Her drawn card was the Blade Skater monster card.

"Me summon Blade Skater in attack mode!"

"Blade Skater?" blinked James.

"Yes, Blade Skater!" confirmed Mavis, placing her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field was the purple and grey skinned female warrior with skates on her arm (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"Jane no finished." continued Mavis, just as the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up. "Me play Polymerization!"

The two monsters vanished as they fused together.

"Jane fusion summon Cyber Blader!"

The familiar woman with long hair, wearing red and silver clothing, and wearing figure skating-like boots appeared and posed for battle (Level: 7/ATK: 2100/DEF: 800).

"Attack Sparkman!"

Cyber Blader obeyed and started 'skating' towards Elemental HERO Sparkman. With a spin, she kicked and sliced the electrical hero across the chest with one of the skates on her boots. Sparkman fell down and fizzled out.

"That had to hurt..." winced James (LP: 1700).

"You no beat Jane - Queen of Jungle!" declared Mavis.

Down with the rest of the gang...

"Come on, James!" called Gordon. "Don't lose to a girl! ...even if she is decked out in-!"

"Don't even say it!" warned Rosie, shutting Gordon right up.

"I don't plan on losing!" retorted James, drawing a card. "I'll win! Just watch me!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : James Hughes (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Polymerization, Elemental HERO Clayman, Kishido Spirit, Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, and Fusion Gate

* * *

His drawn card was the Fusion Gate Field Spell card.

"This should be a good start." The red-haired boy thought to himself. "Alright, jungle girl! Get ready for a favorite fusion of mine!"

Mavis frowned, but said nothing. James then motioned his card to his Field Spell zone, and slotted the card inside once the zone opened up.

"But first, I'll activate the Field Spell card Fusion Gate!"

The scenery began to change with a green grid floor and a worm-hold of sorts in the background.

"Now we can both fuse monsters without the need of Polymerization." smirked James. "All we gotta do is banish the material monsters from our hands or field to do it." He then held to cards up. "As so... I banish both Elemental HEROES Avian and Burstinatrix to activate the effect of Fusion Gate!"

The two Elemental HEROES appeared briefly before vanishing into the void in the sky.

"Come forth... Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The all-too familiar green Elemental HERO with a dragon-like right arm appeared with a might cry (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

"Our monsters are equal in strength." continued James.

"That mean both would die fighting!" Mavis pointed out.

The red-haired boy held up a Continuous Spell card. "Not if I activate Kishido Spirit."

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Now if my monster does battle with another monster with equal attack points-" explained James "-mine can't be destroyed. And when Flame Wingman destroys a monster you control in battle, you take damage equal to that monster's attack points."

Flame Wingman raised his dragon-like arm and fired a blast of fire. The attack overwhelmed Cyber Blader, while Mavis braced herself from the attack.

"Heh! Say good to 2100 life points!"

When the fire died down...Cyber Blader was shown to be unharmed!

"What?! What just happened?" asked James in shock. "Your life points didn't drop either!"

Mavis laughed. "You have one monster, Cyber Blader not destroyed by battle. Jane take no damage either!"

"Rats!" moaned James.

"Hmm... Jane love rat stew."

The red-haired boy felt sick. "Okay, that's just gross."

"You mean delicious!" retorted the delusional blonde-haired girl, rubbing her tummy while licking her lips. "But what you know? You not ape!"

"Neither are you!" snapped James. "You're a human like us! Did you even look in the mirror?"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (4): Raregold Armor, Falling Current, Mind on Air, and Fusion Weapon

* * *

On cue, the Fusion Weapon Equip Spell card materialized face-up.

"Me win!" declared Mavis. "Fusion Weapon, when equip to fusion monster, increase their attack and defense by 1500!"

"It won't work!" Edward pointed out. "Cyber Blader's level is 7. Fusion Weapon card only affects fusion monsters that are levels 6 or lower."

"It WILL work!" interrupted Thomas. "Cyber Blader's level was lowered not long ago."

"What?!" The intelligent blue-haired boy exclaimed. "But, how could I have not known that?"

"Look to Falling Current." explained Mavis, motioning to a face-up Spell card next to the face-up Fusion Weapon card. "It allow Jane to make Cyber Blader level 3 instead of level 7. That mean Fusion Weapon work!"

"Wow!" joked Gordon. "Edward here never saw a play like that coming! What is the world coming to?"

Edward briefly went into the fetal position.

"Oh, the indignity..." he moaned to himself.

Back in the duel field, a weapon appeared on Cyber Blader's arm and making her stronger (ATK: 2100 - 3600).

"A smart play..." thought James unhappily.

"Cyber Blader, attack!" commanded Mavis.

Cyber Blader obeyed and started ' _ **skating**_ ' towards Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, attacking and destroying him with the weapon she got from the Fusion Weapon card.

"Flame Wingman!" called James (LP: 200).

"Queen of Jungle about to win!" said Mavis, placing both hands at her hips rather proudly. "After that, Jane and mate live happily together!"

"It's not over until the last card is played!" said James, regaining his balance. "It's my turn!"

Down below...

"Unless James draws the right card, he won't last the next turn against Cyber Blader!" Percy exclaimed.

"We can't give up faith in him!" protested Molly.

"He needs to win so that we can save Toby and bring Mavis back to the Amazon village for treatment." added Rosie.

Upon on the rocks, James closed his eyes and drew a card, slashing a wave of color as he did so (Destiny Draw).

* * *

 **Turn Six** : James Hughes (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Polymerization, Elemental HERO Clayman, and Monster Reborn

* * *

The red-haired boy looked and saw his card. It was his Monster Reborn Spell card.

"Yes!" he thought to himself. "I drew the card I need to turn this duel around." Immediately, James took another card from his hand. "First I summon the Elemental HERO Clayman in attack mode!"

The clay warrior monster appeared in a fighting position (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"Attack position?" quizzed Mavis. "What that?"

"Next I activate Monster Reborn!" continued James, just as his Spell card materialized face-up. "I'll use it to revive Elemental HERO Sparkman!"

Sparkman soon returned to the field.

"And now I will use Fusion Gate to merge these two together!"

Once again, Fusion Gate activated and absorbed Sparkman and Clayman both into the sky for a fusion sequence.

"This time, I'm calling out Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!" announced James in triumph.

The fusion ended and the fusion of Clayman and Sparkman landed on the ground while creating a slight tremor (Level: 6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1500).

"Thunder Giant?" asked Mavis. "Why call him? He weaker than Cyber Blader!"

"That may be-" agreed James, discarding the last card in his hand to the graveyard. "-had it not been for his special ability. See, by discarding a card from my hand to the graveyard once per turn, Thunder Giant can automatically destroy one monster on your field who's original attack is lower than his. And since Cyber Blader's attack was originally 2100, she's toast!"

Thunder Giant unleashed an electrical attack, striking and vaporizing Cyber Blader.

"Jane's monster!" cried Mavis. "Queen of Jungle cannot lose to poacher!"

"Now, Thunder Giant, let's end the duel!" called James. "Attack Mavis's life points directly, and knock some sense back into her loopy head!"

Thunder Giant, charging his right fist with electricity, threw a punch towards the delusional blonde-haired girl's rock formation, striking and causing it to begin crumbling as Mavis started to stumble about and fall down with a scream.

"Mavis!" cried out the delusional blonde-haired girl's friends.

Laying on the newly formed pile of rocks, Mavis was now unconscious as her remaining life points finally dropped to empty (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

The group ran over to see if Mavis was alright.

"Will she be okay?" asked Molly with worry in her tone.

The red-haired Amazoness Scout saw a small cut on the blonde-haired girl's forehead. She immediately took some of the blood and loaded it into a glass tube.

"She will once we get her back to the village." The red-haired Amazoness Scout said. "And with this blood sample, we can get our chief to make an antidote."

Suddenly...

"Ugh..." Mavis moaned groggily. "What..."

The blonde-haired girl's eyes slowly started to open.

"Mavis!" cried out the rest of the gang.

"Nice of you to finally be awake, Jungle Girl." joked Gordon.

"Oh... my head..." groaned the blonde-haired girl.

Once Mavis had regained full consciousness and vision, she sat up and began to look down at herself wearily! ...only to notice that in addition to being slightly dirty, she was wearing nothing but a loincloth made entirely out of leaves. The loincloth showcasted the blonde-haired girl's entire midriff, her legs, tons of breast cleavage, and—ahem—a smidge of her butt (buttock cleavage, that is).

"HUH?!" cried Mavis, just as her face turned crimson red while beginning to take a good look at herself. "WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I WEARING?!"

The poor blonde-haired girl immediately covered her exposed midriff and cleavage up with her arms due to all of the stares she was getting (from both the other girls and the boys, but mainly the latter for very obvious reasons).

"Geez! You're lookin' really sexy right now, Jungle Girl Mavis." James remarked. He was grinning like a pervert.

Mavis nearly turned purple in the face from the great embarrassment she felt right now, while Molly went and slapped her boyfriend upside the head for making that lewd comment.

"What happened to my clothes?!" demanded Mavis in total humiliation. "And how did I get decked out in this... this... GETUP?!"

"It's kind of a long story." answered the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"We'll fill you in on the details later." put in the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"And don't you worry-" added Rosie with reassurance in her tone. "-Molly and I have your clothes... Not to mention they're still wearable."

Molly took out a black and yellow stripped shirt and pair of blue jeans (with belt) from beind her back, and Rosie had a pair of socks, a bra, panties, and a pair of shoes.

"They're clean." The pink-haired girl pointed out innocently.

"Oh, thank goodness!" exclaimed Mavis, snatching the clothes before turning to go behind some bushes and trees. "Anyone who even peeks is dead! Got it?!"

And nothing more was said. Twenty minutes later, Mavis came out from behind the bushes and trees all dressed in her clothes (after a quick bath in the lake).

"So much better..."

"Aww! But I liked you so much better in that getup!" whined Percy.

"You don't want to make Lady jealous, do you Percy?" asked Thomas, smiling slightly.

The green-haired boy became quiet upon being told that. Mavis even manage to smile just a little bit... before being tackled into a hug by both Rosie and Molly.

"We're so glad you're back to normal, Mavis!" wailed Molly.

"When you went ape on us-" added Rosie. "-we thought you were gone for good."

"Wait, what?" Mavis blinked, looking puzzled. "What do you mean I ' _went ape_ '?"

"You were bitten by a bug that made you go loopy." explained the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Once you regained consciousness, you escaped into the jungle and stripped your clothes off-" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout started to speak, but got cut off.

"WHAAAAT?!" Mavis screamed out, blushing a crimson red once more. "You all saw me **naked**?!"

"No, no, no, no!" denied Rosie, shaking her head and waving her hands (showing the palms). "You were the one who found us, and were decked out in that loincloth."

"And then we found you." spoke up Maiden of the Aqua. "From there, you kidnapped Toby while thinking he was a-"

"Toby?!" Mavis interrupted once more, this time it was out of worry. "Where is he?! Is he okay?"

"You took him up to a treehouse." explained Edward.

"Didn't you go back for him?!"

On cue, a jungle-like yell was heard.

"Oh, not again..." groaned Molly.

A shadowed male figure was shown swinging on a vine. Soon, he landed on the ground before the reunited gang. It was Toby, but he was still in his clothes and not a loincloth made out of leaves.

"Toby?" gasped Henry.

"George's name is George!" insisted Toby, now acting like a delusional ape man.

"Jane from Tarzan, and George from George of the Jungle..." mumbled James. "Whatever is next?"

Mavis, however, would have none of that and approached her boyfriend in an attempt to snap him out of it.

"Come on, Toby." pleaded Mavis. "Snap out of it! It's me - Mavis!"

Just then, the seemingly delusional brown-haired boy placed both hands on the blonde-haired girl's shoulders...and grinned in a teasing manner...

"Gotcha all good."

Everyone gasped. Their friend...had been only playing around with them. Toby was still Toby!

"You didn't really think I had gone nuts, did you?" asked Toby cheekily.

"No, of course not!" James retorted in denial. "I knew all along you were joking!"

"So did I!" came from Percy.

The brown-haired boy chuckled sarcastically. "Sure you guys did."

It was right around then Gordon started to laugh to himself.

"Gordon?" questioned Henry.

"What's so funny?" came from Mavis.

"Oh, nothing." chuckled Gordon. "Except it's funny; you, Mavis, are a tomboy... Yet, you seem to be the one who gets stuck with all those ' **something-something** ' moments the most out of all the girls."

"Now that you've mentioned it, Gordon-" agreed James. "-if I remember correctly enough, Emily is the most gorgeous girl in the entire school...yet she doesn't seem to get many, if hardly any, of those ' **something-something** ' moments like Mavis here seems to!"

Mavis gave an annoyed sigh while bringing a hand to her forehead (she was tired of being seen and thought of as ' _ **sexy**_ ' by most of the boys). She felt better when Toby hugged her (which she returned).

"Well, I'm glad we're all reunited." smiled Thomas. "Now all we have to do is proceed to the Duel Monsters capital city, rescue Emily, and go home."

"Actually, Thomas-" sighed Molly "-I'm afraid we'll have to put our search for Emily on hold."

The blue-haired boy was cross to hear that. "What?! Why can't we rescue Emily?!"

"Because we have to fulfill the prophecy!" explained Rosie.

"What prophecy?"

"Before we explain-" spoke up the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "-let's return to the village and get that antidote fixed up."

"That way, you don't go ape on us again." added the red-haired Amazoness Scout, looking at Mavis.

"That's fair enough." sighed the blonde-haired girl in agreement.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the Amazoness Sage's hut, Mavis was wincing quite hard as a needle filled with the antidote was injected into her neck (where the bug had first bitten her).

"There we go, my young friend..." said Amazoness Sage kindly, tossing the used needle away. "All taken care of... Your neck will remain sore for a little while, but a day's rest should help with that..."

Sighing heavily, Mavis brought a hand over and rubbed the sore spot on her neck.

"I'm really glad to hear that." she responded wearily, before stretching her arms out while giving a yawn. "Acting like a 'J _ungle Girl_ ' really took a lot out of me."

"Then it's official-" Thomas spoke up. "-we'll rest here for one day, then we must move on with our journey."

"But first, you'll need to know what we've learned." interrupted Rosie.

Molly then turned to the Amazoness Sage. "Could you find that book with the story of Autraius, please?"

"Already have it right here." smiled Amazoness Sage, holding a large book up.

Okay, this was gonna be one story worth telling. How do you think Thomas will react to the coming prophecy about him? You'll see... soon enough. Because our next story will be one doozy of a tale.

* * *

Well, what do you know? The new chapter has been uploaded on my Birthday today. How very lucky for me!

Also... THIS IS THE 150th CHAPTER OF THE WHOLE THOMAS/YU-GI-OH! SERIES! Hip-hip hurray! There will be more to come soon enough.


	31. Nor Iron Bars a Cage (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the middle of a forest somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Spencer was busy trying to find his way through the area. He had been on the move for days now and was very worn out, but his determination to find Kisara was far greater than his exhaustion.

"I can't give up." Spencer said only to himself. "I have to find Kisara."

The silver-haired boy then looked to a card he was holding onto; Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Blue-Eyes... Is it entirely possible you have a connection to her?"

Regardless of the question, Spencer continued onward with his search.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a lab of some sort, Professor Melvin was continuing to watch Spencer on a large monitor of some sort.

"That's right, Spencer." he said deviously. "Just a little further, then I'll have you right where I want you." The man then laughed to himself. "Your Grandfather will be ' _dying_ ' to see you!"

His laughter was overheard by the trapped white-haired, pale-skinned young woman nearby.

"Seto..." The poor young woman said quietly to herself. It would seem she was greatly worried about Spencer now. "Please...save me."

Suddenly, she started to glow all white...

(elsewhere...)

Back with Spencer, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card he was still looking at began to glow once more.

"It's glowing again." said Spencer to himself. "I must be getting close."

But that wasn't it at all. The glow soon got stronger and stronger until the whole entire forest faded into white, causing the silver-haired boy to shut his eyes and brace himself with a loud yell.

(new area...)

When the light faded away, Spencer opened his eyes, saw his card was no longer glowing, and looked up while getting the shock of his life.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

It was his family's mansion.

* * *

 **Title: ...Nor Iron Bars a Cage, Part 1**

* * *

Spencer could not believe his eyes; why was his family's private mansion here in the Duel Monsters spirit world?

"Am I dreaming?" asked Spencer. "How is this possible?" He looked to his Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card. "Blue-Eyes... Why did you bring me here?"

The card was not glowing, so no answer was given. Spencer then looked back at the nearby mansion in complete surprise, but then had a thought on why in the world he was brought here.

"Could Kisara...be here?"

With little-to-no other choice, the silver-haired boy returned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card to his deck and approached the mansion.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Professor Melvin inside his lab...

"Yesssss...come and find me, boy..." The evil man whispered, watching on his monitor.

(elsewhere...)

Within the mansion entryway, the big doors suddenly opened up and Spencer looked carefully around the area before walking inside. The inside of the building completely resembled the mansion back home on the Island of Sodor.

"This can't be right..." The silver-haired boy thought to himself. "This just can't be my family's mansion."

This had to be some kind of dream... but it still looked so realistic. Even then, Spencer decided to do some exploring. Just then...

"Spencer..." echoed a voice (male).

The silver-haired boy stopped as soon as he heard the voice (male).

"I've been expecting you..."

"Who's there!?" demanded Spencer.

"You know who I am..." chuckled the voice (male). "You've known all about me for a very long time..."

"Where are you?!"

The voice (male) laughed some more. "Just come to my office on the top floor..."

A hidden door suddenly opened on the nearby wall, leading to a stairway.

"Just...climb these stairs, Spencer Gresley!" taunted the voice (male).

The voice's teasing laughter didn't amuse Spencer the slightest. Even then, he was going to get to the bottom of this.

"If this will shut you up, then so be it." The silver-haired boy said aloud.

With that said, Spencer began climbing the stairs.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the main office, a large chair was turned with its backend against the desk. At the doorway, the door opened and Spencer walked inside.

"Alright, I'm here." he announced, looking around. "Now, wherever you are, you'd better tell me what the hell is going on, and how my family's mansion got here!"

"At last, we finally meet... My Grandson."

The chair turned around. Spencer's eyes narrowed at the person who was seated in the chair.

"And you are?" The silver-haired boy asked dismissively.

The person in the chair was Professor Melvin.

"Why, Spencer, why do you say that?" The man asked teasingly. "Don't you know me?"

"Nope. Never seen you before in my life."

The evil human snickered quietly before bursting into loud laughter.

"Silly me!" Professor Melvin exclaimed. "I never formally introduced myself to you. My name is Professor Melvin... but I'll admit that's not my real name."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "It isn't?"

"No..." The evil man answered, shaking his head. "And this isn't my true body... I am really..."

With an insane laugh, he grabbed at his face and...suddenly tore off the skin like it was paper or plastic, as his body went from short and stocky to about the same height and body structure like Spencer (except much older), who took a step back as his face changed to a look of complete horror.

"...your Grandfather, Gozaburo Gresley!"

Standing before the silver-haired boy was now a man in his mid-to-late 50s. He had short greying hair and a beard, and a pair of black, MEAN-looking eyes. The man also wore a bright orange business suit and a fancy pair of black shoes.

"You!" snarled Spencer.

Yes, it was not Professor Melvin (he never even existed), but Gozaburo Gresley (Boxford)... He was the original founder and CEO of Boxford Corporation, and the man who had adopted Spencer's parents long ago.

"So sorry I wasn't around to meet you, Spencer." shrugged the former CEO of Boxfod Corp. "But it was rather hard to do so, having committed suicide after losing my company."

"You got what you deserved, you monster!" roared the angry Spencer.

"Oh, is that any way to talk to your own Grandfather?" asked Gozaburo in a mock hurt tone. "Even when dead, I've never forgotten about your parents, my own children..."

"Shut up! You were the one behind the purchases of the company, all along! And I demand an answer from you over the reason; why?!"

"It's quite simple, really." said Gozaburo, pacing before the desk. "I needed the shares to help with gathering the proper technology needed to extract the darkness from all the humans my comrades had captured, so that darkness may be used in reviving Diablon, the ' _ **Evil One**_ '."

"Diablon?" Spencer thought to himself, remembering the name.

"But more importantly-" continued Gozaburo, walking towards Spencer while not losing his cold, twisted smile. "-for revenge."

The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Revenge? Figures."

"Silence! It was your parents fault I had lost everything! They overthrew me and stole everything I've ever had - my company, my subjects, all my life's work!"

"It served you right!" argued Spencer. "You were a cruel tyrant who cared only about starting wars just to make money! You worked them like slaves and made them consider suicide at one point! Even your own employees wanted you gone!"

Gozaburo's smiling look had turned into one of fiery anger. "I hate you... I hate you and your parents... Such hatred cannot be described with words alone... Your parents not only stole Boxford Corp from me, but my own life along with it!"

"Then why are you still alive today?"

"It's a long story..." mumbled Gozaburo, closing his eyes. "But I'll try to shorten it for someone with such a small mind like you yourself have."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The four friends decided to use all of their learned knowledge from the schooling in buying out the company and overthrow that tyrant Gozaburo. Together, the four friends bought 51% of Boxford Corporation. Once the process was done, there was a board meeting to seal the deal. Jim, Leslie, Paul, and Jessie were all seated at the head of the table.

"You can't do this to me!" shouted Gozaburo in outrage. "I've been planning to have England go to war against the Soviet Union for six years now!"

"That's too bad!" said a member of the board. "We've had quite enough of you, Gozaburo Gresley. Unlike you, these children have no interest in hurting innocent people just for the sake of making money. They truly care for the well-being of innocent lives and their ow country. That is why they both deserve to be in charge of the company, and not you."

Gozaburo could not believe his ears. His own adopted children had turned his entire company against him. Instead of screaming in anger and defeat, however, Gozaburo's face...instead formed an evil, twisted smile.

"So, have we learned all we needed to know from you... Father?" asked Jim.

"Yes, it appears I've lost your little game." Gozaburo replied menacingly, walking towards an opened window. "But remember this well, my son... This is what happens to a loser!"

Without any warning, Gozaburo jumped out of the window, laughing maniacally as he fell twenty stories to his death... Gozaburo Gresley had committed suicide.

"He's gone..." whispered Paul.

"Just like that." added Jessie.

"Good riddance is what I'd say." Jim stated bluntly. "He was nothing but a monster."

(elsewhere...)

Lying in the middle of the street, with a large crowd gathered around, was the dead Gozaburo Gresley.

"My body was damaged beyond repair." narrated Present Day-Gozaburo. "But the hatred for my former children was so strong, that my spirit remained...alive."

Gozaburo's spirit slowly rose from his body. He looked around the area in confusion.

"How can I still be alive?" The supposed-be-be dead man asked himself. The former CEO of Boxford Corp tried to get a man's attention, but the man acted as though he wasn't even there. "What?!"

"From there, I wandered about and eventually, and, somehow, left the real world and found myself, with a newly repaired body, within the Duel Monsters spirit world years after Diablon had been slayed."

(elsewhere...)

Gozaburo suddenly awoken and found himself lying on a table inside a lab of some sort.

"W-Where am I?" he asked wearily. "And why...is my body functional again?"

He looked around his new surroundings.

"You're awake." commented a voice (male).

"About time." added a second voice (female).

From there, Vampire Lord and Vampire Lady both walked up the now conscious man.

"What the hell are you creatures?!" demanded Gozaburo, backing away before calming down. "This must be a dream. Obviously you're in costume. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Halloween is months away."

"Halloween?" laughed Vampire Lady. "We don't know what that is, but let's just say...you are no longer in the real world."

"What in Heaven's name are you talking about?" The former CEO of Boxford Corp questioned. "If I'm not in the real world, then where am I?"

"You're in the Castle of Dark Illusions." explained Vampire Lord. "The headquarters of us, the Court of Darkness."

"Castle of Dark Illusions... Court of Darkness..."

"Haven't you heard of the Duel Monsters spirit world?" questioned Vampire Lady.

"Duel Monsters...spirit world?" Gozaburo was getting more and more confused by the moment.

"It would seem he hasn't." said Darkbishop Archfiend to Vampire Lord.

"This may take a while to explain."

(new scene...)

Later on, Gozaburo was in the throne room speaking to the other members of the Court of Darkness (Earl of Demise, Darbishop Archfiend, Witty Phantom, and Airknight Parshath).

"So, these guys are also members of the Court of Darkness?" The former CEO of Boxford Corp questioned. He then grinned in a dark tone. "Very interesting..."

"Interesting, indeed." remarked Earl of Demise.

"And you mean to tell me that I've somehow traveled, not only to another world, but back in time?"

"Not exactly." answered Darkbishop Archfiend. "Time passes in this world in a vastly different way than how time passes in the real world."

"And you want me to assist in resurrecting this...' _ **Evil One**_ '...you speak of?" asked Gozaburo curiously.

Witty Phantom approached Gozaburo. "Oh yes... You have more knowledge of advanced technology than any one of us knows..." He circled around the man. "Plus, we can also provide you with... how shall I say it... some benefits if you do decide work for us."

Gozaburo blinked. "Benefits? What kind of benefits?"

"Well for one, you could exact revenge on those who had wronged you."

Hearing the words ' _ **revenge**_ ' sparked something in Gozaburo's heart. Yes, he had been wronged by someone... Scratch that, by two someones - his own children. They stole his company from behind his back... THEY were the ones who made him commit suicide! They, no matter how long it took for him to do so, would pay dearly for it!

"Consider it a deal!" The ' _supposed-to-be_ ' dead man said at last, holding a hand.

Vampire Lord then walked over and accepted the handshake.

"I think this is the perfect start of an ' _evil_ ' partnership."

With that said, the dark deal was made.

(new scene...)

In a later date, Gozaburo now had the appearance of Professor Melvin and was busy working on a device of some sort.

"Ever since that day-" narrated Gozaburo. "-I've invested my time in building a device that could extract mankind's inner darkness so that it could be harvested in reviving the ' _ **Evil One**_ '. And once he was reborn, the human world would crumble, and my revenge against my old family would be complete."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"So, as you can see, Spencer-" continued Gozaburo, now smiling insanely. "-it's nothing personal at all... Once Diablon is reborn, both this and the real world will drown into darkness, and then WE can restart them in the way that WE like it!"

"What WE?" demanded Spencer.

"I'm talking about Diablon and myself, of course!"

"Do you honestly expect Diablon to hold any favor to you?" asked Spencer angrily. "The moment he's reborn, he'll double-cross and kill you so that he may rule alone!"

"If that were to happen-" retorted Gozaburo. "-then at least I will have made sure EVERYONE on Earth suffered in my attempt for revenge!"

"You're insane!"

Gozaburo's look grew more and more demented. "Am I?"

Spencer said nothing else. Just then, Gozaburo started to walk past his Grandson towards the door.

"Now come with me... I have a little something to show you in the lab." Gozaburo requested, motioning two fingers in a 'come with me' gesture.

Spencer didn't want to follow a deranged monster like Gozaburo, but felt as though he had no other choice but to. And so, the silver-haired boy did follow behind.

(elsewhere...)

Within the lab, there were hundreds of plasma tubes containing humanoid Duel Monsters (Blade Knights, Mystical Elves, etc.), Gozaburo was leading Spencer and showing him around.

"What are these Duel Monsters doing inside those tubes?" asked Spencer.

"In addition to humans-" explained Gozaburo. "-we've been capturing Duel Monsters from all over this land. The more power we have, the greater chance we have at reviving the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' when the time comes."

"Didn't you say you required darkness for the revival? Most of these monsters are light attribute."

"I know that. I'm not stupid, you know." The former CEO of Boxford Corp pointed out. "But many of these monsters have a power that the Court of Darkness is aware of... I'm helping by draining the monsters of those powers."

"That's sick!" protested Spencer. "They've done nothing to deserve this!"

"Like I even care!" snorted Gozaburo. He then gave his Grandson a very menacing smile. "But I will say this; there's one person here that I think you'll be very intrigued to see."

Spencer didn't know what his monster of a Grandfather had meant, until he gasped upon seeing the tube near the end of the lab.

"Is that-?"

Inside the tube was the same young woman with pale skin, deep blue eyes, and long white hair. Spencer knew exactly who it was... And that was because a small bit of his ancestor's blood began to take over upon seeing the girl.

"Kisara!" The silver-haired boy ran over to the tube and started to bang on the glass. "Wake up! It's me, Seto!"

Gozaburo smiled to himself. "And so, Seto awakens again..."

"You monster!" snarled Spencer, turning around and glaring at his Grandfather. "Let her go, right now!"

The silver-haired boy angrily threw a punch, but his fist was quickly caught by Gozaburo without him even trying.

"Wha-?!"

With a cruel smile on his face, Gozaburo started to crush his grandson's fist. Spencer cried out in pain as he was forced down to his knees.

"You honestly think you're a match for me, boy?" taunted the former CEO of Boxford Corp. "No one can ever hope to beat me!"

"If my Mother and Father could beat you-" growled Spencer, picking up some dirt with his free hand in an attempt to temporarily blind Gozaburo "-then so help me so can I!"

Sighing in annoyance, Gozaburo took a remote control out of his coat pocket and pressed a button on it. All of a sudden, Kisara, inside the tube, was electrocuted as she started screaming. Spencer dropped the dirt and looked at the tube in shock.

"Kisara, no!"

"Attempt to harm me physically, and she gets it some more." warned Gozaburo. He then gave a smile. "I have a far better idea on how we can settle this... A simple game of Duel Monsters."

Spencer could see there was no other option, lest he risks Kisara getting further hurt or worse.

"Fine." The silver-haired boy scowled. "Name your arena."

"The lab will do nicely." insisted the former CEO of Boxford Corp. "Plenty of space, and plenty of witnesses to see you lose to me."

"More like watch me finally exact revenge on you for what you put my parents through!"

From there, Spencer activated his Duel Disk and got into a dueling stance.

"Let's go, Gozaburo!" he declared.

"Duel Disks?" questioned Gozaburo.

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Yeah. My Father helped to develop them. Got a problem with that?"

"Oh, not at all." The evil man chuckled, with a press of a button on a nearby console. "I was just, how you may say... curious."

A nearby panel suddenly activated and revealed a Duel Disk and deck of Duel Monsters cards. Gozaburo walked over and took both items.

"How'd you end up with one?" asked Spencer.

"Your technology at Boxford Corp has been very useful to me."

Spencer growled, but said nothing in response. Once Gozaburo was ready, he activated the Duel Disk.

"I think you'll find my deck to be...rather interesting." teased the former CEO of Boxford Corp.

The two drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x2.

"No matter what, I will see to it that you are dealt with!" declared Spencer.

"Then let this battle between Grandfather and Grandson commence!"

Yes, the battle has begun...

* * *

 **Turn One:** Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck:** 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Tank Corps, Sky Union, Junk Dealer, KC-1 Crayton, Soldier Revolt, and Science Soldier

* * *

Gozaburo, taking the first turn, added his drawn card to his hand.

"I think I'll toy with Spencer first." he thought to himself. "And then, once the time comes, I'll really let him have it!"

From there, the evil man placed a card sideways onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I'll begin with Science Soldier in defense mode."

A soldier wearing white and green clothing materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 3/DEF: 800).

"That's all for me." finished Gozaburo.

Spencer, not knowing what his Grandfather's deck was like, knew he had to be careful, lest he endangers Kisara even further.

"It's my turn!" The silver-haired boy announced, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Z-Metal Tank, Dragon's Rage, Judge Man, Ring of Defense, Attack Guidance Barrier, and X-Head Cannon

* * *

On cue, Spencer laid his drawn card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Come forth - X-Head Cannon!"

The blue and yellow machine with double cannons appeared, armed for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1800).

"Destroy Science Soldier!" commanded Spencer.

X-Head Cannon obeyed, aimed the twin cannons, and fired a laser blast. Science Soldier got a hole through his midsection before shattering into pieces.

"Science Soldier has been defeated!"

"Very good, Spencer." Gozaburo remarked, drawing his next card. "But don't let that little victory get to your head!"

Spencer just scowled at his Grandfather.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (6): Tank Corps, Sky Union, Junk Dealer, KC-1 Crayton, Soldier Revolt, and Cyber Soldier of Darkworld

* * *

The former CEO of Boxford Corp's drawn card was a monster card called Cyber Soldier of Darkworld.

"Just a bit longer..." he thought to himself. Gozaburo then readied his card. "Cyber Soldier of Darkworld, come forth in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a purple and blue robot, kneeling in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1200). A facedown card then appeared behind the newly summoned monster.

"Next I'll set this card facedown." continued Gozaburo. "That's all."

"His dueling style doesn't make any sense." thought Spencer. "He talks the game, but hasn't pulled anything dangerous so far... What is he even trying to do?" He spoke aloud while drawing his card. "If you think you can fool me, you're wrong!"

Gozaburo didn't say a word in response.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (6): Z-Metal Tank, Dragon's Rage, Judge Man, Ring of Defense, Attack Guidance Barrier, and Y-Dragon Head

* * *

Spencer's card was the Y-Dragon Head monster card.

"Time to boost my attack squad." declared the silver-haired boy, holding out his card. "I summon Y-Dragon Head in attack mode!"

The machine dragon-like monster appeared beside X-Head Cannon (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"Destroy Gozaburo's Cyber Soldier of Darkworld!"

Y-Dragon Head obeyed, firing a blast that destroyed Cyber Soldier of Darkworld.

"Your turn, X-Head Cannon!" commanded Spencer. "Attack Gozaburo's life points directly!"

X-Head Cannon obeyed and fired more twin blasts from its cannons. An explosion clouded Gozaburo's side of the field. When the smoke cleared, Gozaburo collapsed to a knee as his life points took a large drop (LP: 2200).

"Had enough, old man?" asked Spencer smugly, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "With this card set, I'll end my turn there."

A facedown card materialized.

"You talk the game, but so far you're doing quite poorly. You sure you want to duel against someone like me?"

Gozaburo...started to laugh maniacally at the silver-haired boy's taunting words.

"I'm just getting warmed up, boy." he said smoothly, once he stopped laughing. "Now watch my ' **War** ' deck's true power!"

With that said, Gozaburo drew his card. Unlike his last draw, his next drawn card had a very dark purple glow around it.

"Huh? What?" Spencer gasped in surprise.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (6): Tank Corps, Sky Union, Junk Dealer, KC-1 Crayton, Soldier Revolt, and The Field of Dark Graves(!)

* * *

Upon seeing his card, Gozaburo once again started to burst into loud laughter.

"It's time..." The evil man muttered. "The time for holding back has long since passed!"

Spencer braced himself somewhat as his Grandfather held up his newly drawn, and glowing a dark aura, card.

"I activate the ultimate Field Spell card; The Field of Dark Graves!"

"The ' **what** ' card?!" Spencer nearly screamed out.

The Field Spell zone on Gozaburo's Duel Disk opened up, and the evil man inserted his glowing card.

"Heh heh heh... Now watch...what will happen next!" snickered Gozaburo.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to glow. Nearby, Kisara watched helplessly as the field transformed into something completely different.

"Seto..." she thought to herself.

The scenery was now beginning to look like a purplish graveyard. Spencer was vastly surprised at how different the lab looked now.

"This place... It looks so much different than ever before..."

The silver-haired boy then heard some insane laughter from nearby.

"Welcome, Spencer Gresley..." whispered the voice.

The silver-haired boy looked back to Gozaburo...and took a step back out of reflex and shock. A powerful dark aura was surrounding the former CEO of Boxford Corp, and when he finally raised his head and showed his face, it showed the most frightening demented face ever seen, and the pure purple eyes only made him look even more terrifying.

"...to your FINAL NIGHTMARE!" roared Gozaburo, beginning to laugh psychotically once more.

Spencer stood his ground. What did his Grandfather have planned with this Spell card? Just then, the whole field started shining all white.

"Now what?" yelped Spencer, shielding his eyes.

(new location...)

When Spencer opened his eyes, he was no longer in the Duel Monsters spirit world. Instead, he found himself somewhere in England; or a ruined city.

"Where am I?"

Was this some sort of mind trick? While exploring the ruins of the ruined city, he overheard some voices he never heard of before...

"Steve, come on!" called a young voice (male).

"Coming, Jason!" replied another voice (male),

"Wait for me, you two!" protested a third voice (female).

Spencer looked and could see some children... but their clothes were dirty and ragged.

"What's going on?" he asked himself. "Why are those kids-"

Before the silver-haired boy could say anymore, he looked ahead and could see why the children were running. Behind them was an army of tanks.

"Tanks?! Where did those come from?"

Without any time to waste, Spencer ran towards the three 10-year old children.

"Hurry, come with me!" he commanded.

"Wait, who are you, mister?" asked Jason.

"We don't have for questions, just come with me!"

Wasting no time, the children followed Spencer. Unfortunately, they didn't get far enough when another tank showed up.

"Another tank!" screamed Julie (the girl).

"We're trapped!" wailed Steve.

Just then, Spencer heard a familiar laugh echoing around the area.

"Gozaburo!"

"How do you like my new weapons, boy?" teased the voice of Gozaburo.

On cue, both X-Head Cannon and Y-Dragon Head (and a facedown card) reappeared... although the children remained around. Gozaburo also showed himself atop one of the tanks (the main one).

"Where are we?" demanded Spencer. "What did your card do?"

"Nothing. We are now dueling in the city of London...during a war started by Boxford Corp's military forces." explained Gozaburo smugly. "This vision is a little something I would have done eventually had I not been removed from power by your parents."

"I'm glad they DID remove you from power!" snapped Spencer. "Nobody deserves to be in the middle of this!"

"Either way, you can't stop me! Now take a good look at my monster!"

The tank Gozaburo was standing atop readied its main weapon (Level: 4/ATK: 1500 - 2000).

"It's called KC-1 Crayton." said Gozaburo. "And it's gonna blast you and those kids apart one-by-one!"

"But why did it get stronger?" demanded Spencer. "There has to be a reason for it!"

"That's from one of the many effects The Field of Dark Graves possesses!" explained Gozaburo. "All monsters I control become dark attribute monsters and gain 500 attack points!"

"I'm not afraid of that over-sized tin can." retorted Spencer. "Even if it now has 2000 attack points, I can beat it!"

Gozaburo laughed some more. "That is where you are wrong! I have a Trap card activated right here!"

It was true - the evil man had a Trap card called Tank Corps face-up.

"It's called Tank Corps. What it does is it allows me to special summon three Tank tokens in defense mode."

The three tank grew stronger (Level: 3/ATK: 800 - 1300/DEF: 1200).

"And-" continued Gozaburo. "-my tank monster grows 500 attack points stronger for each Tank token I control!"

The main Tank grew stronger (ATK: 2000 - 3500).

"KC-1 Crayton!" commanded Gozaburo. "Attack Y-Dragon Dead!"

KC-1 Crayton obeyed, took aim, and fired an extremely powerful blast. Y-Dragon Head was hit and exploded, with the force of the attack being so strong that Spencer and the three kids were thrown back a distance.

"How dreadfully brutal..." remarked Gozaburo to himself in sick amusement, before laughing once more.

Spencer was lying on the ground and in pain (LP: 2000). Nearby, the three kids were laying against the wall of a wrecked building that was about to collapse. Gozaburo gave one of the cruelest smiles ever shown.

"And now, open fire at the building."

The tank fired. The three kids screamed in terror, but sadly couldn't move a muscle (they were likely badly hurt from being thrown against the wall of the building), and so the blast had struck them and also destroyed the building, with the rubble presumably crushing their bodies. Spencer, managing to get back up, could only watch helpless as dust and smoke cleared away from the destroyed building.

"No..." Spencer mumbled sadly. "They were just children..."

Gozaburo's cruel chuckling showed that he didn't show any kind of remorse for his action just now. None at all. Spencer glared at his monster of a Grandfather with absolute hatred.

"You sick bastard..." The silver-haired boy seethed. "How dare you...!"

"Yes, Spencer..." grinned Gozaburo, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "No one, not even children, are spared of my wrath for revenge!"

Becoming greatly enraged, Spencer drew his next card without a second thought.

"Now I have yet another reason to kill you!" he screamed. "This next move of mine will change the course of the duel!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (5): Z-Metal Tank, Judge Man, Ring of Defense, Attack Guidance Barrier, and Monster Reborn

* * *

The silver-haired boy's drawn card was the Monster Reborn Spell card.

"First I'll summon a Tank of my own." Spencer said, taking a card from his hand. "Meet Z-Metal Tank!"

The yellow tank-like monster appeared beside X-Head Cannon (Level: 4/ATK: 1500). On cue, the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I use Monster Reborn to bring back Y-Dragon Head!"

On cue, Y-Dragon Head reappeared beside its comrades.

"Three weak monsters..." taunted Gozaburo. "What hope do you have with them?"

"They might not be much on their own." retorted Spencer, while removing the three cards from his monster field slots. "But together, it's a whole different story! Combine yourselves, my monsters!"

The three monsters began to transform together. Upon completion...

"Meet the almighty XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon faced the stronger Tank monster (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600).

"XYZ-Dragon Cannon..." whispered Gozaburo. He then spoke aloud. "That was a rather decent play, I admit, but it won't be enough to beat me!"

"We'll see." replied Spencer, discarding the remaining cards in his hand to the graveyard. "For every card I discard to the graveyard, my Dragon Cannon can destroy one card on the field."

Three Duel Monsters card were shown falling one-by-one into a dark abyss (Graveyard). Spencer then looked back towards his monster of a Grandfather.

"As you can see, I've discarded three cards. That means I get to destroy up to three of YOUR own cards! ...such as your Tank tokens!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon took aim...

"Cannon Firestorm!" commanded Spencer.

...and XYZ-Dragon Cannon opened fire with four powerful blasts. The three Tank tokens were blasted apart, and the resulting explosion destroyed KC-1 Crayton as well. Because its attack dropped back to 2000 points from the three Tank tokens' destruction, it had become weak enough to be taken down by XYZ-Dragon Cannon as well. Gozaburo grunted as he received major life point damage (LP: 1400).

"So much for your big, mighty Tank!" smirked Spencer.

Just then, the whole area once again started to glow all white... but the white turned very dark purple.

"Huh?"

(new location...)

When the purple light faded away, Spencer and Gozaburo were both back in the lab and the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"We're back in the lab?" questioned the silver-haired boy.

"It would seem my illusions didn't stop you." sighed Gozaburo in disappointment. "No matter. I still have my Field of Dark Graves card! Nothing you do can get rid of it!"

"Oh really?" asked Spencer sarcastically. "What if I draw Heavy Storm? You wouldn't be able to stop me from destroying your card. Heh! So much for being unbeatable."

"I wouldn't underestimate my card." insisted Gozaburo. "It has more powers than even you would know!"

Spencer remained defiantly silent on the matter.

"You're trapped Spencer Gresley! And once I use my Field Spell card to defeat you... I will finally take my revenge on those who have crossed me!"

Can Spencer win this duel and save Kisara and the other trapped monsters? I'm afraid the answer will have to be given...next time! PS: The worst was yet to come.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	32. Nor Iron Bars a Cage (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the lab of the Boxford Mansion...or so it would seem. Spencer was currently locked in a duel with the last person he expected to see...or ever see, again. Who was it, you're asking? His name...is Gozaburo Gresley, he supposed-to-be-dead Grandfather.  
-Spencer (LP: 2000) had XYZ-Dragon Cannon and a set card.  
-Gozaburo (LP: 1400) had just lost all of his other cards beside his set card as well as the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card.

"The Field of Dark Graves..." Spencer thought to only himself. "Is... is it really that powerful of a card?"

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Spencer and Gozaburo both returned to the lab after a vision of a possible future if the latter remained in control of Boxford Corp.

"It would seem my illusions didn't stop you." sighed Gozaburo in disappointment. "No matter. I still have my Field of Dark Graves card! Nothing you do can get rid of it!"

"Oh really?" asked Spencer sarcastically. "What if I draw Heavy Storm? You wouldn't be able to stop me from destroying your card. Heh! So much for being unbeatable."

"I wouldn't underestimate my card." insisted Gozaburo. "It has more powers than even you would know!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"If this is such a powerful card, why have I never heard of it until now?"

Gozaburo then spoke up. "Hey, boy! Are you done with thinking over there? Or do you need me to remind you of what happens to those who cross me?"

Spencer scowled, but remained silent. Gozaburo, however, gave a cruel smile and decided to screw with his Grandson, anyway.

"I guess you DO want me to show you." he remarked, holding and aiming his remote at Kisara's tube and pressing a button.

The poor pale-skinned girl screamed as she was hit with a volt of electricity. Spencer, feeling a new 'prescience' of some sort taking over, didn't take it very well.

"STOP!" The silver-haired boy bellowed. "STOP HURTING HER!"

Gozaburo shot his Grandson a look of disdain, but obeyed. The tube ceased shocking Kisara, but she collapsed to her knees.

"I did as you asked." sneered Gozaburo hatefully.

"I won't let you hurt another soul in this land, you vile creature!" declared Spencer, pointing forth with determination. "Never again will you DARE hurt anyone!"

"You will have to get by my The Field of Dark Graves card first! And even then, you'll never succeed."

The silver-haired boy remained incensed. "But why haven't I even heard of it? If it was in the real world, I would already have a plan to beat you... I demand you to tell me how you got a card like that!"

"That's because this card was created exclusively for the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' most loyal of devoters." explained Gozaburo. "And 'I' was the one who personally created the card, with a little help from Industrial Illusions."

"You what?!"

"Oops." shrugged Gozaburo sarcastically. "Looks like the cat is out of the bag."

"How were you able to even meet with Discard and create the card?" demanded a very shocked Spencer. "It should have been impossible! ...unless you-"

"-were to sneak in as a spy?" asked Gozaburo, cutting is grandson off. "Correct! That is why I disguised myself as ' _Professor Melvin_ '. That way, my enemies would not recognize me and try to arrest me."

"But you're supposed to be dead! You'd never be able to be seen by anyone in the real world!"

"That was no ordinary disguise I was wearing." explained Gozaburo snidely. "It was specially designed to make it so that those fools could see me properly like I was a living person."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was two years after Duel Monsters had taken off in North America, and Discord was busy in his office...playing with Funny Bunny action figures?

"Nothing like a good day to relax." chortled Discord. He then looked to his toys. "Isn't that right, Funny Bunny?"

Just then, a knock on the door came...

"Uh-oh!"

Discord quickly hid his action figures in his bottom desk and laid both hands on his desk in a professional matter.

"Come in!" The creator of Duel Monsters called out pleasantly.

The door opened, and a man in his mid-50s entered. Discord was rather surprised to see a visitor on a Saturday.

"And who might you be? I'm not expecting any clients or duelists today. Selling vacuum cleaners?"

The creator of Duel Monsters chuckled at his own joke. The man (Professor Melvin) was not too amused, but managed to keep himself calm and collected.

"Allow me to introduce myself." he began. "My name is Professor Melvin. I've heard of your company and, out of curiosity, decided to drop by and see if you had any job offerings I could take."

Discord raised an eyebrow. "A job?"

"Perhaps something along the lines of developing Duel Monsters cards."

The man smiled to himself as he waited for an answer from Discord, who was currently thinking it over. Unfortunately, Professor Melvin was in for a disappointment...

"I am sorry." apologized Discord. "But there are no job offerings at the moment."

"What?!" Professor Melvin exclaimed, sounding angry and disappointed.

"There's no spare jobs available at the moment." said Discord. "However!"

Professor Melvin, still seething, turned and glared silently.

"Because you were so polite in asking for a job, I'll instead have my company make any kind of card you want. How does that sound?"

"Now that you mention it-" grinned Professor Melvin, going and taking some papers out of his briefcase. "-there is one card idea I'd thought of quite a while ago."

He handed the creator the papers, who then looked them over before his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

"What do you think?"

"Goodness gracious!" gasped Discord. "What made you think of such a card?"

"Well..." Professor Melvin began thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure this game would need at LEAST one unstoppable card... am I right?"

Discord was quiet for a minute. This card did seem powerful, but what if it were to fall into the wrong hands?

"You do know a card with an effect like that would have to be put into the Forbidden list once released, right?"

"Of course I know." nodded Professor Melvin. "If it has to be put into that list, so be it."

Finally, Discord gave a heavy sigh. "Very well... we will create this card for you. It will take a couple of weeks for it to be made, and then we have to add its data into the database. Overall, it will take at least two months for everything to get done. Are you okay to waiting that long?"

"Absolutely." said Professor Melvin, smiling. "The results will be well worth the wait."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"And indeed they were." finished Gozaburo.

"And what makes you say that?" questioned Spencer. "So far, the only effects you've told me were making your monsters of the dark attribute and giving them a 500 attack point bonus."

"Patience, Spencer. I assure you all the secrets of my cards will be unveiled in due time."

* * *

 **Title: ...Nor Iron Bars a Cage, Part 2**

* * *

With the score as the following:  
-Spencer (LP: 2000)  
-Gozaburo (LP: 1400)  
It was anyone's game.

"I'm going to make you pay for everything you put my Mother and Father both through." said Spencer firmly, motioning his clenched fist about with determination. "And for what you did to Kisara!"

"I'd like to see you try!" chuckled Gozaburo, drawing his card. "But first... my turn!"

"My XYZ-Dragon Cannon should be able to take out whatever monster he summons for a little bit." thought Spencer to himself. "And on my next turn, by discarding another card from my hand, I can try to wipe his Field Spell card out."

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (3): Sky Union, Junk Dealer, and Science Soldier

* * *

Smiling, Gozaburo added the card to his hand.

"Not yet." he thought. "I'd like to toy with him a bit longer..."

Taking the card, the evil man placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon another Science Soldier in defense mode."

A second copy of Science Soldier materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 3/ATK: 800 - 1300/DEF: 800).

"Heh! And here I was expecting more of a challenge from you." laughed Spencer. "I guess you were all talk and no action!"

Gozaburo merely remained quiet. With that all said and done, Spencer drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (1): X-Y-Z Recycle(!)

* * *

Almost immediately, the silver-haired boy discarded his card to activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect.

"Destroy The Field of Dark Graves here and now!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon obeyed, firing its blasts towards Gozaburo's Field Spell zone.

"The fool." The evil man thought to himself.

An explosion of dust and smoke clouded the field.

"So much for your unbeatable card." smirked Spencer.

But when the smoke and dust cleared, the card...was still face-up and the field.

"What?! Your Field Spell card wasn't destroyed?"

Gozaburo snickered to himself quietly before erupting into full laughter.

"My Field of Dark Graves cannot be destroyed by your card effects." he explained upon calming down. "I told you my card is invincible! More importantly... you also made a BIG misplay as well!"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Spencer.

"Hm hm hm... you could have instead discarded your card to destroy my Science Soldier." chuckled Gozaburo. "That way, you could have attacked and finished me off."

Spencer cursed. He really did make a misplay by trying to get rid of that Field Spell card instead of wiping out Science Soldier.

"I can still go and do this!" The silver-haired boy bellowed angrily. "Attack Science Soldier now!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon fired its blast at Science Soldier, destroying it.

"Oh no!" said Gozaburo sarcastically. "Now I'm wide open! Whatever shall I do?"

"Stop mocking me!" snapped Spencer. "It's getting on my nerves! Just make your damn move already!"

"So, you want to make this business personal? Very well then..."

Gozaburo drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (3): Sky Union, Junk Dealer, and Kinetic Soldier

* * *

The drawn card was the Kinetic Soldier monster card. It was exactly what Gozaburo needed.

"The time has come." he annunced, taking and holding out a Spell card. "First I play the Spell card Junk Dealer!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Junk Dealer?" questioned Spencer. "Why play something like that? It makes you summon two weak machine and warrior-type monsters from your graveyard with half of their original attack points!"

True to Spencer's words, returning to the field was both Science Soldier (ATK: 800 - 400 - 900), and Cyber Soldier of Darkworld (ATK: 1400 - 700 - 1200).

"But that isn't all." continued Gozaburo, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I summon Kinetic Soldier to join my ranks!"

The robotic warrior appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1350 - 1850).

"And before you say anything about my monsters being pathetically weak-" continued Gozaburo, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-I think it's now time to introduce my ultimate facedown card to you!"

On cue, the evil man's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Spencer Gresley... meet Soldier Revolt!"

"Soldier Revolt?" asked Spencer.

All of a sudden, the silver-haired boy watched as the three monsters Gozaburo controlled prepared to attack.

"W-What are they doing?"

"When these three soldiers are on the field-" explained Gozaburo. "-all of the cards in your hand and field are...wiped out!"

Spencer was alarmed. "Wiped out?!"

True to Gozaburo's words, the three monsters attacked with blasters. XYZ-Dragon Cannon exploded into nothingness... while the set card faded away.

"Although you're wide open for an attack, my monsters cannot attack this turn."

Just then, another Spell card materialized face-up.

"But I can still activate this!" announced Gozaburo, as his continued with his turn. "Sky Union! By tributing my three monsters, I can special summon from my deck the ultimate Airship of the fleet!"

The three machine soldiers vanished in streaks of blue.

"I call forth the almighty Air Fortress Ziggurat!"

Despite the lab having no sort of sky, dark clouds still formed near the ceiling (which was very high up BTW).

"Air Fortress Ziggurat?" Spencer thought only to himself, looking up.

Descending from the clouds was a huge flying fortress (Level: 8/ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"This monster will bring about the end of you, Spencer Gresley!" roared Gozaburo, laughing maniacally.

The airship-like monster finally positioned itself near the ground.

(elsewhere...)

"What?!" Thomas reeled back in shock.

Inside the Amazoness Sage's hut, Thomas had finished being informed by Rosie, Molly, and Mavis about the prophecy. Needless to say, he was both shocked and unhappy.

"So, I have some bits of this Evil One deep in my heart?"

"From what your three friends have told me-" said Amazoness Sage grimly. "-it looks to be true."

"Well that would explain why Thomas has been so out of control when he's angry." commented James.

"Although I think part of us kinda knew that already." added Gordon.

"Agreed." came from Stanley.

"There is one more thing you will need to know, Thomas." said Amazoness Sage, walking up to the distraught blue-haired boy. "As part of your trial, you will be required to endure several moments of great suffering as to strengthen your fighting spirit."

"Great suffering?"

"I think she means like when Iris was killed." explained Maiden of the Aqua.

"Iris?" spoke up Rosie. "Who is she?"

"'Was', Rosie." corrected Edward sadly.

"She was a child that looked similar to Emily." explained Percy. "The Court of Darkness killed her parents and wanted to capture her so they could turn her to the side of darkness."

"The poor thing." sighed Molly, looking upset. "What happened to her afterwards?"

Tears came to Thomas's eyes as a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas was in the middle of a duel with Warrior Dai Grepher.

"Mr. Thomas!" called a familiar child's voice.

"Iris?"

Thomas looked towards the bushes and saw Iris running towards him.

"Mr. Thomas, it's you!" The young brown-haired girl exclaimed in relief.

"Iris, what are you doing here?" Thomas cried in alarm. "Stay back! It's not safe!"

"Your Dark Magician is next!" called Warrior Dai Grepher. "Ryu Senshi! Attack and destroy the Dark Magician at once!"

Ryu Senshi obeyed, raised his weapon, and slashed it forth. This was powerful enough to launch a razor sharp shock slash-like beam flying forth, cutting Dark Magician right in half (separating the lower half of his body from the top half) before shattering him into pieces. But that wasn't the worst bit, it soared forth towards Thomas.

"MR. THOMAS!" wailed Iris, getting closer to her 'Daddy'.

"IRIS, STAY BACK!" shouted Thomas pleadingly.

It was too late... As the razor sharp shock slash-like beam got closer and closer to Thomas, Iris, with her back turned, got in front of the blue-haired boy...

...and took the blow instead.

"IRIS!" screamed Thomas in sickening horror.

The poor young brown-haired girl screamed in agonizing pain as the blade repeatedly spun and sawed into her back, leaving quite the bloody mess behind. Soon the attack ceased, and Thomas lost a large amount of life points thanks to Dark Magician being destroyed just now (LP: 650), but that didn't matter to him right now. Why not, you might be asking? Because Iris, fatally wounded, then collapsed into his arms.

"IRIS! IRIS! SPEAK TO ME, PLEASE!"

"M-Mr. Thomas..." The young brown-haired girl whispered quietly. It was a sign she was not gonna last much longer.

"Iris..." mumble Thomas as tears came to his eyes. "Why did you do that?"

Iris coughed a bit before looking up. Some clothing and skin on her back had been torn right off. In addition, there was an ENORMOUS gash on her mid-upper back with massive amounts of blood spewing out of the wound... it looked positively sickening.

"I... had to... protect you." she insisted slowly, looking up at Thomas weakly. "That attack... would have killed you."

"You just have to hang in there, Iris... please!" begged Thomas. "I can't bear to lose you!" Suddenly, he remembered something important. "The Millennium Puzzle! If I used it before to heal Emily and prevent her from disappearing into the shadows, then perhaps I can do the same for Iris!"

Aiming the Millennium Puzzle towards the young girl, Thomas tried to make it glow.

"Please!" he wailed, shaking the puzzle. "Please, you have to heal Iris! I'm begging you!" More and more tears were streaming down his face as the blue-haired boy's voice started to break. "DON'T LET HER DIE!"

But the Millennium Puzzle...didn't glow.

"PLEASE!" The blue-haired boy screamed in desperation. "DO SOMETHING, DAMN YOU!"

But alas, it did nothing still.

"Never mind, Mr. Thomas." said Iris with another cough. The loss of so much blood reached its limit. "It's for the best. Thank you so much for taking care of me."

"No... NO!" Thomas started to cry. "No, Iris, this can't be the end! I can't lose you! You're like a little sister to me! I love you!"

"I love you too, Mr. Thomas." Iris responded quietly and weakly. "Never give in to the darkness...Daddy..."

With that said, she closed her eyes and turned to light. Thomas, with his voice cracking, collapsed to his knees while reduced to a sobbing mess over losing someone he thought as another little sister.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Oh, that is so sad!" sobbed Rosie, having started to cry.

"We're so sorry, Thomas..." came from Mavis, who also started crying.

"She was too young to die." said Thomas sadly. "But what made things worse was that the Millennium Puzzle refused to heal her like it did with Emily back in Battle City! Why did it have to let her die?!"

"Calm yourself, young child." soothed Amazoness Sage. "Everything will be alright."

She tried to reach out and touch Thomas on the shoulder! ...but to everyone's surprise and shock, he slapped her hand away in tearful anger.

"Don't touch me!" The poor blue-haired boy screamed. "All I want to do is just find Emily and go home!"

From there, Thomas stood up and stormed out of the hut. Rosie looked like she wanted to go after him, but was stopped by the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Let him be." she advised.

"But-!" Rosie tried to protest, but got cut off.

"He needs some time to himself." added the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"You guys don't think he'll try to run away on us, do you?" James questioned aloud. "I mean, I haven't seen Thomas in a state of desperation like this before."

"He really does care greatly about Emily." Percy pointed out. "It looks like he'll abandon the journey just for the sake of rescuing her."

"What should we do?" asked Henry.

"We need him to help defeat the Court of Darkness and stop the Evil One from being reborn." added Stanley.

"Maybe we should try talking to him when he gets back." suggested Toby.

Everyone hoped that Thomas WOULD return. Otherwise...game over.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Boxford mansion, Spencer was gazing up at the new monster his Grandfather had special summoned.

"So that's your strongest monster." said Spencer bitterly.

"You're darn right!" confirmed Gozaburo. "And in case you try anything with any Spell cards or Trap cards, you might as well forget about it. Air Fortress Ziggurat is immune to the effects of those kinds of cards!"

"What?!"

"You seem to say ' ** _What_** ' a lot." The evil man teased in dark amusement. "I think that should be your catchphrase."

Suddenly, the airship-like monster started to open a hatch.

"Because it's my end phase, my Air Fortress Ziggurat can now create a new monster to help defend my life points. Come forth - Robot Token!"

Descending from the hatch was a red, white, and blue colored robot.

"A...Gundam?" questioned Spencer.

"As long as my token is out-" explained Gozaburo "-my monsters can't be targeted for attacks."

Not about to give up that easily, Spencer drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (1): Magical Trick Mirror

* * *

"I guess this is all I can do..." he thought. The silver-haired boy slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "I place this facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized.

"What a shame." mocked Gozaburo. "You have no monsters to protect your life points! Now I get to destroy you with my almighty sky fortress... while your little angel over there gets to watch everything up close and personal!"

Spencer looked over to Kisara.

"Kisara..." The silver-haired boy's facial expression softened up. "I promise I won't let you down."

"Seto..." said Kisara quietly and weakly.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (1): Toy Robot Box

* * *

"Your time is up, boy!" cackled Gozaburo. "As soon as I declare an attack, you will die!"

"Go ahead and try your luck, old man!" dared Spencer defiantly.

"Don't mind if I do! Air Fortress Ziggurat, attack Spencer directly!"

Air Fortress Ziggurat obeyed and aimed its artillery cannons.

"He's through!" exclaimed a trapped Blade Knight.

"That boy won't be able to withstand that attack!" came from a trapped Mystical Elf.

Back with Spencer...

"Reveal Trap card!"

"Trap cards won't work on my monster!" objected Gozaburo. "Weren't you even listening to my explanation earlier?!"

"Whoever said that it could target your monster?" teased Spencer. His set card showed itself to be... "Magical Trick Mirror allows me to activate one Spell card in your grave as if it were one of my own!"

A mechanical device with several mirrors materialized out of the card.

"What card do you plan on using?" quizzed Gozaburo.

"Your Junk Dealer!"

The mirror reflected an image of the mentioned Spell card.

"As you know-" said Spencer. "-Junk Jealer allows me to summon one machine or warrior-type monster from my graveyard in attack mode with its attack points halved!"

"You can't summon XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" proclaimed Gozaburo.

"Oh, I know that." The silver-haired boy agreed, as a card slipped from his graveyard. "But this monster will still do very nicely - it was one of the cards I discarded to use the effect of XYZ-Dragon Cannon earlier!"

A human monster wearing clothing from the medieval times materialized.

"I call forth the Judge Man!"

Judge Man's attack stat halved itself (Level: 6/ATK: 2200 - 1100). Air Fortress Ziggurat aimed its cannons once more and opened fire.

"Even if you survive this attack-" shouted Gozaburo. "You will still lose most of your life points!"

The blasts destroyed Judge Man, causing Spence to yell and fly back as he took damage (LP: 100). The silver-haired boy crashed to the ground and slid until he hit the wall.

"Oh dear." mumbled Gozaburo emotionlessly. "THAT had to hurt!"

Spencer, looking quite injured, tried to get back onto his feet. There was no way the silver-haired boy was gonna lose to that madman. Heaven forbid if he did lose...

"I... won't... be... defeated!"

"Just make your final move!" said Gozaburo. "The sooner you do, the sooner I can kill you and the girl!"

Air Fortress Ziggurat then released another Robot Token.

"But first, I need a Robot Token. Now go!"

Spencer closed his eyes and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

The silver-haired boy's drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"Pot of Greed." thought Spencer. "This could be my last chance."

With that thought on hand, Spencer slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" he called, placing two fingers onto his deck. "I can now draw two extra cards from my deck."

"Do as you wish." snorted Gozaburo. "It won't matter since I'll win, anyway."

Spencer again closed his eyes while keeping his fingers pressed against his deck.

"If I don't draw the right cards-" he thought. "-then not only will I lose this duel, but everyone in this room, especially Kisara, will die by that monster's hands."

Over with the trapped Kisara. The pale-skinned young woman really wanted to help her love win this match.

"Be strong, Seto." she said quietly. Kisara then closed her eyes and started to glow. "May my power help you."

Back over with Spencer, he started to glow all white.

"What is this...power I'm feeling?" The silver-haired boy thought to himself. He then realized something... "Could it be-?"

"What's going on?" demanded Gozaburo.

Spencer never answered - he just drew his two cards while slashing a wave of colour from his deck in the process...but it happened not once, not twice, but THRICE!

"I've drawn you!"

Opening his eyes fiercely, Spencer held out the first card.

"Alright, Gozaburo... prepare to meet a force not like any you've faced before!" he declared bravely, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "First I play the Spell card Soul Exchange!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Soul Exchange?!" winced Gozaburo. "$*#%! Not that card!"

"This lets me sacrifice your two Robot Tokens so I can call upon my ace monster to take yours down!"

The two robots vanished in streaks of blue. Spencer then held up his glowing monster card.

"The embodiment of both my pride and my soul, my loyal servant! Come forth - Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card materialized face-up... before the mighty dragon itself emerged from the card with a great roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon...!" stuttered Gozaburo, looking up in surprise. "The very beast Kisara holds within her body and soul...!"

"This card will be my key to victory." insisted Spencer proudly.

"But it has the same attack as my monster." The evil man protested. "Attacking Air Fortress Ziggurat would just destroy them both!"

"Then we'll just have to see what the later turns have in store for us. Now make your move, ' _Grandfather_ '!"

Growing quite angry, Gozaburo drew his card and complied.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (2): Toy Robot Box and Fake Trap

* * *

His drawn card was a Trap card called Fake Trap.

"It's just about time." The evil man thought to himself. He then slotted another card into his Duel Disk. "I'll set this card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized. Air Fortress Ziggurat then released another Robot Token.

"Kisara-" thought Spencer. "-I'll use this dragon to win the duel. Just hold on a little bit longer..." Finally, he drew his card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (1): Tyrant Wing

* * *

"Blue-Eyes, attack the Robot Token with White Lightning!"

Blue-Eyes obeyed, firing a mighty blast of whiteish lightning, destroying the Robot Token easily.

"Next I'll place this card facedown." continued Spencer, slotting his only card into his Duel Disk. "That ends my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Amazoness Village that night, Thomas was relaxing by a campfire all by himself. He couldn't stop thinking about what went on in the village chief's hut.

"I have a demon growing inside of me." The blue-haired boy said to himself. "Not only that, but in order for the madness to stop, I have to be cruelly tortured. I can't sit around wasting anymore time. I have to rescue Emily now whether the others want to come with me or not!"

He closed his eyes, imagining what would happen if he didn't find Emily sooner or later...

"I can't let her die like Iris did..."

"Thomas?" came a familiar voice (female).

Thomas sat up when he heard the voice. He then turned and saw Rosie standing nearby.

"Rosie?" The blue-haired boy blinked a few times. "What are you doing here? And were is everyone else?"

"I came out to look for you." said Rosie quietly. "Everyone else is back at the village."

"But why just you?"

The pink-haired girl walked over and sat down next to Thomas on the log. "Because I was really worried about you. I really want to try and help you..."

The two teenagers sat by the fire while not evening speaking to each other for what seemed like forever.

"Rosie." spoke up Thomas at last. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." answered Rosie, looking at her friend.

The blue-haired boy sighed heavily. "You... you used to have a crush on me, right?"

"Yes."

"What would you do, if, say, you were trying to rescue me, and you yourself had to undergo moments of tragedy?" Thomas asked curiously. "How would you tackle it?"

"I... I don't really know." said Rosie truthfully. "It would be very hard of me to carry on with so many awful things happening. But... I guess that's the point of becoming stronger; to keep fighting no matter how tough the times become."

Thomas looked at the pink-haired girl with an unreadable look on his face.

"Am I... am I really that weak?"

"Weak?" gasped Rosie, looking straight at her blue-haired friend (and ex-crush). "Of course not! Thomas Billinton, you're not weak at all! You're amongst the strongest of the whole group, and you should never, EVER, let anyone ever convince you that you are."

After what seemed like forever, Thomas finally managed to smile slightly.

"Thank you, Rosie."

Suddenly, to Rosie's great surprise, the blue-haired boy leaned over...and kissed her on the cheek.

"W-What was that for?" The pink-haired girl blushed.

"For being a good friend and helping me clear my thoughts." said Thomas. "I really needed that pep-talk more than anything right now."

"Oh! Well... you're very welcome." smiled Rosie, standing back up. "Shall we go back to the others?"

The blue-haired boy nodded and held his hand out for the pink-haired girl to take. Rosie immediately accept the hand and helped Thomas back up, and the two teenagers walked back to the village...holding hands.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the Boxford mansion lab...

"It's my turn!" announced Gozaburo, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): Fake Trap and Spell Canceller

* * *

The evil man smiled at his drawn card.

"I win, Spencer!"

"Huh?" Spencer looked puzzled. "What do you mean you win?"

"I activate Toy Robot Box!" declared Gozaburo, just as his facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"You still play with toys?" joked Spencer.

"Make all the snarky comments you want about me, but this card will seal your fate!"

The silver-haired boy smirked. "Try me."

"First, Toy Robot Box lets me summon three Robot Tokens." explained Gozaburo, discarding one of the cards in his hand to the graveyard. "All I have to do is discard one card from my hand."

A large toy box materialized...before creating three Robot Tokens.

"Three Robot Tokens?" scoffed Spencer. "What do you plan on doing with them?"

"You're about to find out." answered Gozaburo, readying his next card. "I'll sacrifice one of them in order to call forth my Spell Canceller!"

One of the Robot Tokens faded away in a blue streak. In its place was a large machine of a sort (Level: 5/ATK: 1800 - 2300).

"As long as this monster is out, neither player can use any Spell cards!"

Spencer grew unhappy. "And because your Field of Dark Graves card cannot be destroyed or negated in any way...its effect will still remain active."

"Oh, you look so sad, Spencer." taunted Gozaburo. "Keep your chin up. You'll be joining Kisara very soon!"

"I won't lose!"

"Oh yes, you will!" cackled the evil man. "Air Fortress Ziggurat! Attack his Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Air Fortress Ziggurat obeyed and aimed its cannons at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Once your dragon has fallen, I'll have Spell Canceller finish you off with a direct attack! It's all over, Spencer Gresley! ...you lose!"

Air Fortress Ziggurat open fired. Over with the trapped Kisara...

"SETO!" she screamed out helplessly.

Back over with Spencer. The silver-haired boy's face broke into a smile of triumph.

"I'm not going down so easily, old man!" laughed Spencer, motioning his left hand to his final facedown card. "I activate the Tyrant Wing Trap card!"

Spencer's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Gozaburo's look of evil triumph was replaced with a look of worry.

"T-Tyrant Wing?"

"This Trap card is treated like an Equipment card and gives my Blue-Eyes an extra 400 attack points." explained Spencer. "Making it strong enough to withstand the attack of your so-called ultimate monster!"

A pair of new, majestic wings took the place of Blue-Eyes' old wings. The dragon gave a mighty roar as its attack power went up (ATK: 3000 - 3400). Air Fortress Ziggurat's blasts struck Blue-Eyes, but did nothing to hurt the beast.

"The blasts... they did nothing." stuttered Gozaburo fearfully.

Spencer commenced his counterattack. "Blue-Eyes! Counterattack with White Lightning!"

Blue-Eyes obeyed and fired a white blast back at Air Fortress Ziggurat. The attack hit its mark and the airship-like monster began exploding before crashing onto the ground and giving off one final explosion.

"M-My monster!" screamed Gozaburo (LP: 1000). "My unstoppable Air Fortress Ziggurat has fallen...to that dragon!"

"Your most powerful monster has fallen." declared Spencer.

Gozaburo was beyond angry. "D-Damn you, Spencer Gresley! Damn you to hell!"

"Now there is nothing in your deck that can stop me!" said the silver-haired boy. "If I were you, I would surrender and save myself the embarrassment! ...actually, don't bother with doing that. I'm gonna end this duel now!"

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Demise

* * *

Upon drawing his card, Spencer eagerly began his battle phase.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Unleash your rage upon Gozaburo Gresley and take down Spell Canceller and the Robot Tokens!"

"What?!" gasped Gozaburo. "You can do that?"

"My Tyrant Wing also grants my dragon several extra attacks on your monsters." explained Spencer. He narrowed his eyes fiercely. "I've been waiting so long to take you down like this, Gozaburo Gresley. All I can say is this... checkmate!"

Gozaburo let out a cry of rage at his impending loss.

"WHITE LIGHTNING ATTACK!"

Blue-Eyes fired an extremely powerful blast of White Lightning, destroying all of Gozaburo's remaining monsters one-by-one, and throwing the evil man back into the wall in the back of the chamber, yelling in agony (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Spencer Gresley wins!**

* * *

Laying against the wall while gripping onto his injured upper left arm, Gozaburo only shook in anger and disbelief over being defeated by his Godforsaken Grandson.

"How could I lose?" he asked himself. "How did I lose? ...to HIM of all people?"

"Now let these monsters go!" demanded Spencer. "We had a deal!"

Cursing loudly in anger and defeat, Gozaburo kept true to his word. Pressing a button on his remote, all of the plasma tubes in the lab started rising and releasing the monsters that were held captive.

"There!" Gozaburo seethed. "They're released..."

"Kisara, too!" snapped Spencer.

Gozaburo growled at the silver-haired boy hatefully as he pressed another button on his remote. Nearby, Kisara smiled as the plasma tube holding her captive started to rise. Her love had won the battle, and she was going to be released. Spencer also smiled at the pale-skinned Duel Monster spirit and prepared to go free her from Gozaburo's device.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be...

Suddenly, there was a loud gun shot. Kisara and Spencer's looks of happiness was replaced with looks of surprise and horror respectively. Kisara collapsed on the ground as a large pool of blood formed around and underneath her. The pale-skinned young woman had been fatally shot in the heart...by an evilly smiling Gozaburo Gresley, who was now holding up a gun in his uninjured right hand.

"Did you really think I would actually release my prisoner ALIVE if you won the duel?"

Spencer was paralyzed with shock over witnessing the horrifying scene. But it was soon replaced with great rage over the cold-blooded murder of his past love.

"You...!" he seethed. The silver-haired boy then gave a great roar. "YOU INHUMAN SON-OF-A-BITCH...!"

Before he could reach that...monstrous Grandfather...of his, Gozaburo suddenly started lower into the ground like he was on a platform or something.

"We'll meet again...IN HELL!" laughed Gozaburo Gresley madly.

The floor closed up tight, and debris started falling from the ceiling. In only a matter of seconds, the building would collapes and crush everyone inside. The freed monsters started to escape... but Spencer remained behind.

"I can't leave Kisara..." thought Spencer, and started running over to the dying human (and holder of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon), but was grabbed by two Blade Knights. "NO! Let me go! I have to...save Kisara!"

"She's dead! Besides, we can't stay here!" snapped a Blade Knight. "We need to get out before it's too late!"

"DAMMIT! I CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER!" screamed the silver-haired boy, trying to break free. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

It was no use. Spencer was forcefully carried out by the two Blade Knights. Finally, debris fell from the ceiling as the whole building started to come down.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, the mansion collapsed into the ground. Once the dust cleared, all that remained was wood, rubble, and other material. Everyone watched solemnly at the fact that Kisara had been shot and crushed to death...but Spencer was the most devastated of all...

"No..." he could only manage a whisper. Soon, the silver-haired boy gave a skyward scream. "KKKKIIIISSSSAAAARRRRAAAA!"

Silence filled the area...all except for one thing - Spencer Gresley, for the first time in his life, was actually crying. His love was gone forever, and he had failed to save her from Gozaburo. All of a sudden, particles of light started coming from the debris, rose into the sky, and formed the naked body (but with it blurring all white) of Kisara.

"Seto..." The girl's gentle voice echoed through out.

Spencer looked up with tear-filled eyes. "How come...? Oh, Kisara, HOW COME?!"

"Thank you... and I'm sorry." Kisara merely replied, not losing her calm and soft tone.

"Why did it have to be you?"

"I've wanted to apologize to you for so long." Kisara continued, not answering her weeping love interest's question.

"Why did you die?" sobbed Spencer. "Why you, Kisara...?"

"Nothing was to stop me from dying at the hands of that human..." Kisara finally explained. "Not even you could have prevented it."

"This...this was all for nothing?!" The silver-haired boy grieved some more. "I saved everyone else, but I couldn't save you. I just couldn't..."

"Please don't cry, Seto... you no longer have to worry about me." soothed the spirit of the dead pale-skinned girl, floating down towards Spencer. "From now on...my true feelings will protect you..."

The spirit embraced the sobbing silver-haired boy before fading away into light particles. The light seemed to enter his chest...or his heart, causing him to shine all white or something.

(elsewhere...)

Spencer was alone in darkness. He was still greatly saddened over the loss of his love... when suddenly...

"Spencer..." A familiar voice echoed.

The silver-haired boy looked up. "Who?"

On cue, the familiar Maiden with Eyes of Blue appeared before him. She was smiling warmly at him.

"Kisara?"

"No... My name is Maiden with Eyes of Blue." corrected the female Duel Monsters spirit, not losing her smile. "I resemble the spirit of your ancestor's dead lover, but I have now joined with you as your new Duel Monsters spirit guide."

"Spirit guide?" quizzed Spencer.

"Like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon-" Maiden with Eyes of Blue explained. "-I'll help you in any way I can. In battle...or outside battle."

Spencer remained quiet for a while. Although he failed to save his love from being killed, he would NOT allow Gozaburo nor the Court of Darkness to get Boxford Corp or conqueror the Duel Monsters spirit world. This was a fight Spencer would see through to the very end.

"Maiden-" The silver-haired boy spoke up at last. "-I will fight on. Not only to avenge Kisara's death, but to save Boxford Corp, the real world, AND to stop the Court of Darkness from completing their plans!"

Maiden with Eyes of Blue smiled and soon moved in and kissed Spencer on the lips, causing his body to shine all white and lighten up the dark area completely.

(new location...)

Before long, Spencer found himself back outside the destroyed mansion. He felt like he had a headache of some sort.

"My head..." The silver-haired boy groaned.

He then remembered something from earlier. Spencer drew a card and saw it was the glowing Maiden with Eyes of Blue monster card.

"Maiden...with Eyes of Blue..."

Even though Kisara was now dead (although Spencer did not yet know that a part of Priest Seto was within him), Maiden with Eyes of Blue would still be with him in spirit...and as the holder of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He would NOT let her, or anyone from the Duel Monsters spirit world, down!

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Amazon Village, it was still nighttime and everyone had gathered around a large campfire that Amazoness Sage had built. The only two humans who were not there at the moment were both Thomas and Rosie.

"They've been gone for quite a while." said Stanley.

"I'm getting worried." added Molly

"Me too." agreed Mavis. "Maybe we should go look for them?"

The rest of the gang was about to agree to the idea, when a voice called out to them...

"There won't be any need for that."

Approaching from the forest was both Thomas and Rosie.

"Thomas! Rosie!" cried Percy. "You're back!"

"We're so relieved." added Edward.

"Darn right." agreed James, but then he noticed something about the two teenagers. "Um... are you two...holding hands?"

Thomas and Rosie looked down towards their hands.

"HUH?!"

The two teenagers blushed upon realizing that they were indeed STILL holding hands.

"Whoops." chuckled Thomas sheepishly, letting go. "Sorry, Rosie."

"N-No worries, Thomas..."

Stanley raised an eyebrow. "Were you doing what I think-"

"No way, Stanley!" The blue-haired boy denied, haltingly shaking his hands and head in protest. "I know full well that Rosie is your girlfriend, and I would never try to get between you two!"

"Alright." said Stanley, giving a relieved sigh. "Just making sure."

It was then Amazoness Sage showed up. Standing beside her were both Amazoness Scouts.

"Are you feeling any better, Thomas?" The village chief asked.

"A little bit." nodded Thomas. He then had a sad look on his face. "But I'm still really worried; if Emily did find a way to escape their clutches, the Court of Darkness could now be hunting her down. We have to rescue her NOW before something terrible happens to her again!"

"Thomas, don't you worry." reassured James. "We'll find Emily before it's too late, AND also kick the Court of Darkness's butt while we're at it!"

"I was just upset at the idea you would suggest risking Emily dying just for the sake of stopping the Court of Darkness." explained Thomas. "Mainly because you said saving Emily would have to wait."

"You have many trials to face up ahead, Thomas." said the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "Sometimes you'll have to do things that you don't want to do."

"Even if it means postponing your search for that girl, Emily." added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"Remember, Thomas-" put in Edward seriously. "-this is why we were all brought to this world; to stop the Court of Darkness and prevent the ' ** _Evil One_** ' from ever returning to conquer this world. We all want to rescue Emily like you do, but right now she will have to wait."

"Our goal for the moment is to reach the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city." Percy threw in. "Once there, we need to find Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl and speak to them."

"That way we can find the Court of Darkness's castle and storm it." finished Stanley.

Thomas remained silent on the matter.

"You have to have faith, Thomas." stated Mavis, walking over and wrapping her arm around the blue-haired boy's shoulder. "We promise you that we'll find Emily one way or another."

"The only way to do so is to stop the evil Court of Darkness." agreed Rosie. "So, what do you say?"

Finally, Thomas showed a hint of a smile (ever since talking to the pink-haired girl earlier).

"You guys are right. If we can stop the Court of Darkness, we can save Emily."

"That's the spirit." praised Molly.

"That's our boy!" cheered James.

Yup, everything should be okay for Thomas for at least the next little while, am I right?


	33. Fierce Dragon Rivalry (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the Amazoness Village, Thomas and his just recently reunited group of friends were about to leave the village and resume their journey...only now Thomas was aware of the coming prophecy over his inner darkness. Thanks to some words from Rosie, however, our blue-haired hero had decided to push on and try to resist the darkness. In addition, the whole village of Amazons were present to see the group off.

"Thank you... for everything." Rosie bowed gratefully. "If it weren't for all of you finding us in the woods, who knows what would have happened to me, Mavis, and Molly."

"No thanks are necessary at all." smiled the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "Besides, you three girls did help us around the village for a while."

"Not to mention Mavis managed to save our village from that member of the Court of Darkness." added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. "That is something we will never forget and remain thankful for."

Mavis felt flustered at being reminded of her heroic deed from not long ago, but remained quiet about it...yet still very happy. Very soon, the Amazoness Sage walked forth towards Thomas.

"You must be strong, Thomas." she said. "You have to endure the upcoming moments of suffering so that you will be mentally prepared to destroy the Evil One."

"But what if I can't?" asked Thomas. "What if the suffering is too tragic for me to carry on?"

"I'm afraid this is something I cannot answer for you. Only 'you' can discover the answer."

Sighing, Thomas knew that he wasn't going to get an answer just like that. This really was something he'd have to discover for himself.

"I just hope wherever Emily is-" The blue-haired boy thought to only himself. "-she's safe."

Just then, Percy perked up over something. "Huh?"

"Percy?" questioned Henry.

The green-haired boy sniffed the air. "Does anyone else smell something?"

The friends sniffed the air and got a strong odor of a sort.

"You're right." agreed Gordon. "It...smells like...volcanic ash."

"That doesn't make sense." The red-haired Amazoness Scout pointed out. "There are no volcanos near this place."

But Amazoness Sage seemed worried. "He's back..." she whispered.

"Who's back?" James spoke up. "Is it a member of the Court of Darkness?"

Before anyone could answer that, the screech of a dragon was heard.

"Oh no..." mumbled Rosie, knowing that roar all too well.

"Not him again..." came from Percy.

They looked up and saw the red spirit of a dragon soaring towards them.

"HIT THE DECK!" shouted Stanley.

The gang, as well as Amazoness-type monsters, all jumped clear as the dragon hit the ground. Causing a massive explosion of fire to shoot up from the middle of the Amazon Village into the sky.

* * *

 **Title: Fierce Dragon Rivalry, Part 1**

* * *

As the smoke and dust cleared, everyone was lying on the ground. That attack really surprised them, as they weren't expecting to be attacked.

"Man, what an explosion!" commented James, coughing from the smoke.

"He's here..." thought Amazoness Sage.

When the flames died down, standing before the whole gang was Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Y-You!" exclaimed Thomas, after managing to stand back up.

Knight of Dark Dragon gave a dark smile. "I told you we'd meet again soon enough, didn't I say that?"

"Yeah, you did." confirmed Stanley bitterly.

"What do you want now?" asked James. "Why don't you go annoy someone else?"

Knight of Dark Dragon's smile faded away from being told off by the red-haired boy.

"Kid, you'd best not mess with someone like me." he warned. "I won't hesitate to obliterate you if you push me too far."

James started to approach the Dragon Knight. "Oh yeah? Why not come over here, and-!"

"No." interrupted Percy. He then turned to Knight of Dark Dragon. "It's me you're after, am I right?"

"Correct."

The two rivals locked glances at each other. Everyone in the village grew highly worried at what could possibly happen next.

"Looks like he wants a rematch." said Henry.

"We don't have time though!" complained Gordon. "We have to leave now!"

"You need to leave, do you?" came the menacing voice of Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Eh...?"

Knight of Dark Dragon looked at and made his right fist suddenly catch on fire.

"Leave, and I will destroy this village and everyone in it." The Dragon Knight warned. He then looked to Percy. "On the other-hand, if you accept a rematch with me and show that you have even improved, I'll leave and spare the lives of the pathetic Amazons of the place."

"You're a monster." snarled Percy. "Threatening to murder innocent people just to get what you want. You're just like the rest of the Court of Darkness!"

"Oh, like I haven't heard THAT one before. Your pink-haired friend here called me that, and I destroyed her oh-so very fast."

Percy growled as he clenched his fist.

"So..." grinned Knight of Dark Dragon. "Do we have a rematch?"

Silence filled the area, but soon enough...

"Fine." muttered Percy angrily, activating his Duel Disk. "But you'd better leave these Amazons alone once we're finished!"

"But, Percy, you nearly lost to him the last time!" protested Edward.

"So what if I did?"

"If you're not careful, he could end up beating you as badly as he did to me." Rosie pointed out, gesturing to herself. "And I have the scars to prove it."

"This guy's clearly not taking no for an answer." argued Percy. "And if I don't fight, everyone in the village could be killed."

"I'm glad you see it my way." Knight of Dark Dragon remarked, walking towards the green-haired boy. The Dragon Knight handed his opponent the deck. "Shuffle my deck, and I will shuffle yours."

Percy handed Knight of Dark Dragon his deck while taking the other.

"So, Rosie-" Edward said to the pink-haired girl. "-what was it like dueling that guy?"

"It was rather scary." admitted Rosie. "I lost to him very quickly, and never even managed to scratch him."

"This guy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon is unlike anything we've ever seen." said Stanley. "While Percy's dragon has a friendly side to it, Knight of Dark Dragon's Red-Eyes is...is-"

"More evil." finished Toby.

Back over with Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon...

"You done shuffling?" The latter asked without any sort of interest.

"Yes." nodded Percy, handing the Dragon Knight his deck back.

Knight of Dark Dragon gave the green-haired boy his deck back and took a spot on the other side of the village entrance. Percy stood in his spot and waited for the Dragon Knight to activate his Duel Disk.

"I expect a challenge from you this time around." commented Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000).

"Bring it on!" dared Percy, drawing his own opening hand (LP: 4000).

"And so it begins." mumbled Amazoness Sage.

"A mere boy vs. the most feared warrior of this entire world." added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout. He then looked to Thomas. "Can your friend win this match?"

"I hope so." said Thomas. "Although Percy isn't one to give up all that easily."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In Percy's duel with Dark Marik, the Machine Duplication card materialized face-up.

"Machine Duplication?" Percy quizzed. "What does that do?"

"This Continuous Spell card allows me to special summon two more copies of one machine-type monster I have on my field as long as the said machine has at least 500 attack points or less." explained Dark Marik.

"What?!"

"Heh heh heh..." The evil man chuckled. "As you can see, I have two more copies of the Plasma Eel monster card hidden within my deck." He then held out his hand. "Come forth - Plasma Eels!"

With that said, two more Plasma Eels took to the field and joined with the first copy.

"Now there are three Plasma Eels?!" gasped Percy.

Two of the three Plasma Eels prepared to attack.

"Using their ability-" said Dark Marik. "-they will attach themselves to your monsters!"

The first Plasma Eel wrapped itself around Rocket Warrior and began to electrocute him. The second Plasma Eel, meanwhile, latched itself onto Lava Golem and started electrocuting it, too. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the Shadow Game, the wires coming from the monsters to Percy's chest also snapped, zapping the green-haired boy quite badly... Moreso than usual, I'm afraid.

"AAUUGGHH!" he screamed in agony.

"PERCY!" screamed Liz, nearly bursting into tears.

"NO!" cried out both Ryan and Thomas.

Dark Marik laughed insanely from watching Percy scream in pain from the torture of the Plasma Eels.

"That's the sound I love most!" he remarked excitedly. "Let me hear more... more...! MORE!"

At last, the zapping stopped and Percy was gasping for air as he collapsed onto his knees.

"I wonder how many more turns you can keep this up, little Percy?" Dark Marik asked sadistically. "Perhaps you'd be better off surrendering to me now?"

He resumed cackling like a deranged psychopath—which he was, of course.

"You lousy son of a-!" Percy muttered in hatred, managing to get back up. "It'll take more than that to...keep me down!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Be careful, Percy." thought Thomas.

Over with the green-haired boy...

"I'll take the first move!" declared Percy, drawing.

"Go right ahead." thought Knight of Dark Dragon to only himself, looking at his hand. "I already have the cards I need to bring you to your knees."

Percy merely looked at his hand in deep thought.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Jinzo, Baby Dragon, Kunai with Chain, Alligator's Sword, Dark Dragon Ritual, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon

* * *

The green-haired boy's hand contained the following cards; Jinzo, Baby Dragon, Kunai with Chain, Alligator's Sword, Dark Dragon Ritual, and the just added Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"I've got Red-Eyes in my hand already." Percy thought to himself. "I'll have to hold on until I can properly call him out." He took two cards from his hand. "I place one card facedown and summon Alligator's Sword in attack mode!"

A facedown card materialized, followed by the Alligator's Sword monster card materializing face-up...before the Wyvern-like warrior rose from the ground in a battle stance (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"Hmm... I was expecting so much more than that." commented Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his card. "I suppose we all can't have game winning hands on the first turn, can we?"

Percy just scowled.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cave Dragon, Monster Reborn, Heavy Storm, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, and Dark Dragon Ritual

* * *

Knight of Dark Dragon's hand contained Cave Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Heavy Storm, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, and the just added Dark Dragon Ritual.

"First I'll deal with your set card."

"Deal with my set card?" quizzed Percy. He then realized something... "Oh great! You have a Spell/Trap destruction card already in your hand, don't you?"

"Correct." said Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and showing a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell card Heavy Storm!"

"How does that Dragon Knight always seem to get his good cards right away?" complained James. "It's scientifically impossible!"

"I bet he's a cheater." accused Gordon.

"No." Thomas spoke up. "I feel...like he's got some kind of connection."

"Connection?" quizzed Mavis. "What kind of connection?"

"A connection with his cards." explained Thomas. "Almost like... he's a True Duelist."

"A True Duelist?!" came from Toby. "That Knight of Dark Dragon?"

"Yes." confirmed Thomas. "A True Duelist."

"If that's the case-" put in Rosie. "-Percy seriously has his work cut out for him."

Back with Knight of Dark Dragon, his Spell card (Heavy Storm) materialized face-up.

"Say goodbye to your facedown card!"

A large windstorm tore through the duel field. Percy braced himself as his facedown card flipped face-up and faded away into oblivion.

"My Kunai with Chain!" cried the green-haired boy.

Back over with the gang...

"His strategy." said Amazoness Sage.

"Huh?" Thomas, Stanley, and Toby each looked at the village chief.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Toby.

"The Knight of Dark Dragon often clears his opponent's field of any hazards before beginning his punishing assault." explained Amazoness Sage. "It sounds very simple sounding, but at the same time..."

"...it's a very smart strategy." finished Stanley.

Back in the duel field...

"Now that your Trap is gone-" grinned Knight of Dark Dragon, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "-nothing can stop my monsters from overpowering you!"

The Dark Dragon Ritual card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Not Dark Dragon Ritual!" winced Percy, taking a step back from shock.

"How observent!" The Dragon Knight discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard. "By sending enough monsters to equal a star level of 4 or higher..."

A monster called Cave Dragon appeared briefly before becoming surrounded by thick, powerful flames.

"...I can call forth myself; Knight of Dark Dragon!"

The fire died down, and revealed the Duel Monsters version of the Dragon Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"Oh boy..." mumbled Percy. He knew what was about to happen next...or so he thought... "Aren't you gonna summon your Red-Eyes using Knight of Dark Dragon's effect?"

"I'm not stupid, you know." frowned Knight of Dark Dragon. "If I use my monster's effect to summon Red-Eyes right now, it would be unable to attack. So instead, I'll do this..."

The Duel Monsters version of Knight of Dark Dragon charged his fist in hot flames.

"Attack Alligator's Sword, now!"

The monster version of the Dragon Knight obeyed, punching Alligator's Sword with his flaming fist. The attack injured the opposing monster, and causing it to shatter into pieces of glass.

"Alligator's Sword has been defeated!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy grunted as he took damage (LP: 3600). It was then Knight of Dark Dragon, with his eyes glowing crimson red, gave quite possibly one of the most evil smiles ever shown.

"And now, playtime is over! I activate my Knight of Dark Dragon's effect!"

The Dragon Knight's monster got surrounded by flames. Everyone in the village knew what was coming next. And summoning it the Dragon Knight was...with a summon chant...

" ** _Almighty black dragon of the volcanoes, I call upon your power to burn my opponent into ash! Let nothing stop you from unleashing your true strength... and let nothing stop you and I from winning this battle of fate_**..."

As Knight of Dark Dragon spoke, a card slipped from his deck and he took hold of it and prepared to summon it.

" ** _Come forth - RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON_**!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, slamming his monster card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

From the powerful blast of fire came the Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Red-Eyes...!" mumbled Percy.

"Gaze upon the eyes of your destruction, Percival Avonside." smirked Knight of Dark Dragon. "We shall see who's more powerful. Your dragon, or mine...once you even get your own dragon out!"

Percy grimaced and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Percy Avonside (LP: 3600)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (6): Jinzo, Baby Dragon Dark Dragon Ritual, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Knight of Dark Dragon

* * *

His drawn card was the Knight of Dark Dragon monster card.

"It's time to even the odds." he said to himself. Adding the card to his hand, Percy selected another and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate my own copy of Dark Dragon Ritual!"

The mentioned Ritual Spell card materialized face-up. Knight of Dark Dragon merely gave a 'Hmph!' as he waited for the dragon to appear.

"And to invoke this ritual-" explained Percy, holding up and showing a monster card. "-I'll offer up my Level 6 Jinzo!"

The mentioned android-like monster materialized on the field briefly before fading away into a blue streak.

"With the offering met, I ritual summon Knight of Dark Dragon!"

In a flame appeared Percy's own copy of Knight of Dark Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"Come on!" thought the enemy Knight of Dark Dragon to himself. "Summon your Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"And now, I'll sacrifice him!" continued Percy, almost like he was reading his opponent's thoughts.

Knight of Dark Dragon raised both his arms and created a fiery vortex all around himself.

"By offering my Knight-" explained Percy, while now holding up a card. "-I can special summon from the hand or deck MY Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

When the fire died down, the green-haired boy's ace monster was revealed...as it gave a screeching roar (Level: 7/ATK: 2400). Both Red-Eyes Black Dragons gazed at each other with unmatched hatred.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in an unknown desert, the hot sun was beating down on Emily. She didn't say a word, nor was bothered by the heat. The dark green-haired girl would press on and find her friends before it was too late.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village of the Amazons, the duel between Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon had gotten so much hotter than ever before! ...in form of two Red-Eyes Black Dragons being present.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon vs. Red-Eyes Black Dragon..." whispered Henry.

"Looks like we're going to see who's better." added Gordon.

"Let's hope that better one is Percy's." prayed Molly.

Back in the duel field...

"It's my turn!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (3): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"First, I will play the Spell card Pot of Greed." The Dragon Knight continued, drawing two cards. "This lets me draw two cards."

The two cards were Dragon's Gunfire (Spell card) and Red-Eyes Burn (Trap card). Immediately, Knight of Dark Dragon added the latter card to his hand, and slotted the former card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"And now, watch as I play Dragon's Gunfire!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Dragon's Gunfire?" blinked Percy.

"This allows me to deal 800 points of damage to you if I have a dragon on my side of the field." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "Take, for example, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Percy recoiled. "800 life points?!"

"Yes, 800!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired a blast at Percy. The green-haired boy cried out and braced himself as damage was dealt (LP: 2800).

"Now show me anguish!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon.

Once the flames had died, Percy stood defiantly at the Dragon Knight.

"Ugh! You seriously don't know when to quit. Fine then! Make your next play, if you dare!"

"Happy to!" Percy accepted the offer, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Percy Avonside (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (2): Baby Dragon and Graverobber

* * *

Unfortunately, the green-haired boy's draw wasn't exactly a winner.

"I end my turn." he sighed dejectedly.

"Pathetic." sighed Knight of Dark Dragons. "I was expecting you to have gotten better since the last time we battled... I guess you haven't changed one bit."

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Dice Try!

* * *

A facedown card materialized.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

"My turn!" said Percy, drawing another card. He hoped that it was a card that could give him an advantage.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (3): Baby Dragon, Graverobber, and Roll of Fate

* * *

The green-haired boy's prayers had been answered.

"Alright!" he thought to himself. "Roll of Fate should be able to help me refresh my hand." Percy then spoke aloud. "Hey, Knight! I hope you're ready, because I'm feeling rather lucky today!"

"Lucky?" The Dragon Knight snorted.

"I activate the Spell card Roll of Fate!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Now I get to roll a die, and whatever result I get is the number of cards I get to draw." said Percy confidently.

Just then...

"Unfortunately, you won't be drawing any cards with that little ' _Dice Spell_ ' today." retorted Knight of Dark Dragon. He then motioned his right hand towards his set card. "Counter Trap - Dice Try! !"

The Dragon Knight's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Dice Try! ?" blinked Percy. "Is that a-?"

"A Counter Trap to a dice card." confirmed Knight of Dark Dragon. "This negates your Spell card, Trap card, or monster effect if it requires the use of a die, and then destroys it!"

Percy could only watch as Roll of Fate shattered into pieces of glass. Over with the gang...

"How did he know Percy would try something like that?" asked Toby, looking surprised that one of Percy's best plays was countered just like that.

"Is he psychic or something?" questioned James.

Back in the duel field...

"How did you know I'd use a dice card?" asked Percy.

"I need not tell you." replied Knight of Dark Dragon. "You should have been better prepared when you accepted my challenge."

Percy just scowled. How was he supposed to gain any sort of advantage if Knight of Dark Dragon knew how to counter ever one of his plays?

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Professor Mel-sorry, Gozaburo, had just returned after managing to destroy the replica of his old mansion in a failed attempt to kill Spencer Gresley. Even though he lost that duel to his Grandson, the evil man was still feeling rather pleased.

"This is just the beginning, Spencer Gresley." he said to himself. "We will face each other again soon enough. And I haven't forgotten about your younger friend either."

Gozaburo was referring to Thomas in case you were wondering. Will they meet face-to-face soon? That is a question worth answering another time.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Amazon Village, the duel between Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon was still going on, and it was not in the former's favor at all.

"I believe it's my turn, now." teased Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his card. "Time for me to continue to overpower your so-called attempts to bring down my dragon."

Percy remained defiant; he was not gonna let this Dragon Knight get under his skin for the sake of it.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Dragon Shield

* * *

Knight of Dark Dragon's drawn card was an Equip Spell called Dragon Shield.

"Behold... as I equip my Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Dragon Shield."

"Dragon Shield?" blinked Rosie. "What does that do?" She looked to Edward. "Do you know anything about it, Edward?"

"It's bad news." answered the intelligent, blue-haired boy gravely. "Bad news for Percy."

"Why?"

"Any dragon equipped with that card can't be destroyed in battle." explained Edward. "About the only good thing about it for Percy is that no battle damage is dealt by that dragon in question."

"Normally, if two monsters were to attack each other-" began Stanley. "-they'd be destroyed in a stalemate."

"But because the enemy Red-Eyes is equipped by that card...!" protested Mavis.

"...Percy's Red-Eyes doesn't stand a chance!" finished Toby.

Over with Knight of Dark Dragon...

"Heh! Your dragon has no snowball's chance in Hell in beating my own!" teased the Dragon Knight. "Thanks to this Equip Spell card, my Red-Eyes Black Dragon can no longer be destroyed by battle nor card effects!"

Percy scowled. Now he was in even bigger trouble...

"Sorry, Red-Eyes." The green-haired boy said mentally. "It doesn't look like I'll be able to save you."

Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon looked back and growled softly as if to say ' _It's alright_ '.

"And now, it's time to say goodbye!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, motioning his hand forth. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Incinerate that pathetic excuse of a dragon with all your superior might!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed and began charging a powerful blast of molten fire.

"INFERNO FIRE BLAST!"

The blast fired at Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Percy's Red-Eyes isn't going to survive!" cried the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

The blast hit its mark and created a large explosion around the area. Lots of cries and yells were heard as the gang of humans and Amazon-like Duel Monsters spirits braced themselves from the force of the explosion. Knight of Dark Dragon, however, remained unfazed and gave a cruel smile.

"Your Red-Eyes...is history."

"Red-Eyes..." murmured Percy.

The smoke died down, and only one Red-Eyes Black Dragon was left standing. And that one was...Knight of Dark Dragon's monster. While it was true that both dragons had the same amount of attack points, and they should have been destroyed as a result... However, thanks to the Dragon Shield Spell card being equipped, the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon was able to avoid being destroyed in battle.

"Do you see?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, clenching his fist while smiling in triumph. "My dragon is truly superior!"

Percy could only remain speechless at how powerful this opponent was. The way he countered all of his plays without effort, summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon on his first turn, AND how he (Knight of Dark Dragon) managed to defeat his (Percy) own dragon without much trouble.

"If I were you-" continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "-I'd quit now and save yourself the humiliation pinkie over there sustained when I demolished her."

"PINKIE?!" fumed Rosie.

The Dragon Knight smirked teasingly. "Oh, does that nickname bother you?"

"Nobody calls me ' _pinkie_ ' and gets away with it!"

"Considering your hair is colored pink-" commented James in a deadpan tone. "-I believe he made the correct call with that statement."

"SHUT UP!" snapped Rosie, stomping on James's foot.

The red-haired boy yelled and began hopping on a single foot while holding his injured one in pain.

"Yeah, you totally deserved that one." muttered Gordon.

James, once he recovered, glared at his older friend...and kicked him right in the shin.

"GAAAAHHHHHOOOOWWW!"

Gordon was jumping up and down on one foot while howling and gripping onto his hurting shin with both hands, while everyone else in the gang (including the two Amazoness Scouts and even Amazoness Sage) watched the little scene and sweatdropped. Back over with Knight of Dark Dragon, on the other hand...

"Again, without your dragon you have no hope of defeating me!" he was saying. "And I'll say this as well; I demand that you surrender to me!"

Percy merely remained quiet while keeping his head bowed like he was depressed or something.

"He's right." Percy thought to himself. "So far, he's countered all of my best moves, summoned his Red-Eyes before mine, destroyed my own Red-Eyes without any problems, and I haven't even made a dent on his life points. I just can't beat him. Maybe I should just surrender and save myself the embarrassment." The green-haired boy was just about to place his right hand atop his Duel Disk when he stopped. "...wait! What am I even thinking? I've been in similar situations like this before. Besides, this... this is a great challenge. I shouldn't give up now!"

Knight of Dark Dragon raised an eyebrow when he saw what Percy was trying to do...or not do.

"Well?" The Dragon Knight asked rather impatiently. "Are you gonna surrender and admit that I am the one and only true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

The Dragon Knight then heard some quiet snickers.

"Hmm?"

They were coming from Percy himself. The snickers soon became loud laughter as the green-haired boy raised his head while laughing quite hard. This seemed to irritate Knight of Dark Dragon quite a bit.

"What's so funny?" he demanded. "Why are you laughing? You should be giving up the duel to me!"

Percy's laughter soon ceased as he glared at Knight of Dark Dragon with a broad smile on his face.

"Look, man... do you really think I would give up just for losing Red-Eyes?" The green-haired boy asked rather confidently. "I've been in far tougher situations before, and I was able to pull through. Some, if not most, of them were without Red-Eyes."

A series of flashbacks to Battle City began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The first flashback was to Percy's duel with Dennis...

"All right, Samson, check this out!" said Percy, drawing.

His eyes widened as he saw what he drew. It was exactly what he needed to win the duel.

"Yes!"

Quickly, Percy slotted the card into his Duel Disk.

"Behold the Spell card; Roulette Spider!" announced the green-haired boy.

"Roulette Spider?" asked Samson.

The Spell card materialized and a spider with an arrow on its back jumped out and attached to Jinzo's face.

"My Jinzo!" cried Samson. "What have you done?!"

And so, Percy began to explain his card's effect...

"Roulette Spider attaches itself to one of your monsters and spins it around rather like a roulette." explained Percy. "Then when it stops, it must attack whatever it's facing whether it be a monster or one of us."

"HUH?!"

"Of course, I'll have to give up half of my life points first." Percy went on (LP: 700). "And only you can tell it to stop."

A roulette board materialized below where Jinzo was standing, and the monster itself was moved to the center of the board.

"All right, time to spin the roulette!"

Jinzo began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster.

"Once again, only you can tell it to stop." reminded Percy. "And when you do, it will target either you, me, or any of the monsters on the field."

Samson looked very nervous.

"Well, Mr. ESP? What are you waiting for?"

Everybody waited and watched Samson. At last, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Jinzo!" he called. "Stop!"

Slowly, Jinzo's spinning began to stop until it was pointing towards...

"My Reflect Bounder!" gasped Samson.

Once the spider vanished from Jinzo's face, the android monster fired off a Cyber Energy Shock attack towards Reflect Bounder. As predicted, Reflect Bounder reflected Jinzo's blast back towards it, destroying it as well.

"N-no!" Samson wailed. "How could this have happened?"

"You wanna know, huh?" Percy smirked. "Let me do the math for you: Jinzo had 3200 attack points, subtract 1700 from Reflect Bounder... and you lose 1500 life points!"

Samson grimaced (LP: 0).

"And that means you're finished, and this duel is over!"

(new scene...)

The next flashback was to Percy's duel with Diesel.

"Your last line of defense is gone!" Diesel gloated proudly. "Next turn, you're done! I'll have your rarest card and two Locator cards."

Percy looked at his deck while looking pretty worried.

"If I can't draw the right card-" he thought to himself. "-I'm done for."

Slowly, the green-haired boy drew his next card. Looking at the card, Percy felt relieved to the core.

"That's what I'm talking about."

"Well?" Diesel oiled. "Did you draw what you needed?"

Ignoring the comment, Percy brought out two cards from his hand.

"First I place one card facedown-" The green-haired boy began, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Next I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in defense mode!"

A warrior wearing metallic armor materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"That's all for me." Percy said calmly.

Diesel watched carefully. "What is he up to now?" he thought to himself.

"Percy's planning something." commented Edward. "I just know it."

Looking at the card, Diesel let out a loud laugh.

"I've done it!" The devious black-haired boy cried out in triumph. "I've drawn the one card that will end this duel!"

He slotted his new card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate Magical Infestation!"

"What does that do?" asked Percy.

The Spell card materialized face-up, followed by Insect Barrier and DNA Surgery both vanishing.

"By sacrificing all of the Spell and Trap cards I have on my field-" Diesel explained. "-my Insect Queen can now not only attack your monster without requiring a tribute, but it can also deal piercing damage!"

"Oh no!" cried Mavis.

"Goodbye, Percy! And now, my Insect Queen!" ordered Diesel. "Destroy his scrap iron knight and what's left of his life points!"

Insect Queen obeyed and charged up another acid blast. However...

"You dork!" insulted Percy. "I was hoping you'd do that!"

"You were?!" Diesel exclaimed, realizing the trick.

"I activate the Trap card Graverobber!" announced Percy, poking a button on his Duel Disk.

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"No, not Graverobber!" Diesel yelled.

Out of the card came a little man with picks and shovels.

"This little guy can take a card from your graveyard and use it against you." explained Percy. "And I know just the card to use!"

Graverobber cackled and held out a familiar card. It was...

"Insecticide?!" squeaked Diesel, who was horrified to see the card.

"Time to exterminate your queen." grinned Percy in a sing-song tone.

The familiar spray can appeared and sprayed its contents. The Insect Queen shrieked in agony before finally fading away.

"Yeah!" cheered Percy. "There goes my pest problem!"

Diesel was practically in tears. "What have you done to my Queen?!" he sobbed.

"I just took out your best monster. And since you got rid of your two cards needed to stop me from attacking, I'm free to do so!"

From there, Percy drew his next card. Gearfried the Iron Knight immediately stood up into a battle position.

"I'll now switch Gearfried into attack mode!" Percy went on.

Diesel looked positively scared out of his wits.

"Alright, Gearfried-" Percy began confidently. "-scramble those eggs and wipe out the rest of Diesel's life points!"

The iron armored knight obeyed and lunged forth. Diesel screamed as the warrior monster sliced and diced the two eggs left behind (LP: 0).

"Welcome to loserville, Diesel." said Percy cheekily. "Population: You!"

Diesel sunk to his knees in a daze.

"I-I lost? I don't...believe it!"

Arry and Bert both couldn't believe it either.

"He lost again!" said Arry in fear.

"Lets get out of here before they mess with us, too!" Bert suggested, panicking.

The two raced off as Percy approached Diesel.

"All right, cough them up!" The green-haird boy demanded. "Your Insect Queen, Billy's deck, and both your Locator cards."

"M-mercy!" whimpered Diesel.

"Mercy?" Percy repeated. "Sorry, but you should have thought about it before you decided to go and steal someone else's deck. Just like in San Francisco, you're out of the tournament!"

Diesel collapsed in defeat.

(new scene...)

Next was a scene of Percy's duel with Salty.

"Any last words?" Percy asked.

"Yes, six: This duel is not over yet!" Salty answered. He drew from his deck, looked at it, and smiled. "And I'll use my card right away." The sea dog held it out. "Return of the Doomed!"

The card materialized face-up.

"This revives a monster of mine that was destroyed this turn and puts it in attack mode!"

The card sank into the water, and a shadow of a monster appeared.

"What could it be?" Percy thought. "Is it the Legendary Fisherman? Or Fortress Whale?"

"My turn is done." Salty stated. "Now go!"

"Okay." Percy replied, drawing a card. "Here goes."

The green-haired boy noticed the card he drew.

"Giant Trunade... this card could help me out here. Umi would go back to Salty's hand, and expose the monster. But wait, what if it is the Fortress Whale monster? My Panther wouldn't stand a chance against it. What do I do?"

Salty grew impatient. "What on Earth are you waiting for?!" he demanded. "Hurry up and finish your turn so I can win!"

"I activate Giant Trunade!" Percy declared, as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "Now all Spell and Trap cards on the field return to our hands!"

A giant black hole appeared in the sky and began sucking everything into it.

"Drain the sea!"

Within seconds, the extra water was gone, exposing Salty's hidden monster... The Legendary Fisherman (Level: 5/ATK: 1850/DEF: 1600).

"You've found my Fisherman." sighed Salty.

"Salty..." whispered Percy.

The old sea dog looked like he was gonna start crying any second.

"End the duel, now."

Sighing heavily, Percy took and slotted a card into his Duel Disk.

"Then I'll go and play Scapegoat." he said, just as four Sheep Tokens appeared...and one vanishes in a blue streak. "Now I'll offer one of them as a tribute so my Panther Warrior can attack!"

With one single sword slash, Panther Warrior went and destroyed The Legendary Fisherman. Because Umi and Tornado Wall were both gone, nothing could stop Salty's life points from dropping.

"I'm sorry, dad." Salty thought to himself.

The Legendary Fisherman, before fading away, gave the man a small smile. Salty sobbed quietly as his remaining life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0).

"HE DID IT!" cheered Toby, Edward, Mavis, and Sir Topham Hatt.

"Percy!" cheered Emily.

Back at the aquarium tank, Percy saw that Salty was crying a little bit.

"Hey, you okay over there, Salty?" The green-haired boy called.

Hastily, the man dried his eyes and smiled brightly while accepting his loss.

"Yes, that was an excellent duel!" Salty said pleasantly. "Congratulations on winning."

"Thank you."

Salty walked over and handed Percy two Locator cards and his rare Legendary Fisherman card.

"My rarest card...and two Locator cards." The man stated.

Percy was surprised to see this card. "Wait, you're giving me your Legendary Fisherman card?" he asked. "Why's that?"

"You've earned it." Salty pointed out. "Besides, I'll always carry on my father's memories, card or no card."

Nodding, Percy accepted the rare card.

"Thanks." he said, smiling. "And don't you worry; I'll use it well in my deck."

Smiling back, Salty held his left hand out, and Percy accepted the handshake.

"You'd better. And best of luck in the finals!"

"Thanks." grinned Percy.

A whale soared through the air at that point, causing the crowd to begin cheering very loudly.

(new scene...)

The next flashback was to Percy's duel against Dark Marik.

"Okay, Marik! Get ready to face a force like no other!" Percy declared, readying his card. "I'll sacrifice Panther Warrior, Rocket Warrior, and Lava Golem to summon my ultimate fighting machine!"

Upon placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk, Lava Golem, Panther Warrior, and Rocket Warrior each turned into small orbs of light. Thomas and Spencer both smiled in the bright light...while Dark Marik merely scowled. Finally, the colourful orbs went into the sky.

"GILFORD THE LIGHTNING!"

Lightning bolts rained down from the sky, narrowly missing Thomas and the others off of the platform. The bolts of lightning also barely missed Skiff and his parents, too. A human male wearing orange clothing and silver armor was shown shadowed in the dark as lightning struck around him. Dark Marik watched in shock as two bolts of lightning struck past him and the wind picked up and moved his cape about. The warrior monster also had a sword sheathed on his back. Finally, the shadows faded away from the monster and revealed him fully before he gave a loud bellow of a battle cry as more and more lightning struck around the stage.

"G-Gilford the Lightning...?" Dark Marik asked nervously (a rare moment).

"Get ready, Marik." said Percy in triumph. "This monster is gonna put an end to your miserable life! So get ready! This is the true ace monster of my whole deck! The legendary warrior who controls the storms! Your Plasma Eel is about to bite the dust here and now!"

Dark Marik recovered and began to laugh.

"I kinda missed the joke, chuckles!" snapped Percy.

"A fool to no end. Your new monster may be powerful indeed-" said Dark Marik. "-but it's no match for my Plasma Eel, which you made stronger with Graceful Dice. What's more, it also cannot be destroyed by battle!" He gave another loud laugh. "Your plan has failed! The so-called 'legendary warrior' will die in vain!"

That's right, Plasma Eel was now the stronger foe (ATK: 3000), while Gilford was the weaker opponent (Level: 8/ATK: 2800). However...

"Wrong, Marik-chan!" retorted Percy. "Did you really think I was dumb enough to give you the advantage like that?"

"Yes!" Dark Marik replied bluntly.

"Percy's right." spoke up Thomas. "When Gilford the Lightning is summoned by tributing three monsters instead of the usual two... his effect automatically activates." He smiled more proudly. "Go and show him, Percy!"

"I sure will!" thought Percy, before giving the command. "Gilford, wipe out that Plasma Eel with Lightning Thunder!"

Gilford the Lightning obeyed. He drew his sword out, raised it up to the air, and charged it with the power of thunder. Lightning struck the lone Plasma Eel and caused it to be destroyed.

"My last defense!" cried Dark Marik. "But how? Plasma Eel couldn't be destroyed!"

"You really need to learn about how certain cards work." Percy taunted, waving a hand out.

"What do you mean?!"

"I agree that your Plasma Eel can't be destroyed in battle." said Percy. "However, it CAN still be destroyed by card effects, which is what Gilford just did. When he is summoned with three tributes, Gilford destroys all of my opponent's monsters like that no matter what!"

Dark Marik cursed loudly in anger. Percy was feeling more and more confident than ever.

"With your field now completely empty, I can finish you off right here, right now!"

(new scene...)

And finally, Percy's duel with Spencer...

"Please let this be the card! Please!" prayed Percy, closing his eyes tightly.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at his drawn card. It was...

"I've drawn it!"

It was the Time Wizard monster card.

"Alright, Spencer!" began Percy proudly, whilst placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "This is where the duel ends. First I summon Baby Dragon!"

The mentioned monster card materialized face-up before the familiar little brown/orange scaled dragon materialized in a fighting stance (Level: 3/ATK: 1200).

"Baby Dragon?" quizzed Spencer.

"Attack mode?" put in Mr. Gresley (Boxford).

"Why would Percy play that monster?" asked Skiff.

"Spencer..." continued Percy. "The card I'm about to play is my final gamble. It will either allow me to defeat you, or it will result in my own defeat."

"And what is that card?" asked Spencer, folding his arms while not looking the least bit interested.

Percy then showed his final card to his opponent. "I play Time Wizard!"

The familiar spellcaster-type monster of time materialized beside Baby Dragon.

"It's one of his ace combos!" cried Toby.

"And the riskiest!" added Edward.

"If this works, then you'll be saying goodbye to all of your monsters, Spencer!" Percy pointed out.

"It won't work." scoffed Spencer in an over-confident tone. "I just know it will fail."

"Then let's see what the results will be... GO TIME ROULETTE!"

The spinner on Time Wizard's staff began to spin.

"This could make it or break it for me..." thought Percy.

At last, the spinner started to slow down. Spencer grinned widely as it looked as though it would land on a skull.

"I win!" he thought.

Sadly for the silver-haired boy, the arrow instead moved and landed on a time machine!

"Oh YEEEAAAHHH!" cried Percy. "Go Time Magic!"

"Time Magic!" wailed the Time Wizard, raising its time scepter.

Pink smoke surrounded the whole dueling field.

"First up is Baby Dragon! Thanks to the effect of Time Roulette, it becomes Thousand Dragon!"

The pink smoke cleared from Percy's field showing Baby Dragon had become older and stronger, giving off a mighty roar to prove it (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Percy's Baby Dragon is now a Thousand Dragon!" came from Carlie.

"And now, Spencer-" Percy pointed forth. "-all your monsters bite the dust!"

Both Spear Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon were absorbed into the sky, and there was nothing Spencer could do about it this time...

"NO!" he screamed in despair. "Blue-Eyes...!"

Percy felt his heart pounding like crazy. He couldn't believe it; he was actually about to finally defeat Spencer Gresley.

"I'm...about to win?" The green-haired boy whispered, just before raising his voice in an extremely excited tone. "I'm about to win!"

Spencer's eyes were bloodshot as he silently waited for his incoming defeat.

"You've had this coming for a long time!" said Percy triumphantly. "Thousand Dragon... attack Spencer directly!"

Thousand Dragon obeyed and began breath a stream of flames from its nose. The flames surrounded Spencer as he grunted and moaned from the damage he took, which was also enough to finish him off (LP: 0). The holograms all faded away, and Skiff and his parents each watched in surprise... but no one was surprised than all of Percy's friends.

"He... actually did it." said Edward in surprise.

Over with Percy...

"I DID IT!" The green-haired boy exclaimed happily, jumping up in both joy and triumph.

Spencer, meanwhile, fell to his knees in despair. First he had lost in his own tournament, NOW he had lost to that deadbeat duelist Percy.

"I'm a disgrace..." Spencer mumbled quietly. "...I'm nothing..."

"Hey, Spencer!"

The voice belonged to Percy. The silver-haired boy immediately looked up and saw the green-haired boy approaching.

"It's true that you've lost." he said wisely. "But that's because you let anger get the best of you at one point during the match."

"Anger?" Spencer blinked.

"Yes." said Percy wisely. "For instance, instead of turning my Hayabusa Knight to attack mode, you could have just summoned Spear Dragon to attack one of my sheep tokens. Then you would have won the duel. But you were so angry at the time, it clouded your judgement."

Spencer didn't say anything, and this allowed Percy to speak on...

"It's true that you've lost, but doesn't mean you should be beating yourself up over it. The best thing for you to do is get back up and continue to fight no matter how many times you lose. No matter how much time it takes, never give up! THAT'S the path to becoming a True Duelist."

With that said, Percy held out a hand.

"So, what do you say?" The green-haired boy offered.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashbacks all ended at last.

"Even though it seemed tough-" continued Percy. "-I never gave up... I kept fighting until the bitter end! That is the will of a True Duelist."

Despite not smiling from hearing any of those stories, Knight of Dark Dragon was secretly impressed to say the least.

"So, I'm not giving up!" Percy went on some more. "I intend to keep fighting until the end!"

"I see..." remarked Knight of Dark Dragon. "If that's the case, let me see you back up your words! You've lost your Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and are now facing one such dragon that cannot be taken down by mere attacks, monster effects, Spells, and Traps!"

Percy took his stance and continued to look determined. No matter what, he was going to find a way to take this dragon down. Can Percy really pull such a move off? Stay tuned!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	34. Fierce Dragon Rivalry (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up somewhere in a desert in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Emily had arrived at an oasis and, after removing her shoes, sat down and dunked her sore feet into the cold, refreshing, spring water.

"Ooh! Ah!" The dark green-haired girl winced at first, but soon relaxed a bit once her feet got used to the water. "Ahhhhh... that's much better..."

After walking throughout the hot desert for so long, soaking her feet felt like heaven. Then, with nothing better to do at the moment, Emily took her deck out of her pocket and looked it over. Cycling card through card, she began thinking things over.

"At first I thought these cards weren't anything special. But, now that I'm alone and trying to fight my inner darkness, I understand I was chosen to use them. But, to be completely honest, I can only hope to God that I find Thomas before it's too late."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of the United States, the monster attacks were still going on. Many cities (Boston, Albany, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, New York City, etc.) were suffering millions and millions of dollars worth of damage in addition to the kidnappings.

...but, the President wasn't concerned with that at the moment. Nope, let's go see what that horrible man is up to at the moment...

(elsewhere...)

Douglas Crump was watching his mansion furiously. The fire from that dragon attack had destroyed his private (and expensive) mansion, and a team of handy construction workers were busy inspecting the damage.

"Well, Mr. President-" said the leader of the team. "-we'll have a damage report ready for you shortly."

"You'd better!" snapped Douglas Crump. "Could things possibly get any worse?"

Three... two... one...

*KABOOM!*

Douglas Crump had to jump clear from a fire blast shot from another dragon. What's worse, the mansion went from badly damaged to completely totalled...thankfully, the construction workers managed to escape in time.

"I had to ask..." The pompous US President mumbled to himself. He was then handed some forms. "The damage bill?"

"Now, normally it'd cost you about $150,000,000 or so to get the mansion repaired." explained the leader of the construction team. "But with it now...well...totalled... you'll probably want to take a look for yourself."

The moment Douglas Crump looked at the bill, his eyes fell out of his skull and rolled down the hill into the sea (a figure of speech).

"T-T-T-T-This...MUCH?!"

The bill clearly read ' _ **$1,500,000,000**_ '.

"Will you be paying cash or check?" asked the construction worker. "And it'll take about five years to rebuild your mansion."

Once again, with his face now beet red from rage, Douglas Crump had only one thing he blamed this all for...

"BOXFORD CORP!"

Yup, if the monster attacks weren't enough to torture the US President, this would also be enough.

* * *

 **Title: Fierce Dragon Rivalry, Part 2**

* * *

Back in the village of Amazons, Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon both stared each other down. The situation was most certainly NOT in the former's favor:  
-Percy (LP: 2800) had an empty field, having lost his Red-Eyes Black Dragon not long ago.  
-Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000) was pretty much in an unstoppable position with his own Red-Eyes Black Dragon and an Equip Spell card called Dragon Shield.

"Percy's at such a big disadvantage." said Molly.

"He's surviving well-" added Rosie. "-but for how much longer?"

"Let's hope long enough for a way to turn this duel around." Thomas remarked. "Roll of Fate was one of his best methods in drawing what he needed, but with it both negated and destroyed, Percy will need all the luck he can ever hope to have."

Back over with Percy...

"I've got to find a way to turn this duel around." he said to himself. "Please let me draw the right card to do so!" Percy then bravely drew his next card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Percy Avonside (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): Baby Dragon, Graverobber, and Pot of Greed

* * *

The green-haired boy's drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"This should be a good start...I hope." thought Percy. From there, he slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "Alright... for my turn, I play Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. From there, Percy drew two extra cards from his deck.

"This lets me draw two card!"

The green-haired boy looked at his new cards hopefully. They were Monster Reborn and Dragon Nails.

"Alright! These two cards should be good!" Percy thought to himself. "And with Graverobber in my hand, I juuuuust might be able to wipe out that Dragon Shield card that Dragon Knight has equipped."

On cue, a facedown card, followed by the Baby Dragon monster card, suddenly materialized on the field.

"I set a card facedown and summon Baby Dragon in defense mode!"

The young orangish brown-skinned dragon appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 700).

"You dare fight my Red-Eyes with that puny creature?" taunted Knight of Dark Dragon. "I'll put it out of its misery so fast it'll make your head spin!"

"Even if I summoned it in attack mode, you wouldn't be able to reduce my life points with your Red-Eyes." retorted Percy.

"It makes little difference to me. I'll turn it into ash either way."

With that said, the Dragon Knight drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Graceful Charity

* * *

On cue, the Graceful Charity Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Graceful Charity." said Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing three cards. "This lets me draw three cards and discard two from my hand."

The three cards were shown to be Meteor Dragon, Alexandrite Dragon, and Red-Eyes Wyvern. Immediately, the Dragon Knight discarded the first two cards and placed the third one onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"And now... meet the Red-Eyes Wyvern!"

A smaller version of Red-Eyes appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1800).

"Red-Eyes Wyvern?" blinked Percy.

"You didn't really think there was only one kind of Red-Eyes monster, did you?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon. "There is a whole archtype about them! You control the Red-Eyes Black Dragon...yet you didn't know anything about the ' _Red-Eyes_ ' series?!"

Percy didn't say a word on it. It was then Red-Eyes Black Dragon charged up an attack.

"Inferno Fire Blast!"

The blast of fire hit Baby Dragon, destroying it in an instant.

"And now, Red-Eyes Wyvern-" continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "-unleash your rage and attack Percy directly!"

Red-Eyes Wyvern obeyed, firing a blast at Percy. The green-haired boy gave a cry of pain as he was scorched by the flames.

"PERCY!" screamed out Molly, Edward, and Toby at once.

"Don't give up!" called Gordon.

Percy grunted as he regained his stance (LP: 1000).

"I may be down-" The green-haired boy said curtly. "-but I'm not out!"

"Whatever." huffed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Take your turn now."

"Don't mind if I do!"

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Monster Reborn, Dragon Nails, and Energy Drain

* * *

The green-haired boy's drawn card was the Energy Drain Spell card.

"Okay, hotshot!" grinned Percy. "Get ready to lose everything!"

Knight of Dark Dragon raised an eyebrow, watching as Percy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"First I play my set Trap card - Graverobber! This lets me use a card from your graveyard against you!"

"I see no point in using a card in my graveyard." muttered the Dragon Knight. "There is nothing helpful to you." He suddenly gasped. "Unless-!"

The little robber gave a cackle as he showed which card he took.

"My Heavy Storm!"

"Right!" confirmed Percy, still grinning widely. "Using your own Heavy Storm, you're about to say goodbye to your Dragon Shield card!"

A fierce gust blew across the field as Dragon Shield was destroyed.

"Boo-yah!" cheered the green-haired boy. "Now I can focus on bring your dragon down. And what better way to do it...than with my own Red-Eyes!"

From there, he held out another card.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Reborn!"

On cue, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared with a roar. This caused the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon to let loose a growl of anger when it saw the ' _other_ ' Red-Eyes Black Dragon appear.

"Their attack stats are equal." Knight of Dark Dragon proclaimed. "Attacking would be futile!"

"Don't be so sure about that." teased Percy, wagging a finger. "What I'm about to play will be the end of your dragon!"

On cue, the Energy Drain Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Energy Drain! This lets me draw one card, and then your dragon's attack becomes zero..."

A blast of energy from the face-up Spell card hit the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon, causing it to groan as it became weaker (ATK: 2400 - 0).

"My Red-Eyes!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon. He then grew pretty angry. "How dare you!"

"But I'm not through not."

The Dragon Knight took a step back. "What!?"

"Next I'll equip my Red-Eyes with Dragon Nails!" announced Percy, just as the Dragon Nails Equip Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Equipping it onto my Red-Eyes, this grants it a 600 attack point boost!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon's claws became all sharp and metallic, thus giving it a power boost (ATK: 2400 - 3000). Knight of Dark Dragon cursed in frustration over seeing this play.

"With your dragon now weaker than ever before-" declared the green-haired boy. "-I can finally bring it down...along with a large portion of you!"

The ' _other_ ' Red-Eyes Black Dragon began charging a powerful blast of fire in its mouth.

"Take it away, Red-Eyes! Inferno Fire Blast!"

Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired a powerful blast, destroying the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon and causing Knight of Dark Dragon to yell (LP: 1000).

"Alright, Percy!" cheered James. "You finally did some damage to him!"

"Way to go!" came Stanley.

Percy turned around and flashed his friends a quick thumbs up. From there, he drew his card.

"So what do you think?" The green-haired boy spoke to Knight of Dark Dragon. "Do you now agree that I'm NOT the amateur you think I am?"

Knight of Dark Dragon growled. You see, until now, no one had ever made him take damage from an attack, and he wasn't taking it very well.

"This is not the end." he said in a very low voice. "You wish to see my true power?" The Dragon Knight pointed forth angrily. "Well, YOU have asked for it!"

"Whatever." shrugged Percy dismissively. "It's still my turn, y'know."

"Then finish your turn!"

"Fine." The green-haired boy accepted the offer, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized. Knight of Dark Dragon watched his opponent with a scowl on his face.

"He has indeed gotten stronger." The Dragon Knight admitted to himself. "Perhaps he isn't the pathetic warrior I thought he was... no matter! I will still defeat him!"

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Inferno Fire Blast

* * *

"Reveal Trap card!" announced Percy all of a sudden.

"What?!" Knight of Dark Dragon flinched.

The green-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Drop Off forces you to discard your drawn card to the graveyard." explained Percy in a cheeky way. "Oops! It must've been a good card. Too bad!"

The Dragon Knight sneered and discarded his card. It was then Red-Eyes Wyvern went into a defensive stance.

"This doesn't change anything! I switch Red-Eyes Wyvern into defense mode and call it a turn!"

"Percy's got him on the defensive!" cried James. "Way to go, Percy!"

"It's my turn!" said Percy, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (1): Compensation Mediation

* * *

"Not very much, but this will help me later on."

He added the card to his hand and watched as Red-Eyes Black Dragon open fired with another Inferno Fire Blast.

"Attack away, Red-Eyes!" commanded Percy.

The blast struck and destroyed Red-Eyes Wyvern in a massive explosion. Knight of Dark Dragon braced himself with a grunt (LP: 1000).

"Is that hot enough for ya?" The green-haired boy taunted. "If not, then there is lots more where that came from!"

"You dare to make a mockery of me?!" seethed Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "I swear... You will regret doing that!"

Percy shrugged. "Whatever fills your boat."

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Negate Attack

* * *

A facedown card materialized.

"I set this card facedown and end my turn!" growled Knight of Dark Dragon.

Over with the spectators...

"Heh! That Dragon Knight isn't putting up a fight now." said James to Gordon.

"Not so scary now, I bet." agreed the older blue-haired boy.

Amazoness Sage, however, wasn't so sure about that...

"He's planning something big." she said quietly. "That Dragon Knight MUST have a hidden plan of some sort."

"And because it's my end phase-" Knight of Dark Dragon spoke up. "-I activate the effect of the Red-Eyes Wyvern in my graveyard!"

The spirit of the recently destroyed monster appeared briefly before vanishing.

"During the end phase of a turn I didn't summon a monster-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, taking a card out of his graveyard. "-I can banish my Red-Eyes Wyvern from my graveyard in order to bring back the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared with a roar.

"But why bring it back?" demanded Percy. "It's not powerful enough to stand up to my own!"

"Things can change." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon.

The green-haired boy didn't say anything back and instead began his turn. Over with Thomas...

"So far Percy's made a terrific comeback." he thought to himself. "But I'm afraid that things might be getting even tougher for him soon."

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (2): Compensation Mediation and Axe Raider

* * *

Percy's drawn card was the Axe Raider monster card.

"Sweet!" The green-haired boy thought to himself. "Axe Raider is enough to finish Knight of Dark Dragon off!"

Knight of Dark Dragon gave a cold glare at his opponent, watching as Percy placed his card onto a monster field slot beside the Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card.

"Axe Raider, attack mode!"

The Axe-wielding warrior appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1700).

"Alright, Red-Eyes!" said Percy. "Attack that enemy Red-Eyes with Inferno Fire Blast!"

"If this attack gets through-" proclaimed Henry. "-Axe Raider can then attack directly!"

"And Percy would win!" added Rosie happily.

"It won't be enough." cut in Amazoness Sage.

Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired another blast of fire. Unfortunately, the village chief was right...

"I activate Negate Attack!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, motioning his right hand forth.

On cue, the Dragon Knight's set card flipped up and revealed itself...before absorbing the attack.

"Aw man!" pouted Percy. "So close!"

"This was all the time Knight of Dark Dragon needed." thought Amazoness Sage. "Will he summon it now?"

Back over with Percy...

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." The green-haired boy said, just as a facedown card appeared behind his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"And now prepare to witness my Red-Eyes' true power!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, while he drew a card.

"True power?"

Over with the gang...

"Did he say... Red-Eyes' true power?" whispered Toby.

"I'm not sure." answered Thomas, closing his eyes. "But I can sense something about Knight of Dark Dragon-"

"I know what this is all about." interrupted Amazoness Sage.

Everyone else immediately looked to her.

"You do, ma'am?" asked the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"What do you know about what that Dragon Knight is about to do?" added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"He is about to evolve his Red-Eyes into a much more powerful form than anything we've ever seen before." explained Amazoness Sage. "Your friend may not survive this."

"Evolve Red-Eyes?" blinked Mavis. "Could that Dragon Knight be going for a fusion summon?"

Suddenly, Thomas had a thought. "Hold on... Edward, do you know anything on evolving?"

"Evolving, Thomas?" questioned Edward. "What do you mean on that?"

"I mean evolving a monster into a more powerful form."

The intelligent blue-haired boy gave it some thought. Eventually, he came up with a possible answer...or something like that.

"I think to pull something like that off-" Edward explained. "-you need the correct monster to be on the field."

"Why?"

"What are you talking about, Thomas?" questioned James. "Don't you remember, you played something like th-"

Maiden of the Aqua immediately cupped a hand over the red-haired boy's mouth before he could finish.

"What?" asked James in a muffled way.

"He doesn't need to know what he did once before." hissed the blue-haired female monster.

Thomas just looked back to Percy.

"Percy..."

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, and Metal Plus

* * *

Knight of Dark Dragon added his card to his hand and gave a dark smile as his eyes began glowing all red.

"Playtime has ended long ago." The Dragon Knight commented. "Now you will feel my Red-Eyes Black Dragon's true power!"

Suddenly, Knight of Dark Dragon's Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to glow in a dark aura.

"I now evolve my Red-Eyes Black Dragon into a more powerful form!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon let loose a roar, but it sounded far more...demonic. That was something the entire audience noticed and became weary of.

"I don't like this." said Rosie quietly, huddling close to Stanley for protection.

Soon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon was consumed in a ball of darkness.

"Let the darkness consume you!" thundered Knight of Dark Dragon. "And become one with it!"

After a few seconds, the ball of darkness exploded as the silhouette of a dragon descended from it.

"Percy Avonside... meet the true form of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. ' ** _The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon_** '!"

The full body of the new dragon was shown.

"That's...the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon?" Percy asked fearfully.

"It is." confirmed the Dragon Knight. "Impressive, is it not?"

The new dragon looked much darker, more powerful, and more terrifying than the original. The wings and body looked almost metallic while large red gems lay on the wings and legs. Streaks of redish orange also flowed from the body (Level: 9/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon..." whispered Molly.

"The evolved form of the Red-Eyes." added Henry.

"Just as the Dark Eradicator Warlock is to-" James began to throw in, but Maiden of the Aqua again tried to stop him from completing the sentence.

"James!" she hissed.

Too late, Thomas overheard that. "Dark Eradicator Warlock?"

"From when you dueled against Vampire Lord." explained Gordon, finally admitting the truth. "We caught you evolving your Dark Magician."

"You did it out of anger and vengeance, too." added Rosie.

"I don't remember doing that." said Thomas, bringing a hand to his forehead like he was tired or something. "Why didn't any of you tell me?"

"It was the work of the Evil One, and we didn't want to put anymore burdon on your shoulders." Toby pointed out.

Thomas looked through his deck, trying to see if he could find the Dark Eradicator Warlock card. The blue-haired boy gasped when he finally found what he was looking for.

"This is the card?"

"Yes." confirmed Maiden of the Aqua.

Thomas took the card out of the deck and looked at it. "But how did it even get in here?" he asked almost pleadingly. "I never even included it."

"It would seem the Evil One created it when he took over." explained Edward. "And even if you got rid of it now, he would just create another copy if he were to take control of you again."

Back over with Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon... the newly summoned Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon leered down at the frightened green-haired boy.

"That's one powerful looking dragon," said Percy nervously. He then regained his brave facade... "Even then, it has the same stats as its weaker counterpart! That means it's still not a match for my powered up Red-Eyes!"

Knight of Dark Dragon smirked. "Is it?"

"Huh?"

"For every dragon in my graveyard-" explained the Dragon Knight. "-my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 300 attack points."

"But if it's just Red-Eyes Black Dragon-" Percy protested. "-that would only make your dragon 300 attack points stronger and 300 points short of my dragon's 3000 attack points! And Red-Eyes Wyvern wouldn't count since it was removed from the game."

"Who ever said Red-Eyes was the only dragon in my graveyard?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon. "I have three extra dragons there in addition to Red-Eyes."

"Three more dragons?!"

To prove his point, the Dragon Knight took four cards from his graveyard (with one of them being the Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card) and showed them to everyone.

"I used Cave Dragon as an offering for Dark Dragon Ritual." explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "Then I discarded Meteor Dragon and Alexandrite Dragon with Graceful Charity."

Percy winced. "300 x 4...is 1200 extra attack points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon got much stronger (ATK: 2400 - 3600).

"Now it's more powerful than my Red-Eyes!"

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon... meal time." chuckled Knight of Dark Dragon.

The wicked dragon roared as it began charging a blast.

"Now who shall be his first meal?" asked the Dragon Knight scornfully. He narrowed his eyes at the ' _ **other**_ ' dragon. "The first to fall... will be your disgraceful version of the dragon!"

"Red-Eyes!" thought Percy in horror.

"INFERNAL DARKFIRE!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon obeyed and fired its attack. Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a roar of agony before becoming completely overwhelmed by the superior attack of the ' _Red-Eyes_ ' archtype. Percy winced and braced himself from the force of the attack, but gave a scream as he flew back a small distance until he was lying on the ground.

"Percy!" cried his friends.

Percy was wincing, but other than losing Red-Eyes and most of life points he was okay (LP: 400).

"Red...Eyes..."

"Your pitiful dragon has fallen!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy slowly started to get up despite aching all over. Rosie had collapsed after taking attacks like that, but Percy? He wasn't quitting.

"I'm not giving up." he said bravely. "Even...if I have to d-die...I won't give up!"

"Man, that Percy is one tough cookie." remarked Gordon.

"But I don't understand something." said James. "Percy still had a facedown card on the field. If it was one that could have saved Red-Eyes, why didn't he activate it?"

"He must be saving it for something." added Toby. "But what could it be?"

Percy looked at his Duel Disk in disappointment.

"My Compensation Mediation would have given me a chance to save Red-Eyes." he thought. "I should have used it... But at the same time, using it now would have not been enough."

"What hope do you have at defeating my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon?" questioned Knight of Dark Dragon. "It currently has 3600 attack points, and gets much, much stronger for every dragon-type monster sent to my graveyard."

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gave a monstrous roar in agreement.

"If I were you, now would be the time to surrender, unless you wish to be burnt to a crisp."

Percy instead drew a card.

"You...just don't give up." sighed the Dragon Knight. "Very well!"

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (1): Trap Booster

* * *

Percy's drawn card was the Trap Booster Spell card.

"I don't know how this will help, but I still NEED more time!" he thought to himself. "My facedown card won't be enough if I don't draw the correct card."

"I'll tell you what-" spoke up Knight of Dark Dragon, cutting off the green-haired boy's thoughts. "-if you end your turn now, I'll give you one extra turn to draw something to TRY and turn the duel around."

Percy scowled at Knight of Dark Dragon.

"You don't trust my words? Then fine, I'll take you down on my next turn!"

"Percy!" called Maiden of the Aqua. "He's telling you the truth!"

"How do you know that?" asked Percy, sounding surprised-yet disgusted. "He almost killed Rosie!"

Maiden of the Aqua closed her eyes. "I can...sense justice deep in his heart."

"Justice? How could a monster who delights in hunting those who are weaker have justice in his heart?"

"He may have tried to kill me in our duel-" Rosie called out. "-but at the same time, he spared my life when he won!"

"Not to mentioned he rescued me, Rosie, and Molly when we were captured!" added Mavis.

"Unfortunately, we still don't know who's side this guy is truly on." Thomas thought only to himself.

"Listen, if you don't heed my advice-" Knight of Dark Dragon spoke up again. "-I WILL not hesitate to take you down once my turn comes."

"Fine." said Percy, giving in. "I end my turn."

"Is he really gonna take a chance like that?" asked James.

"It looks like it." shrugged Henry.

"Let's hope it was all truthful." added Toby.

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (4): Monster Reborn, Red-Eyes Burn, Metal Plus, and De-Fusion

* * *

Adding his drawn card to his hand, Knight of Dark Dragon narrowed his eyes as he took two cards from his hand.

"I won't attack-" The Dragon Knight said aloud, slotting his cards into Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk. "-but I can still set these two cards."

Two facedown cards materialized behind Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.

"Make your next move carefully."

Percy looked to his deck. "I know this draw has to get me something."

Knight of Dark Dragon merely watched grimly, knowing that Percy could not win against him either way. Mercy draw or not. Either way, he still wanted to see what the green-haired boy had planned to win or get back into the duel.

"Show me your power!" The Dragon Knight thought to himself.

Percy seemed to have a reponse to the thought... "Behold my dragon's power...!"

With that thought of faith on hand, Percy drew his card, slashing a wave of color in the process.

* * *

 **Turn Ninteen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Booster and Take One Chance

* * *

The card was a Trap card called Take One Chance.

"Take One Chance?" Percy thought. "Could this be what I need to try and win?"

"Well?" called out Knight of Dark Dragon. "Will your turn to change the tide of the duel be now? ...or not at all?"

"You're about to find out right now!" said Percy, taking a card from his hand.

Everyone watched to see what Percy would do. A facedown card materialized behind Axe Raider...who then shifted into a defensive stance.

"I'll set one card facedown and switch Axe Raider into defense mode!"

"That's it?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, looking rather disappointed. "I was hoping for a big show or something... Well, it's your funeral!"

With that said, the Dragon Knight drew his card. Everyone else, meanwhile, hoped that Percy knew what he was doing.

"Your friend knows what he is doing, right?" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout asked Thomas.

"I think so." said Thomas. "One of his two set cards will surely protect him in case Knight of Dark Dragon attempts an attack."

* * *

 **Turn Twenty** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (3): Monster Reborn, Metal Plus, and Darkness Inferno(!)

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Darkness Inferno materialized face-up.

"I'm well aware that my monster won't deal any life point damage-" said Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing and discarding three cards to the graveyard. "-but my Darkness Inferno Spell card will change all of that!"

Over with Thomas and the others...

"Darkness Inferno?" blinked Rosie. "What does that do?"

"It's bad news." answered Amazoness Sage. "By sending three dark attribute monsters from his deck to the graveyard, all of Knight of Dark Dragon's dark attribute monsters on the field are able to, for the rest of the turn, dish out piercing damage."

"Oh no!" gasped Molly.

"Percy will lose if the attack hits its mark!" added Edward.

Over with Knight of Dark Dragon...

"Because I've sent three more dragons to my graveyard-" he pointed out, motioning his graveyard out. "-that's an extra 600 attack points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon drew even stronger (ATK: 3600 - 4500). Everyone was shocked at how powerful the dragon had become (it was now as strong as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon).

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! End this duel!"

The monster obeyed and began to charge up its attack. Unlike last time, however, Percy was ready for it.

"It's time." he thought. The green-haired boy poked a button on his Duel Disk. "Trap card, open!"

The facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Compensation Mediation!"

The attack suddenly froze.

"Compensation Mediation?" questioned Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Since you've declared an attack-" said Percy, holding up his card. "-this Trap card lets you take this card plus two additional cards from your graveyard, shuffle them, and then set all three of them facedown on the field. From there, I have to pick one. If it's one of your cards, your attack continues... but if it's Compensation Mediation, then the battle phase will end."

"As you wish."

Two cards appeared from Knight of Dark Dragon's graveyard while Percy's Trap card flew over to him. After shuffling, the Dragon Knight slotted the three cards into separate Spell/Trap Slots on his Duel Disk.

"Choose wisely." Knight of Dark Dragon warned.

Three facedown cards materialized.

Percy looked carefully at the three facedowns. One would save him, the other two would be his downfall. But which one was the one he needed?

"Which one?" the green-haired boy thought to himself.

If Percy picked the right card, he would have another chance to turn this duel around. If not, he was a goner.

"Percy's in a serious jam, isn't he?" asked the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"As much as I hate to admit it-" said Thomas. "-he is."

"Agreed." agreed Edward. "He has a one-in-three chance of surviving this attack. All we can do now is hope he can pick the right card."

Back over with Percy, he had finally come to a decision.

"I pick... the one in the center!"

The middle card started to flip face-up. Everyone held their breath on what it was.

"Here it comes..." whispered Molly nervously.

At last, the card was fully face-up, revealing it to be... Compensation Mediation!

"Yes!" cried Percy.

Just like that, the frozen attack was shorted out.

"Your luck-" mumbled Knight of Dark Dragon, adding the two other cards to the top of his deck. "-it seems to have little to no end."

"That was so close." sighed James.

"Your friend certainly has the Goddess of Luck on his side." commented Amazoness Sage with a chuckle.

"Luck is practically the theme of his deck." said Toby.

"In major matches like this, it usually pulls him through." added Gordon. "Duels for fun...not so much."

"Now he has a chance to turn this duel around." exclaimed Stanley.

"Will that remaining set card do just that?" questioned Rosie.

"I think we're about to find out." Edward pointed out.

Indeed they were...

"My turn is over!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 1000). He then looked at his two set cards with a thought... "The boy will not defeat me. If he even tries to fusion summon a powerful monster, my De-Fusion Quick-Play Spell card will take it out. And if he somehow manages to defeat my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, my Red-Eyes Burn Trap card will end this duel with a draw. That way, I will at least not be fully defeated."

Percy finally drew his card to begin his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Twenty-One** : Percy Avonside (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 26  
 **Current Hand** (2): Trap Booster and Polymerization

* * *

The green-haired boy's drawn card the Polymerization Spell card.

"A card I need, but it's not enough." he thought, before looking to his final set card. "This is my last chance to turn things around."

Everyone in the audience watched anxiously when their friend finally made an announcement.

"The time has come for my final gamble!"

"Huh? Final gamble?" quizzed the red-haired Amazoness Scout. "What does he mean by that?"

"My guess is it has something to do with his final facedown card." answered the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"I activate my Trap card!" continued Percy, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Take One Chance!"

"A very risky card!" exclaimed Amazoness Sage.

"What this does-" explained Percy to Knight of Dark Dragon. "-is it allows me to randomly select one card from my graveyard and special summon it while ignoring the summoning conditions if it's a monster card, or activate straight away if it's a Spell or Trap card!"

"A random card..." Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself. "What card could possibly help him out of this mess?"

A random card slid out of Percy's graveyard facedown. Percy hoped it was one he needed.

"Please..." The green-haired boy thought to himself with closed eyes. "For the love of all Gods out there... let this be the one!"

Slowly, he took the card, opened his eyes, looked at it...and gasped.

"This is it!"

Everyone on the crowd waited...and gasped at the card that materialized face-up.

"That's the card!" cried Mavis.

It was the Roll of Fate Spell card.

"I activate Roll of Fate!" declared Percy. Just as a large dice was thrown into the air. "Once again, I roll a die. Whatever number it lands on I draw that many cards from the top of my deck while also banishing the same number."

"If this doesn't work-" said Henry to the group. "-Percy won't have a chance of surviving next turn!"

"Go Dice Roll!" called Percy.

The dice finally landed and rolled along the ground.

"The die is stopping..." came from Gordon.

It went slower and slower until it landed on a five.

"A five?" blinked Percy dumbly. He then burst into a loud cheer. "It's a fiiiiiive!"

Knight of Dark Dragon grunted, watching as Percy immediately drew his five cards and then banished the top five.

"Now that I have a new hand-" said Percy, taking one of his new cards and holding it out. "-I have new opportunities for how to win. And I'll begin with the Spell card Shield and Sword!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"This handy little number swaps the attack and defense of every monster on the field." explained Percy. "Although Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gains attack points per dragon-type monster in your graveyard - its defense points remain untouched!"

"What?!" freaked out Knight of Dark Dragon.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon flickered a bit as its defense and attack points swapped (ATK: 4500 - 2000/DEF: 2000 - 4500). Axe Raider's stats also got swapped with each other (ATK: 1700 - 1150/DEF: 1150 - 1700).

"That isn't all." continue Percy, just as the Silent Doom Spell card materialized face-up. "I'll use Silent Doom to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon back to my field in defense mode!"

The good Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared in a defensive stance (Level: 7/DEF: 2000).

"Now it's time to fuse my monsters together!" declared Percy, holding a glowing card up. "I activate Polymerization to fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon...with Axe Raider!"

The two monsters were sucked into the fusion vortex.

"Did you really think I was unaware of the Red-Eyes archetype?" teased Percy. "I knew about it all-along! And what I'm about to summon is a member of that family!"

"What is it?" demanded an angry Knight of Dark Dragon.

"This member is a fusion based Red-Eyes. One that will grant me the victory of this duel! I fusion summon... Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

The Dragon Knight took a step back. "R-Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!?"

"That's right!" smirked Percy. "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon... come forth!"

An explosion came as the fusion was complete. Standing before them was Red-Eyes in what was to believe armor in similar appearance to Gearfried the Iron Knight's with blades by its arms (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400).

"That is the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon?!" came from a very surprised red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"So strong..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"And that's not all!" continued Percy, just as Trap Booster flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I'll send one card from my hand to activate Trap Booster!"

"Trap Booster?!" Knight of Dark Dragon exclaimed once more in shock.

"It lets me activate a Trap card from my hand right away!" explained Percy, taking his last card. "And this one is another Red-Eyes supporter! ...Red-Eyes Fang with Chain!"

The mentioned Trap card materialized face-up.

"This Trap card can equip itself to my monster and allow it to make a second attack during each battle phase." explained Percy. "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, attack the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon now!"

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon obeyed, charging a blast.

"Oh and every time a Red-Eyes monster attacks-" The green-haired boy continued some more. "-I can equip one Warrior monster from my graveyard to it and raise its attack by 200 points!"

Axe Raider suddenly appeared on Red-Eyes Slash Dragon as it got even stronger (ATK: 2800 - 3000). Just then...

"This duel isn't over yet!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon hotly. "I'll use my facedown De-Fusion to split your new monster back into the two original creations used to summon it!"

The Dragon Knight's first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I don't think so!" retorted Percy. "By sacrificing my Axe Raider, I can negate your card and destroy it!"

Axe Raider was launched from the dragon and slashed at the De-Fusion card, destroying it. Red-Eyes Slash Dragon then got weaker (ATK: 3000 - 2800).

"Knight of Dark Dragon only has 1000 life points left!" cried Mavis. "And Percy's monster is still 800 points stronger than his! Percy's got this won if his second attack hits its mark!"

"Percy...isn't going to win!" Amazoness Sage suddenly blurted out, causing Thomas and the others to stare. "Knight of Dark Dragon's final set card will change the whole duel!"

The blast from Red-Eyes Slash Dragon struck Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, causing it to explode massively.

"You lose, Mr. Ultimate Dragon Warrior!" declared Percy proudly. "Red-Eyes... get ready to-"

Unfortunately...

"Don't... be... so... sure!" growled a familiar voice, interrupting the green-haired boy.

Percy's smile of triumph turned to a look of confusion. The smoke cleared, and a very ticked off Knight of Dark Dragon was shown with his life points dropping to zero instead of 200 (LP: 0).

"If I'm to go down, then I'm going to take you with me!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Percy. "Your life points are suddenly at zero! Wouldn't that mean you lose?"

And so... Knight of Dark Dragon decide to just show the green-haired boy what he really meant...

"Trap card, open!" shouted the Dragon Knight. His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Red-Eyes Burn!"

Now Percy was scared. "R-Red-Eyes Burn?!"

"Since you've attacked a Red-Eyes monster I control-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon in the coldest voice. "-we both take damage equal to its original attack points. That means this duel...is a draw!"

An explosion of fire clouded the whole duel field.

"Percy!" cried Thomas.

When the smoke cleared, both Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon were both kneeling on the ground and panting from the intense duel they both experienced.

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: This duel is a draw!**

* * *

"That Dragon Knight..." began Mavis.

"...ended the duel in a draw!" finished Rosie.

The remaining holograms vanished.

"That guy... is... unbelievable!" thought Percy. "I had... the duel... won!"

"Never... has anyone... touched my... life points!" thought Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Shouldn't we get Percy some medical help before he passes out?" asked James.

On cue, Percy collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Um... never mind."

Knight of Dark Dragon, despite being very tired himself, limped over to the green-haired boy and looked him over for a moment.

"Your friend will be fine." The Dragon Knight said coolly. "Some rest is all he needs."

"You!" called out Thomas. "Just... who's side are you on?"

"I'm on my own side." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon, turning to fiercely glare at the blue-haired boy. "I may work for the Court of Darkness, but I only fight to become the strongest."

"Fight to become the strongest?" Thomas repeated to himself.

"Yes. Your friend and I will meet again soon enough. Then, we will finally see who is the superior Red-Eyes wielder."

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon got up and left the village. Everyone else glared until the Dragon Knight was out of sight.

"Good riddance to him." snorted Gordon.

"Agreed." agreed James.

Thomas and Stanley both went over to get Percy.

"Let's get Percy some medical attention." insisted Thomas.

"Bring him in the hut." instructed Amazoness Sage.

Yup, another duel, another delay... Will Thomas and the others ever get to resume their journey to finding Emily AND going to the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city? Only one way to find out! ...nextime, that is.


	35. No More Clowning Around

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up outside the jungle, Thomas and the others had finally managed to move on with their journey after saying goodbye to their new friends in the village of the Amazons. After a lengthy delay with Percy being forced to duel Knight of Dark Dragon once more (and taking time to recover from it), the gang REALLY needed to get going now.

"At last, we're out of that jungle!" James proclaimed. "What a big relief!"

"Finally we can get back on track." added Gordon.

"Do you think our new friends will be okay?" asked Molly.

"I hope so." answered Rosie, sounding very worried. "We may have chased off a member of the Court of Darkness..."

"Not to mention that Dragon Knight..." put in Percy, referring to Knight of Dark Dragon.

"But there's still more out there." said Mavis.

"Emily's still out there, too..." Thomas thought to himself.

"Our fight will never end until this world is safe from the darkness." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up.

"Then let's stop being held up and keep going!" insisted James. "Every time it seems like we get ahead, something holds up back and we lose time!"

"Not to mention the something...or someone...manages to enrage little Thomas here." Gordon added without thinking. "All to get his darkness unleashed."

"If they want Thomas's darkness-" said Stanley. "-why didn't they capture him instead of Emily?"

"That's enough!" snapped Maiden of the Aqua.

James, Gordon, and Stanley each fell into silence.

"I know you wish for this war to end-" Maiden of the Aqua went on. "-but complaining about it is not helping in any way!"

"Agreed." added Thomas. "The Court of Darkness has Emily captive because she has significant darkness in her heart, and what they need my darkness for..."

"We shall become one..." A voice mentally said all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Thomas was alarmed by the voice. "Who's there?"

"What's wrong, Thomas?" quizzed Edward.

"I thought I heard a voice. Didn't any of you hear it?"

"I never heard a voice." shrugged Henry.

"Me neither." added Edward.

Sighing, Thomas brought a hand to is forehead. "It must have been my imagination."

Yet again, a voice mentally spoke to the blue-haired boy...

"Soon I will be whole again, and all will bow to me!"

"What?" Thomas asked aloud. "Who's out there?!"

"Thomas?" questioned Maiden of the Aqua.

"N-No... I'm alright." The blue-haired boy insisted. In his mind, however... "Am I...losing it?"

(elsewhere...)

As the group continued, James had proposed a small game to pass some time.

"It's quite simple." The red-haired boy pointed out. "All we have to do is act out the lines of the episode without missing a beat."

"Could we skip ahead to a later part?" asked Percy. "You know...?"

"Sure! And that means... Henry, you get to start us off."

Henry nodded and, with a deep breath, put on an angry facade.

"Where's Percy?! He supposed to fetch our coaches."

"We get no rest!" James spoke next.

Edward was acting as the narrator. "He edged angrily onto the turntable and spoke rudely to Henry."

"One of my favorite episodes." chuckled Percy to himself. "When I first saw it, I thought the Elephant's model was actually moving on its own."

"What's the matter, Henry? There's no rain today." demanded James, acting as a character from a TV show he and the others were acting out. "Stop worrying and do some work instead."

"I'm not afraid of getting wet anymore." Henry retorted, also in character. "Anyway, you looked silly enough to be a clown you should join the circus."

That was Percy's cue... "Oh, so you heard the news?"

"What news?" grunted Gordon, also acting in character.

"About the circus."

"Percy, what are you talking about?" questioned James, still acting in character.

No response.

"Percy? Your line!" said Edward.

Finally...

"Look in the distance!" exclaimed Percy, pointing to the distance. "I can see... a circus tent!"

In the distance, there really was...a circus tent?

* * *

 **Title: No More Clowning Around**

* * *

Everyone in the group was gazing into the distance at what appeared to be...a circus tent?

"What's a circus tent doing in the middle of nowhere?" asked Mavis.

"Who cares?!" Percy squealed excitedly. "I've never been to a circus in years! Last one there is a rotten egg!"

He started running forth...before stopping and noticing that no one was following.

"Guys?"

The green-haired boy turned around and noticed that his friends were staying in their spots.

"What's wrong?" asked Percy.

"Something isn't right." stated Maiden of the Aqua. "Circus' are very rarely seen here in this world."

"It could be a trap." agreed Edward.

"A trap, you say?" chortled a friendly, goofy voice. "Oh, don't you worry about that!"

"Who's there?" asked Henry.

"Try looking behind you."

Henry and the others did as they were told. Standing right there was a Saggi the Dark Clown...wearing a ringmaster's uniform?

"A Saggi the Dark Clown?" blinked Rosie.

"Yeesh... clowns scare me." mumbled Mavis to herself.

"Why's that?" asked Toby as quietly as possible.

"Have you ever had a phobia of some sort?" The blonde-haired girl whispered to her boyfriend.

"Good point."

"Oh ho ho ho ho! There is no reason to fear me!" reassured Saggi the Dark Clown. "I am but a friendly clown...who is the owner of that circus you see up ahead!"

"What's this circus doing out in the middle of nowhere?" asked Gordon.

"Well, it's like this-" began the ringmaster. "-my circus has been traveling all around the Duel Monsters spirit world for many years, but we're losing more and more attendees during that time."

"Why's that?" asked Percy, rejoining the rest of his friends. "Don't people and Duel Monsters spirits love it?"

"They did." explained Saggi the Dark Clown. "But they've become rather bored of the same routines. And it didn't help that some of the performers resigned due to the war."

"That's awful!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua. "I'm so sorry to hear that!"

"With where we are right now, it could be the final circus we'll ever hold...unless we can get a large enough audience." The ringmaster got onto his hands and knees right next to Thomas. "Please! You and your friends are my only hope to save my circus!"

"Well I wish there was a way we could help you." said Thomas.

"All we need is an audience!"

"An audience? Is that all?" Percy questioned, now grinning. "You should've just asked! We'd be more than happy to watch your show!"

"You will?" asked Saggi, turning to look at the green-haired boy.

"Sure!"

"Hold on, Percy." interrupted Edward. "Don't we have to be going somewhere at the moment?"

"The capital city of this world?" added Rosie, folding her arms.

"Aw, come on!" begged Percy. "This actually looks like fun!"

"We don't have time for fun!" protested Thomas. "We have to get to the capital city without anymore hold ups!"

"Please, Thomas!" Percy continued to beg. "I know we should be on our way... but this Saggi the Dark Clown looks like he REALLY needs our help!"

Thomas sighed. He wanted to get to the capital city without anything else going wrong for him and the others, but it looked like Percy was not going to take no for an answer. Besides, Thomas had been taught that it was always important to help others.

"Oh... alright!" The blue-haired boy sighed in defeat.

"Hurray!" cheered Percy.

Saggi was surprised. "Do...you mean it?"

"It is important to help others when needed." Thomas pointed out.

Saggi the Dark Clown was deeply relieved to hear the blue-haired boy say that.

"Thank you so much." he bowed, before turning to walk away. "Come come this way. The show will begin soon..."

However, while Saggi looked every bit as friendly on the outside. Inside his mind...

"Suckers... this will be one show none of you will live to see ever be finished... heh heh heh heh... HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Ookay... I think he has some screws loose...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the circus tent, Thomas and the others looked around...and saw it was empty.

"Where's the show?" asked James.

"The show...is a game of Duel Monsters!" explained Saggi, putting on a Duel Disk.

"A duel?"

The ringmaster nodded. "That's how this circus runs. And now...and need a few...how can I put it this way...volunteers."

"You mean the show is just you dueling someone?" asked Henry.

"Sounds...interesting." said Toby uneasily.

"It isn't much of a circus to me." James thought only to himself.

"Yup!" grinned Saggi. "So...who would like to face me?"

"I will!" volunteered Rosie.

"Actually, I've got a better idea. How about you and another friend of yours face me in a triangle match?"

"A triangle match?" asked Rosie. "Won't that be a bit unfair to you?"

"I can assure you that I'm not concerned about being outnumbered." replied Saggi. "So tell me... who will your teammate be?"

Rosie looked back to her friends. Right away, Percy had his hand shot up.

"Me! Pick me!" he cried excitedly.

Finally, the pink-haired girl made her decision on who could be her partner.

"I choose... Mavis!"

Percy fell down in disappointment.

"Me?" The blonde-haired girl blinked a few times. "Why me? Why not pick Percy?"

"Come on, Mavis, I know you're scared of clowns, but let's show this guy some real girl power!" offered Rosie, with a fist pump and confident smile.

Mavis, deciding to try and conquer her fear of clowns, responded with a fist pump of her own.

"Alright. Let's do it!"

With that said, the two girls activated their Duel Disks. Over with everyone else...

"Well now... shall we go take out seats?" smiled James.

"Let us shall." agreed Percy.

And they and everyone else went to take their seats for the 'show'...well, everyone except Thomas. And Rosie saw this right away.

"Thomas?" The pink-haired girl questioned. "Are you okay?"

"I promise you, my friend, everything will be okay." Saggi reassured. But in his mind... "After all, it will make things all the more horrifying when the truth comes out eventually."

"Something doesn't seem right." commented Thomas seriously.

"What makes you say that?"

The blue-haired boy looked around. "Are you the only one who runs this circus?"

"Why yes I am!" said Saggi cheerfully. "I run everything this show has!"

Thomas stared into the clown's eyes for what seemed like forever...and decided to just take his seat (while still under the suspicion that something was amiss). Finally, the ringmaster walked to the center of the ring...

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he announced. "Please enjoy the show!"

"Yay! Yay! Woo! Woo!" cheered Percy loudly, clapping like a maniac.

"Settle down, Percy." snapped James. "You're being embarrassing."

"So says the guy who cheered just as wildly when he saw Molly in a bikini when we were at that new waterpark."

James and Molly both felt embarrassed by that statement. For the latter's case, it was all because from one time at the new waterpark, Emily had requested that she wear a bikini this time around... and it eventually lead to a pretty humiliating moment where the black-haired girl accidentally lost her top thanks to it somehow getting undone and caught on part of a waterslide.

"Okay... that was a bad thing for me to say." Percy remarked, realizing he had accidentally embarrassed Molly by complete accident.

Back over with Rosie and Mavis, they were awaiting the duel to begin.

"Ready partner?" asked Rosie.

"As I'll ever be." answered Mavis. She then took a deep breath. "Okay, I can conquer my fear... I can conquer my fear..."

Saggi walked over and activated his Duel Disk.

"And now... let us begin our match."

All three duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x3.

"As the show runner, I request that you gals take the first move." suggested Saggi in a friendly tone. In his mind... "So that when I get to attack, I'll show you both REAL torture!"

"I guess I'll go." said Mavis, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Fusion Destruction, Cyber Angel Dakini, Sphere Kuriboh, Cyber Gymnast, Spell Shield Type-8, and Raregold Armor

* * *

The blonde-haired girl's hand contained Fusion Destruction, Cyber Tutu, Sphere Kuriboh, Cyber Gymnast, Spell Shield Type-8, and the just added Raregold Armor.

"I summon Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!"

On cue, a woman with a long, blonde pony tail, a white mask, and wearing a blue bodysuit materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1800).

"A Cyber Gymnast, eh?" Saggi looked impressed. "You must like sports."

Mavis ignord the comment. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." she continued, slotting a card into her Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized. This was just in time for Rosie's turn.

"Alright! Now it's my turn!"

She drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Darklord Nurse Reficule, Adamantine Sword Revival, Jar of Greed, Burning Algae, Hyozanryu, and Bonfire

* * *

The pink-haired girl's hand contained Darklord Nurse Reficule, Adamantine Sword Revival, Jar of Greed, Burning Algae, Hyozanryu, and the just added Bonfire.

"I know just what do to you." she said to herself, taking a card from her hand. "First I summon Darklord Nurse Reficule!"

An almost vampiric monster with two wings materialized in a fighting position (Level: 4/ATK: 1400). Over in the stands...

"That's interesting." remarked Edward.

"What do you mean by that, Edward?" quizzed Henry.

"I mean about her monster." The intelligent blue-haired boy. "Its effect is quite handy if the opponent uses life point healing cards."

"Explanation, please?" suggested James.

"Reficule can make it so any time Saggi tries to increase his life points, he'll take damage instead."

"That is handy." commented Thomas.

Over with Saggi...

"But will it help you?" The ringmaster clown thought to himself, looking at his hand. "What I have will prevent either of you two from pulling combos out."

With that thought on hand, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Saggi the Dark Clown (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Peten the Dark Clown, Clown's Knife Trick(!), Clown's Cloth Trick(!), Gravity Bind, Clown's Reversing Trick(!), and Peten the Dark Clown

* * *

Saggi's drawn card was a monster card called Peten the Dark Clown.

"Well now..." The ringmaster smiled. "It's time for this clown to play wth you girls."

Rosie and Mavis (the latter especially) braced themselves, watching as Saggi placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Meet Peten the Dark Clown, dearies!"

Appearing to the field was a clown in baggy clothing and a large red hat with a pink feather (Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 1200).

"A clown..." shivered Mavis. "As if I couldn't get anymore nervous than I already am..."

"Easy there." reassured Rosie. "It has only 500 attack points. Nothing we can't handle."

"Wrrrooonnnggg!" interrupted Saggi the Dark Clown in a sing-song tone, taking and holding out another card from his hand. "I think my Clown's Cloth Trick Spell card would have to disagree with you there."

A piece of white cloth appeared in Peten's hand. With a swipe of it, a second Peten the Dark Clown appeared with a evil snicker...and Rosie and Mavis both found themselves chained to a wall of some sort (with their shirts risen up enough to show their tummies, but especially the navel).

"Hey! W-What's going on?!" demanded Mavis. "What did you do?"

"Clown's Cloth Trick allows me to special summon one 'Dark Clown' monster from my hand so long as I control such a monster on the field." explained Saggi with a gleeful smile. "In addition, my monsters can even attack you both directly this turn."

"But why are we like this?" asked Rosie, before realizing the answer to her own question. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Not again!"

"Oh, my two Petens!" began Saggi the Dark Clown. "Summon your feathers and give those two girls the 'cuchi cuchi' treatment!"

The two clowns took their feathers out of their hats with wicked giggles and charged at the girls. Before long... Rosie and Mavis were both laughing up a storm as the two clown-like monsters dipped their feathers in and out of the girls' navels repeatedly, or just resort to gliding the tip of the feathers along their (the human girls) bellies, just barely flicking the tip of the navel.

"Ha ha ha, I hate, ha ha, clowns!" wailed Mavis, laughing while tears formed in her eyes.

"Why, ha ha ha, does this, ha ha, always happen, ha ha ha ha, to us?!" whined a laughing Rosie.

Over in the audience...

"Again?" Molly questioned. "Why does this always happen to us girls?"

"I...don't have an answer." replied James. "Perhaps there must be some divine force out there who loves putting Mavis and Rosie, along with occasionally Emily and you, in that situation. Needless to say, I think that force must stop it..."

"Umm...James?" Edward spoke up. "What are you even talking about?"

"Eh, nothing all that important."

Over with Saggi the Dark Clown. Mavis and Rosie's laughter was still going on, and that brought a smile to his face...which then turned twisted.

"Bloodlust Thrust." he whispered.

All of a sudden, the two girls' laughter became screams of agony. Thomas was the first to react to the sudden change of tone.

"Mavis! Rosie!" he cried out.

Instead of feathers, the two Peten the Dark Clowns were now wielding daggers (having turned their feathers into weapons) and had used 'em to stab their targets directly in the chest (the heart).

"MAVIS!" screamed Toby in horror.

Saggi laughed darkly. "My, my, this act has become quite the ' _killer_ ' wouldn't you say?"

Mavis and Rosie were both breathing hard as they got released and took damage (LP: 3500).

"The pain..." Rosie winced, falling to a knee. "It felt...like..."

"It was like we were actually stabbed!" added Mavis, clutching where she had been stabbed.

"In this world, the damage we take is real!" Thomas reminded.

"So you realized this just now?" tittered Saggi, smiling quite psychotically. "All the more fun for this show! Once it ends...the audience will be left in shock as two of its performers...die fighting!"

"You psychopath!" shouted Gordon.

"We've got to save them!" cried Stanley.

"Ah ah ah!" teased the ringmaster clown, wagging a finger while something rose from a hatch door next to him. "Try to do so, and I'll press this button." He picked up and held out a remote control. "Once pressed... BOOM! This tent will explode!"

"This was a trap all along!" Thomas thought to himself. He then pointed towards Saggi angrily. "You're in league with the Court of Darkness, aren't you?!"

"Court of Darkness, please!" scoffed the ringmaster clown. "They only kill to try and revive their dead master. Me? I only kill...because it's fun!"

"Fun?!"

Saggi the Dark Clown looked towards Thomas. "Quite so. I created this entire circus to lure suckers in...only to kill them once they've had their fun! As you can see, killing is so much fun... fun... FUN! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"You're insane!" protested Percy.

"Forget insane, he's completely batpoop crazy!" James corrected.

"Don't you realize that if you keep this up-" Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "-there will be no one left for you to kill?"

"Exactly!" snickered Saggi. "All I care about is listening to the screams of agony... and torturing those who are stupid enough to face me!"

Thomas growled as he clenched his fist.

"There isn't anything we can do..." he said aloud. "Rosie and Mavis will both have to win the duel if we want to leave here alive."

"But the only way they can is if Mavis gets over her fear of clowns." added Toby.

"And seeing just how...insane...this clown is, that will be easier said than done." finished Percy.

Back in the ring, two facedown cards materialized behind the two Peten the Dark Clowns.

"I'll set these two cards facedown and end my turn!" said Saggi the Dark Clown.

After clutching her wounded chest for a few minutes, Mavis managed the strength to draw a card.

"It's m-my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Fusion Destruction, Cyber Angel Dakini, Sphere Kuriboh, Raregold Armor, and Monster Reincarnation

* * *

"Nothing..." The blonde-haired girl then spoke aloud. "I pass this turn!"

"Ah! But before you do-" interrupted Saggi, just as a facedown card of his flipped up and revealed itself. "-I'll play this Continuous Trap card - Gravity Bind!"

An energy barrier showed up, binding down Mavis and Rosie's monsters.

"Our monsters!" They both cried out.

"Thanks to this Trap-" explained Saggi the Dark Clown. "-level 4 and higher monsters can't attack! And my deck is full of weak monsters ready to commence some killing on both of you and our wonderful audience!"

This was quite bad; Mavis and Rosie both needed a plan and they needed it now.

"Great..." groaned Rosie. "This is quite the pickle we've gotten ourselves into."

"We're locked in place!" agreed Mavis. "Isn't there anything we can do?!"

Rosie looked at some of the cards in her hand.

"There might me SOMETHING I can try." she thought to herself. "But I still need the correct cards to pull it off." The pink-haired girl then drew her card while speaking aloud. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Adamantine Sword Revival, Jar of Greed, Burning Algae, Hyozanryu, and Injection Fairy Lily

* * *

Her drawn card was the Injection Fairy Lily monster card.

"Bingo." smiled Rosie to herself, placing the card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "I summon Injection Fairy Lily!"

"Injection Fairy Lily?" quizzed Saggi the Dark Clown.

"Just watch."

Appearing to the field was a fairy wearing a nurse's outfit with wings on her back, and a large syringe needle (Level: 3/ATK: 400). Unfortunately for the pink-haired girl...

"Reveal Trap card!" declared Saggi, motioning his hand out. "Clown's Reversing Trick!"

The second, and last, facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Suddenly, all of the monsters on Mavis and Rosie's side of the field were getting affected by a radiation-like attack.

"What's going on?" asked Rosie. She suddenly noticed something about her monster. "Wait! Why can't I use her effect?"

"With Clown's Reversing Trick-" Saggi pointed out. "-all I need to do is own a 'Dark Clown' monster, and for the next three turns you both cannot use any effects your monsters might possess...like your Fairy Lily's effect of giving up 2000 life points to increase her attack by 3000 points."

"Oh no!" cried Rosie.

"Three turns..." thought Mavis.

A facedown card materialized behind the now useless Fairy Lily.

"I place this card facedown and end my turn." sighed Rosie.

Over with the ' _audience_ '...

"Rosie... Mavis..." whispered Stanley.

"What can they do?" asked Percy.

"Gravity Bind prevents their monsters from attacking." Edward pointed out. "And that Clown's Reversing Trick prevents their own monster effects from working for three turns."

"A cheap strategy if you ask me." huffed James.

"And now it's my turn." said Saggi, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Saggi the Dark Clown (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (2): Clown's Knife Trick(!) and Circus Folly(!)

* * *

On cue a Spell card called Clown's Knife Trick materialized.

"Time for more fun! I activate Clown's Knife Trick!"

Two large wooden walls slowly rose from behind the two girls...not that they noticed right away.

"Look out!" cried Toby.

The girls look behind themselves...but were too late to escape. They were quickly cuffed to the walls.

"And now, my two Petens!" called Saggi. "Time for target practice!"

The two Peten the Dark Clowns made three daggers appear in their hands...and they hurled them across the ring towards Rosie and Mavis. Surprisingly, the three daggers ended up missing in various degrees.  
-1st (Peten 1): Side of Mavis's head.  
-2nd (Peten 1): Right near Mavis's right foot  
-3rd (Peten 1): Mavis's left side  
-1st (Peten 2): Beside Rosie's left hand  
-2nd (Peten 2): Side of Rosie's head (it managed to clip some of her hair)  
-3rd (Peten 2): Between Rosie's legs (which was also veeeeery dangerously close to her groin)

"That was so close..." mumbled Rosie to only herself, referring to the dagger between her legs.

"You missed!" called Mavis to the ringmaster clown.

"Oh dear, I forgot they had ONE extra dagger left over!" cried Saggi the Dark Clown in false shock. He then gave a insane smile. "Let's make this one count..."

Another dagger flew towards the girls. Thomas and the others watched and heard screams of agony from both Mavis and Rosie.

"No!" exclaimed Thomas.

Saggi the Dark Clown laughed crazily as his two opponents dropped to the floor once the tables were gone.

"This card deals life point damage equal to my Peten the Dark Clown's attack multiplied by 2!" explained the ringmaster clown. "500 x 2 = 1000 points of damage!"

Mavis and Rosie both weakly looked up (LP: 2500) x2.

"Leave them alone!" demanded Toby.

"Never!" retorted Saggi. "This is too much fun!"

"Why you...!" Thomas growled hatefully, growing really angry.

Everyone knew that tone from their blue-haired friend, and it wasn't a pretty one at all.

"He's getting angry again..." murmured Percy. "Just what we need right now."

Before anything could be done...

"Don't, Thomas!" called the weak voice of Rosie. The pink-haired girl slowly got back to her feet. "We'll...be okay."

Thomas calmed himself down and sat back down in his seat once more.

"But...Rosie..." Mavis protested wearily, slowly trying to get back up as well. "We're both...trapped! We can't beat him!"

"Oh?" spoke up Saggi again. "Does this mean you both would like to die in the most painful way possible?"

Rosie didn't answer and merely motioned to her set card.

"Trap card, open!" she announced, causing it to flip up and reveal itself. "Jar of Greed lets me draw an extra card from my deck!"

"So be it."

Rosie drew an extra card from her deck. It was a monster card called Guardian Angel Joan.

"If we can just get rid of that Gravity Bind Trap card-" The pink-haired girl thought to herself. "-then we can do some damage."

"My turn!" announced Mavis, drawing her card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (7): Fusion Destruction, Cyber Angel Dakini, Sphere Kuriboh, Raregold Armor, Monster Reincarnation, and Pot of Greed  
 **Clown's Reversing Trick** : 2 Turns

* * *

The blonde-haired girl's drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate the spell Pot of Greed." she said, holding the card out. "This lets me drew two more cards."

Mavis drew her cards. They were shown to be Cyber Tutu and Machine Angel Ritual.

"Next I'll activate the Equip Spell card Raregold Armor!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. A set of golden armor materialized onto Cyber Gymnast.

"Now my Cyber Gymnast is the only monster you can attack." said Mavis. "This will protect Injection Fairy Lily from being attacked if you decide to do so."

Rosie smiled at her blonde-haired friend. "Thanks for the save, Mavis."

"Think nothing of it." winked Mavis. She then narrowed her eyes and glared at Saggi the Dark Clown. "That's all for me!"

"And now, back over to me!" announced Rosie, drawing her next card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (5): Dragon's Gunfire, Burning Algae, Hyozanryu, Guardian Angel Joan, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Grinning, the pink-haired girl held up her card.

"Well, waddya know? I've drawn my own copy of Pot of Greed! I think I'll take it for a test spin."

Rosie drew her two cards. They were shown to be Scapegoat and Token Thankgiving (both Spell cards). On cue, a Spell card called Bonfire materialized face-up.

"Now I play the Spell card Bonfire." said Rosie, taking a card from her deck. "This lets me add a level 4 or lower fire attribute monster from my deck to to my hand.

The card (Fire Princess) was added to the pink-haired girl's hand. She then slotted another card into her Duel Disk.

"Finally, I'll set this card facedown and end my turn!"

Saggi snickered. "Still not a match for me." He drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Saggi the Dark Clown (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (2): Circus Folly and Circus Lion's Den(!)

* * *

The ringmaster clown's drawn card was a Spell card called Circus Lion's Den.

"Well now..." Saggi the Dark Clown remarked. "It would seem one of you is about to enter the lion's den."

The two girls stood firm. From there, Saggi slotted a card into Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Circus Lion's Den!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself...before creating a bunch of lions (Level: 3/ATK: 1000).

"Circus Lion Tokens..." mumbled Edward. "And they are able to attack!"

"No sweat!" said James confidently. "Cyber Gymnast has 1800 defense points AND is equipped with Raregold Armor."

"...except if a Circus Lion attacks a monster that is stronger than itself-" Toby pointed out. "-either weaker in attack or defense points, it gains 1000 attack points on damage calculation."

The red-haired boy's eyes widened. "Oh boy...!"

"Now go, my lions!" commanded Saggi. "It's feeding time!"

The first Circus Lion lunged forth towards Cyber Gymnast and gained strength due to it battling a monster with greater defensive stats than its attack stats (ATK: 1000 - 2000). Biting and clawing into the human monster's flesh, Cyber Gymnast cried out before fading away into nothingness.

"Cyber Gymnast!" cried Mavis. Thankfully, her monster was in defense mode.

A second Circus Lion Token attacked Injection Fairy Lily, destroying her.

"No!" cried Rosie, who then took damage (LP: 1900).

A third Circus Lion Token then took the chance...to rush in and attack Mavis directly.

"And now, my third lion-" commanded Saggi the Dark Clown. "-enjoy your meal...on that blonde-haired girl!"

The third lion pounced.

"Not this time!" announced Rosie, motioning her right hand forth. "Darklord Nurse Reficule, intercept the attack!"

"What?!" gasped Saggi.

Rosie's monster flew in to take the hit. Circus Lion Token's attack went up due to it battling a monster stronger than itself (ATK: 1000 - 2000). Darklord Nurse Reficule was no match for the now stronger monster and got destroyed.

"Rosie!" called Mavis. "Thanks!"

The pink-haired girl winced (LP: 1300), but managed a quick smile. "No problem."

"I'm not finished yet." retorted Saggi the Dark Clown. "This last card I play will be a real ' _killer_ ' for you both!"

The ringmaster clown held up his final Spell card.

"Circus Folly!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card materialized face-up.

"My two Peten the Dark Clowns will now be gifted with 1500 extra atta-" began Saggi, but got interrupted halfway through his speech.

"Not today!" shouted Mavis, just as her final set card flipped up and revealed itself. "Counter Trap card - Spell Shield Type-8! By sending one Spell card from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the activation of your Spell Card and destroy it!"

She discarded her Fusion Destruction card as a large device appeared from the face-up Trap card.

"Now say goodbye to your Circus Folly card!"

The device fired a blast, destroying the card instantly.

"No!" cried Saggi the Dark Clown in surprise.

"Way to go!" cheered Toby.

"They just might have a chance after all!" came from Thomas.

"I... end my turn!" growled Saggi.

"Mavis and Rosie both ave a chance to turn the duel around." thought Thomas. "Can they pull a counterattack off?"

"Alright, Mavis." Mavis said to herself. "It's your move. Your friends are counting on you. Please draw a miracle!"

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cyber Tutu, Machine Angel Ritual, Monster Reincarnation, Cyber Angel Dakini, Sphere Kuriboh, and Mystical Space Typhoon  
 **Clown's Reversing Trick** : 1 Turn

* * *

Her drawn card was the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card.

"Alright!"

On cue, the Monster Reincarnation Spell card materialized face-up.

"Alright, you ax-crazy clown!" began Mavis, discarding a card from her hand to the graveyard. "I'll use Monster Reincarnation to send one card from my hand to the graveyard to add Cyber Gymnast back to my hand!"

The mentioned card slipped from the blonde-haired girl's graveyard and she took hold of it. She added it to her hand and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap Slot on her Duel Disk.

"And now... Mystical Space Typhoon will be activated!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself...just before creating a small cyclone of a sort.

"Say goodbye-" smirked Mavis, pointing forth. "-to Gravity Bind!"

The Gravity Bind Trap card was destroyed.

"No! Not that!" wailed Saggi the Dark Clown. He seethed at the blonde-haired girl. "Curse you! I thought you were afraid of me!?"

"Not anymore!"

On cue, another Spell card (this time Ritual) materialized face-up. It was called...

"And now, I activate a Ritual Spell card!" continued Mavis boldly. "It's called Machine Angel Ritual! By tributing enough monsters from my hand or fiend, I can ritual summon a 'Cyber Angel' monster from my hand to the field!"

She held up two cards (Cyber Tutu and Cyber Gymnast).

"I offer these two monsters to call forth Cyber Angel Dakini!"

"Hold up!" objected Saggi the Dark Clown. "Cyber Angel Dakini is a level 8 monster, and the total you've tributed is 7! You can't summon her as a-"

"Now YOU hold up!" interrupted Mavis. "I now activate the effect of the Sphere Kuriboh in my graveyard!"

The shadowy image of Sphere Kuriboh briefly appeared.

"If I attempt to ritual summon a monster and I lack the total monster levels I need to pull the summon off-" explained Mavis. "-I can banish Sphere Kuriboh from my graveyard to add its level star to the total I currently have. 7 + 1 = 8! What does this mean, you ask? It means now I have the equal monster level of 8! And this also means I CAN summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"

The two Cyber monsters made brief appearances before they faded away, paving the way as a blue-skinned warrior with gold armor appeared (Level: 8/ATK: 2700).

"Cyber Angel...Dakini..." whispered Rosie, although she was impressed.

"Your Petens are in attack mode!" Mavis pointed out to Saggi the Dark Clown. "As soon as I declare an attack on one of them, you will say goodbye to a ton of life points!"

Saggi the Dark Clown took a step back out of shock.

"This isn't possible!" he thought. "My strategy was airtight! And now this girl has overcome her fear of me!"

Mavis then began her battle phase. "Cyber Angel Dakini, attack one of those Peten the Dark Clowns now!"

Dakini obeyed, charging at one of the Petens and striking it down. Saggi yelled as he took massive damage (LP: 1800).

"Alright, Mavis!" cheered Toby.

"Nice one, girl!" came from Percy.

"Now if Rosie can pull the right move-" thought Mavis, looking to her teammate. "-we can win!"

Rosie, sensing what the blonde-haired girl was thinking, shot her friend a quick smile before looking back at a fuming Saggi the Dark Clown.

"It's my go now!" she said, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 1300)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Adamantine Sword Revival, Burning Algae, Hyozanryu, Token Thanksgiving, Fire Princess, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

The pink-haired girl's drawn card was the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card.

"Well now... just like Mavis here did on her turn-" Rosie began, holding her card out. "-I use the handy, dandy Mystical Space Typhoon card to target your Clown's Reversing Trick card and destroy it!"

"No!" screamed Saggi. "You can't!"

"Just watch me, pal!"

A typhoon appeared and blew Saggi's Trap card away.

"Oh NOOOOO!" The ringmaster clown screamed out in horror.

"With your Trap card gone one turn early, Mavis and I can play monster effects once again." declared Rosie confidently. She then placed a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "Now I summon Fire Princess in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a female monster wearing red with grey hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1300). Unfortunately for the ringmaster clown, Rosie's turn wasn't even close to being finished yet...

"Don't go thinking that I'm done yet." continued the pink-haired girl, motioning her right hand to her set card. "Reveal facedown card - Scapegoat!"

Four colorful sheep tokens then appeared to the field from the face-up Quick-Play Spell card. Over with the ' _audience_ '...

"Scapegoat?" questioned Percy.

"What could Rosie be planning to do with that card?" came from Henry.

"We're about to find out." said Edward. "That Fire Princess was also summoned for a reason."

Back over with Rosie...

"Get ready, you clown!" she stated quite seriously, taking and readying another card from her hand. "What I'm about to activate will be a real ' _killer_ ' for you!"

On cue, the card materialized face-up.

"Token Thanksgiving!"

Over with the 'audience', James looked over to Edward...

"Um... got any idea on what that does?" The red-haired boy whispered.

"It allows Rosie to destroy all tokens on the field." explained Edward. "Then she'll gain 800 life points for each one."

Edward was right on the button. Back in the ring, the four Scapegoats and even the three Circus Lions faded away in blue streaks as her life points shot up by 800 x 7 (LP: 1300 - 2100 - 2900 - 3700 - 4500 - 5300 - 6100 - 6900). Just then, Fire Princess started to make her hands catch fire...like she was preparing to attack or something.

"Now it's Fire Princess's turn." continued Rosie. "Every time I gain life points of any kind, she deals 500 points of damage to you!"

Mavis smirked as she added... "And because Rosie used Scapegoat AND Token Thanksgiving to raise her life points-"

"-WE can finish you off here and now!" The pink-haired girl finished, still speaking to Saggi the Dark Clown.

The ringmaster clown began to panic, but alas it was much too late to do so.

"Fire Princess-" began Rosie.

"-use your special ability-" added Mavis.

"-AND FINISH HIM OFF!" The two girls finished at once.

Fire Princess sent a wave of flames towards the terrified Saggi.

"Consider this punishment for your homicidal crimes!" shouted Thomas from the audience.

Saggi screamed as he was engulfed by the flames (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Mavis Drewry and Rosie Vulcan both win!**

* * *

The holograms faded away in the ring...as Mavis turned to the ' _audience_ '.

"Ladies and Gentlemen-" she spoke like a ringmaster. "-the show!"

Their friends cheered for the victory. Rosie and Mavis both moved closer to the stand and took a bow.

"AGH!" screamed an angry voice.

The group looked back and saw a burnt, and quite furious looking might I add, Saggi the Dark Clown get back to his feet.

"This isn't the end." The ringmaster clown mumbled, reaching for his remote control. "One press of a button, and we all die!"

Before he could reach for it, he felt his hand stop while glowing all gold.

"Wha-?!"

"What's going on?" asked Percy.

"Thomas?" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

From the blue-haired female monster's reaction, it was Thomas who was doing the deed with his glowing Millennium Puzzle (and a Millennium Eye symbol on the forehead) while standing up from his seat. Saggi was surprised to say the least, but remained absolutely silent.

"You will never hurt anyone for your sadistic enjoyment ever again!" declared Thomas, thrusting a hand forward. "MIND CRUSH!"

Without any time to run or scream, the air all around Saggi the Dark Clown fizzled and flashed in a multitude of colors...before it crackled apart like glass and the ringmaster clown finally collapsed from the Penalty Game.

"Bubbling Sodas...!" whispered Molly.

"Grease and Oil...!" came from Mavis.

"Is he dead?" asked Percy.

Everyone approached the ' _dead?_ ' Saggi the Dark Clown. Nobody knew what to make of this new development.

"What did you do, Thomas?!" demanded James. "H-How did you-?"

"I... I don't know." admitted Thomas, bringing a hand to his forehead like he was tired or something. "I... I just don't know."

"Whatever's the case-" Edward's voice spoke up, causing everyone else to look downward. The intelligent blue-haired boy had finished looking over Saggi. "-he's not dead, but it doesn't look like he'll be awake for quite some time."

Thomas nodded...before looking down at the Millennium Puzzle in deep thought.

"Did the Evil One have something to do with this?" he thought. "Or was it...?" The blue-haired boy sighed mentally. "I don't know what to believe..."

This was a mystery the group would have to figure out another day; they HAD to move on before they lose anymore time.

(elsewhere...)

Spencer Gresley was currently staring somebody down. So this guy claimed to be the Ultimate Dragon Warrior? Heh! He didn't see it at all.

"Identify yourself."

"I am the Knight of Dark Dragon." said the voice of the silver-haired boy's opponent.

Yes... Spencer, currently in the middle of a meadow-like terrain with some mountains behind him, was gazing at the same Dragon Knight that had faced Thomas and the others not long ago...

It was Knight of Dark Dragon.


	36. Red-Eyes vs Blue-Eyes (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Knight of Dark Dragon was slowly limping through the jungle. It had been almost three hours since the duel between him and Percy had ended in a draw. This was the first time anyone has ever come close to defeating him, and the Dragon Knight was pretty shocked (and angry) by it.

"How could it be?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon to only himself. "I am the undefeated wielder of the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon! How could that boy fight me to a draw?!"

A flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon were both in the middle of their duel...

"Now it's time to fuse my monsters together!" declared Percy, holding a glowing card up. "I activate Polymerization to fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon...with Axe Raider!"

The two monsters were sucked into the fusion vortex.

"Did you really think I was unaware of the Red-Eyes archetype?" teased Percy. "I knew about it all-along! And what I'm about to summon is a member of that family!"

"What is it?" demanded an angry Knight of Dark Dragon.

"This member is a fusion based Red-Eyes. One that will grant me the victory of this duel! I fusion summon... Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

The Dragon Knight took a step back. "R-Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!?"

"That's right!" smirked Percy. "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon - come forth!"

An explosion came as the fusion was complete. Standing before them was Red-Eyes Black Dragon in what was to believe armor in similar appearance to Gearfried the Iron Knight's with blades by its arms (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400).

"And that's not all!" continued Percy, just as Trap Booster flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I'll send one card from my hand to activate Trap Booster!"

"Trap Booster?!" Knight of Dark Dragon exclaimed once more in shock.

"It lets me activate a Trap card from my hand right away!" explained Percy, taking his last card. "And this one is another Red-Eyes supporter! ...Red-Eyes Fang with Chain!"

The mentioned Trap card materialized face-up.

"This Trap card can equip itself to my monster and allow it to make a second attack during each battle phase." explained Percy. "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, attack the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon now!"

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon obeyed, charging a blast.

"Oh and every time a Red-Eyes monster attacks-" The green-haired boy continued some more. "-I can equip one Warrior monster from my graveyard to it and raise its attack by 200 points!"

Axe Raider suddenly appeared on Red-Eyes Slash Dragon as it got even stronger (ATK: 2800 - 3000). Just then...

"This duel isn't over yet!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon hotly. "I'll use my facedown De-Fusion to split your new monster back into the two original creations used to summon it!"

The Dragon Knight's first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I don't think so!" retorted Percy. "By sacrificing my Axe Raider, I can negate your card and destroy it!"

Axe Raider was launched from the dragon and slashed at the De-Fusion card, destroying it. Red-Eyes Slash Dragon then got weaker (ATK: 3000 - 2800).

The blast from Red-Eyes Slash Dragon struck Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, causing it to explode massively.

"You lose, Mr. Ultimate Dragon Warrior!" declared Percy proudly.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, as Knight of Dark Dragon leaned against a tree for balace while breathing and panting wearily.

"How... how could he have become that strong?"

Suddenly, the Dragon Knight smelled something very different. Sniffing the air, he got a strong scent of some sort.

"I sense the power of another dragon." Knight of Dark Dragon said to only himself. "But this one smells much more different." He took another strong sniff. "Much more...powerful... and of pure...light!"

The Dragon Knight narrowed his eyes. Wherever the strong smell was coming from, Knight of Dark Dragon wanted to try and find where it was coming from. Once he found where it was coming from, he was going to defeat that person in a duel and prove that he was still unstoppable.

(elsewhere...)

Spencer Gresley was in the middle of a meadow-like area and holding onto two cards; Maiden with Eyes of Blue, and one of his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Blue-Eyes... Maiden with Eyes of Blue..." he murmured. "Do you two have...a connection of some sort?"

"Spencer..."

The Maiden with Eyes of Blue card started glowing, much to Spencer's surprise. Before long, a faded image of the silver-haired boy's newest spirit guide appeared with a kind smile.

"Is something troubling you?" she asked.

"I was merely wondering something." said Spencer. "Do you and the Blue-Eyes have a sort of connection?"

Maiden with Eyes of Blue's smile suddenly faded and became a serious look of some sort.

"I... I'm afraid I cannot tell you at this time."

The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because now is not the right time." replied Maiden with Eyes of Blue, closing her eyes. "At this moment, I'm sensing someone powerful approaching."

Spencer narrowed his eyes as soon as he heard that. If it was someone that worked for Gozaburo, he would be ready for it.

"If it's someone who works for my Grandfather-" The silver-haired boy said aloud. "-I'll make that slime pay."

"No." The white-haired female monster shook her head. "It's not someone like that."

"Then who is it?"

Before Maiden with Eyes of Blue could answer, she looked up and gave a gasp.

"Look out!" The monster spirit screamed out.

Spencer jumped out of the way just in time for avoid being hit by a large ball of fire.

"What's going on?!" he thought to himself. "Who is attacking me?!"

Before long, a large fiery dragon crashed into the ground and created a shockwave so strong that it sent Spencer flying back a good distance. A human-like form was shown inside the flames created by the divebomb attack.

"Well now..." said a new voice. "So you have that scent I've been smelling from the other side of this land..."

Wincing from being hit by the shockwave, Spencer slowly started to get back onto his feet.

"What...are you?" The silver-haired boy demanded angrily.

The voice laughed. "Who am I? I'm the Ultimate Dragon Warrior of this land!"

Hearing the remark of that unknown being the 'Ultimate Dragon Warrior' made Spencer snort in disgust.

"Heh! You? The Ultimate Dragon Warrior? Sounds like the title for a video game."

"You dare to mock me?! You will regret saying those words!" snapped the voice.

The figure started to emerge from the fire.

"Identify yourself." demanded Spencer.

"I am the Knight of Dark Dragon."

The figure fully emerged from the fire. Yes... Spencer was gazing at the same Dragon Knight that had faced Thomas and the others not long ago...

* * *

 **Title: Red-Eyes vs. Blue-Eyes, Part 1**

* * *

"Knight of Dark Dragon?" blinked Spencer. "You're one of Percy's cards."

"So you already know that boy?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon.

"He's best friends with my one and only rival - Thomas Billinton. What's it to you?"

"Hmph!" scoffed Knight of Dark Dragon. "You don't look like very much to me."

Spencer didn't look too pleased. "What does that mean?"

"I've searched far and across this land for the smell of that legendary dragon...and I find someone like you. Do you really think you could fool me or something?"

"Oh, you mean THESE legendary dragons?" The silver-haired boy suddenly smirked, holding up his three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards.

Knight of Dark Dragon was shocked. "Impossible... you... you possess three copies of the great dragons of light?"

"If the shoe fits."

Knight of Dark Dragon clenched his fist. He was determined to defeat Spencer and prove his superiority.

"Face me... now!" The Dragon Knight demanded.

"Why should I waste my time with someone like you?" huffed the silver-haired boy. "I have no time to waste with vermin."

He started to leave...when part of the area erupted into flames (a huge ring of fire formed around part of the area), preventing any sort of escape.

"What's going on?" demanded Spencer, turning around in shock. "Let me leave, right now!"

"You're not going anywhere!" insisted Knight of Dark Dragon in a evil tone. "You and I will face each other in combat to see which dragon is superior."

The silver-haired boy cursed under his breath. It looked like this punk wasn't going to let him escape without accepting a duel or anything. Without any other choice, Spencer activated his Duel Disk.

"Fine." he growled. "Happy now?"

Knight of Dark Dragon smiled. "So, you see things my way..."

With that said, he activated his own Duel Disk as both duelists walked over to each other and hand the other their decks.

"Shuffle well." instructed the Dragon Knight.

"Whatever." retorted Spencer.

Once the shuffling had finished, the two duelists handed each other their decks and walked back over to their spots.

"This is it!" announced Spencer. "Our battle of dragons will begin now... Whoever wins will walk away as the true master!"

"And that master will be me!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his five cards. "Now draw your cards and prepare to fall!"

Spencer responded by drawing his own five cards. From there, the battle between the two dragon-type users commenced!

"Alright, take this!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his card. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dragon's Gunfire, Black Metal Dragon, Call of the Haunted, Burst Breath, Red-Eyes Spirit, and Red-Eyes Retro Dragon

* * *

The Dragon Knight's drawn card was a monster card called Red-Eyes Retro Dragon.

"For my first move, I summon my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon in attack mode."

"Red-Eyes what?!" Spencer reeled back in surprise.

"Did you really think that Percy kid was an owner of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon archtype?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Red-Eyes Retro Dragon... come forth!"

A smaller (but still powerful) version of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon with different colored scales materialized with a roar (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600). This was followed by two facedown cards materializing.

"I wouldn't get too comfy with my monster being weaker than whatever you care to pull out." warned the Dragon Knight. "I place these two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"A new Red-Eyes monster." thought Spencer. "All this time, I thought there was only the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and its support cards. What else does this guy have up his sleeve?" Deciding to worry about that question later, he drew his card. "Your excuse for a dragon doesn't frighten me!"

"You will be soon enough." thought Knight of Dark Dragon snidely, waiting for his opponent to begin his (Spencer) turn.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): X-Head Cannon, Cloning, Magic Reflector, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, and White Dragon Ritual

* * *

On cue, the X-Head Cannon monster card materialized face-up.

"I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" announced Spencer.

Out of the card came the duel gun-armed monster (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).

"Blast his Retro Dragon to bits!" commanded Spencer.

Knight of Dark Dragon was ready for the attack. "Not so fast!" he yelled out, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "Go Burst Breath!"

The Dragon Knight's first set card flipped up and revealed itself.

"This Trap card allows me to tribute my dragon and destroy all other monsters on the field with a defense equal to or less than the attack of my dragon!"

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon started to breath a stream of fire all around the field. X-Head Cannon couldn't withstand the attack and shattered into pieces of glass.

"Your X-Head Cannon has been wipe out just like that!"

Spencer growled, but Knight of Dark Dragon wasn't finished yet.

"But I'm not finished with you yet." continued the Dragon Knight, holding his hand out. "Why? Because I now activate my second facedown card!"

His second set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Continuous Trap - Call of the Haunted!"

"Call of the Haunted?!" Spencer exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, Call of the Haunted!" laughed the Dragon Knight, as his graveyard started shining white light from it. "This lets me revive my fallen Red-Eyes Retro Dragon from the graveyard and place it in attack position!"

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon returned to the field. Becoming frustrated, Spencer took another card from his hand and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." he grunted unhappily, just as a facedown card materialized.

"It's my turn!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (4): Dragon's Gunfire, Black Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Spirit, and Red-Eyes Wyvern

* * *

The Dragon Knight added the card to his hand and took another one out.

"I summon Black Metal Dragon in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a small Metallic Dragon (Level: 1/ ATK: 600).

"And while it is weak-" continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "-it has an effect that will make my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon much stronger!"

Spencer was not happy. "And what is it?"

His question was answered when Metal Black Dragon turned into a metallic armor that equipped itself to Red-Eyes Retro Dragon, raising its power (ATK: 1700 - 2300).

"Your monster has become...armor?"

"That's right." confirmed Knight of Dark Dragon. "My Metal Black Dragon can equip itself to any of my Red-Eyes monsters and raise its attack points by 600. And thanks to my Burst Breath card, you're wide open for a direct attack! Red-Eyes Retro Dragon, attack his life points directly!"

"Heh! You'll have to do much better than that!" declared Spencer, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "Go Cloning!"

The silver-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself... just before creating a copy of Red-Eyes Retro Dragon.

"What did you do?!" demanded an angry Knight of Dark Dragon.

"My Cloning Trap card allows me to create an exact copy of your Red-Eyes." explained Spencer. "While it maintains the stats of what your monster originally had, I can summon the copy in either attack or defense mode! ...as such..."

The copy was shown to be in defense mode (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"Red-Eyes Retro Dragon!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon. "Rid the field of that insult now!"

The real Retro Dragon obeyed, firing a blast at the copy, destroying it.

"Your life points have been spared. Better not let your move go to waste!"

"I don't intent to!" retorted Spencer, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): Magic Reflector, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, White Dragon Ritual, and X-Y-Z Recycle

* * *

"Now watch as I activate a Spell card!"

A Spell card called X-Y-Z Recycle flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"X-Y-Z Recycle is a powerful Spell card that forces me to discard two cards from my hand to the graveyard." explained Spencer, discarding two cards from his hand to the graveyard. "In addition, if I have at least one copy of X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank in my graveyard afterward, then I can special summon any of the ' **XYZ** ' fusion monsters from my extra deck while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

"What?!" exclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon.

To prove his point, Spencer allowed three cards to emerge from his graveyard and then proceeded to show them.

"As so..."

The Dragon Knight was shocked. "Then you... you..."

"That's right." grinned Spencer. "I ALLOWED you to take down X-Head Cannon just like that! And using my X-Y-Z Recycle card allowed me to discard the other two parts to setup my combo!"

X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank each appeared on the field.

"And now, my monsters! Combine yourselves into your ultimate form!"

The three machines merged together into their completed form known as XYZ-Dragon Cannon (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600).

"So, what was that about you thinking I'm not all that special?" joked the silver-haired boy.

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled, but said nothing in response.

"Now I activate my Dragon Cannon's special ability!" continued Spencer, discarding another card from his hand (Magic Reflector). "By discarding one card, I can destroy one card on your side of the field!" He then motioned his right hand forth. "Attack with Hyper Destruction!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon fired a blast from its two cannons and blasted Black Metal Dragon into nothingness.

"My dragon!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Because your Black Metal Dragon has been destroyed-" Spencer proclaimed. "-your Red-Eyes Retro Dragon's attack returns to its original state!"

Red-Eys Retro Dragon's attack dropped back down to normal (ATK: 2300 - 1700).

"XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" commanded Spencer. "Attack Red-Eyes Retro Dragon with Cannon Firestorm!"

"Grr...!" growled Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000).

Spencer's monster fired a large, powerful laser blast that struck Red-Eyes Retro Dragon and destroyed it in an instant. Knight of Dark Dragon braced himself as he took large amounts of life point damage (LP: 2900).

"Talk about boredom." yawned Spencer. "Is that really all you've got?"

Knight of Dark Dragon clutched his fist furiously. "Damn you!" he seethed, drawing his card. "This match is only getting started!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2900)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (4): Dragon's Gunfire, Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Wyvern, and Lightning Vortex

* * *

On cue, the Lightning Vortex Spell card materialized face-up.

"I discard Dragon's Gunfire to activate Lightning Vortex! Now all your face-up monsters are destroyed in an instant!"

A large bolt of lighting struck XYZ-Dragon Cannon, destroying it.

"My XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" thought Spencer in worry. "With it in the graveyard, I can no longer special summon it or anything!"

Alas, Knight of Dark Dragon was not done yet! He took another card from his hand and held it out for the silver-haired boy to see.

"With your life points wide open for an attack-" The Dragon Knight pointed out. "-I'll summon Red-Eyes Wyvern to do battle with you!"

Another Red-Eyes monster appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1800).

"Attack my opponent's life points directly!"

Red-Eyes Wyvern obeyed and did a quick loop before breathing a blast of fire at Spencer—who didn't react, flinch, or anything. The silver-haired boy merely closed his eyes and kept a calm, cool look on his face as damage was finally inflicted (LP: 2200). This seemed to surprise Knight of Dark Dragon greatly.

"He didn't even flinch." he thought. "Just what kind of a duelist is he?"

"Are you done yet?" came the voice of Spencer, breaking the Dragon Knight's thought. The silver-haired boy didn't seem very impressed with the attack. "You've hurt me, yes, but I was expecting a whole lot more than that!"

It would seem that the Knight of Dark Dragon had expected more fear and pain from his opponent. His previous opponents outside the Avonside boy were usually cowering before him by this point - even more so with Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field. But this young man was not like those previous opponents... the Dragon Knight was almost impressed by the determination Spencer possessed.

"If you want me to show you a real turn-" continued Spencer, drawing a card. "-I'll be glad to do it now!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (2): White Dragon Ritual and Pot of Greed

* * *

"And what better way to start with this card!"

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"Thanks to Pot of Greed, I draw two more cards." said Spencer, drawing his two cards without a second thought. "And now, I'll activate a Ritual Spell card!"

Knight of Dark Dragon looked serious. "Ritual Spell card?"

"White Dragon Ritual!" Spencer clarified, holding his card out. "With this, I can offer up from my hand the level 4 Vorse Raider in order to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon!"

Vorse Raider briefly materialized before vanishing.

"Come forth - Paladin of White Dragon!"

Appearing in Vorse Raider's place was a green skinned warrior riding a younger version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"So you command a version of my own monster." mumbled Knight of Dark Dragon.

Spencer was puzzled. "Huh?"

"Paladin of White Dragon is used to call forth Blue-Eyes White Dragon the same way Knight of Dark Dragon is used to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"Hmph! I know that." scoffed Spencer. "And you and I both know if we use the effect of either monster now, our respectively summoned dragon would be unable to attack that turn."

Paladin of White Dragon then took to the sky.

"To overcome that setback, I plan to deal some damage to you! Paladin of White Dragon! Attack Red-Eyes Wyvern with Ionic Spear Burst!"

Paladin of White Dragon obeyed and unleashed a cyclone attack from his lance. Red-Eyes Wyvern cried out from the attack before disappearing. Knight of Dark Dragon cast a heated glance at his opponent.

"You...!" he growled (LP: 2800).

"But I'm not done." Spencer continued, taking a card from his deck. "Now I sacrifice my Paladin to special summon from my the deck the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Paladin of White Dragon faded away. In a burst of pure, white light came the almighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon giving off a roar to signal its arrival (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Behold..." laughed Spencer, clenching his fist excitedly. "I have summoned my dragon before you could summon yours."

Knight of Dark Dragon looked angry at first, but then he relaxed and gave a smile instead.

"So you did." The Dragon Knight commented. "I'm almost impressed."

"Impressed?" asked the silver-haired boy. "So you admit that I am superior?"

"No. Because with your dragon now out, I'll be able to crush it into dust!"

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon drew his card. Spencer didn't seem phased by the statement.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (2): Red-Eyes Spirit and Card of Sanctity

* * *

"I activate the Spell Card of Sanctity!" said Knight of Dark Dragon, having slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "This allows the both of us to draw until we each have six cards in our hands."

From there, the two dragon wielders refreshed their hands. With what he had in his new hand, Knight of Dark Dragon knew it was showtime.

"Get ready to experience true power and might!" he declared.

Spencer remained silent, but the Blue-Eyes White Dragon gave a low growl instead. On cue, Knight of Dark Dragon held out a monster card called 'The Black Stone of Legend'.

"Now I summon my Black Stone of Legend!"

"Black Stone of Legend?" blinked Spencer. "That's a really weak monster!"

Appearing to the field was a large, black rock-shaped egg (Level: 1/ATK: 0).

"Attack points don't mean everything to this monster." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon. "Not while its powerful special ability aids me instead."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Spencer, just before giving a gasp of realization.

The large, black rock-shaped egg started to hatch.

"By sacrificing this stone-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "-I can automatically summon a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster from my deck! ...and what better way to get my deck's ace out then by this card?"

The black egg hatched even further.

"Arise... Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

An explosion of fire erupted from the black egg. Soon, a pair of glowing red eyes was shown in the flames.

"Blue-Eyes brings power." said Knight of Dark Dragon, smirking evilly. "But Red-Eyes brings potential! And now you'll see that potential in action!"

The flames died down, and the full body of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon came into view (Level: 7/ATK: 2400). The mighty dragon gave a demonic roar before glaring at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon hatefully.

"Blue-Eyes vs. Red-Eyes..." murmured Spencer. He then gave a confident smile. "It's time to see which dragon is the best."

"Your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" thundered Knight of Dark Dragon. "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Which one will win, and which one will fall?"

"We'll soon see."

Both dragons continued to glare at each other.

(elsewhere...)

Percy noticed that his own Red-Eyes Black Dragon card was glowing.

"Red-Eyes?"

"What's with your card, Percy?" asked Henry curiously.

Currently, Thomas and the group had arrived at a sea shore. While it was tempting to stay and relax for a little bit, they couldn't because it would mean wasting more time to try and reach the capital city...and time was something the gang didn't have.

"I don't really know." said Percy thoughtfully. "It's almost like Red-Eyes senses something big is going on."

"I can only wonder what it is." came from Maiden of the Aqua.

"Me too..."

And everyone agreed to that...while nothing more was said about it. Oh, but if only they really did know what was going on...

(elsewhere)

Back in the ring of fire, Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000) and Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500) both continued to stare each other down with unmatched hatred.

"At the moment-" said Spencer. "-my dragon is the strongest."

"Right." shrugged Knight of Dark Dragon. "Only because your dragon has the greater default attack stat of 3000."

"How observant! That means when my turn comes, your Red-Eyes Black Dragon will be defeated just like that."

Knight of Dark Dragon snorted. "Don't count your life points before they drop. That can soon change."

To prove his point, the Dragon Knight took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"Now I set this card facedown and end my turn."

Spencer watched as a facedown card materialized behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Blue-Eyes..." he thought. "You and I will show him that we're the superior force."

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (7): D.D. Assailant, Charm of Lamentation, D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dragon's Rage, Cost Down, and Command Silencer

* * *

Thanks to Card of Sanctity, the silver-haired boy's hand contained D.D. Assailant, Charm of Lamentation, D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dragon's Rage, Cost Down, and the just added Command Silencer.

"This card will help me buy some time." he thought, taking one of the cards from his hand. "I activate a Continuous Spell card! It's called Charm of Lamentation!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Now my Blue-Eyes's attack becomes even fiercer!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon gave a fierce roar while looking really ticked off. Even then, Knight of Dark Dragon didn't look worried in the slightest.

"And now, Blue-Eyes! Attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon with White Lightning!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon obeyed the command. It charged up its signature attack and fired it off towards Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"My Red-Eyes isn't going anywhere!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, motioning his right hand towards his set card. "Go Negate Attack!"

The facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself as a swirling ring absorbed Blue-Eyes White Dragon's White Lightning attack.

"Negate Attack..." muttered Spencer bitterly. Thankfully, he had a new plan. "I activate Charm of Lamentation's effect! Every time my monsters attack and fail to destroy yours, I can draw a card."

"By all means." nodded Knight of Dark Dragon.

After Spencer drew his card, two facedown cards materialized.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"About time." sighed Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing his card without a second thought. "The length of your turn was beginning to bore me!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Dragon Heart, Spear Dragon, and Dragon Shield

* * *

Upon adding the card to his hand, Knight of Dark Dragon took another card out.

"My Red-Eyes is about to defeat your own dragon..."

Spencer frowned, but didn't say anything back. He then watched as a Spell card called Dragon Heart materialized face-up oon his opponent's side of the field.

"Dragon Heart forces me to send three dragon-type monsters from my deck to the graveyard." explained the Dragon Knight, drawing and discarding three cards. "But in exchange, I can select a dragon-type monster I control and give it a 1000 attack point boost for the remainder of the turn!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon became stronger thanks to this (ATK: 2400 - 3400). Spencer was a bit worried over seeing this play happen.

"And now, Red-Eyes Black Dragon..." commanded Knight of Dark Dragon. "Attack and defeat Blue-Eyes White Dragon here and now with Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed, charging and firing a blast at Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"This is the end of your Blue-Eyes!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "Say farewell to it!"

"I don't think so!" retorted Spencer, motioning his hand forth. "Reveal facedown card!"

The silver-haired boy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Command Silencer!"

A large totem pole came out of the card and let loose a deafening shriek from the speakers surrounding it. Red-Eyes Black Dragon's fire attack soon fizzled out before reaching Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"My attack!" exclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon. "What has happened to it?!"

"Command Silencer negates your attack and allows me to draw an extra card." explained Spencer, drawing a card. "And with your attack now a failure, Dragon Heart's effect has now worn off!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack stat returned to its normal value (ATK: 3400 - 2400). On cue, the Dragon Shield Spell card materialized face-up.

"No matter, my turn is not over yet!" exclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon. "I equip my Dragon Shield card onto Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon then became covered in a protective armor.

"I know about that card..." whispered Spencer.

"Ah, good." smirked the Dragon Knight. "Then you must know about its effect, yes?"

"It protects your dragon from battle or card effects, and none of us take battle damage."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, that's correct! While I cannot take your dragon down-" laughed Knight of Dark Dragon. "-your dragon cannot take down my own!"

Spencer scowled. "Then it looks like we're evenly match." he thought to himself.

"Now do you see that I am the superior one?" The Dragon Knight asked arrogantly. "I'm always prepared to counter any strategy my opponent throws at me!"

"Forgive me if I didn't hear that-" retorted Spencer. "-but so far our life points are in a few bits of difference, and we have saved our dragons from being destroyed at one point apiece."

"Agreed... from what you're telling me, we're evenly matched in both strength, skill, and strategy."

"Even then, only one will emerge victorious in battle!" insisted Spencer.

"You're right." agreed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Only one will remain standing... but that only one will be me!"

Can Spencer win this duel and prove that HE is the better dragon-user? ...or will he be defeated by Knight of Dark Dragon and be labeled as a has-been?

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	37. Red-Eyes vs Blue-Eyes (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the ring of fire, Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2800) and Spencer (LP: 2200) were both glaring at each other. Both were in the middle of their duel, and seemed to be evenly matched at the moment.

"So, you think you can take my dragon down?" asked Spencer dismissively.

Each duelist controlled their respective ace dragons out... Spencer had the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Knight of Dark Dragon had the Red-Eyes Black Dragon...

"I cannot take yours down." retorted Knight of Dark Dragon. "Yet you cannot bring mine down thanks to my Dragon Shield card."

Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500) and Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000) both continued to gaze at each other angrily.

"That can change soon enough. All I need is to do is draw the right card, and your shield is toast!"

The Dragon Knight smirked. "A fair point. For now, it's your turn."

With that said, Spencer nodded and drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (7): D.D. Assailant, D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Cost Down, Different Dimension Dragon, Wish of Final Effort, and A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon

* * *

To the silver-haired boy's surprise, he had drawn a Spell card called A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon.

"Yes!" he thought to himself. "Although this will cost me Blue-Eyes, this could be exactly what I need."

With that, Spencer slid the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and started glowing all white.

"No, not that card!" cried out Knight of Dark Dragon.

"By returning Blue-Eyes to my hand-" explained Spencer, taking his Blue-Eyes White Dragon card off his Duel Disk. "-I can destroy all Spells and Traps on the field!"

The Dragon Knight was shocked. "You're willing to sacrifice your Blue-Eyes just to rid the field of my Dragon Shield?!"

"There comes a time in every duelist's life when they have to do something they don't want to do." retorted Spencer. "Even if it means doing...this! ...go, Blue-Eyes! Surround yourself by flame and strike down all of the Spell and Trap cards on the whole field!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon obeyed and started to transform. Although Spencer looked confident on the outside, on the inside...

"Blue-Eyes..." thought the silver-haired boy grimly. "Forgive me for doing this to you..."

Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a soft growl as the transformation was complete. Its whole body was covered by flames (not unlike The Winged Dragon of Ra's Egyptian God Phoenix form).

"ATTACK!"

The flaming Blue-Eyes White Dragon beat its wings, destroying every Spell and Trap on the field. With Dragon Shield destroyed, Red-Eyes Black Dragon was vulnerable to attacks once more. Knight of Dark Dragon looked pretty angry about it.

"Dammit...!" he thought bitterly. "How could he do this..."

* * *

 **Title: Red-Eyes vs. Blue-Eyes, Part 2**

* * *

With the field pretty much clear, Spencer no longer had Blue-Eyes White Dragon—but that didn't mean his turn was over yet. On cue, the Cost Down Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I activate the Spell card Cost Down." said Spencer, discarding a card from his hand. "By discarding one card to the graveyard, I can downgrade the levels of the monsters in my hand by two."

On cue, Different Dimension Dragon materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 5/DEF: 1500).

"With my monster's level reduced from 5 to 3, I summon Different Dimension Dragon in defense mode!"

"Weaker than Red-Eyes..." Knight of Dark Dragon pointed out. "Why waste your time with something like that? My Red-Eyes will reduce it to nothing very easily."

Spencer ignored the remark and took another card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"I'll place this card facedown and end my turn!"

"It's my turn!" said Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "Watch out!"

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2800)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (5): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Spear Dragon, and A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon

* * *

Upon seeing his card, the Dragon Knight gave a small smile.

"Allow me to take a page from your book." he said quietly, before finally holding the card out. "I activate my own copy of A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped up and revealed itself.

"What?!" cried Spencer.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a roar as flames covered its body.

"ATTACK!"

The dragon obeyed and stormed the field, destroying Spencer's facedown card (Wish of Final Effort). The silver-haired boy cried out as he braced himself from the wind and heat from the attack.

"Now we're again without our dragons..." chuckled Knight of Dark Dragon, taking his Red-Eyes Black Dragon card back.

"This doesn't bother you?" asked Spencer.

"No." answered the Dragon Knight. "Because like you, I have many other ways to summon Red-Eyes... maybe even summon creatures that are even stronger than it."

Spencer frowned, but said nothing. From there, Knight of Dark Dragon took another card from his hand.

"But for now, I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode!"

The all-familiar dragon materialized with a roar (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 0).

"It's your turn." said Knight of Dark Dragon.

Spencer was surprised. "What? You didn't even attack? Your monster could have dealt me some damage thanks to your Spear Dragon's effect."

"I know that," retorted Knight of Dark Dragon. "But that would have been a mistake. After attacking with it, it would have also switched to defense mode, leaving it defenseless against an attack by you."

Spencer frowned again.

"So now, make your next move!"

Scowling, the silver-haired boy drew his card and complied.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (5): D.D. Assailant, D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Luster Dragon #2

* * *

Fortunately, he had drawn a strong monster card (Luster Dragon #2).

"This isn't over yet." Spencer announced, readying his card. "I sacrifice the Different Dimension Dragon in order to summon Luster Dragon #2!"

The colorful dragon faded away in a blue streak, and in its place was the emerald-like dragon (Level: 6/ATK: 2400).

"Destroy his Spear Dragon now!" commanded Spencer.

Luster Dragon #2 obeyed and fired off a powerful flame attack. Spear Dragon cried out before getting completely overwhelmed by the fire.

"Spear Dragon has been defeated!"

"Well done." said Knight of Dragon...politely (LP: 2300). "You're not all that bad."

Spencer grinned. "Funny. That's what I think about you, too. You're almost as much of a challenge to me as Thomas Billinton, my rival."

"Even then, there can be only on winner in this duel."

"Agreed." nodded the silver-haired boy. "And that winner...will be me!"

"Don't be so sure!" countered the Dragon Knight. "Playtime is all over now! ...my turn!"

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon drew his card. Spencer gave a gasp when he felt something in his spine shiver.

"Huh? What's going on?" he thought. "What's this...power I'm feeling."

"Spencer..." echoed a voice.

Suddenly, an image of Maiden with Eyes of Blue appeared. She looked dead serious about what was going on.

"He is about to summon a creature much stronger than Red-Eyes." she warned. "And more powerful than even Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"More powerful than Blue-Eyes?" repeated Spencer. "More...powerful?"

"Yes." nodded Maiden with Eyes of Blue, fading away. "Be very careful."

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2300)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (5): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Polymerization

* * *

The Dragon Knight's hand contained Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and the just added Polymerization.

"It's time, my dragon of the dark..." Knight of Dark Dragon mumbled to himself, taking a card from his hand and holding it up. "Get ready! I activate Polymerization!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"A fusion summon!" thought Spencer. "But what is he gonna fuse?"

Knight of Dark Dragon held up a copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon along with a monster card called Meteor Dragon.

"I will fuse my Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon!" he declared. Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon both appeared before flying into a hole in the sky. "Combine your powers together now!"

The fusion began as Knight of Dark Dragon began a summon chant.

" _ **Dragon with scales pitch as night and eyes with fire of potential, become one with the dragon born from a living meteor and let your power blaze! Fusion Summon! Appear before us - Meteor Black Dragon**_!"

A powerful explosion ensured as a huge, purple and red dragon slowly flew towards the ground.

"One of my ultimate beauties..." whispered Knight of Dark Dragon. "Impressive, is it not?"

Meteor Black Dragon gave a monstrous roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000). Spencer was speechless upon seeing this great beast.

"Meteor...Black Dragon!"

"All your have is a weak Luster Dragon #2." taunted Knight of Dark Dragon. "Once I declare an attack, you'll lose most of your life points!"

Spencer didn't say a word back. Meteor Black Dragon then started charging up an attack.

"Meteor Black Dragon, attack!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

Meteor Black Dragon fired a magma-like fireball. Luster Dragon #2 was hit and a massive explosion ensured.

"Luster Dragon #2 has been defeated!" announced the Dragon Knight.

Spencer growled as he took huge damage (LP: 1100).

"1100 life points." The silver-haired boy thought. "And not a card in my hand that can help me right now."

"I take it you have come to realize that I am truly the better dragon master." laughed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Nothing you have, not even your Blue-Eyes White Dragons, can defeat my Meteor Black Dragon!"

Spencer merely drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (5): D.D. Assailant, D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Polymerization

* * *

On cue, a monster card called D.D. Assailant materialized face-up.

"I summon D.D. Assailant in defense mode." he said simply. "This monster will protect my life points."

A warrior wearing silver armor materialized from the card (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600). Suddenly, Knight of Dark Dragon started laughing loud and long.

"Huh?" blinked Spencer. "What're you laughing at?"

"I know all about your D.D. Assailant." snickered the Dragon Knight. "...mainly of its effect."

"What?!"

"If I destroy your monster in battle, my monster would be banished." pointed out Knight of Dark Dragon. "I'm not stupid, you know."

Spencer cursed to himself, watching as the Dragon Knight drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2300)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (3): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Armed Protector Dragon

* * *

"I'll spare you this turn." continued Knight of Dark Dragon, adding his drawn card to his hand. "Now go!"

Spencer looked to his deck silently... or rather in his personal thoughts...

"I've prevented him from attacking, but it won't last forever. I need those cards!"

The silver-haired boy then drew a card, hoping it would be something that could help.

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 26  
 **Current Hand** (5): D.D. Warrior Lady, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Polymerization, and Neutron Blast

* * *

To his dismay...

"Nothing!" he groaned. Spencer then looked up at his opponent. "I summon D.D. Warrior Lady in defense mode!"

A female warrior appeared to the field in defense mode (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"A monster similar to D.D. Assailant." Knight of Dark Dragon commented. "I'd be a fool to attack it!"

With that said, he drew his next card.

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2300)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Armed Protector Dragon, and Monster Reborn

* * *

"And again, I'll pass this turn."

Spencer looked at his hand. It contained Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Polymerization, and Neutron Blast.

"I need one more Blue-Eyes." he said to himself, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (5): Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Polymerization, Neutron Blast, and Monster Reborn

* * *

Alas...

"Damn! I didn't draw it..." Giving a defeated sigh, Spencer took the card and held it out. "I activate Monster Reborn! Be reborn Different Dimension Dragon!"

The colorful dragon reappeared in defense mode (Level: 5/DEF: 1500).

"You choose to waste that card one a weakling dragon?" mocked Knight of Dark Dragon. "I may look like I was wrong about you all along..."

"It's all I can do now." argued Spencer. "Now take me down... if you can."

Knight of Dark Dragon narrowed his eyes before drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Nineteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2300)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (5): Red-Eyes Spirit, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Armed Protector Dragon, Monster Reborn, and Lightning Vortex

* * *

"Well now... look what I have here..."

He held out his newly drawn card, causing to exclaim in shock.

"The Spell card Lightning Vortex!"

The sky started darkening with clouds.

"Now by sending one card from my hand to the graveyard-" explained the Dragon Knight, discarding a card (Armed Protector Dragon) to his graveyard. "-I can destroy every monster on your side of the field!"

Several large bolts of lighting struck Spencer's side of the field, causing explosion after explosion. D.D. Assailant and D.D. Warrior Lady were both the first to shatter into pieces. Different Dimension Dragon was the last monster to fall from the Spell card.

"Your field is completely empty now!" laughed Knight of Dark Dragon. Soon his look of triumph melted into a look of confusion. "Huh?"

When the dust cleared, Different Dimension Dragon...suddenly was brought back. Just as it got destroyed, it suddenly revived itself!

"Your Different Dimension Dragon! It came back?!"

Spencer snickered quietly before erupting into loud laughter of his own.

"Why is your dragon suddenly alive?!" demanded an angry Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Your Lightning Vortex had no effect on my Different Dimension Dragon." teased Spencer. "It cannot be destroyed by Spell or Trap cards that don't target it."

Swearing loudly in anger, Knight of Dark Dragon pointed forth towards Different Dimension Dragon.

"Whatever! My Meteor Black Dragon can still wipe your rainbow dragon out! Attack Different Dimension Dragon now!"

Meteor Black Dragon obeyed, firing a magma blast. This time, nothing was to stop Different Dimension Dragon from falling.

"Your dragon has been defeated!" bellowed the Dragon Knight, taking a card from his hand and holding it out. "I now use Monster Reborn and revive Armed Protector Dragon in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a dark blue dragon with a red tail (Level: 8/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2800).

"That ends my turn!" finished Knight of Dark Dragon. "If I were you, I'd surrender. You face Meteor Black Dragon and a powerful defensive blocker in my Armed Protector Dragon. Even if you do manage to summon Blue-Eyes again and take down my defense mode monster, my Meteor Black Dragon will just wipe it out there and then!"

"Forget it." argued Spencer. "I have faith in my Blue-Eyes, and it will NEVER be defeated by the likes of your Meteor Black Dragon!"

While he didn't show it on the outside, deep on the inside Knight of Dark Dragon was very impressed by the silver-haired boy's words.

"Well, maybe there is hope for you yet..." The Dragon Knight thought only to himself.

"It's my turn!" shouted Spencer.

He reached for his deck and drew, slashing a wave of color in the process. It was a sign that the silver-haired boy had just performed a Destiny Draw.

(elsewhere...)

A familiar foot had stepped into some snow.

"Brrr... it's so cold here!" said the voice of Emily to herself.

Emily had left the desert and was now trundling her way through a snowstorm. In addition, she was now wearing a long brown robe with a hood over her head.

"The weather here makes no sense at all!"

Even then, there was no sense in turning back - Emily had to continue on and find Thomas before it was too late.

"Don't worry, Thomas..." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "I'm going to...save you!"

Unknowingly, Emily was being watched. By whom? Some ice-type monsters of some sort. What are their intentions with her? Who knows...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the ring of fire, Spencer was looking at the card he had just drawn.

* * *

 **Turn Twenty** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 24  
 **Current Hand** (5): Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Polymerization, Neutron Blast, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon

* * *

The silver-haired boy's drawn card was a third copy of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Blue-Eyes..." he murmured. "You have answered my prayer." With that thought on hand, Spencer added the drawn card to his hand and took another card out and slotted it into a Spell/Trap Slot on his Duel Disk. "So, you think you have monsters stronger than Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

The Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up.

"What?!" gasped Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Prepare to face the force of all three of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons as one!" thundered Spencer dramatically. "I activate my own copy of Polymerization and fuse the three dragons together!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons briefly appeared before soaring into the sky and fusing together. Spencer then began a summon chant of his own.

" _ **Legendary dragons with Eyes of Blue, become one and unleash your true power on those who stand in your way! Fusion Summon! Arise at once - Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon**_!"

Flying gracefully down from the sky was the supreme, three-headed form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 12/ATK: 4500/DEF: 3800). Knight of Dark Dragon couldn't believe that there was a fusion form for the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon..."

Spencer laughed triumphantly. "I win this turn!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon angrily. "Even after your dragon attacks, I'll have another change to make a comeback!"

"There IS no next turn for you!"

Knight of Dark Dragon growled, but said nothing. That fool was bluffing... wasn't he? Sensing that his opponent didn't believe him, Spencer just decided to show him.

"I activate my final card!" announced the silver-haired boy, slotting the card into his Duel Disk before it flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Neutron Blast!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon started charging a three-way blast attack.

"Neutron Blast!?" gasped Knight of Dark Dragon. "Isn't that your monster's own attack?"

"That's right." confirmed Spencer. "It powers my monster's attack to allow it to make additional attacks this turn!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon fired a mighty blast and destroyed Meteor Black Dragon first. Knight of Dark Dragon stared with an opened mouth from shock (LP: 1300).

"My Meteor Black Dragon..."

"But I'm not through with you yet!" continued Spencer. "Armed Protector Dragon will be the next to face the wrath of my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

A second blast shattered Armed Protector Dragon to pieces.

"With no more monsters to guard your life points-" Spencer pointed out. "This last attack will be...a direct attack!"

Knight of Dark Dragon couldn't believe it at all! Was he, the ' **Ultimate Dragon Warrior** ', about to lose for the first time in his life?

"I'm...going to lose?" The Dragon Knight whispered. "Me?"

It looked like he was, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere)

Somewhere with Thomas and the others... while moving along, Percy was busy gazing at his Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card. After an earlier time where he was feeling that something was going on, he couldn't help but feel worried.

"What's the matter, Red-Eyes?" asked Percy. "What are you trying to tell me?"

But the card didn't seem to say or do anything.

"I wonder what's wrong." questioned Thomas thoughtfully.

"Beats the heck out of me." replied James. "I don't even know if we should be worried or not."

"Well, whatever it is-" said Edward. "-we should be careful."

"Edward is correct." agreed Maiden of the Aqua. "Good or bad, we can't let it worry us."

But Percy still wished he knew what was going on. It looked like it would be a while before he learned of what was going on right now...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the ring of fire...

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" began Spencer. "Unleash your final attack on my opponent! End this duel!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon obeyed and started charging another three-way blast from its mouths.

" **NEUTRON BLAST**!"

The blast was finally fired at Knight of Dark Dragon, overwhelming and causing him to scream as the last of his life points finally dropped all the way to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Spencer Gresley wins!**

* * *

With his body smoking from the attack, Knight of Dark Dragon collapsed to his knees in complete disbelief. In addition, with the duel won for Spencer, the ring of fire started to die down slowly but surely.

"This can't be possible!" Knight of Dark Dragon gasped in shock. "I never lose!"

The Dragon Knight then looked up and saw Spencer glaring at him with arms folded and a sneering look on his face.

"You have lost." he said in a cold tone. "I told you I am the true dragon master. You claim to be the master of all dragons - yet you never even knew anything about the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled, yet remained silent.

"You still have a lot to learn about being a dragon master." continued the silver-haired boy. "That includes learning that there are still many other dragons out there. I'm continuing to learn newer things every day."

Suddenly, he offered his right hand out towards Knight of Dark Dragon, much to his surprise. A smile appeared on Spencer's face around here.

"However, you also have taught me a little something today, too."

"And what's that?" asked the surprised Knight of Dark Dragon. "What could I have possibly taught you? Tell me!"

"You have taught me never to take my opponents too lightly." explained Spencer, not losing is smile. "You gave me one of the toughest Duel Monsters matches ever since I last faced my one and only rival."

Finally, Knight of Dark Dragon gave a smile of his own, stood back up, and accepted the handshake.

"You're welcome, Spencer Gresley."

From there, Spencer then started to leave when...

"Hold on there!" called the voice of Knight of Dark Dragon.

Spencer, sighing heavily, turned around. To his surprise, the Dragon Knight was holding up a card.

"A parting gift." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon. "Take this card."

He tossed the card over to Spencer, who looked at it...and gave a great gasp.

"B-Blue-Eyes?!"

The card was a fusion monster called ' _Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon_ '.

"What is this supposed to be?" demanded the silver-haired boy.

"Another addition to your power." explained Knight of Dark Dragon.

Spencer blinked. "How did you ever come across something like this?"

"Long ago." The Dragon Knight answered. "Shortly after I had finished my daily training atop one of the volcanoes of this world. As I scaled down the mountain, I came across this card. I don't know why, but I took and held onto it."

Spencer kept his look of shock, but still remained absolutely silent. This allowed Knight of Dark Dragon to speak on.

"As I have no access to any ' _Blue-Eyes_ ' monster cards of my own, I don't have any kind of use for it. But now that we've dueled, and you've defeated me, I think this card belongs with you."

With that said, Spencer gratefully accepted the card. Yes, I think those two opponents might have become friends due to similar interests... who knew? Anyway, Emily was continuing her journey and was currently stuck in a blizzard of a sort. Will she make out okay? Stay tuned!


	38. Heart of Ice

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in a fierce blizzard somewhere in a north pole-like area, poor Emily was still trying to make her way through. Unfortunately, since it was so white out right now, her vision wasn't exactly very sharp.

"Ugh! I... can't see... in this... blizzard!" The dark green-haired girl cried out.

Emily knew that she needed to find a place to stay and wait out the blizzard soon enough. Otherwise, it would be game over for her.

"But where? Where could I even stay? There are no villages or cabins in this area. And if I don't find a place to rest, I'll freeze to death."

Once again, unknowing to Emily, she was being watched by a number of ice-type monsters from behind some snowdrifts. Were they friend or foe? That was unknown.

"She looks cold." said a penguin-like monster.

"Not as ' _cold_ ' as our queen." joked a snowman-like monster. "Get it? Cold? Like the temperature?"

"That's not funny." scolded the penguin. "That poor girl could die out here if she stays in this blizzard for much longer."

"Then come on. We'd better go and help her."

Back over with Emily, she was still trying to make her way through the harsh blizzard, but it was taking a serious toll on her.

"HELLO?!" The dark green-haired girl called out, before coughing. "IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"

Her cry echoed all around, but no one seemed to answer. Emily started to feel very tired and sick.

"Oh it's hopeless." she sighed to herself. "I'm going to die out here alone."

Even then, Emily couldn't give up. Unfortunately, it soon happened - her eyes started to drop as she felt herself losing conscious.

"No... not...now..."

But Emily collapsed to the snowy ground, anyway. Soon enough, she was surrounded by a bunch of monsters. What were they going to do with her? That...I cannot tell you. ...not yet, anyway.

* * *

 **Title: Heart of Ice**

* * *

Outside a huge ice castle, some prissy laughter was heard coming from inside.

"Oh ho ho! It feels so wonderful to be queen." chortled the voice.

(elsewhere...)

Inside her bed chambers, a Duel Monster known as ' **Ice Queen** ' was gazing into a mirror and seeing her own reflection.

"I bet there are countless men out there who would die just to get a glimpse at my beauty." she said vainly, playfully wiggling her hips.

Just then, a knock on the door came (much to Ice Queen's annoyance).

"Ugh! Just when it was getting good... Enter!"

The door opened and the same ice monsters from earlier came in.

"What do you two want?" Ice Queen asked in a snooty tone. "You know I hate to be interrupted when I 'need' my alone time."

"We found a human girl out in the snow." reported the penguin. "She looked frozen like an ice cube."

"Do I look like I even care?"

"C-Could you let us finish?" stuttered the snowman. "We d-didn't want to let the girl die in a blizzard, so we brought her back here to rest up."

"WHAT?!" screamed Ice Queen. "YOU BROUGHT A GIRL TO THIS CASTLE?!"

The two monsters cringed in fear. They were in for it now.

"You two, as well as the castle staff, know FULL well that another girl, especially if she is as pretty as me, is NEVER to be brought to this castle!"

"B-But, your Majesty, why not?" asked the penguin.

"Because I said so, that's why!" snapped Ice Queen.

"We didn't want to leave her out there to die." protested the snowman. "It would have been mean."

Ice Queen cast a furious glare at the poor, frightened snowman. "Mean? What are you even saying? Wait! Am I...not good enough for all of you?"

"N-No, no, no!" quivered the penguin. "It's nothing like that, your Majesty. We just didn't think it right that someone should freeze to death all alone. We were only trying to be nice."

"Get out!" ordered Ice Queen. "When that girl is awake, tell her that I request to see her."

The two terrified monsters raced quickly away. When she was alone again, Ice Queen turned to look back into the mirror.

"Such incompetent servants." she sighed irritably. The cold-hearted queen then gave a horrified gasp. "M-My face!"

Her outburst of anger towards the penguin and snowman had caused her makeup to smug. With an angry/vainish scream, Ice Queen picked up and hurled a large block of ice at the mirror, shattering it into pieces of glass.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a guest quarters, Emily was asleep in a warm bed. A knock on the door was heard, but the unconscious teenage girl didn't awaken. The door opened and the same penguin and snowman walked into the room.

"Excuse me, miss?" asked the penguin.

Emily still didn't wake up. Curiously, the snowman and penguin both approached the bed to get a good look at the dark green-haired girl.

"Is she as pretty as our queen says?" whispered the snowman.

"Only one way to find out." answered the penguin.

They crept closer and closer until they were a few inches away from Emily's face. The snowman even removed the covers off the girl's body.

"Oh, wow..." breathed the two monsters, blushing slightly.

They saw that Emily was indeed very pretty...maybe even moreso than Ice Queen.

"Our queen is right." whispered the snowman to his friend. "This girl is more lovely looking than her."

Suddenly, Emily stirred in her sleep.

"Oh-oh!" gasped the penguin. "She's waking up."

Emily soon slowly opened her eyes.

"Ugh... where am I?"

She looked around at her new surroundings until she noticed the two ice monsters.

"WAH!" Emily yelped, feeling afraid.

"Hello." greeted the penguin cheerfully. "Nice of you to finally wake-up."

"Wh-who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" smiled the snowman. "We're a snowman and penguin. You're currently in the kingdom of the Ice Queen."

Emily blinked. "Ice Queen?"

"Yes." said the penguin. "The ruler of this domain."

Emily merely blinked and remained silent. Just then...

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" shrieked a voice. "STOP STARING AT HER THIS INSTANT!"

The two monsters quivered in frigt. They knew that voice very well.

"Who was that?" asked Emily, speaking at last.

"Ahem! Behold the ruler of the frozen domain!" announced the snowman.

"The Ice Queen!" finished the penguin.

The Ice Queen entered the room. She didn't look very happy with her announced arrival.

"That's the great and most beautiful ruler of all!" The cold-hearted queen pointed out. She then looked at Emily. "So, you're the girl I was told about..."

Ice Queen gave Emily a quick look over. This girl had a rather slender-looking body, gorgeous curves, a very pretty-looking face, soft and delicate skin, and had long, dark green (almost emerald) colored hair. Ice Queen didn't look very impressed, while Emily felt rather uncomfortable with the atmosphere.

"Um... why are you looking at my body like that?" asked Emily uneasily.

Ice Queen gave a laugh. "I've been hearing that you're as beautiful as I am. Huh! I honestly don't see it."

Emily felt insulted. "I wasn't trying to be prettier than you! I was lost in a blizzard and I could have died if I didn't find shelter. When I passed out, I woke up here!"

"My servants found you." said Ice Queen. "And now that you're awake, I want you gone from my kingdom!"

"You mean you want me back out in that blizzard?" asked Emily in shock. "I could freeze to death!"

Ice Queen walked up to the dark green-haired girl and looked straight into her eye.

"Do I look like I care?" she demanded. "Any woman who is about as pretty as I am is considered a great threat to me. If I have to throw you back out into a raging blizzard just to be rid of you, then so be it!"

"It wouldn't kill you to be kind to others!" snapped Emily.

Quickly, the girl was slapped across the face by the vain, cold-hearted queen.

"I'm a queen! I can do anything I want!" insisted Ice Queen.

Suddenly, Emily slapped Ice Queen right back, much to the horror of the snowman and penguin.

"You're not one to tell me what to do!" retorted the dark green-haired girl in a very aggressive tone.

"Did she just hit our queen?" whispered the penguin.

"No one brave enough has ever done that before!" agreed the snowman.

Ice Queen was seething that her beauty was tarnished by this lowlife girl.

"How dare you strike me!" she snarled.

"Well, how dare you abuse your title just to bully others!" argued Emily. "Rulers are supposed to be benevolent and care for the well-being of their subjects! You're nothing like that at all!"

"You little brat!"

Ice Queen raised her fist to try and slug Emily across the face once more...but then stopped and gave a small smile.

"Actually-" The vain queen began. "-I've got a better idea."

"Huh?" blinked Emily.

With a wave of her staff, a Duel Disk appeared on Ice Queen's arm like magic.

"You know of the game of Duel Monsters, yes?"

"Yes, I do." nodded Emily, showing off her own Duel Disk.

"Then why don't we settle this in a duel? If you think you can defeat me, then prove it!"

Feeling fired up over the cold and vain nature of this ruler, Emily jumped off the bed and got into a dueling position.

"Bring it on!" she dared.

Suddenly, Ice Queen turned to leave. "This room is far too small though."

"Can we suggest using the throne room for the match?" suggested the penguin.

"A fitting idea." chortled Ice Queen. She then looked to Emily. "Follow us."

Emily reluctantly did so.

(elsewhere...)

Within the throne room of the castle, many of the servents (ranging from penguins and snowmen to yetis) were getting ready to watch the duel between Emily and Ice Queen.

"Are you ready to lose?" asked the Ice Queen (LP: 4000).

Emily drew her hand (LP: 4000). "Only if you're the one who is ready to lose!"

"Then let us begin!"

The entire crowd of ice-type monsters began to cheer, much to Ice Queen's happiness and such.

"Do you hear that?" she teased. "They love me! Not you, but me! And now you'll see just what my ice babies can do!"

She drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Ice Queen (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and ?

* * *

Ice Queen gave a giggle. "And this should be a good start."

A monster card called Snow Fairy materialized face-up.

"I summon Snow Fairy in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a fairy made entirely of snow and ice (Level: 4/ATK: 1100).

"Snow Fairy..." mumbled Emily, but loud enough to be heard.

"I take it you've heard of this monster?" asked Ice Queen. "So long as she's on the field, you can't activate Spells from your hand or during the turn they're set."

"Nuts!"

Chuckling, Ice Queen took another card from her hand and slotted it into her Duel Disk.

"And to finish my turn-" she continued. "-I'll set this card facedown."

"Then it's my turn!" said Emily, drawing.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Soul of Purity and Light, Waboku, Burial from a Different Dimension, Shining Angel, Angelic Gift and Happy Lover

* * *

The dark green-haired girl's hand contained Soul of Purity and Light, Waboku, Burial from a Different Dimension, Shining Angel, Angelic Gift and the just added Happy Lover.

"Since I cannot activate Spell cards right away, Burial from a Different Dimension is of no use to me." Emily thought to herself, taking a card from her hand. "I summon Happy Lover in defense mode!"

A small, cute fairy with pink wings materialized (Level: 2/DEF: 500). Ice Queen began to laugh like a high school mean girl.

"Do you really think that little pipsqueak can scare me?" she asked. "It looks absolutely pathetic to me!"

Emily ignored the comment and took another card from her hand.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized behind Happy Lover.

"And here I was expecting more than that." taunted Ice Queen, drawing a card. "Let me show you how it's done!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Ice Queen (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, and White Night Fort

* * *

Her drawn card was a Spell card called White Night Fort.

"If you thought the blizzard was bad, well...you're wrong."

Emily raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. Just then, White Night Fort materialized face-up.

"Continuous Spell - White Night Fort!" announced Ice Queen. "Thanks to this card, no player can activate Trap cards during their opponent's turn."

"What?!" exclaimed Emily in alarm. That meant her set Waboku card was useless.

"And I'm not finished yet." continued the vain queen, taking another card from her hand. "I also summon Illusion Ice Sculpture in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a huge statue of ice (Level: 1/ATK: 0).

"Now I know it looks pathetically weak, but it has an effect."

Some of the penguins, snowmen, and yetis looked to each other like they knew what their queen meant by that. Suddenly, the Ice Sculpture began to change form until it was a duplicate of Snow Fairy.

"Your monster turned into a copy of Snow Fairy!" gasped Emily.

"Right." confirmed Ice Queen. "My Illusion Ice Sculpture's attack and defense becomes equal to my Snow Fairy's attack and defense points! In addition, my Illusion Ice Sculpture is the only monster you can attack!"

"Darn it!" said Emily to herself. "And I still can't use Spell cards without at least setting them!"

And now was Ice Queen's battle phase...

"And now... feel the piercing chill!" The vain queen bellowed. "Snow Fairy, attack and destroy that Happy Lover!"

Snow Fairy obeyed, firing a spell of snow towards Happy Lover.

"And because it's my turn you cannot activate your set card!"

Happy Lover cried out before shattering into pieces of glass.

"Happy Lover!" called Emily. She then gave a low growl.

"My battle phase is not over yet!" continued Ice Queen. "Illusion Ice Sculpture still has yet to attack!" She then pointed forth. "DIRECT ATTACK!"

Illusion Ice Sculpture shot a bolt of ice at Emily, striking her in the chest (LP: 2900).

"That hurt!" she mumbled in pain.

"Now I shall freeze you!" announced Ice Queen in a sadistic tone, raising her staff up.

Emily didn't know what to make of this. "What's she up to?"

Bad idea... suddenly, it was like Emily was back out in the blizzard. The whole throne room had suddenly turned to outside in the cold blizzard.

"You're in my domain now!" laughed Ice Queen. "You and I will settle this in the cold!"

Poor Emily was beginning to shiver.

"So...cold..."

Even then, she would not give up that easily. Emily drew her card, while Ice Queen gave an annoyed sigh.

"Still want to go at it, do you?" she grumbled. "Whatever! Just show me what you've got!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2900)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (6): Soul of Purity and Light, Burial from a Different Dimension, Shining Angel, Angelic Gift and Swing of Memories

* * *

Emily gasped upon seeing her drawn Swing of Memories card. She remembered it very well.

"Thomas's gift..." she murmured.

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas, meanwhile, was blushing almost crimson red as he nervously stood up and approached the dark green-haired girl with something behind his back.

"Um... Emily?"

Emily looked to the blue-haired boy. "Yes, Thomas?"

Thomas was shuffling his feet a bit bashfully as he struggled to find the right words.

"I, err, got this for you." he finally said, taking a small box from behind his back.

Curiously, Emily took hold of the box, unwrapped it, opened it up, and gasped.

"Oh, Thomas..."

Inside the box were two things; a Spell card called Swing of Memories, and a heart-shaped locket.

"Happy Birthday, Emily." said Thomas.

Emily curiously held the card up. "What is this card, Thomas?"

"It's called Swing of Memories." explained Thomas. "I found two of them in a booster pack, and I thought you would like one of them."

Emily gave another curious look.. Thomas immediately cleared his throat and decided to explain something about that card Not its effect... but something about it.

"This card represents the precious memories we share together." he explained. "From we first met, and especially after you were saved from yourself."

Emily closed her eyes for a moment to remember those good times. Soon, she opened them and looked to the blue-haired boy.

"I...remember..." Emily muttered, recalling those good times.

Thomas smiled. "I've never forgotten those special times...and I bet you haven't either."

Emily smiled as she embraced Thomas in a hug.

"It's wonderful, Thomas." she said happily. "Thank you so much."

Thomas remained silent as he blushed harder than ever before.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily was still looking at the card.

"Thomas..."

With renewed determination, Emily ignored the piercing blizzard and slotted the drawn card into her Duel Disk.

"I set a card facedown!" she announced, before taking another card from her hand. "And I summon Shining Angel in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was an angel with blonde hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1400)

"Attack Illusion Ice Sculpture now!"

Shining Angel obeyed, firing a ray of light at the Doppelganger, destroying it, causing Ice Queen to grunt (LP: 3700).

"My turn is over!" finished Emily, and in her thoughts... "If I draw Wingweaver next turn, I'll activate my set Swing of Memories to bring Happy Lover back. From there, I can tribute both monsters to summon Wingweaver!"

"It's my turn!" announced Ice Queen, drawing a card. "And first I'll deal with your set card!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Ice Queen (LP: 3700)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, ?, ?, and ?

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Icicle Sacrifice materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Icicle Sacrifice!" Ice Queen said. "Using this card, I can select one of my monster zones and special summon an Icicle Token! In addition, my monster zone cannot be used at all!"

An Icicle Token materialized (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"That's not all! It counts as two tributes for a tribute summon!"

"Two tributes!" thought Emily, sweating a bit despite freezing from the blizzard.

"Do you know what that means?. It means I can summon a higher level monster far more quickly than normal!" declared Ice Queen, before readying a new card. "Now watch as I sacrifice my token in order to summon another ice-like queen!"

Icicle Token faded into a blue streak as the storm grew worse and worse.

"Meet White Night Queen!" announced the vain and cold-hearted queen, slamming her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field was a woman with blue hair, and a body made entirely of ice (Level: 7/ATK: 2100/DEF: 800).

"Thanks to my monster's effect-" tittered Ice Queen. "-your recently set card is about to bite the dust!"

"No!" thought Emily. "The card I just set was...!"

The selected card rose to reveal Swing of Memories. It then shattered into pieces of glass.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Ice Queen. "So much for THAT worthless card!" She kept her smile. "And now for the battle phase... White Night Queen, attack Shining Angel now!"

White night Queen obeyed, sending a wave of ice towards Shining Angel, freezing him and destroying him. Emily shivered from the cold as she took damage (LP: 2200).

"I play Shining Angel's special ability!" she said weakly, taking a card from her deck. "When he's destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a light attribute monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck in his place. And I choose my Fairy Archer!"

A light attribute archer materialized in a battle position (Level: 3/ATK: 1400).

"Like that makes any difference!" shrugged Ice Queen, as she gave a rather prissy laugh. "Your pathetic Swing of Memories card has been wiped out! Never to be used again!"

Emily sank to her knees. Not entirely from the cold mind you, but also from the feeling of shame for not being able to use Swing of Memories.

"I'm sorry, Thomas..." she mumbled, shivering still while close to bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry..."

"You might as well stay down!" continued Ice Queen. "Someone as ugly as you can never defeat someone as beautiful as me!"

Emily clutched her fist in anger. Her feelings of pain, shame, and sadness was fading away while being replaced by those of fury.

"How dare you...?" The dark green-haired girl whispered.

Ice Queen stopped her laughter and insulting when she heard that dark tone.

"Eh...?"

Slowly, Emily raised her head up, her eyes now turned red.

"How are you considered beautiful when you're nothing but a cruel, selfish hag?" The dark green-haired girl spat hatefully. "You're nothing but a vain, cruel, self absorbed witch who doesn't care for anyone but herself!"

"HAG?!" cried Ice Queen in outrage. "Why, you little bi-"

"SHUT UP!"

The scream actually caused the vain queen to fall silent.

"True beauty lies on the inside." Emily went on, still seething with anger. "That's something that you will never understand. That card you destroyed was a present given to me by a very dear friend, and I am going to make you pay for destroying it as well as bullying your subjects!"

With that said, the dark green-haired girl drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Emily Sterling (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (4): Soul of Purity and Light, Burial from a Different Dimension, Angelic Gift, and Fairy's Gift

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Fairy's Gift materialized face-up.

"I summon my Fairy's Gift in defense mode!"

A butterfly-like fairy materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000). On cue, fairy Archer also switched into a defensive stance (DEF: 600).

"Now I switch Fair Archer into defense mode!" continued Emily, before readying yet another card. "Then I banish Happy Lover and Shining Angel both from my graveyard!"

The two monsters appeared briefly before vanishing. Emily then slammed her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Now I special summon Soul of Purity and Light in attack mode!"

Appearing was a white spirit angel with blonde hair (Level: 6/ATK: 2000).

"And while I knew it's not as strong as your White Night Queen-" Emily pointed out. "Its effect drains 300 of your monster's attack points whenever you enter your battle phase!"

"What?!" exclaimed Ice Queen in shock.

"And that's not all... I activate my Fairy Archer's effect! For every light attribute monster I control, you take 400 points of damage!"

All three fairy-type monsters began to glow as three arrows manifested into Fairy Archer's Bow.

"400 points per monster?!" gasped Ice Queen. "That can't be right!"

"I'm afraid it is!" confirmed Emily hotly. "Now fire!"

Fairy Archer obeyed and fired the arrows. Ice Queen cried out as the arrows struck her in parts of her body. 400 x 3 = 1200 life points lost (LP: 2500). And finally, Emily entered her battle phase.

"Soul of Purity and Light!" she called. "Destroy her Snow Fairy now!"

"Not Snow Fairy!" thought Ice Queen to herself angrily. "If she goes, then that girl can play Spell cards again normally!"

Soul of Purity and Light immediately charged a ball of light, and fired at Snow Fairy, striking and shattering her into pieces of glass.

"Why you...!" growled Ice Queen (LP: 1600).

"And I'm not finished still!" continued Emily, taking another card from her hand and slotting it into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "Next I activate the Spell card Burial from a Different Dimension!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. Two monster cards reappeared within Emily's graveyard.

"This lets me return up to three banished monsters to my graveyard. I've removed my Happy Lover and Shining Angel to summon Soul of Purity and Light earlier, and so they both returned to the graveyard."

Continuing still, the Angelic Gift Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I activate another Spell card! It's called Angelic Gift!" Emily spoke on, with two fingers placed near the Spell/Trap slot she inserted her card into. "By banishing as many fairy-type monsters from my graveyard, I draw two extra cards."

Shining Angel and Happy Lover both flew out of the dark green-haired girl's graveyard once more. Emily then drew four cards.

"Thanks to banishing Shining Angel and Happy Lover, I draw four cards!"

"Tch!" scowled Ice Queen. "What a show-off! Are you finished yet?"

Unfortunately for the vain queen, Emily was not quite finished yet.

"Not so." retorted the dark green-haired girl, slotting another card into her Duel Disk. "I finally activate Emergency Provisions!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. The set Waboku flipped up and faded into a blue streak, causing Emily to smile slightly as she recovered 1000 life points (LP: 3200).

"By sending my facedown card to the graveyard, I was able to gain 1000 life points."

This made Ice Queen very cross.

"How dare you gain the advantage!" she growled. "The great and beautiful me will not allow you to win!"

With that said, Ice Queen drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Ice Queen (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (3): Stray Lambs, Cold Sleeper, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"First I'll play my set Trap card Call of the Haunted! Using it, I'll revive my Snow Fairy in attack mode!"

Snow Fairy reappeared. From there, Ice Queen placed another card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Then I'll summon Cold Sleeper in attack mode!" The vain, cold-hearted queen announced.

Appearing to the field was a cryogenic freezing chamber on robotic legs (Level: 4/ATK: 1100).

"Planning to freeze someone inside that thing for about a thousand years?" joked Emily, despite shivering still. "If you're thinking of doing it to me, I'm not interested."

Ice Queen ignored the quip and just held out yet another card.

"Then I'll activate Card of Sanctity! Thanks to this, you and I must draw until we hold six cards in our hands!"

The two duelists drew form their decks until they each held six cards.  
-Emily drew three cards  
-Ice Queen drew five cards

"Well now... get a load of this little number..." snickered Ice Queen, and prepared to show what one of her cards was.

Emily kept a calm, yet still angered, look on her face...just before gasping at what she saw was a powerful card.

"Hammer Shot?!"

"So you know of it..." laughed Ice Queen, holding her card up. "This destroys one monster on your side of the field that is in attack mode and has the highest amount of attack points!"

A giant hammer appeared from the sky and slammed down on Soul of Purity and Light, destroying her.

"Like your Soul of Purity and Light..."

Emily, for a rare (and I mean it by rare) moment, cursed aloud in frustration.

"And there's more to come." said Ice Queen, still smiling. "I will now strike down both of your weak monsters with Cold Sleeper and Snow Fairy! ...and then attack you with my White Night Queen..."

Cold Sleeper struck down Fairy's Gift, while Snow Fairy destroyed Fairy Archer.

"And now, my White Night Queen, attack that girl directly!"

White Night Queen sent a blast of cold air at Emily, making her shiver even more so.

"So c-c-c-c-cold..." she whimpered (LP: 1100).

Alas, Ice Queen wasn't through yet and slotted two cards into her Duel Disk, along with holding up a copy of Emergency Provisions.

"I'll then set two cards-" The vain queen continued. "-and play my own, better copy of Emergency Provisions!"

Another Emergency Provision Spell card appeared beside the two facedown cards before they all vanished, causing Ice Queen to regain 2000 life points (LP: 3600).

"By getting rid of my two set cards, I gain 2000 life points!"

By this point, Emily was feeling so cold and faint that she yet again collapsed to her knees.

"That's right..." taunted Ice Queen cruelly. "Just lie there and accept your fate!"

Emily felt defeated, but a familiar sound was heard...

"Kuribi!"

"Kuribon?" blinked Emily, noticing a faded image of her friend. "W-What are you doing here?"

The female Kuriboh shook her head and said a few words in the Kuriboh language, which Emily understood.

"Oh, so you're from the card in my hand? I get it now!"

"Whatever are you talking to?!" demanded Ice Queen. "Will you just make your move or something?"

Emily realized that Ice Queen could not see the faded image of Kuribon for some reason, but decided to not dwell on it. Instead, she (Emily) stood back and drew her card.

"My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Emily Sterling (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (7): Kuribon, Cestus of Dagla, Monster Reborn, Swords of Revealing Light, Fairy Queen Autumn, Fairy's Defender and Wingweaver Priestess(!)

* * *

The dark green-haird girl's drawn card was a monster card called Wingweaver Priestess. It was something she never saw before at all (like Heavenly Light - Type B).

"W-What is this card?" Emily thought to herself, looking surprised. "Wingweaver Priestess?"

Her hand contained Kuribon, Cestus of Dagla, Monster Reborn, Swords of Revealing Light, Fairy Queen Autumn, Fairy's Defender and the added Wingweaver Priestess.

"How did I...?"

"Kuribi!" peeped the image of Kuribon.

"Kuribon..." Emily said in confusion. "Did you-?"

Kuribon nodded cheerfully, and began to explain what it was and what its strengths were. Once the explanation was finished, Emily gave a smile.

"I get it, you want me to play it, right?"

Kuribon nodded. Ice Queen grew impatient from her opponent's delayed turn.

"Hurry up!" she called rudely. "Quit talking to yourself and make a move or something!"

"Fine." growled Emily, readying her card. "I summon Wingweaver Priestess in attack mode!"

A teen-aged version of the Wingweaver, but wearing a beautiful white gown and with long dark green (almost emerald) hair showed herself from the light (Level: 4/ATK: 1950/DEF: 1600).

"Wingweaver...Priestess?" stuttered Ice Queen. "B-But she looks so much like... like..."

"Like me?" asked Emily, with her eyes still narrowed.

It was true - Wingweaver Priestess looked like a striking resemblance to Emily in every single way...well, except the clothing, but you get the idea. Kuribon, however, secretly knew that Wingweaver Priestess was actually something far more than looking like Emily.

"I-It doesn't matter!" sneered Ice Queen, putting up a brave facade. "Your monster is strong, yes, but my White Night Queen is stronger!"

Emily merely entered her battle phase without another word.

"Attack Snow Fairy."

Wingweaver Priestess obeyed, firing a blast of light at Snow Fairy, shattering her into pieces of glass. With Snow Fairy destroyed, Call of the Haunted was destroyed as well.

"I activate my Cold Sleeper's special ability!" cried Ice Queen (LP: 2750). "At the end of the battle phase, I can revive Snow Fairy in defense mode! ...although its battle position can not be changed, and one of my monster zones becomes unusable."

Emily kept her angry look as Wingweaver Priestess started glowing all white.

"Now I activate my Wingweaver Priestess' effect!" she announced. "When she destroys one of my opponent's monsters during my battle phase, I can tribute her and special summon from my hand, deck, or graveyard...Wingweaver!"

"What?!" gasped Ice Queen.

Wingweaver's Priestess vanished in a blue streak as the beautiful Wingweaver appeared in her place (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2450). Emily felt very happy to see her ace monster once more.

"Wingweaver..." The dark green-haired girl thought, looking up. "I know you're still back at the Sanctuary in the Sky badly injured, but I know you're always with me in spirit..."

Ice Queen, on the other hand, was not so happy to see Emily's ace monster.

"A monster as beautiful as that..." she seethed. "She clashes with ' _my_ ' beauty!"

Emily immediately gave the vain queen a dark glare and muttered only a few words...

"Attack Cold Sleeper now..."

Wingweaver obeyed, firing a blast of light at Cold Sleeper, shattering it. The force of the blast was so strong that it sent Ice Queen flying back while screaming into the wall of a rocky cliff.

"The power...!" The vain queen mumbled (LP: 1100), falling from the wall onto her knees. "How was something like that...so strong?"

"Had enough?" asked Emily in a dark tone. "If not, then I would be more than happy to give you more pain!"

Ice Queen looked at the mark she left on the rock wall. She actually left something like that on a cliff wall! The vain, cold-hearted queen turned and looked back at the dark green-haired girl with anger melting onto her face.

"HOW! DARE! YOU!" she roared, punctuating her sentence for emphasis.

Emily kept her eyes narrowed, but remained silent as Ice Queen furiously motioned her hand out.

"Because your battle phase is now over, I can bring Snow Fairy back in defense mode!"

Snow Fairy reappeared kneeling in a defensive position.

"And now, you will pay for ruining my beauty with your horrid Wingweaver!" shouted Ice Queen in the most vain of tones, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Ice Queen (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (4): Monster Reborn, White Night Dragon, White Veil, and White Blizzard

* * *

Her drawn card was a Spell card called White Blizzard.

"And now... the storm is about to worsen for you."

Emily watched as the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Reborn!" said Ice Queen. "Be revived Cold Sleeper!"

Cold Sleeper reappeared...before instantly being absorbed, along with White Night Queen, into the harshly snowing sky.

"Now I offer up my Cold Sleeper and my White Night Queen in order to call forth my most powerful monster!"

The blizzard grew even worse. The blow of the wind caused Emily to cry out from surprise.

"What's going on?!"

"You're about to meet the most deadly ice creature known in this world!" answered Ice Queen with a laugh, before showing her card. "White Night Dragon, come forth!"

A huge block of ice manifested onto the field. Suddenly, it shattered, and out came what looked like the Blue-Eyes Dragon carved from ice (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"White Night Dragon..." thought Emily to herself, looking up while shivering from the cold.

"My dragon's abilities will totally blow you away!" boasted Ice Queen. "It can negate and destroy any Spell or Trap card that targets it! While if you try to attack any of my other monsters, your attack gets thrown into my White Night Dragon instead!"

Emily was worried, while Kuribon was scared. Unfortunately, it was about to get much worse for the dark green-haired girl.

"Now I activate another Spell card!" continued Ice Queen, holding a card out. "Continuous Spell - White Blizzard! Now when I destroy one of your monsters, you take 600 points of damage!"

"What?!" exclaimed Emily. "I'll take 600 points of damage?"

Ice Queen STILL wasn't done yet. "And finally, I'll equip my dragon with White Veil!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Thanks to this... when I declare an attack, all of your Spell and Trap cards will have their effects negated and be destroyed!" explained Ice Queen, before giggling. "While if you destroy the monster equipped with this card, I'll take damage equal to my own monster's attack points! ...but what are the chances of you even pulling it off?"

Emily scowled.

"And now for my battle phase! White Night Dragon, lay waist to that Wingweaver with your Blue Dragon Breath attack!"

White Knight Dragon obeyed and began to power up a dragon breath attack. Suddenly, Emily's graveyard started glowing all white.

"Huh?!" gawked Ice Queen. "What's happening?!"

"That's another special ability of my Wingweaver Priestess." explained Emily, taking the card slding out of the graveyard. "If Wingweaver becomes the target of an attack, I can special summon Wingweaver Priestess from my graveyard in defense mode and have her become the target of attack instead!"

Wingweaver Priestess reappeared in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).

"So be it." huffed Ice Queen. "White Night Dragon, turn your attention to that Wingweaver Priestess instead!"

White Night Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of ice at the Wingweaver Priestess, destroying her in an instant.

"And now say goodbye to 600 life points!"

But Emily's life points didn't drop (LP: 1100). They instead remained where they were.

"Your life points didn't drop?" gasped Ice Queen. "Why didn't they? Your monster was-"

"When my Wingweaver Priestess is destroyed after being special summoned by her own effect-" explained Emily, cutting off the vain queen from beginning a rant. "-she is not destroyed, but rather removed from the game."

Ice Queen was rather angry. "And because White Blizzard only works if your monster is destroyed, you take no damage if the monster is banished instead!"

"That's right!"

The vain, cold-hearted queen clenched her fist in anger. She was so close, SO close! But even then, she was sure there wasn't anything that girl could do to win!

"It's your turn now!" called Ice Queen. "But is the point in continuing? My White Night Dragon is unbeatable! And with Snow Fairy back once more, you cannot play any Spell cards from the hand!"

"I will never give up!" retorted Emily, but then started shivering from the cold. "I've come too far..."

"Tough talk for someone who's freezing to the bone!"

Regardless, Emily managed to shrug it off enough to draw her card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Emily Sterling (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (7): Kuribon, Cestus of Dagla, Monster Reborn, Swords of Revealing Light, Fairy Queen Autumn, Fairy's Defender and Gellenduo

* * *

Immediately, a facedown card (sideways) materialized, followed by Wingweaver conceiling her body with her wings.

"I lay a monster in defense mode and switch Wingweaver into defense mode." said Emily. "And that is all I can do right now!"

"Of course that is all you can do!" mocked Ice Queen, drawing her card. "Thanks to my Snow Fairy, you cannot play any Spell cards directly from the hand!"

Emily just ignored her.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Ice Queen (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (1): ?

* * *

"Now, let us try this again..." continued Ice Queen, pointing to Wingweaver. "White Night Dragon... destroy that Wingweaver for good!"

White Night Dragon fired a blast. This time, Wingweaver was hit by the attack, and got destroyed.

"Your Wingweaver has met its end!" announced Ice Queen triumphantly. "More importantly, my White Blizzard now activates and deals you 600 points of damage!"

The intense blizzard grew even worse for Emily, causing her to collapse to her knees while shivering intensely (LP: 500).

"I...can't...go...on..."

(elsewhere...)

Thomas immediately shot awake inside a tent.

"Emily!" he exclaimed, before beginning to breath hard. "Was it all a nightmare? ...or do I feel like she's in trouble?"

Thomas was inside one of the tents that he and everyone else had set up. It was nighttime, and the gang obviously needed their sleep.

"Emily...please be safe..."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of the monstrous blizzard, Emily was about ready to pass out from the intense cold and Ice Queen was laughing loudly.

"You might as well surrender." chortled the vain queen. "You can't beat me, and you know it!"

"N-No..."

Ice Queen raised an eyebrow. "Hm...?"

"I will n-n-never surrender!" insisted Emily, still shivering. "I-I..."

"I know, I know!" groaned Ice Queen in annoyance. "You will defeat me, and all of that... Blah, blah, blah! Ugh! Just hearing that gives me a headache! ...and a headache is terrible for my beauty."

Emily, still on her knees and shivering like a leaf, braced two fingers onto her deck.

"This is it." she thought. "If I don't draw anything helpful now, I will lose the duel and freeze to death." The dark green-haired girl closed her eyes. "Please, Thomas, let your spirit guide me..."

At last, Emily drew her card, slashing a wave of color in the process. It was a sign that the dark green-haired girl had just performed a Destiny Draw. Ice Queen was vastly surprised at seeing the action happen.

"W-What?! What did she-?"

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Emily Sterling (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (7): Kuribon, Cestus of Dagla, Monster Reborn, Swords of Revealing Light, Fairy Queen Autumn, Fairy's Defender and Angel O7

* * *

Emily's drawn card was a monster card called Angel O7. It was exactly what she needed right now.

"Now... I flip summon my set monster!"

Emily's facedown monster flipped up to reveal itself to be...

"Gellenduo!" announced Emily.

Two little aliens (colored pink and green respectively) came out of the card (Level: 4/ATK: 1700). They both then faded awake into a blue streak.

"My monster's effect allows me to treat them as two tributes for a light attribute fairy-type monster!" The dark green-haired girl raised her card into the air. "Now I summon Angel 07 in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a rather odd looking fairy monster with blue skin, and white armor (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"Angel 07?" blinked Ice Queen.

"This monster gains an effect when he is tribute summoned." explained Emily. "Which is...all monster effects on the field except for Angel 07 are negated!"

"What?!" gasped Ice Queen.

"The biggest is your Snow Fairy's effect of preventing me from playing Spell cards from my hand. With it now rendered useless, I can play Spell cards normally once more!"

To prove her point about it, Emily took and held a card out (Monster Reborn).

"Like this one; Monster Reborn!" declared the dark green-haired girl. "Be reborn at once - Wingweaver!"

The six-winged angelic-like monster reappeared to the field.

"Next I equip my revived monster with Cestus of Dagla!" continued Emily, slotting another card into her Duel Disk.

The mentioned Equip Spell card materialized face-up...before a new weapon appeared in Wingweaver's hands.

"Not that!" wailed Ice Queen.

"This powerful equipment card increases my Wingweaver's attack power by 500 points." said Emily. "In addition, I'll regain life points equal to the amount of damage I inflict on you with the monster equipped with "

Wingweaver grew even stronger (ATK: 2750 - 3250).

"And your White Night Dragon is equipped with White Veil. If the monster equipped with that card is ever to be destroyed..."

"Then I'll take damage equal to its attack!" finished Ice Queen, getting a look of horror on her face. "No, oh no!"

"Wingweaver!" commanded Emily. "Strike down White Night Dragon with your Luminous Spark Rain!"

Wingweaver obeyed, throwing her weapons into the snow-falling sky. Suddenly, rays of light rained down at White Night Dragon, melting it after a few seconds of being hit. Suddenly, the weather started to warm up considerably.

"M-My dragon!" whispered Ice Queen (LP: 850). "You...you..."

"And don't forget your White Veil!" reminded Emily (LP: 750). "Because White Night Dragon has been destroyed while equipped with that card..."

"I take damage!" cried the vain, cold-hearted queen, just as a ghost of her fallen dragon appeared and fired a blast of cold ice at her (LP: 0). "AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!"

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

Suddenly, just as Ice Queen collapsed onto the ground, the whole area morphed right back into the throne room of the castle. All of the penguins, yetis, and snowmen were very surprised indeed.

"Our queen has been defeated." murmured a yeti.

"No one brave enough has ever done that." added a snowman.

All of a sudden, Ice Queen melted away into nothing but water (like she had died). Emily, meanwhile, was breathing hard from that dangerous duel.

"That was so intense." she panted. The dark green-haired girl then looked at the puddle of water that used to be Ice Queen and got greatly surprised. "She's gone..."

Very quickly, all the penguins, snowmen, and yetis in the throne room surrounded Emily in seeming disgust.

"You killed our queen!" accused a yeti.

"I-I didn't mean to!" protested Emily, frightened that she had seemingly commited murder. "It was an accident, I swear it!"

Before anything more could be said or done, the animals...suddenly bowed before Emily in great respect, much to her confusion.

"Huh?"

"Hail our new ruler!" called a penguin. "The Ice Queen is dead!"

"All hail our new ruler! All hail our new ruler!" chanted the animals.

Emily was so overwhelmed by the praise, the duel, and exhausted/frozen from the cold, that there was only one thing she could do about it...

...she fainted on the spot.

"Oh no!" cried a snowman in a panic. "Now she's dead, too!"

One penguin walked over and carefully placed his head onto Emily's chest. He could thankfully feel (and hear) a heartbeat going on.

"No, she's alive! ...just very exhausted."

The ice creatures were very relieved, and I'm pretty sure a certain someone would be as well if he had found Emily... sadly, it was gonna be a while before that ever happened. But I'm sure Thomas will succeed in finding his friend, am I right?


	39. Through a Mirror Darkly (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo was speaking to Vampire Lord of the Court of Darkness about something very important. What was it about, you ask? Well...

"Hmm... I see." muttered Vampire Lord. "So, you've completed work on your latest experiment already?"

"Yes, I have." answered Gozaburo. "The test results were very positive."

"Excellent. Shall we take it for a test drive?"

"Not ' _it_ '-" The evil man corrected. "-' _her_ '."

Vampire Lord chuckled. "My deepest of apologies... I mean ' _her_ ' for a test drive?"

"By all means." agreed Gozaburo, and turned to nearby. "My new creation...come here for a moment."

A figure stepped out from the shadows. It looked like a normal human girl with long, black hair, but her eyes looked dull and lifeless.

"It looks like I'll be sending you out sooner than you think." said Gozaburo to his new creation. "Now tell me... ow are your new powers?"

"They are... adequate." said the girl with no emotion in her tone.

Just then, the girl's dull eyes started flashing all red. Before long, she had...a mirror double of herself standing next to her.

"As shown..."

"Perfect." grinned Gozaburo. "I'm pleased to see that."

"So-" said the mirror double of the black-haired girl. "-what is my mission?"

Gozaburo motioned towards Vampire Lord. "I think it would be best to let Vampire Lord here explain."

"At this moment-" began Vampire Lord. "-there is a group of humans from the real world making their way to the Duel Monsters capital city. They intend to go and find help there and then come and destroy us."

"Humans?" blinked the real black-haired girl.

"Yes, humans. They are not like the ones from this world."

"But one in particular is special." added Gozaburo. "He is not only a descendant of a legendary Pharaoh, but also of-"

"Our ruler Diablon and the rival who killed him." finished Vampire Lord.

The mirror double of the black-haired girl blinked. "Diablon?"

"Yes." nodded Vampire Lord. "The one who led in the war for this world." With a snap of his fingers, he created an image of Thomas. "Your mission is to find this boy and bring him to us alive."

"And if his posse of friends try to stop you-" warned Gozaburo. "-destroy them!"

The eyes belonging to the two girls started glowing red once more...before they merged back into one girl.

"As you command of me...master."

With that said, she turned and left the throne room. Oh boy, a pretty girl with a dark secret... I wonder how our heroes will be able to handle this coming threat? Only one way to find out...

* * *

 **Title: Through a Mirror Darkly, Part 1**

* * *

Somewhere in a forest (how many forests are there?), Thomas and the others had just woken up from a long night and were getting ready for breakfast...well, except a certain someone inside his tent...

"Don't tell me James is still asleep." groaned Percy.

"What are you talking about, Percy?" asked the voice of James. "I'm over here!"

Percy noticed that the red-haired boy was standing nearby with his arms folded.

"Oh, my bad."

"I think the one missing is Thomas." commented Henry, seeing that the blue-haired boy was nowhere to be found.

"We'd better wake him up." said Edward, who was busy getting everything ready.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one tent, it looked like Thomas was oversleeping once more, and he was... but then, he started grimacing in his sleep for some reason.

"Ngh... no..."

It was clear that it was having a nightmare of sorts. Percy and James both entered the tent...

"Thomas? Thomas, wake up!" said Percy loudly.

Unfortunately...

* * *

 **NIGHTMARE**

In this nightmare, Thomas was all alone and in the middle of a Shadow Game...with Dark Marik?

"Do you really think you have what it takes to triumph over the darkness?" taunted Dark Marik. "The darkness, and me, is here to stay!"

Thomas scowled and drew a card from his deck.

* * *

 **Turn ?** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : ?  
 **Current Hand** (1): Mirror Force

* * *

A facedown card materialized in an instant.

"I don't know how you're haunting me in my dreams-" The blue-haired boy said angrily. "-but I've stopped you once before, and so help me I'll do it again!"

Dark Marik snickered quietly. "I'm afraid this isn't a dream... it's reality!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Thomas. "You were destroyed when Marik surrendered!"

"Ha ha ha ha... just keep quiet and wait for death, boy." The evil man drew his card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn ?** : Dark Marik (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : ?  
 **Current Hand** (1): Monster Reborn

* * *

"No matter what monster Marik summons now-" thought Thomas. "-my set Mirror Force card will eliminate it if it attacks me."

Unfortunately, when Dark Marik looked at his card, he gave an evil laugh.

"I've drawn the one card...that will end the duel."

Thomas gasped. Please don't let it be ' _that_ ' card! Sadly for him...

"Behold the power of Monster Reborn!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized before Dark Marik. It soon disappeared as fire soon engulfed it. That signaled it was time...

"Be reborn... WINGED DRAGON OF RA!" commanded Dark Marik.

The blaze of fire soon slowly died down and revealed the body of The Winged Dragon of Ra (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). Dark Marik gave an extremely psychotic laugh as soon as his monster finished appearing from the blaze of fire, while Thomas only watched on in shock.

"Oh no..." The blue-haired boy mumbled, taking a step back. "Not that..."

"AH HA HA HA HA HA!" cackled Dark Marik. "It's all over for you! Nothing will stop me from accomplishing my one goal in life - killing you and causing destruction!"

At that point, the evil man crossed his arms to his chest and began to chant an ancient language. Slowly, but surely, his body slowly faded away into the darkness. This was something Thomas knew full well...

"One Turn Kill!" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "And because Ra is an Egyptian God, Mirror Force is of no use to me in stopping the attack!"

Within seconds, Dark Marik merged with Ra as he gave almost all of his remaining life points to the monster (LP: 1)(ATK: 0 - 2199). Dark Marik was standing atop of Ra's head with an eye missing.

"Ra and I have become one! There isn't anything you can do to stop us!"

Thomas knew that the evil man was right, and felt very defeated and frightened.

"Winged Dragon of Ra-" commanded Dark Marik. "-attack Thomas directly with your Blaze Cannon!"

Ra obeyed, firing a powerful blast of fire at Thomas. There was nowhere to run, there was no way to evade the attack... Finally, the Blaze Cannon attack hit...

"GGGGWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!" Thomas's scream was inhuman (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Dark Marik wins!**

* * *

"Thomas! Thomas! Wake up, Thomas!"

Dark Marik's maniacal laughter over his victory was absolutely terrifying.

 **END NIGHTMARE**

* * *

The nightmare ended, and James was shaking Thomas in an attempt to wake him up.

"Come on, Thomas!" he shouted. "Wake up right now or I'll be forced to use the cold water!"

Suddenly, Thomas's eyes snapped open...but he was not technically awake still.

"NOOOOOOO!"

In a frightened rage, the blue-haired boy managed to shove James off of him and escape from the tent.

"Guess he's got this fear of water?" shrugged James.

Percy started to leave. "Come on!"

James immediately followed.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the tent, Thomas was suddenly on his knees clutching his head like he was in pain or something... but it was mostly because that nightmare was still badly affecting him.

"No! Stay away! No, no...!"

The rest of the gang noticed something was seriously wrong.

"Thomas?" began Molly. "What's wrong?"

"It's like he's stuck in some sort of nightmare." gasped Toby.

"Someone help him!" exclaimed Mavis.

Maiden of the Aqua quickly ran over and knelt down to the poor blue-haired boy's level and immediately hugged him in an attempt to calm him down and wake him up.

"Thomas, you must calm down!" she begged. "You're having a bad dream. Please wake up!"

Before long, the look in Thomas's eyes disappeared before he passed out...only briefly though. Finally, Thomas opened his eyes slowly and found himself outside.

"W-What happened?" he asked tiredly. "Where am I?"

"Easy, Thomas..." said Maiden of the Aqua softly. "You're outside and with us... do not be afraid."

James and Percy both approached the group.

"So, no water is needed now?" joked James.

Suddenly, Thomas started to cry. "What's wrong with me? Why am I having such awful nightmares? I haven't gotten any peaceful amounts of sleep ever since we were brought to this world! Why? WHY?!"

"Poor Thomas..." mumbled Rosie sadly.

"I just want to know why these nightmares won't go away!" cried Thomas. "It's as if my subconscious is trying to drive me to suicide!"

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua, embracing her troubled friend once more. "I promise you everything will be fine..."

"But what if it doesn't turn out fine?"

Maiden of the Aqua gave her friend a serious look. "It will. I swear it on my life."

Thomas wasn't so sure he wanted to believe that. Every since coming to the Duel Monster spirit world, terrible things had been happening left and right for him and his friends while on their journey to save Emily. Now he wasn't sure if he even wanted to continue.

"I... I..." The blue-haired boy spluttered.

"What?" interrupted James. "Spit it out! What are you trying to tell us?"

And so Thomas took a deep, shaky breath and...

"I-"

"Hello there..." greeted a female voice.

Everyone looked to nearby and grew surprised. Approaching from some trees was a teenage girl with long black hair. Her clothing consisted of worn-out clothing. But her most notable features were her dull, emotionless eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Stanley.

The girl only kept her stoic, emotionless look while not saying a word.

"Maybe you didn't hear my friend properly." snapped James. "He asked for your name!"

Still no response.

"This girl's creeping me out." whispered Henry.

"You and me both." agreed Gordon.

Suddenly, the black-haired girl's eyes started glowing all red.

"Huh?" blinked Thomas. "What's-?"

Before their very eyes, the girl split herself into two.

"Fizzling Fireplaces!" exclaimed James.

"Grease and oil!" came from Mavis.

"Did that girl...just create a mirror double of herself?" asked Edward, not liking what he was seeing.

"Either that, or we someone got some kind of buzz on hallucinogenics." cracked Gordon.

The twin girls both created Duel Disks out of thin air.

"I'm here-" began the black-haired girl.

"-to take your friend." finished the mirrored copy.

"You mean, Thomas?" asked James. "What do you want with him?"

The two girls started to speak in unison. "My master wishes to see that he is brought to his stronghold...for experiment purposes."

"And just who is your master?" demanded Stanley. "You wouldn't me working for the Court of Darkness, would you?"

"I see you know of them..." The mirror double of the girl smiled. "They also said that if the boy's friends were to intervene... I must...terminate."

"Terminate?" blinked James. "Wouldn't kill be more appropriate?"

"Not a good idea now, James..." hissed Percy.

The twin girls glared. "The smart thing to do would be stand down."

Maiden of the Aqua was about to snap when Thomas spoke up in a down voice...

"Go ahead and take me." he said solemnly. "Just leave my friends alone."

"Thomas?!" exclaimed Mavis.

"Do you know what you're even saying?" added Toby.

"I'm tired of these bad things happening to us." moaned Thomas. "I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep anymore. Every time we try to make progress to the Capital City, something gets in our way and makes us our journey even longer. It's always one step forward, two steps back. I just can't go on like this any longer."

The real black-haired girl smiled once more. "Whoever said I would capture you just like that?"

"Huh?"

"First I will..." spoke up the mirror double of the black-haired girl. "...defeat you in a duel!"

"A duel?" quizzed Rosie. "Just who are you? What's your name?"

"I don't think she even has a name." said Toby. "If she did, she would have told us."

"My name...is Sarina." answered the twin girls in unison.

"Sarina?" blinked Stanley.

"Yes, Sarina."

"Well why didn't you tell us in the first place?" asked Percy. "And what's with your eyes?"

"Um...Percy?" whispered Henry. "It might not be best to tick her off or something..."

"Oh right."

Thomas didn't know what to do. Should he accept dueling that girl...err girls...or not?

"Wouldn't it be simpler just to capture me without the duel?" he asked curiously.

"Now where would be the fun in that?" commented the two black-haired girls at once. "Do you accept my challenge?"

Just then...

"Hold on!" interrupted James, activating his Duel Disk. "Take me on instead!"

"And me!" added Stanley, with his Duel Disk already activated.

"What are you doing?" asked Thomas, looking surprised.

"Right now, you're in no condition to duel." said James seriously.

"Besides, we won't let you give up and let the Court of Darkness win." added Stanley. "You'd never see Emily again."

"But what's the point in going on if we're always going to run into obstacles that hold us up?" asked Thomas.

James smirked. "Stanley and I can handle that girl and her double."

"But what if you get killed?" asked Thomas.

"Fine." shrugged James. "If you think you can handle those two in your condition, then-"

"James!" snapped Molly. "How dare you?!"

Suddenly, Thomas gave a weak chuckle. "I guess I see your point now."

"Trust us, Thomas." reassured Stanley. "We've got this."

The gray-haired boy and James both then turned and glared at Sarina and her mirror double. Something about her seemed off, but there wasn't any time to figure it out right now.

"I look forward to defeating you both..." The twin girls remarked in unison. "Both of us will win!"

"Heh! Keep talking." retorted James. "You both don't have any idea what you're going up against!"

"James sure sounds confident." commented Gordon. "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

"I just hope he'll be okay." said Molly.

"He and Stanley." added Rosie.

With that said, the four duelists drew their opening hands.

"Because this is a tag-team duel-" said the real Sarina. "Both teams share 8000 life points."

"The first team to run out of life points loses!" added the mirror double of Sarina.

"And the losers will be you." grinned James.

Stanley, however, had a thought... "This is the first time James and I engage in a tag-team duel... we should be careful and combine our strategies." He then spoke aloud. "James, we shouldn't get cocky just because we're strong duelists. Maybe we-"

"Nonsense." interrupted James. "We're going to come out on top in this thing. Mark my words."

"If you two are done." cut in the real Sarina, drawing a card. "I'll make the first play."

* * *

 **Turn One** : Sarina 1 (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Full Moon Mirror

* * *

Her drawn card was a Spell card called Full Moon Mirror. With any moral thought, Sarina added the card to her hand and took a monster card from it.

"I want you both to meet Silver Spirit Ukyo."

Appearing to the field was some sort of warrior wearing blue robes, and with his arms and head covered in bandages (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"Silver Spirit Ukyo?" blinked Stanley. In his thoughts... "It's not very strong in the stat department, but it was played for a reason..."

With James, on the other hand...

"Pah! I've seen stronger monsters than that!" The red-haired boy boasted.

"You want more? Then I'll give it to you." The real Sarina slotted two cards into her Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown and activate the Continuous Spell card Full Moon Mirror!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. Suddenly, the sunny sky...turned to a night sky.

"Hey who turned out the lights?" asked Henry.

"It was morning a moment ago. Now it's night?" added Mavis.

"I think that card must have done this." said Edward in realization.

"That is correct." confirmed the mirror double of Sarina. "What this card does-"

"-is if a monster is destroyed by battle or card effect-" added the real Sarina. "-a Full Moon Counter will be added to Full Moon Mirror per monster."

The mirror double added: "If there are 10 Full Moon Counters, I can activate a Field Spell card called Infinite Fiend Mirror from my hand or deck."

"I don't like the sound of that." mumbled Stanley to himself.

"I'm not afraid!" insisted James, drawing a card. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : James Hughes (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Elemental HERO Avian

* * *

His drawn card was the Elemental HERO Avian monster card.

"Not what I had in mind, but it's a start." The red-haired boy placed his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I summon Elemental HERO Avian in defense mode!"

The green winged hero appeared kneeling in defense mode (Level: 3/DEF: 1000). In addition, a facedown card appeared behind the monster.

"I'll now set a card and call it a turn!"

Mirror Sarina laughed. "I was expecting a whole lot more." She then drew a card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Sarina 2 (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Silver Spirit Sakyo

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Silver Spirit Sakyo materialized face-up.

"I summon Silver Spirit Sakyo in attack mode!" announced Mirror Sarina.

Appearing to the field was what appeared to be a duplicate of Uyko (Level: 3/ATK: 600).

"That monster looks like the one the real Sarina has on the field." thought Thomas. "Are their decks...alike?"

A facedown card materialized behind Silver Spirit Sakyo.

"I set one card facedoown and end my turn." finished the mirror double of Sarina.

"No one can attack until each player has taken at least one turn." thought Stanley. "Maybe once I finish my turn, James and I can pick-up on what their strategy is." Finally, he drew his card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Stanley Hudswell (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious

* * *

The gray-haired boy's drawn card was the Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious monster card. Also seen in his hand was a Trap card called Destiny Mirage.

"First I place one card facedown." said Stanley, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Next, I summon Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious in attack mode!"

"Hmm?" The two Sarinas raised an eyebrow.

Appearing to the field was a muscular hero with long, spiky red hair, and spiky green armor on his arms (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"Our first turns are over." said the real Sarina. "Let's see who produced the better strategy, eh?"

"Sure!" agreed James. "And just so you know, Stanley and I got this in the bag! Right, partner?"

Stanley had a serious look on his face about the situation. This got James a bit puzzled about why the gray-haired boy had a stern look on his face.

"H-Hey! You heard me, right? We've got this duel in the bag!"

"I wouldn't take them lightly, James." warned Stanley. "If you keep boasting and showing off, it'll cost us the duel."

James was surprised to say the least, but the real Sarina merely gave a laugh.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Sarina 1 (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Mirror Route

* * *

"I wouldn't count on stopping me." she pointed out.

"Why not?" demanded James. "Both your monsters are not a match for our own!"

"Maybe not, but they're not my targets right now." The real Sarina then held out her newly drawn card. "I activate Mirror Route!"

"Mirror Route?!"

"With that card, she can bypass our monsters and attack directly!" came from a shocked Stanley.

"Aw man!" grumbled James.

"And I've already know who I'm gonna attack." said the real Sarina, before looking at her double. "Right?"

"Yes indeed." smirked the mirror double of Sarina. She then eyed one of the two hero duelists. "Attack the red-haired boy!"

Silver Spirit Ukyo vanished into a mirror. Then said mirror appeared behind James.

"Look out!" called Henry, but was much too late.

"Direct attack!" called the real Sarina.

The silver spirit slashed at James, causing him to yell (LP: 7200).

"James, no!" called Stanley.

"I'll be okay!" The red-haired boy called, trying to recover.

"You won't be for long." retorted the real Sarina. "My decks were hand-picked by the leader of the Court of Darkness-"

"-to take you down!" finished the mirror double of the black-haired girl.

"There's nothing the Court of Darkness can throw at us that we can't handle!" said James. "Why are you working for them, anyway? Are you a sicko that loves hurting people?"

Sarina's mirror double gave a sinister smirk, but the real Sarina...didn't. Before long, the black-haired girl entered her end phase.

"I end my turn!"

"It's my turn now!" announced James, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : James Hughes (Team LP: 7200)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, ?, and Polymerization

* * *

The red-haired boy smirked once he saw his drawn Polymerization card.

"Oh, now you're in trouble." he said, taking two cards and holding them up. "I activate the Spell card Polymerization!"

On cue, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix appeared and, along with Elemental HERO Avian, leaped into the sky for a fusion.

"By fusing my Elemental HERO Burstinatrix with Elemental HERO Avian, I fusion summon a favorite of mine; Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

Appearing from a bright light was the winged hero with green skin and the dragon arm (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

The two Sarinas kept a neutral look, which Stanley caught onto immediately.

"I think they've got a counter ready, James." he warned. "You shouldn't attack!"

"Nonsense! Flame Wingman can handle this, right buddy?"

Flame Wingman nodded in response.

"You should really listen to him, James!" called Edward. "It might be a trap!"

Alas...

"Flame Wingman, attack Silver Spirit Ukyo now!" commanded James.

Flame Wingman obeyed and jumped into the sky.

"When Flame Wingman attacks and destroys a monster you control, you will take additional damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points!"

Flame Wingman fired a stream of fire from its dragon arm towards Silver Spirit Ukyo. Just then, the real Sarina gave a laugh at how foolish James was being in declaring an attack like that.

"Unfortunately, your two friends warned you about attacking." she pointed out. "Now you're gonna get it!"

James was worried. "Huh?"

"Trap card, open!" shouted the mirror double of Sarina, as her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Mirror Bind!"

"Crap! Not that card!" exclaimed James in a panic.

"This Trap card can only be activated if there is a Silver Spirit Ukyo and Silver Spirit Sakyo on the field when the opponent declares an attack." began the mirror double of Sarina.

"Since your monster attacked-" added the real Sarina. "-all your monsters with attack points equal to or great than the attack of our monsters are destroyed!"

"Both Flame Wingman and Captain Tenacious meet that condition!" panicked Godon.

He was right; the two monsters belonging to James (Elemental HERO Flame Wingman) and Stanley (Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious) respectively shattered into pieces of glass.

"And because two monsters were destroyed-" continued the real Sarina. "-two Full Moon Counters are added to Full Moon Mirror here..."

The face-up Full Moon Mirror started glowing.

"James!" shouted Stanley angrily. "I told you not to attack! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

"Oh relax." scoffed James. "I still have a backup plan."

On cue, the red-haired boy's set card flipped face-up, revealing itself to be...

"Elemental Mirage!"

The two Sarinas frowned when they saw the Trap card activate.

"Since an Elemental HERO was destroyed this turn by a card effect-" explained James. "-I can bring it back! Welcome back, Flame Wingman!"

The Trap card faded away, before Elemental HERO Flame Wingman reappeared in a battle position.

"I have a Trap card, too!" added Stanley, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "I reveal Destiny Mirage!"

His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Similar to Elemental Mirage, this lets me bring back my fallen Captain Tenacious if it was destroyed by a card effect this turn!"

Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious reappeared in place of the Destiny Mirage Trap card. The real Sarina merely grunted in annoyance.

"Now where was I?" joked James. "Oh yes! Flame Wingman, attack and take down Silver Spirit Ukyo for good!"

Flame Wingman obeyed, preparing another Skydive Scorcher attack.

"With your Mirror Bind used up, you can't stop this attack!"

Suddenly, the real Sarina smiled. "You think so?"

James's look of confidence became one of confusion.

"Activate set card!" The real Sarina declared, as her facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Mirror Trap!"

"Not good!" thought Stanley. "Now Sarina can activate a Trap card from her double's graveyard immediately."

"And guess which one I choose." teased the mirror double of Sarina.

No one answered.

"It's Mirror Bind!"

"Kinda knew that." thought James only to himself. "And now we lose our monsters again! Why didn't Stanley warn me about it?"

Both Flame Wingman and Captain Tenacious shattered into pieces.

"Stanley, why didn't you warn me about that card?!" demanded an angry James.

"Well I did try to warn you about the first Trap." argued Stanley. "However, you were being too bullheaded to even listen to me. If anyone's to blame, James, it's you for being so arrogant and boastful."

"Oh, this is not good." groaned Toby.

"Our two ' ** _Hero_** ' duelists are busy arguing." added Mavis.

"Why can't they get along?" asked Rosie.

With nothing else to do, James was forced to enter his end phase.

"Because I have nothing else to play, I end my turn!" announced the red-haired boy.

"And just in time, too." chuckled Mirror Sarina, drawing a card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Sarina 2 (Team LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, ?, ?, and Silver Spirit Redirection

* * *

Her drawn card was a Trap card called Silver Spirit Redirection.

"Silver Spirit Sakyo, it's time for you to make an attack! Your target...is that gray-haired pretty boy!"

Sakyo obeyed, charging forth and slashing at Stanley (LP: 6600). Stanley slid back a little bit, but kept his balance.

"Ha ha ha! This is too easy!" laughed the mirror double of Sarina. She then held out a card. "Now I activate Mirror Call! Since I control both Silver Spirit Ukyo and Silver Spirit Sakyo, I can add one Trap card from the graveyard to my hand!"

James cursed. "And I know what Trap card you want!"

A card ejected from Mirror Sarina's graveyard and she took and held it out.

"It's Mirror Bind!"

"I hate that card!" whined James.

"You mean the one card you triggered when we tried to stop you?!" snapped Stanley.

"Be quiet, I thought I could handle it!"

It was then two facedown cards materialized on Mirror Sarina's side of the field.

"If you both are finished with your pointless bickering... I set two cards and end my turn." The mirror double of the black-haired girl said simply.

"One of those cards has got to be Mirror Bind." thought Stanley. He then drew his card. "It's my turn! ...I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Stanley Hudswell (Team LP: 6600)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): Destiny HERO - Doom Lord, Destiny HERO - Fear Monger, D - Chain, Destiny HERO - Blade Master, and D - Spirit

* * *

The gray-haired boy's current hand contained Destiny HERO - Doom Lord, Destiny HERO - Fear Monger, D - Chain, Destiny HERO - Blade Master, and the added D - Spirit.

"I summon Destiny HERO - Doom Lord in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was the Destiny HERO dressed to resemble some sort of demon (Level: 3/ATK: 600).

"With my monster out-" smirked Stanley. "-I can now activate its effect to-"

"Your monster's effect triggered one of my two set cards!" interrupted Mirror Sarina, motioning her right hand to one of her set cards. "Counter Trap - Silver Spirit Redirection!"

The first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Silver Spirit Redirection?!" winced Stanley.

"Nice going!" James thought sarcastically.

"This negates your monster's effect and banishes it." explained Mirror Sarina.

Doom Lord got an electric shock, causing him to fall to his knees before fading away. Fortunately, while still surprised, Stanley's turn wasn't over yet.

"I activate D - Spirit!" he announced, holding the mentioned card out. "If I control no Destiny HERO monsters, then I can special summon a level 4 or lower Destiny HERO monster from my hand to the field!"

On cue, a monster card called Destiny HERO - Fear Monger materialized face-up.

"Now say hello to Destiny HERO - Fear Monger!" declared Stanley, having placed the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Appearing to the field came a warrior that was heavily decked in a special sort of armor. On one arm was a cannon (Level: 4/ATK: 1000).

"And now, it's time for battle!"

The two Sarinas scowled at what was about to happen.

"Fear Monger, attack Silver Spirit Sakyo now!" ordered Stanley. "Black of Doom!"

Fear Monger obeyed, aiming his canon at Sayko.

"And by discarding Destiny HERO - Blade Master-" added Stanley, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "-Fear Monger gains an additional 800 attack points!"

Fear Monger's attack strength went straight up (ATK: 1000 - 1800).

"Hold on!" objected the real Sarina. "That's not how-"

"Too late!"

Fear Monger fired a powerful canon at Sayko, destroying it and causing both Sarinas to grimace from the damage (LP: 6800).

"Why, you...!" growled Mirror Sarina.

"Because you have destroyed a monster I control-" added the real Sarina. "-another Full Moon Counter has been added to Full Moon Mirror, giving it five!"

The mirror glowed again. Unfazed by it, Stanley took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn. Because of that, my Blade Master's effect expires."

Fear Monger's attack returned to normal (ATK: 1800 - 1000).

"My turn!" announced the real Sarina, drawing her card. "Now get ready!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Sarina 1 (Team LP: 6800)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta

* * *

Her drawn card was a monster card called Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta.

"I sacrifice Silver Spirit Uyko in order to summon Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta!" The real Sarina declared.

Uyko vanished in a blue streak.

"Now, come forth, my monster!" added Mirror Sarina.

Appearing to the field was a female monster with silver hair in a robe with a white cat mask (Level: 6/ATK: 2600).

"That's a pretty strong level 6 monster you've got there." said James nervously.

"And now you're about to witness its power." The real Sarina remarked coldly. "Direct attack, now!"

"Your target is that red-haired boy!" added Mirror Sarina.

Nayuta obeyed, leaping forth and slashing at James with some claws, causing him to yell in pain, slide back, and clutch his face (LP: 4000).

"Half of their life points have been wiped out!" cried Percy.

"If this keeps up-" added Toby. "-they'll lose."

"Lose?" whispered Thomas. He looked up to his friends. "Lose..."

As Sarina was working for the Court of Darkness, if she and that mirror double of her defeated James and Stanley, chances were they would be killed.

"Why didn't I just accept the duel? It would have better for me to perish than them."

Maiden of the Aqua looked at Thomas. "Have faith... they will win."

The blue-haired boy didn't know what to believe. Back in the duel field, James drew his card despite feeling a sting from the bloody scratches on his face.

"That all you got? Then it's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : James Hughes (Team LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" said James, holding the card out. "This lets me draw two cards."

The red-haired boy drew his two cards. They were revealed to be a second copy of Polymerization (Spell) and Elemental Hero Wildheart (effect monster). He then looked at the rest of his hand. It contained De-Fusion, Elemental HERO Necroshade, and Elemental HERO Bladedge.

"Jackpot!" thought James with a growing smirk. "I'll summon Necroid Shamen to take out that Mirror Spirit first. Then I'll call out Bladedge and deal some serious damage. And after that, I can use De-Fusion to bring back Wildheart and Necroshade to cause even more damage."

Stanley watched as his friend readied three cards from his hand.

"Whatever you're up to, James, don't mess up!" he thought to himself.

"Ready? I activate a second copy of Polymerization!" announced James.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and activated.

"With this card-" said James, readying two cards from his hand. "-I fuse Elemental HERO Wildheart with Elemental HERO Necroshade in my hand!"

The two mentioned Elemental HEROES appeared briefly before fusing together.

"I fusion summon Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman!"

Appearing to the field was the Elemental HERO with long red hair, and a shaman's mask (Level: 5/ATK: 1900).

"Necroid Shaman?" blinked the real Sarina.

"What good will that thing do you?" added Mirror Sarina.

"When Necroid Shaman is fusion summoned-" explained Jamaes. "-I can destroy one of your monsters and special summon another one in its place. So say goodbye Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta!"

Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta faded away in a blue streak. In its place was Silver Spirit Ukyo (DEF: 600).

"I activate Ukyo's Special Ability!" declared the real Sarina. "When special summoned, I can also special summon Sayko from my hand, deck, or graveyard!"

"And they come from my side!" added Mirror Sarina.

At that moment, Silver Spirit Sayko returned to the field, kneeling in defense mode (DEF: 800).

"That doesn't matter to me!" scoffed James. "Now I activate the effect of Elemental HERO Necroshade from my graveyard!"

"What?!" cried out both Sarinas.

The spirit of Necroshade appeared from James's graveyard.

"When Necroshade's in my graveyard-" The red-haired boy explained. "-I can normal summon an Elemental HERO from my hand without a sacrifice. And I choose this one-" He revealed his card. "Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

Appearing to the field was the gold Armor wearing Elemental HERO (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1800).

"Looks like we may have a chance after all." smirked Stanley.

Suddenly, James remembered the remaining facedown card.

"If that card is Mirror Bind-" he thought. "-then our monsters will be wiped out if I attack." The red-haired boy then looked at the De-Fusion card in his hand, and an idea struck him. "Unless..."

"Well?" called Mirror Sarina. "What else are you gonna do?"

James responded by slotting a card into his Duel Disk. This caused the De-Fusion Spell card to flip face-up and reveal itself.

"I'll show you... First I play the Spell card De-Fusion!" announced James. "This lets me return Necroid Shaman back to my Extra Deck and special summon from the graveyard all of the monsters that were used to summon him."

Necroid Shaman was affected by De-Fusion and started to split apart.

"Now I special summon Elemental HEROES Wildheart and Necroshade!"

The two Elemental HEROES from earlier returned to the field. One covered in red and white armor (Level: 5/ATK: 1600), the other, a mighty looking warrior with long black hair and a sword on his back (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"And now for a battle... Wildheart, attack now!" commanded James.

Wildheart obeyed, unsheathing his sword and charging.

"Don't tell me you forgot about Mirror Bind." snapped Mirror Sarina, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "I'll use it to wipe out your monster!"

But the set card didn't activate on command.

"What?!" raged Mirror Sarina.

"Didn't I tell you?" asked James, smirking. "Trap cards don't affect Wildheart."

Elemental HERO Wildheart readied his weapon for an attack.

"Strike down Silver Spirit Sayko!"

Wildheart and obeyed and slashed at Silver Spirit Sayko, destroying it in an instant.

"Consider your combo broken!" grinned James.

The two Sarinas were not happy. But James wasn't even close to being finished yet...

"Your turn, Bladedge!" he commanded. "Attack Uyko!"

Bladedge obeyed and lunged for the mentioned monster. The real Sarina remained rather calm about her monster about to be destroy since it was in defense mode, thus she and her double would not lose any life points.

"Oh, and I think I forgot to mention something else." James spoke up once more, giving a teasing grin. "Bladedge can deal piercing damage whenever he attacks a monster in defense mode!"

"What?!" screamed Mirror Sarina.

"Don't believe me? Then just watch for yourself!"

Bladedge sliced through Uyko, destroying him. While the real Sarina didn't seem bothered very much (sorta), Mirror Sarina was pretty angry about it (LP: 4800).

"And don't forget about Necroshade!" James continued some more. "Attack the Sarina to the right!"

Necroshade obeyed, vanishing in a blur before appearing behind Mirror Sarina, slashing at her with his claws.

"GAH!" The mirror double of the black-haired girl screamed out (LP: 3200). "Y-You!" She then motioned a hand to the face-up Full Moon Mirror. "Because two monsters were destroyed this turn, two more Full Moon Counters are added to Full Moon Mirror! This gives it seven in total!"

The large mirror glowed yet again. Mirror Sarina then drew a card.

"And just in time for my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Sarina 2 (Team LP: 3200)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Soul Mirror

* * *

Mirror Sarina's drawn card was a Trap card called Soul Mirror. On cue, two facedown cards materialized.

"I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn!" announced Mirror Sarina, with two fingers placed near a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"Good work, James." complimented Stanley. "They need both Uyko and Sayko on the field for Mirror Bind to work, and Wildheart can't be affected by Trap cards. And so by using him to take out one of those silver spirits, you were able to make their Trap card useless."

"Heh! You know me, I'm always full of surprises." smirked James. He then thought of something... "Hmm... 'I'm full off surprises'... Where have I heard that before?"

Stanley raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about, James?"

"Nothing important. Either way, it's your turn now, Stanley."

With that said, Stanley drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Stanley Hudswell (Team LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

The gray-haired boy's drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate my own copy of Pot of Greed!" he announced, drawing two cards. "Now I get to draw two cards."

Stanley had drawn Elemental Recharge (Trap card) and Destiny HERO - Double Dude (effect monster). On cue, Destiny HERO - Fear Monger faded away in a blue streak.

"I sacrifice Destiny HERO - Fear Monger in order to summon Destiny HERO - Double Dude!"

Appearing in Fear Monger's place was a gentleman dressed in a black tuxedo and top hat with a cane and scarf, covering his face (Level: 6/ATK: 1000).

"Why would he bother tributing Fear Monger for a monster with the exact same attack points as it?" asked Percy. "It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Double Dude can attack twice per turn." explained Edward. "Pretty handy if Stanley attacks a weak enough monster."

Just then, Stanley's set card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Next I reveal my Trap card - D - Chain!" The gray-haired boy continued. "This Trap card grants my monster 500 attack points."

Destiny HERO - Double Dude grew stronger (ATK: 1000 - 1500). Just then...

"Trap card, open!" shouted Mirror Sarina, just as one of her two facedown cards flipped up and revealed itself. "Soul Mirror! By sending my set Mirror Bind card to the graveyard, I can special summon Silver Spirit Sakyo to the field in defense mode!"

The silver spirit monster reappeared in a defensive stance. Just then, Silver Spirit Ukyo also reappeared in a defensive position.

"Thanks to Silver Spirit Sakyo's special effect-" continued Mirror Sarina. "-I can also special summon Silver Spirit Ukyo from the graveyard as well!"

"They won't help you!" shouted Stanley. "Attack and destroy Silver Spirit Sakyo now, my Double Dude!"

Double Dude obeyed, swinging the D - Chain and striking Sayko with its spiked end.

"Whenever a monster equipped with D - Chain destroys a monster in battle-" explained Stanley "-you are dealt 500 points of damage!"

Silver Spirit Sakyo fell down and shattered into pieces of glass. As a result, D - Chain starts glowing...and both Sarinas were dealt damage (LP: 2700).

"And now, Double Dude!" called Stanley. "Take down Silver Spirit Ukyo!"

Double Dude suddenly began to transform. His hair began silver and jagged, his new muscles torn his clothes. He looked like a different person now.

"I'm getting a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibe here." mumbled Henry.

"I agree." agreed Edward.

Double Dude, meanwhile, lunged the chain at Uyko, shattering him into pieces as well.

"And now, D - Chain will deal 500 points of damage!" Stanley pointed forth.

The real Sarina and Mirror Sarina both scowled as they took more damage (LP: 2200).

"This isn't over yet." growled the real Sarina. "Because you've destroyed two more monsters, Full Moon Mirror gains two more Full Moon Counters!"

The large mirror glowed once again.

"And-" added Mirror Sarina, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "-I activate my Trap card!"

"Trap card?!" gasped Stanley.

"What could it be?" questioned Toby.

The mirror double of the black-haired girl motioned her right hand to her set card, which flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Buried Soul Talisman!?" exclaimed James. "That-"

"-it destroys one monster on the field and allows me to summon a Magic Mirror Spirit." confirmed the real Sarina. "So say goodbye to Destiny HERO - Double Dude!"

The face-up Trap card cast a reflection of Double Dude, who then decided to strike it...which ended up causing him massive amounts of pain before shattering into pieces of glass. From there, Mirror Sarina took a card from her hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk (sideways).

"Now I special summon Magic Mirror Spirit Asogi in defense mode!" The mirror double of the black-haired girl announced.

Appearing to the field was a warrior dressed in heavy armor with a white turban on his head (Level: 6/DEF: 2500).

"But that's not even the worst bit..."

"What?" blinked James. "What do you-?"

"She's right!" cut in Stanley. "With the destruction of Double Dude due to a card effect, that gives Full Moon Mirror ten Full Moon Counters!"

The mirror shined even brighter.

"Before the effect of Full Moon Mirror can be activated-" said the real Sarina. "-I use the effect of Magic Mirror Spirit Asogi to revive Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta from the graveyard in attack mode!"

The female mirror spirit reappeared to the field.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." growled Stanley, slotting the last card from his hand into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized. And because it was the end phase, D - Chain was destroyed.

"Hey, Stanley." called James.

The gray-haired boy looked to his friend/teammate. "Yes, James?"

"Do you really think we can win?"

"If we keep playing our cards right-" said Stanley "-possibly. But right now...I can't really give you an answer..."

Can Stanley and James both win this tag-team duel? ...or will it be the final game of Duel Monsters they will ever play in their lives? Find out next time!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	40. Through a Mirror Darkly (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the middle of a forest, James and Stanley were both engaging a human girl, and...a mirror double of herself? Either way, it was not looking too good for the duo (James and Stanley) at the moment.

"Full Moon Mirror..." mumbled Stanley. "It now has ten Full Moon Counters."

"Meaning we're about to go up against something quite powerful, I bet." added James.

The real Sarina didn't say a word, while Mirror Sarina only gave a sinister giggle.

"You two fools have no idea what you are about to go up against." remarked the mirror double of Sarina.

Team One (LP: 4000) and Team Two (LP: 2200) stared at each other in defiance. Meanwhile, with the audience...

"Do you guys think Stanley and James can win the duel?" asked Henry.

"That depends." answered Edward. "Since Full Moon Mirror has ten of those counters, who knows what will happen next."

"James..." murmured Molly. She was very worried about what was going to happen to her boyfriend if he were to lose.

And finally... Back with the two, dueling teams...

"I do believe it's my turn, yes?" asked the real Sarina, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Sarina 1 (Team LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Dark Creator

* * *

Her drawn card was a monster card called Dark Creator.

"The time has finally come." she said quietly. Sarina then looked back towards the two boys. "Prepare to face a power unlike any other!"

"Here it comes..." thought Stanley, sweating nervously.

"I sacrifice my two Silver Spirit monsters, in order to call forth...Dark Creator!"

Magic Mirror Spirit Asogi and Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta were both turned into orbs of darkness and started rising into the sky (the moon).

"Arise and spread the eternal night!" shouted Mirror Sarina.

Suddenly, everything became even darker as a bolt of lightning struck the ground.

"Dark Creator...?" whispered James.

"I don't like the sound of that..." came from Stanley.

The smoke started to clear...and reveal the silhouette of a new monster.

"Dark Creator..." began the real Sarina emotionlessly.

"...has been summoned!" came from Mirror Sarina gleefully.

Appearing before everyone was a huge, fiendish black creature with one giant eye (Level: 10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 1000).

* * *

 **Title: Through a Mirror Darkly, Part 2**

* * *

Dark Creator gazed down on its two opponents with malice.

"Well, now..." smirked Mirror Sarina. "Anything you'd like to say about my ultimate monster?"

"I can think of a few..." said James in a deadpan tone. "...but they're rather vulgar."

"Not the best time for comments like that, James." groaned Stanley. He then looked serious. "That thing has 3000 attack points; more than enough to destroy any of our monsters."

"But, I'm afraid there's far more to come." said the real Sarina, just as the face-up Full Moon Mirror card faded away in a blue streak. "By sending my Full Moon Mirror with ten Full Moon Counters to the graveyard, I can activate Infinite Fiend Mirror!"

"Infinite Fiend Mirror?" blinked Rosie. "Edward, what is that card?"

"A very powerful and deadly card." explained Edward. "With Dark Creator on the field, Sarina and her double can now special summon as many Dark Creator Tokens as possible to their side of the field."

"As many?!"

The intelligent, blue-haired boy nodded grimly.

"That's nine altogether!" cried Henry.

Within seconds, the Infinite Fiend Mirror card materialized face-up and shined a reflection onto Dark Creator, causing nine smaller versions of the monster to appear to the two Sarinas' side of the field.

"Oh, and did I forget to mention that these tokens all share the same stats as the original?" teased the real Sarina, not losing her stoic look.

"Now they have about ten monsters with the same attack points!" cried James, panic-struck. "We're screwed!"

"Dark Creator-" The real Sarina commanded. "-attack Elemental HERO Bladedge, now!"

"Before you do-" countered Stanley, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-I'd like to play this Trap card!"

The gray-haired boy's only set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Elemental Recharge?" blinked Mirror Sarina.

"Stanley has an Elemental HERO support card in his deck?" questioned Percy.

"For every Elemental HERO on the field-" explained Stanley. "-James and I gain 1000 life points!"

James shook of his fear and continued to explain what the Trap card did...

"There are three Elemental HEROES on the field, so far - Wildheart, Necroshade, and Bladedge! That means Stanley and I gain 3000 life points!"

The three mentioned Elemental HEROES started glowing, causing James and Stanley to recover some life points (LP: 7000). Mirror Sarina scowled, but the real Sarina merely nodded.

"So be it." she commented. "Dark Creator, commence your attack on Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

Dark Creator obeyed, firing a bean of dark energy from its eye, destroying Elemental HERO Bladedge.

"Bladedge!" called James (LP: 6600).

"And now, the effect of Dark Creator can activate!" declared Mirror Sarina. "Whenever it destroys a monster that doesn't have ' _Dark Creator_ ' in its name, the opponent is dealt 700 additional points of damage!"

"No!" exclaimed Stanley (LP: 5900).

Back with the rest of the gang...

"To make things even worse-" said Edward. "-the Dark Creator Tokens are able to attack, as well!"

"That means James and Stanley are going to lose!" cried Rosie.

"Not really." interrupted Edward. "Thankfully, Dark Creator and the tokens can't perform direct attacks."

"Thank God..." Thomas thought to himself, looking relieved.

Back in the duel field, a Dark Creator Token then attacked and destroyed Elemental HERO Necroshade, much to James and Stanley's pain (LP: 4500 - 3800).

"And now for Wildheart!" commanded the real Sarina.

Another Dark Creator Token attacked and destroyed Elemental HERO Wildheart. Again, James and Stanley both grimaced from the damage they took (LP: 2300 - 1600).

"Because Dark Creator and its tokens cannot attack directly-" said Mirror Sarina. "-the battle phase has come to an end."

A facedown card suddenly materialized on the field; compliments of the real Sarina.

"I end my turn with one facedown card." she said. "At this point, it would be wise to surrender and hand over the boy, unless you wish to die."

James and Stanley both looked over to Thomas. The former looked especially worried.

"Thomas..." The red-haired boy thought to himself.

It was clear from the earlier interaction that Thomas would rather allow himself to be captured by the Court of Darkness than let his friends be killed.

"Well?" The voice of the mirror Mirror Sarina cut in. "Do you wish to give up?"

At last, James spoke up. "I would rather die than let you take Thomas."

"So, what you're telling me is you wish to die?"

"If it's the only way to protect my friend, then yes!" insisted James hotly.

"And even then-" Stanley spoke up. "-James and I can win this duel!"

"How?" grunted the mirror Mirror Sarina. "I have ten monsters with 3000 attack points!"

"Anything is possible as long as you never give up." said Stanley, raising his Duel Disk. "And I am not giving up this fight!"

"Me neither!" agreed James, drawing a card. "It's my turn, draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : James Hughes (Team LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (1): Fifth Hope

* * *

His drawn card was the Fifth Hope Spell card.

"This could help." The red-haired boy thought to himself. From there, he slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell card Fifth Hope! This lets me return up to five Elemental HEROES from my graveyard to my deck. Then I can shuffle it and draw three more cards."

Soon, the Elemental HEROES Avian, Bladedge, Burstinatrix, Necroshade, and Wildheart cards slid out of the graveyard and James returned them to his deck. The red-haired boy then shuffled and drew three new cards. They were shown to be Miracle Contact, Negate Attack, and Elemental HERO Neos.

"I can't really use Neos yet." said James to himself. "I'll have to hold out long enough until I can get a strategy to summon him." He looked up with disappointment while slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place this card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"Before your end phase finishes-" interrupted the real Sarina. "-I'd like to play this little card." She poked a button on her Duel Disk. "Continuous Trap - Return Talisman!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"If you don't summon a monster during your turn, this Trap card will special summon a Return Token to your side of the field in defense mode."

Just like that, a figure made of origami appeared to James's side of the field (Level: 2/DEF: 1000).

"Why give me a monster like that?" asked James suspiciously.

"Neither Dark Creator nor its tokens can attack directly." reminded the real Sarina. "So as long as you have a monster on your field, I can attack it, destroy it, and deal 700 points of damage to you!"

"Say what?!"

With that said (by James), Mirror Sarina drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Sarina 2 (Team LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

"I'll use the Spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to rid the field of your facedown card!" declared Mirror Sarina.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field before gust of powerful wind came and blew James's facedown (Negate Attack) away.

"No!" cried James.

"Now my beast can attack freely with no possible threats." chuckled Mirror Sarina. "Dark Creator, attack Return Token at once!"

Dark Creator obeyed, firing a blast at the Return Token, reducing it to ash.

"And now 700 more life points are taken away from you both!" reminded the real Sarina.

James cried out as he took damage (LP: 900).

"Don't worry, James." reassured Stanley, getting ready to draw. "I've got this!"

With that said, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Stanley Hudswell (Team LP: 900)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (1): Destiny HERO - Dasher

* * *

"Since it's my standby phase, I activate the effect of Destiny HERO - Double Dude!"

A silhouette of the gentlemanly Destiny HERO appeared briefly.

"During the standby phase after he was destroyed-" explained Stanley. "-I can summon two Double Dude Tokens."

"But what's the point of doing that?" demanded the real Sarina.

"Because I can sacrifice one of them and perform a tribute summon!"

One of the Double Dude Tokens faded away into a blue streak.

"Come out - Destiny HERO - Dasher!" shouted Stanley, placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Appearing onto the field was a hero dressed in black biking armor with wheels at the bottom of the boots (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

"It's not strong enough to take down my Dark Creator!" argued Mirror Sarina.

"Not yet." Stanley pointed out, before motioning his right hand towards his other token. "But his special ability will fix that. See, by tributing my other Double Dude Token, Dasher gains 1000 attack points for the rest of the turn."

The second Double Dude Token vanished in a blue streak as Destiny HERO - Dasher's power grew (ATK: 2100 - 3100).

"Alright, Dasher, let's battle!" called Stanley. "Attack Dark Creator, now!"

"Does he really think he can defeat Dark Creator like that?" thought Mirror Sarina. "If he does, he's wrong."

Destiny HERO - Dasher, meanwhile, leaped into the air and kicked Dark Creator hard.

"Your monster has fallen!" declared a smiling Stanley. Suddenly, his smile turned into a gasp. "What?!"

The dust settled to show Dark Creator... still standing.

"Dark Creator wasn't destroyed!" wailed James.

"That's because Dark Creator cannot be destroyed by battle." The real Sarina pointed out (LP: 2100). "Battle damage, however, is still sustained."

Just then, Destiny HERO - Dasher knelt in a defensive stance (DEF: 1000).

"And now, since Dasher had attacked-" said Stanley. "-he automatically goes into defense mode."

The real Sarina didn't say a word nor smile. Mirror Sarina, on the other hand, gave a wicked giggle while grinning. James started to get curious about that.

"Say... why's that mirror Sarina acting so evil and the real one acting with little to no emotion?" he thought to himself. "Could there be...a connection?"

From there, the real Sarina drew her card and took her turn.

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Sarina 1 (Team LP: 2100)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, ?, ?, and Shield Crush

* * *

Although she had drawn the Shield Crush Spell card, the real Sarina saw no reason to use it as that would mean Dark Creator would have no targets.

"You both are no match for me." The mirror double of Sarina taunted. "Soon you will meet your ends!"

"Try us!" dared James defiantly.

"Very well..." sighed the real Sarina. "Dark Creator Token, destroy Dasher!"

"James and Stanley will both be down to 200 life points!" exclaimed Toby.

The Dark Creator Token fired an eye blast, destroying Destiny HERO - Dasher. The resulting wind blast was enough to throw Stanley back a distance with a scream (LP: 200).

"Stanley!" cried James.

"STANLEY!" screamed Rosie.

The poor gray-haired boy landed on his back. He wasn't badly hurt, but he was having a hard time getting back up.

"Ho ho ho!" chortled Mirror Sarina. "This duel is just about over!"

"What is wrong with you?" asked James angrily. "How come you're so evil, while the real Sarina's all calm and stoic?"

"What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!"

James stared long and hard... and something clicked in his head.

"She's got two personalities... And... and I think one of them has to be her controlling evil side!"

Stanley started to get back up, but gave a cry of pain as he fell back down while clutching his upper right arm.

"Stanley!" cried Rosie, rushing to her boyfriend's side.

"M-My arm!" The gray-haired boy hissed. "I think it's broken!"

"You poor thing."

The pink-haired girl helped Stanley out of the duel. This left James to face the two Sarinas alone.

"Just you left." commented the real Sarina.

"All alone with nothing to take on ten Dark Creators." added Mirror Sarina. "At this point, surrendering to me would be the best option."

"And let you capture my friend?" asked James harshly. "No thanks. Plus... I'm starting to figure something out about you."

"Hmm?"

"It would seem to me-" said James. "-that you have two personalities, Sarina. The first one calm and stoic, almost completely emotionless. The other persona is both evil and controlling."

"What nonsense!" scoffed Mirror Sarina.

"It's the truth! You, the mirror Sarina, are the one containing the emotions of the real Sarina there. I think someone must have captured her and brainwashed her to be emotionless, while creating you to house those emotions...but for evil!"

The gang was both amazed and shocked.

"How could he have figured that out so quickly?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I...have no idea." replied Gordon, stunned.

Thomas then spoke up. "I know, too..."

The others looked at Thomas at once.

"You do?" asked Percy. "How?"

"I can sense...something at work." The blue-haired boy remarked, closing his eyes. "While I don't know what happened, I do know...this is definitely the Court of Darkness' work."

"They never give up, do they?" asked Mavis.

"With Stanley injured-" came from Henry. "-James will have to win the duel on his own."

Back at the duel, James slowly began to draw.

"I maybe down-" The red-haired boy commented. "-but the duel isn't over until the last card is played!"

"This duel ends!" declared the real Sarina. "-the sooner you draw and end your turn, the sooner I can finish you!"

"Then I'm afraid you may be disappointed."

With that said, James drew while slashing a wave of colorful light as he performed a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : James Hughes (Team LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (3): Miracle Contact, Elemental HERO Neos, and Neo-Spacian Dark Panther

* * *

The red-haired boy's drawn card was the Neo-Spacian Dark Panther monster card. It was just the ticket he needed to pull a win out his sleeve! ...that, and...

"Since I've drawn a card, I activate the final effect of Destiny HERO - Dasher in Stanley's graveyard!" announced James.

"You what?!" freaked out Mirror Sarina.

"As my drawn card was a monster-" The red-haired boy readied his drawn card. "-I can automatically special summon it. Say hello to Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"

Appearing onto the field was a black panther wearing a black cape and a collar with the initials NS (Level: 3/ATK: 1000).

"Now it may look weak-" continued James. "-but its effect will change all of that."

"Explain yourself!" ordered Mirror Sarina.

Suddenly, Dark Panther began to change shape until it became an exact duplicate of Dark Creator.

"As of now, Dark Panther has become an exact duplicate of your Dark Creator." said James. "As a result; it has gained the name, attack, defense, and even the effects of Dark Creator until the end phase."

True to James's word, the Infinite Fiend Mirror saw the duplicate of Dark Creator and created some Dark Creator tokens on James's field (as well as Stanley's field).

"Next I'll tribute two of the tokens for a tribute summon." continued James, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth - Elemental HERO Neos!"

Two of the tokens vanished in a blue streak, as the mighty Elemental HERO Neos took to the field with a battle cry (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000). From there, the Miracle Contact Spell card materialized face-up.

"Since I cannot perform a Contact Fusion normally since Dark Panther used its effect, I'll activate Miracle Contact to ensure it!"

"Miracle Contact?" asked the real Sarina.

"This Spell card allows me to shuffle from my hand, graveyard, or field Elemental HERO Neos along with Neo-Spacians to perform a Contact Fusion summon!" explained James. "It also allows me to bypass certain effects if I'm prevented in doing a Contact Fusion summon! ...such as Dark Panther using its own effect that includes a name change for a turn."

Neo-Spacian Dark Panther and Elemental HERO Neos both leaped into the sky as James performed a summon chant...

" _ **Hero of the worlds beyond, beast of darkness, become one and sink your fangs into those who stand against you! Fusion Summon! Descend - Elemental HERO Dark Neos**_!"

Once the Contact Fusion ended, Elemental HERO Dark Neos posed for battle (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"This new monster will be the end of you!" declared James.

"It only has 2500 attack points!" Mirror Sarina pointed out.

"Though his special ability is my key to winning the duel." The red-haired boy insisted, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "With Dark Neos summoned, all your monsters have their effects negated. That means that Dark Creator is now vulnerable to being destroyed!" His grinned widened. "And I also have a special something..."

"You have Dark Creator Tokens!"

"That's right!" confirmed James eagerly. "Dark Creator Token, destroy Dark Creator, now!"

One of the Dark Creator Tokens obeyed and fired a blast at the real thing. With its effect negated, nothing was to stop it from being destroyed.

"No!" cried Mirror Sarina in horror. But it was no good.

As their attack points were the same, both Dark Creator and the attacking token were destroyed.

"And with Dark Creator gone-" grinned James. "-Infinite Fiend's Mirror is now completely useless!"

James was right... Without Dark Creator, the fiend mirror cracked, causing all of the Dark Creator Tokens to vanish.

"And I still have Neos ready to attack." James went on. "Finish the duel with Dark Fury Claw!"

Dark Neos obeyed, charging forward and slashing at both Sarinas with his claw. While the real Sarina merely grunted, Mirror Sarina shrieked in agony instead (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes and Stanley Hudswell win!**

* * *

From winning the duel, James winked and point two fingers out towards the two Sarinas as they collapsed to their knees.

"And that's game!"

The Mirror Sarina suddenly had steam coming from her body.

"What's happening to her?" asked Percy.

"I think she's about to pull a Wicked Witch of the West." commented Molly.

The black-haired girl was right on the button; Mirror Sarina was beginning to melt.

"W-What's happening...to me?!"

"Seems to me like your copycat days are over!" smirked James. "You're never going to hurt anyone ever again! And all I have left to say to you is...bye-bye."

Mirror Sarina snarled. "Damn you! Damn you all...!"

Finally...she had melted away into a puddle of liquid, never to be seen again. The real Sarina, meanwhile, had then collapsed onto the ground.

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Mavis.

Thomas approached and took a good look at the unconscious Sarina.

"She'll be fine; she just needs rest."

"Should we take her with us?" asked Henry. "Maybe she could redeem herself by helping to stop the Court of Darkness."

"This wasn't all her fault." said Thomas suddenly.

"What?"

"I agree." James added to that. "I think she was innocent in her actions. The Court of Darkness must have kidnapped her at one point and-"

"Brainwashed her into serving them?" asked Edward.

The red-haired boy nodded. "That, and created the double to contain the emotions."

"Capturing innocence and forcing them to do their bidding." fumed Gordon. "The Court of Darkness makes me sick."

"They really burn my biscuits." came from Percy.

"I wish we could have been teleported to where they are in the first place so we could make them pay for everything they've done." hissed Henry.

"It's not that easy." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out. "From what I've heard, the castle is protected by a powerful shield. Getting in is going to be extremely hard."

"Well... couldn't Dark Magician Girl have at least transported us to the capital city in the first place?" asked Percy.

"Enough!" shouted Thomas at the top of his voice.

Everyone was startled and began staring at the blue-haired boy.

"Thomas?" gasped Rosie.

"The longer we stay here bickering, the longer it's going to take for us to get to the capital city and find Emily." sighed Thomas, managing to calm himself back down. "So, let's not complain about it...and get moving!"

Everyone looked to each other, nodded, and looked back at their troubled friend.

"So shall we keep going?" Thomas asked, already walking off. "Or just sit around here some more?"

"Thomas?" spoke up Edward. "Forgetting something?"

"What?"

Almost immediately, the intelligent, blue-haired boy motioned down to the unconscious Sarina.

"Oh... right." Thomas scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"We should let her rest." suggested James, with Edward nodding in agreement.

"We can hopefully get some info from Sarina when she wakes up." added Toby.

"It would save time if we carried her with us." suggested Thomas. The constant delays to their quest were making him rather impatient. The last thing he wanted was to be held up even further.

"Ugh..." came a soft groan.

Lying on the ground, Sarina slowly was coming around.

"Sarina's waking up!" gasped Rosie.

The unconscious girl stirred before her eyes started to flicker open.

"Wh... Where am I?" Sarina asked softly.

Once her vision had become clear, she found a bunch of teenagers surrounding her, and she was in...a forest. Scared of her surroundings in addition to the humans, Sarina gave a shriek and scuttled back a little bit.

"AGH! Who are you lot?! Are you part of the Court of Darkness?"

"Easy there." said Thomas softly. "We're trying to stop the Court of Darkness."

After Sarina took a moment to calm down, Edward approached to begin asking the questions...

"Excuse me, but do you know what had happened?" The intelligent, blue-haired boy asked.

Sarina brought a hand to her forehead wearily. "I...remember some of what happened, but-"

"Do you think you could tell us?" interupted Percy, making a small request. "I promise you that we aren't going to hurt you."

"Do you recall what happened to you when the Court of Darkness captured you?" came from Henry.

"I don't know who you all are-" said Sarina. "-but I'll... I'll do my best to recall everything that happened."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A few days ago, Flashback Sarina was visiting a village with her brother. They were in the town square looking around as numerous friendly Duel Monsters were roaming around.

"Sartorius, why bring me here?" asked Flashback Sarina curiously.

"I was doing some looking into the future." explained Sartorius.

"Did you foresee how this war would end?"

The male human closed his eyes and sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't tell per say." He then looked to his sister and smiled. "Even now, I brought you here so that we can spend a day forgetting about the war."

Flashback Sarina seemed to smile a bit.

"From there-" narrated Sarina. "-we enjoyed a day in a peaceful village."

A montage of scenes showing the two siblings enjoying their day in the village were shown.

"For a while, we were happy. Very soon, however, tragedy struck..."

(new scene...)

Sartorius and Flashback Sarina were both enjoying some lunch at a local diner.

"This day has been...really great so far." smiled the female sibling.

"I knew this trip would help cheer you up." said Sartorius pleasantly.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard, causing the two siblings to recoil from the sudden shocking moment.

"What was that?" asked Flashback Sarina, growing worried.

"It's coming from outside." answered Sartorius, standing up. "Let's check it out!"

They both left the diner and went to see what the problem was.

"From there..." narrated Sarina. "We met...' _him_ '."

In the middle of the town square, several fires had broken out... and standing by the destroyed fountain...was Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Who are you?" demanded Sartorius.

The Dragon Knight glared at the two siblings with piercing eyes.

"Speak up!" demanded Flashback Sarina.

Knight of Dark Dragon still said nothing and instead turned his gaze towards Flashback Sarina instead. Very slowly, he began to approach the female sibling. Flashback Sarina felt rather uncomfortable and started to back away.

"K-Keep back!"

"Stay away from my sister!" shouted the voice of Sartorius, causing Knight of Dark Dragon to turn around.

Sartorius was running forth while wielding a metal pipe. Knight of Dark Dragon easily dodged the blow from his opponent, drew his sword, and...stabbed Sartorius through his chest.

"SARTORIUS!" screamed Flashback Sarina in horror. "NOOOOO!"

The male sibling, once the sword was pulled, gripped his bloodied chest before falling onto the ground, dead.

"I lost my brother that day." narrated Sarina sadly. "And unless I went with his assassin to the Castle of Dark Illusion, he would kill me, too."

(new scene...)

Poor Flashback Sarina was taken to the Castle of Dark Illusions. Inside the castle, Knight of Dark Dragon was leading Flashback Sarina down a hallway.

"You murdered my brother!" hissed the girl tearfully.

Knight of Dark Dragon remained silent and continued to lead the girl down the hall. Soon, they arrived outside a lab.

"Go inside." The Dragon Knight ordered, just before leaving.

Flashback Sarina felt like she had no choice. So, she obeyed the command.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab, numerous Slate Warriors and Vorse Raiders were roaming around. Flashback Sarina looked around before meeting up with...

"W-Who are you?"

It was Professor Melvin, a.k.a. Gozaburo Gresley.

"You must be Sarina." The evil man said, turning and making a ' _come along_ ' gesture with his fingers. "I would like you to come with me."

Flashback Sarina could tell running away was no option, so she did as she was told.

"What do you want with me?" demanded the poor girl with fright in her tone.

"We've brought you here to undertake an experiment." explained Gozaburo. "A special experiment that will aid us in reviving a certain being."

"Certain being?"

Gozaburo nodded. "Yes... certain being. Tell me; do you know about...Diablon?"

"You mean the Ruler of Darkness who tried to conquer our world?" glared Flashback Sarina.

"So, you know of him..." grinned Gozaburo, stopping to turn and look at his prey. "You should also know that you have no choice in this matter."

"Forget it. I would rather die than serve him!"

Gozaburo sneered. "That can be arranged!"

Two Vorse Raiders walked up and were ready to execute Sarina for defying the evil man. Just before the deed could be carried out...

"Hold it!"

Surprisingly, it was Gozaburo who ordered the two monsters to stop. He was suddenly smiling at poor Flashback Sarina.

"Why foolishly throw your life away when you can gain great power?" asked Gozaburo smoothly. "Power that could perhaps bring your dead brother back to life?"

"W-What?" whispered Flashback Sarina, taking a step back.

"By joining the Court of Darkness-" Gozaburo went on. "-you will get the chance to gain the power to bring the dead back to life. Then you and your brother will be reunited again."

Flashback Sarina didn't know what to do. Unfortunately, this distraction greatly cost her; as a Slate Warrior soon clubbed the back of her head with a metal pipe. As soon as Flashback Sarina hit the ground, she was now unconscious. The two Vorse Raiders immediately picked her up and looked to their boss.

"Bring her to the prepared experiment." commanded Gozaburo.

The Vorse Raiders nodded, taking the unconscious girl away.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"And that's it." sobbed Sarina, now crying very hard. "I can't remember the torture I went through to fall under the Court of Darkness' control, but losing my brother was much worse than anything I have ever experienced in my life."

"Disgraceful!" said Gordon.

"Disgusting!" put in James.

"Despicable!" finished Henry.

"No one deserves to go through that." mumbled Percy, feeling sorry for Sarina.

Maiden of the Aqua kindly spoke to the crying girl. "Sarina, rest assured that we will do anything in our power to avenge your brother."

"Thank you." sniffled Sarina quietly.

"We'll let you rest a bit before we take you home." offered Thomas.

"I am a bit tired."

"Weren't you concerned about getting to the capital city as soon as possible, Thomas?" asked Edward. "What made you change your mind?"

"Capital city?" questioned Sarina.

"The Duel Monsters capital city." explained Maiden of the Aqua. "We are on our way there to seek out help in order to stop the Court of Darkness and the revival of their master."

The girl gasped. "Wait... That's where I live! I can take you there!"

"Well, now... What a coincidence!" cried Percy.

"We'd be grateful if you could lead us to your home." said Thomas politely. "We're heading there to meet with these two..."

Immediately, he held up and showed his Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl monster cards.

"Y-You know them?" Sarina was amazed when she saw the two cards, but them realized... "Does this mean you're..."

"Oh, here we go." thought James. "Another Autraius fan..."

"Yes." sighed Thomas. "I'm Autraius's descendant in a way."

Sarina could only stare on in amazement.

(elsewhere...)

Training in his personal grounds atop a volcano, Knight of Dark Dragon was busier than ever. At the same time, he was thinking about his earlier actions.

"I didn't mean to kill that man." The Dragon Knight said only to himself. "I was only acting in self defense. After all, he was the one who came at me first."

Soon he was taking a break. Taking a walk down the volcanic mountain, Knight of Dark Dragon soon found a cool, clean, refreshing lake by a beautiful meadow-like area. After drinking the water and washing his face, he started to question himself...

"Am I really doing the right thing by working with the Court of Darkness?"

At this point, we can't be sure about it... Can we?


	41. The Androids are Coming!

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the office of President Douglas Crump within the White House, the pompous man was not a happy chap at all. The last few days had been nothing but pure Hell for him - his mansion was destroyed, more and more attacks have been going on all over the United States, and he STILL wasn't able to sieze control of Boxford Corp.

"This is absurd!" mumbled Douglas Crump to himself. "The last couple of days had been nothing but misery for me! It's almost like God is treating me badly for no good reason!"

This all made Douglas Crump want to go and bang his head against the wall repeatedly out of frustration. If only he could find at least a way to get even with Boxford Corp and prevent some of the attacks.

"Oooooh... Isn't there a way I could stop these attacks and make a fool out of whoever purchased Boxford Corp from under my nose?"

A knock on the door came...

"Now who is it?" groaned Douglas Crump, standing up and fixing his tie. "Enter!"

The door opened. Entering the office was one of the staff members of the US Presdent's party.

"Sir, you have a visitor." reported the male staff member.

"I have no time for visitors!" snorted Douglas Crump. "We're in the middle of a serious crisis here!"

"But the visitor says he can put an end to Boxford Corp!"

Douglas Crump's curiosity perked up. "Send him in." he requested at once.

The staff member nodded and stepped aside. Walking into the room was a strange man wearing a trench coat and hat that covered his whole body and face... Well, all except for his eyes.

"President Douglas Crump." said the man in a...robotic-like tone. "It is...an honor to meet a great man like yourself."

"Who are you?" demanded Douglas Crump, cutting to the chase. "And this had better not be a sick joke; we Americans are in the middle of a crisis!"

The man chuckled. "My name...is Lector. And I hear that you're in need of someone...to take Boxford Corp down. Heh, easy as pie."

"Lector?" Douglas Crump blinked. He then gave a gasp as he realized something about the man... "Wait! I...remember you!"

"That's right, it's me. The same Lector who worked for you and helped you win the election, but got fired not long ago." retorted the strange man (Lector). "But I'm not here to get revenge on you, Mr. President. I'm here for another reason entirely; from what I already know... is that Spencer Gresley is not in the US as of now."

"That's right, he's gone." nodded Douglas Crump. "If you know where he is... you will tell me, this instant!" He finished the sentence with a dark... "...so I can send you to bring him back here so I can make him and his family all pay for much of the chaos and destruction going on in the United States."

"Of course. But perhaps it would also be best that I first make him suffer for making a mockery of you, Mr. President?"

Douglas Crump raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. Lector, sensing what the pompus President was thinking, continued to speak...

"I could perhaps track him down and inflict serious harm upon him until he begs you for forgiveness." requested the strange man. "After all... it was his fault for all of the attacks going on."

Douglas Crump finally spoke again. "I don't normally accept violence like this... but this is a rare time I will allow it. That Spencer Gresley and his family have been making my life, and all of my fellow Americans, miserable for weeks now. This MUST be taken care of before it's too late."

"As you wish, sir." obeyed Lector. His eyes suddenly flashed all red.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo Gresley was watching the whole meeting from a large monitor. It would seem that he was somehow behind sending that strange man to meet with Douglas Crump.

"Everything is going according to my plan." The evil man said to himself. "Sarina may have failed to capture the boy, but at least I now can return to making Spencer suffer." His smile grew darker and darker. "And what better way to do so is by having the hated Douglas Crump do the dirty work for me?"

Gozaburo laughed to himself.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Spencer was continuing on his way, trying to find the others.

"Billinton and his friends shouldn't be too far." he said to himself.

Currently, Spencer was in a high-tech city... A deserted city, that is. There were no humans or Duel Monsters roaming around.

"Where is everyone? Is this city even remotely populated?"

He looked all around, hoping to find any source of civilization.

"Hello?" called Spencer. "Is anybody here?"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a motorcycle... and some laughter following the sound...

"Whoo! Looks like a visitor is in our turf!" whooped one voice.

"That ain't right!" said a second voice. "Let's teach him a lesson!"

Spencer looked around and saw several motorcycles spreading towards him.

"Those are Dokurorider!" The silver-haired boy gasped, seeing what the monsters were coming.

In no time at all, Spencer found himself surrounded and being circled by the roaring motorcycles and the laughing monsters riding them.

"So this little punk's heard of us." snickered the first Dukurorider.

"Then he should know that this here is our turf!" added a second Dukurorider.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" demanded a third Dukurorider, taking out a metal pipe. "Let's teach him some manners!"

Before any of the Dukuroriders could even think of attacking, Spencer drew and held up a card.

"Arise at once - Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

In a burst of light, appearing before the delinquents was the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But where the Dukuroriders scared? Don't bet on it.

"Heh! We ain't afraid of a dragon like that." scoffed one Dukurorider, taking out a machine gun.

"Let's waste it!" announced a fourth Dukurorider.

That was a big mistake. The bullets fired at Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but barely did anything to it but anger the dragon further. The almighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon retaliated by charging a blast of White Lightning.

"WHITE LIGHTNING ATTACK!" screamed Spencer at the top of his voice.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon obeyed, firing the blast at the gang of Dukuroriders, turning much of them into ash.

"Hmph! Not much of a challenge." huffed Spencer, folding his arms in satisfaction after returning his Blue-Eyes White Dragon into the card.

All of a sudden, the silver-haired boy felt a swift ***WHACK!*** on the back of his skull. Someone with a metal pipe struck him in the back of the head. Spencer fell to the ground unconscious. The culprit was one of the two remaining Dukuroriders.

"Wahahahaha!" laughed the first Dukurorider. "That was so pathetic of him! Turning his back on us without care."

With Spencer unconscious, the second Dukurorider got off his bike and walked over to the teenage boy and took his deck out of the Duel Disk.

"Now which of these crappy cards will the boss like?"

The second Dukurorider approached and grinned at a card he saw at one point.

"How about that one?" The monster pointed out. "The pretty girl with white hair and blue eyes?"

"Perfect!" smiled the first Dukurorider, taking the card.

"Now let's cheese it before the authorities see us."

The two Dukuroriders got onto their motorcycles... but not before throwing Spencer's deck onto the ground and scattering the cards about.

"Woo-hoo! Let's ride!" cheered one of the two Dukuroriders.

With that said, they rode off into the distance. As they did, the spirit of Maiden with Eyes of Blue could be seen hovering above the unconscious silver-haired boy while looking very, very worried and even scared.

"Spencer!" The female monster called out desperately. "Spencer!"

It did no good. Maiden with Eyes of Blue felt herself losing strength very fast because someone else had taken her card. Soon, she faded away from the lack of power. Spencer was all alone...

* * *

 **Title: The Androids are Coming!**

* * *

Somewhere across the waters, the two Dukuroriders were driving across a huge bridge when they spotted someone up ahead.

"The boss!" They both said at the same time.

It was indeed their boss. The two Dukuroriders stopped their bikes and got off to meet with the same strange man (Lector) that had met with Douglas Crump.

"Where are the others?" The man asked.

One of the two Dukuroriders removed his helmet. "They're toast."

"But we got something out of it." said the first Dukurorider, holding out the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card.

Lector took hold of the card, looked at it, and gave a dark chuckle as his eyes flashed red for a moment.

"Not a bad find."

Indeed, it was the Maiden with Eyes of Blue monster card. If Spencer found out about how it was stolen from him...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of high-tech city, Spencer started to awaken from being unconscious.

"Ggh..." he moaned. "My head..."

The silver-haired boy got to his feet, rubbing his back of his head. Once he opened his eyes, Spencer found his cards scattered on the ground before him.

"My deck!"

Quickly, he gathered all of his cards and cycled through at of them.

"You're all here." Spencer said quietly. All of a sudden... "Huh?!" He noticed that one of his cards were missing. Very quickly, the silver-haired boy knew exactly which one it was... "Maiden with Eyes of Blue!"

The roar of a motorcycle was heard. Spencer turned and saw the same two Dukuroriders riding into the area.

"Looking for something?" teased the first Dukurorider.

"Like say...this?" added the second Dukurorider, showing the Maiden with Eyes of Blue monster card.

"That's my card!" cried Spencer. "I order you to return it to me, this instant!"

The two Dukuroriders only started laughing. Growing infuriated, Spencer drew and held up one of his favorite cards.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The mighty dragon reappeared before them.

"Blue-Eyes!" called Spencer, with anger in his tone. "Vaporize those two Dukuroriders with-"

"Enough!" commanded a new voice (male).

Spencer stopped his command before he could finish it.

"Put your dragon away this minute!" The voice continued harshly (male).

The two Dukuroriders smiled to themselves. They knew who was coming by the tone of the voice.

"The boss is here..." Both Dukuroriders thought to themselves.

Within seconds, the same trenchcoat wearing man walked into the area (Lector). Again, as his whole body, plus face, was covered and there was no sign of a smile or anything.

"Well, well... How wonderful to finally meet you Mr. Gresley!" said Lector.

"Who are you?" demanded Spencer in a hostile tone.

"My name is none of your concern at this time." retorted the strange man. "What you should be worried about right now-" A Dukurorider tossed the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card over to him, and he caught it. "-is about your card."

"Give her back!" ordered Spencer. "If you don't, I'll-!"

"In due time, Mr. Gresley. First... a little story I'd like to share."

Spencer growled, but said nothing. This allowed the stranger to begin his story...

"How long ago has it been?" questioned Lector. "Ah yes, many, many years since Boxford Corp went from Gozaburo Gresley to Jim and Leslie Gresley..."

"Wait!" interrupted Spencer. "Do you work for my Grandfather?!"

"Quiet, Spencer!" snapped the first Dukurorider. "Either you let our boss finish...or else!"

Spencer scowled as he allowed Lector to continue his tale...

"But there comes a time where even the great Gozaburo Gresley needed some outside help. And that's where I come into play."

"What does that even mean?" demanded Spencer.

"He wanted someone he knew who truly hated you and your family." answered the strange man. "Someone...like the current President of the United States."

"What?!"

"I used to be one of Douglas Crump's handlers of his campaign, but I got fired at one point." The strange man continued. "I wanted to make it up to my ex-boss, but didn't know how. That was where I met Gozaburo..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The computer monitor was showing how many shares that Boxford Corp had left...which was only 25%. Someone else had beaten Douglas Crump to the buyout of that menacing company!

"25% shares?" asked the pompous man in shock. "How is this even possible?!"

"Gee, I don't think you'll be able to get control of Boxford Corp now." remarked the man (Lector) innocently.

Douglas Crump's good mood vanished and he glared at the member of his team - the exact same man who helped him win the election and become the President of the United States.

"What?"

"...you're fired." said Douglas Crump simply.

"Should have known." sighed Lector sadly, turning and walking out of the office.

Outside the office, the ex-staff member was slowly walking down the hallway. He was not angry at Douglas Crump, but with himself.

"I can't believe I let the President down." Lector said to only himself. "I have to redeem myself and make it up to him. But how do I do so?"

All of a sudden, while walking down the hall, Lector...suddenly faded away...

(elsewhere...)

...and found himself inside a lab of some sort.

"Where am I?" Lector asked aloud, while looking around.

"Ha ha ha ha... Welcome, young man!" laughed a voice.

Lector looked around nervously. Finally, Gozaburo showed himself from behind a large bookcase.

"You!" gasped Lector. "You're-!"

"Gozaburo Gresley." confirmed the man.

"B-But...! Y-You're supposed to be...dead!"

"My hatred and anger for losing my company kept my spirit alive." explained Gozaburo, looking furious. "I can never forgive my adopted children for their betrayal!"

Lector was scared. "W-Where am I, exactly?"

"In my laboratory in the Duel Monsters spirit world." Gozaburo answered bluntly. "I also seem to know that Duel Monsters are on the loose, yes?"

"T-That's right." nodded Lector, sounding shocked. "But how do you know?"

"Because me and a bunch of friends are attempting to put an end to the menace."

That was a lie, as Gozaburo was the one who began the whole mess... but Lector didn't know that...

"And I also know how you can help make it up to President Douglas Crump for your mistakes." continued Gozaburo, giving a dark smile. "That is...if you will let me help you out."

"What?"

"Join me, and I can help you regain President Douglas Crump's trust." Gozaburo offered, holding his right hand out.

Lector stood there speechless from the offer. In his mind, however...

"This could be my big chance." he thought to himself. "I can make it up to Mr. Crump, and he'll hire me back with open arms!"

"Again-" continued Gozaburo, with his hand still out. "-do we have a deal?"

At last, Lector shook the evil man's hand. "Deal!"

The deal was sealed.

"From there, I under went an experiment." narrated Lector. "Something that would grant me all the power I ever needed! ...to get revenge upon you and your family."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Actually, Mr. Gresley, I'm not longer called 'Lector'." continued the strange man (Lector), reaching for his trenchcoat. "From now on, you can call me..."

He pulled the trench coat off, revealing his new form as...

"Jinzo!"

It was the same humanoid, android-like monster Percy has used in several duels once he won the card from Samson.

"Jinzo?!" gasped Spencer. He then recovered and sneered. "So, I'm guessing you must have met with that bastard of a President in disguse shortly after-"

"Quiet, you!" snarled Jinzo, firing a blast of energy from his eyes towards Spencer's feet. This caused the silver-haired boy to dive to the side and barely avoid the blast. "You will not talk about President Crump in such a disrespectful manner!"

Spencer glared, but remained silent. Jinzo then held up the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card and gripped it in a way like he would tear it up.

"Otherwise... I'll tear this card up."

Spencer's eyes widened as he clenched his fist. He would be forever damned if that card were to be destroyed.

"You leave her alone." The silver-haired boy demanded, with his voice full of venom. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"Then you should know that I'm aware Maiden with Eyes of Blue is one of your spirit monsters." said Jinzo. "If her card is torn up, her spirit will be lost forever."

"Why did you send your flunkies to steal her?" asked Spencer angrily.

Jinzo responded by making a Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"To ensure that you agree to a duel with me." The android answered. "And if you were to refuse, we'd have a way to...make you accept it."

Spencer responded by activating his own Duel Disk and stood ready.

"I accept your challenge." The silver-haired boy hissed. "Anyone who dares to work for Gozaburo Gresley or Douglas Crump is an enemy of mine!"

"And anyone who defies President Crump is my greatest enemy!"

The two Dukuroriders folded their arms and smirked cockily.

"This Spencer chump's dead meat." said the first Dukurorider.

"Especially with the deck our boss has prepared." agreed the other Dukurorider.

The two duelists took their positions on the duel field and drew their opening hands.

"DUEL!" Spencer and Jinzo shouted at once (LP: 4000) x2.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Crush Card Virus, Pitch-Dark Dragon, Alexandrite Dragon, Enraged Battle Ox, Magical Trick Mirror, and Attack Guidance Armor

* * *

"The first turn will go to me!" announced Spencer. He then looked to his hand. "This will be simple. Even if he has a Jinzo in his deck, I'll beat him before he even tries to summon it."

The silver-haired boy's hand contained Crush Card Virus, Pitch-Dark Dragon, Alexandrite Dragon, Enraged Battle Ox, Magical Trick Mirror, and Attack Guidance Armor. Jinzo, meanwhile, merely glared and said nothing. Finally, a monster card called Pitch-Dark Dragon materialized on the field.

"I summon my Pitch Dark Dragon in defense mode."

A scary black dragon appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 3/DEF: 600). On cue, two facedown cards materialized.

"Finally, I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Spencer was smiling to himself. "If he dares to attack with a powerful monster, my Crush Card Virus will be triggered."

Jinzo merely drew a card. "Your set cards won't help you! Watch as I find a way around them."

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Jinzo (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Jinzo, Jinzo - Jector, Iron Draw, Jinzo - Returner, Trap Request, and Spell Duplication

* * *

His hand contained Jinzo, Jinzo - Jector, Iron Draw, Jinzo - Returner, Trap Request, and Spell Duplication.

"This will work well." The android thought to himself. he then spoke aloud... "Get ready, Mr. Gresley!"

Spencer snorted. On cue, a Continuous Spell card called Trap request materialized face-up.

"First I activate the Spell card Trap Request. This will be the end of your Trap cards!"

"But how?" demanded Spencer.

"On each of my standby phases, I can select a Trap card from your deck and set it facedown." explained Jinzo. "Once set, it cannot be activated. And if removed in any sort of way, you take 1000 points of damage!"

"What?!" winced Spencer. He relied heavily on Trap cards to disable the opponent, and facing someone who can counter them like that wouldn't be easy to beat.

"But I'm not close to being finished yet." continued Jinzo, taking and holding up a card from his hand. "Jinzo - Jector! I summon you in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was another android-like monster with electric tentacles coming out of its head (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"A Jinzo monster..." whispered Spencer.

"As long as this monster is on the field, it's name is treated as only ' **Jinzo** '." explained Jinzo. "But I can tribute my monster to add one ' **Jinzo** ' monster from my deck to my hand and then all of my opponent's set cards are flipped up. If any of them are Trap cards, I can special summon as many Jinzo monsters depending on the amount of Trap cards the opponent has set."

To prove his point, Jinzo - Jector faded away in a blue streak. Jinzo then added a card from his deck to his hand.

"Time to see what cards you have set."

Spencer's facedown cards were suddenly flipped face-up. They were revealed to be Crush Card Virus and Magical Trick Mirror.

"Hmm..." mused Jinzo. "Two powerful Trap cards, eh? Well, that means I can special summon two ' **Jinzo** ' monsters from my hand."

Two monster cards (Jinzo and Jinzo - Returner) materialized face-up.

"Now I special summon myself and Jinzo - Returner in attack mode!"

The two monsters appeared to the field.

"Now I'm aware that Jinzo automatically wipes out all Trap cards on the field... but only if I choose for it to do so." said Jinzo smugly. "I have something far better in store to take you down, Mr. Gresley."

On cue, a Spell card called Iron Draw materialized face-up.

"That's Iron Draw!" exclaimed Spencer. "Since you control two machine-type monsters, you draw two cards!"

"Correct." confirmed Jinzo, drawing two cards. "And I think I'll use one of them right now."

Jinzo faded away in a blue streak.

"I'll begin my offering Jinzo as a tribute."

Spencer didn't know what was coming, but he didn't like it one bit. On cue, a new Jinzo-like monster began to rise from the ground.

"With the offering met, I special summon from my hand Jinzo - Lord!" laughed Jinzo.

This monster was shown to be a much more powerful, and recolored, version of Jinzo (Level: 8/ATK: 2600).

"For the first effects of my monster; you cannot activate any Trap cards, and any that are currently active are negated!"

"No!" yelled Spencer in frustration. "That means my Crush Card Virus is useless!"

"I wouldn't say rendered useless." retorted Jinzo.

"Huh?"

"I activate the next effect of my Jinzo - Lord!" continued the android. "Seek out and destroy all Trap cards!"

Jinzo - Lord obeyed as many robotic tentacles soared out and destroyed Spencer's Trap cards.

"My Trap cards!" exclaimed Spencer. A card from his hand was also vaporized. "H-Hey!"

"And now, for every Trap card on your field or hand, you take 300 points of damage!" Jinzo pointed out. "You had three Trap cards. One in your hand, and two from your field, so that is 900 points of damage dealt!"

Spencer lost some life points (LP: 3100). But Jinzo's turn wasn't done yet...

"Jinzo - Returner, use your special ability to bypass Mr. Gresley's monster and attack him directly!"

"What?! A direct attack?" gasped Spencer.

Jinzo - Returner obeyed, bypassing Spencer's monster and striking him (LP: 2500).

"Ggh!"

"And now, Jinzo - Lord, destroy Pitch-Dark Dragon!" commanded Jinzo.

Jinzo - Lord obeyed, firing a laser blast from its eyes at Pitch-Dark Dragon, striking and destroying it.

"Finally-" Jinzo continued, holding a card out. "I'll equip Jinzo - Lord with this Spell card - Safeguard(!)!"

"Safeguard?" blinked Spencer. It was then he rememebered... "That card prevents your monster from being affected by the opponent's Spell cards!"

"Correct." said Jinzo, folding his arms proudly. "That means nothing you do can destroy my monster. Now make your move."

Spencer was feeling frustrated. With the use of Trap cards and offensive Spell cards completely negated, he was left with just attacking, and they wouldn't be enough.

"My turn!" shouted Spencer, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (3): Alexandrite Dragon, Enraged Battle Ox, and Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"Behold Pot of Greed!" Spencer announced, holding the card out. "Now I draw two cards!"

"Whatever." remarked Jinzo without any interest whatsoever.

Very quickly, a monster card called Alexandrite Dragon materialized face-up on the field.

"Now I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!" declared Spencer.

Appearing to the field was a majestic looking dragon with jewels on its scales (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100).

"Attack Jinzo - Returner!" commanded Spencer, pointing forth.

Alexandrite Dragon obeyed, slashing at the weaker ' **Jinzo** ' monster with its claws. Jinzo - Returner fell down and shattered into pieces, much to Jinzo's anger (LP: 2600). Suddenly, the android's graveyard started glowing.

"When Jinzo - Lord is destroyed-" declared Jinzo, taking a card from his graveyard and placing it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can special summon from the graveyard, until my end phase, a ' **Jinzo** ' monster! ...like the original Jinzo!"

Suddenly the original Jinzo reappeared to the field. Two facedown cards materialized on Spencer's side of the field.

"It doesn't matter. I'll set these two cards and end my turn!" said the silver-haired boy.

"Are you daft?" demanded Jinzo. "No Spell cards you use will affect Jinzo - Lord!"

"Just go!"

Jinzo just drew his card without another word.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Jinzo (LP: 2600)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (2): Spell Duplication and Jinzo - Returner

* * *

His drawn card was another copy of Jinzo - Returner.

"Mr. President-" thought Jinzo. "-this turn is for you." The android then pointed forth. "As we're on my standby phase, I can now select a Trap card from your deck and set it on the field!"

Spencer's deck glowed, much to his shock. Jinzo thought for a moment before coming to a decision...

"I'll pick... that one!"

A facedown card suddenly materialized onto Spencer's side of the field.

"Now comes my favorite part." continued Jinzo. "Jinzo - Lord will now wipe out your Trap cards!"

Jinzo - Lord fired off its robotic tentacles. Spencer's first two set cards remained untouched, but the third card wasn't so lucky (Ring of Destruction).

"Your Ring of Destruction Trap card, eh?" mused Jinzo. "Because of Jinzo - Lord's effect, you take 300 points of damage if a Trap cad is destroyed!"

Spencer grunted (LP: 2200). Suddenly, Trap Request started to activate.

"Oh, and because a Trap card was destroyed after it was set by Trap Request-" continued Jinzo. "-you are dealt 1000 additional points of damage!"

Spencer was suddenly shocked by a volt of electricity, screaming in pain (LP: 1200).

"And now for the battle phase! ...Jinzo - Lord, attack Alexandrite Dragon this instant!"

Jinzo - Lord obeyed, firing its tentacles at the dragon, destroying it in an instant.

"Ugh..." groaned Spencer weakly (LP: 600).

"Time to finish you!" declared Jinzo gleefully. "Jinzo, attack Mr. Gresley directly and make President Crump proud! CYBER ENERGY SHOCK!"

Jinzo obeyed and began to charge an attack between its hands.

"I reveal my set card!" shouted Spencer, as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Rival Arrival!"

"R-Rival Arrival?!"

"This lets me normal summon a monster during the battle phase." explained Spencer, taking the last card from his hand. "Like Enraged Battle Ox!"

A retrained version of Battle Ox appeared in a defensive stance. The Cyber Energy Shock attack was fired and struck the Enraged Battle Ox and destroying it.

"My battle phase is not over yet." declared Jinzo, taking and holding a familiar Spell card for Spencer to see. "I'll activate this Quick-Play Spell card from my hand - Spell Duplication!"

"Oh no..." groaned Spencer. In his thoughts... "That card allows him to play any number of Spell cards I've used at one point in the duel!"

"What this does-" said Jinzo, beginning to echo what Spencer had been thinking. "-is it allows me to play any number of Spell cards you've used at one point in the duel!" His eyes flashed red for a moment. "And I've chosen to play one..."

Flipping face-up and revealing itself was the Spell card Rival Arrival.

"Rival Arrival! So now I get to normal summon during my battle phase as well!"

"What monster will he choose?" thought Spencer.

On cue, a second copy of Jinzo - Returner materialized onto the field.

"Jinzo - Returner with this being my last card I'll make it count!" declared Jinzo. "Jinzo - Returner!"

Spencer grimaced (LP: 600).

"Now finish him off!"

Jinzo - Returner began to attack. It looked to be all over for Spencer...

"That guy is done for!" laughed the first Dukurorider.

"I told you he didn't stand a chance!" added the second Dukurorider.

The first Dukurorider scowled. "No, you didn't! I did!"

"No, I did!"

The two Dukurorider got into a fight. Meanwhile, Jinzo - Returner's attack got closer and closer...

"GO SHRINK!" shouted Spencer, motioning a hand to his remaining facedown card.

The silver-haird boy's last set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"SAY WHAT?!" The two Dukuroriders were surprised.

"This Spell card cuts your monsters attack points in half!" declared Spencer. "Your attack will now leave me with 300 life points!"

"So be it!" sneered Jinzo. "Continue your attack, Jinzo - Returner!"

The monster obeyed, striking Spencer with its tentacles.

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The silver-haired boy screamed, being sent flying back.

Quickly, he landed on the ground, injured (LP: 300).

"That was for President Douglas Crump!" declared Jinzo proudly.

Spencer slowly got back to his feet.

"Man, that guy never quits." sighed the first Dukurorider.

"Even with only 300 life points left." agreed the second Dukurorider.

"Go ahead and make your final move." dared Jinzo. "But there's not a card in your deck that can save you! And once you do lose, you'll not only be coming with me... But your precious card will be torn apart!"

Spencer was not gonna let that android get away with this. No matter what happens, he was gonna make sure Maiden with Eyes of Blue lived even if he had die in the process.

"You think you're gonna win?" asked Spencer harshly. "If so, I'll make it worth your wild!"

"Huh?"

"He's lost it." mumbled the second Dukurorider to his friend.

"Yup." agreed the first Dukurorider.

With that said, Spencer reached for his deck.

"If you win the duel, then you can do whatever you want to me... even kill me! But only if Maiden with Eyes of Blue is left alone!"

"Kill you?" Jinzo murmured. In his thoughts... "This would be the perfect way to get revenge!"

"Do it, boss!" called the two Dukuroriders. "Accept the bet!"

"Alright then." nodded Jinzo, after thinking it over for a minute. "I accept! Now make your final move!"

The two Dukuroriders were overjoyed. Since it was Jinzo's end phase, his just revived Jinzo was sent back to the graveyard. Spencer looked to his deck while still preparing to make his last draw.

"I know my deck can help me out." he said to himself. "I just have to draw the right card."

All of a sudden, the roar of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon could be heard echoing from the deck. No one, but Spencer, could hear it. Finally, the silver-haired boy drew while slashing a wave of colorful light as he performed a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Demise

* * *

Immediately, the Card of Demise Spell card materialized face-up.

"I begin by activating Card of Demise!" announced Spencer, drawing a brand new hand. "Now I draw until I hold five cards."

"Don't forget that you must discard your hand after taking five standby phases!" reminded Jinzo.

"But these are all I need to win!" interrupted the silver-haired boy, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard before drawing two cards. "I discard the lone Thunder Dragon from my hand to the graveyard in order to add two additional Thunder Dragon cards from my deck to my hand!"

"Why do something like that?" questioned Jinzo. He then reeled back once he realized something about the play. "Unless you're gonna-!"

"Next I activate the Spell card Polymerization!" interrupted Spencer, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "And I'll use it to fuse my two Thunder Dragons together!"

Two Thunder Dragons briefly appeared before being fused together.

"Come forth - Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"

Appearing before them was a large red dragon with two heads (Level: 7/ATK: 2800).

"But I'm not close to being done yet!" thundered Spencer, just before slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Behold the Spell card Rise of the White Dragon(!)!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Have you ever heard of Dark Magic Curtain? Well, think of this card as that, but Blue-Eyes White Dragon related instead!"

"What?!" gasped Jinzo.

"By giving up half of my life points-" explained Spencer (LP: 150). "- I can special summon from my deck the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

On a burst of white light came the legendary dragon itself, giving an almighty roar tto signal its arrival (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Aw, crap!" whined the second Dukurorider.

"THAT dragon!" added the first Dukurorider.

"And now you creeps are in serious trouble!" Spencer cut in hotly. "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack Jinzo - Returner!"

Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon obeyed, charging a blast of lightning from the two-headed dragon's mouths and unleashing them at the opposition. Jinzo - Returner had no chance of withstanding the attack, and went bye-bye once the attack struck it.

"GAHHH!" screamed Jinzo, taking massive damage (LP: 400).

"The boss is about to lose!" cried the first Dukurorider. "Once that Blue-Eyes attacks, the boss will be defeated!"

The second Dukurorider started to race to his motorcycle. "Let's get out of here!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

The two delinquents raced away before Spencer could turn his attention to them.

"Get back here you cowards!" snapped Jinzo. Truthfully, his confident streak was breaking up. "D-Don't leave me!"

Spencer laughed. "Just you and me now... with no way out of your mess!"

Poor Jinzo was now frozen in fright at the angry-looking Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which was ready to strike and finish the duel.

"Blue-Eyes-" ordered Spencer. "-finish Jinzo off with White Lightning attack!"

Blue-Eyes Wite Dragon obeyed and fired streaming blast of destruction at the frightened android's Jinzo - Lord. Jinzo - Lord was struck and wiped out after a few seconds.

"MR. PRESIDEEEEEEENT!" screamed Jinzo in agony, just as he got completely overwhelmed by the attack and his life points depleted (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Spencer Gresley wins!**

* * *

Inside the main office of the White House, Douglas Crump was busy signing some paperwork when a knock on the door from outside was heard.

"Come in." The pompous man called out.

The door opened... It was another of Douglas Crump's staff members.

"Sir, we've gotten a call from Lector." reported the woman.

Douglas Crump smiled. "And...?"

"I'm afraid that he was just killed."

The US President's happy look immediately turned into one of great anger.

"What?!" demanded Douglas Crump. "How!?"

"We've got reports that just as he began his search for Spencer Gresley, a monster attacked and destroyed the helicopter he was riding." answered the female staff member. "I'm afraid he's gone."

Douglas Crump angrily slammed his fist on the desk, scaring the staff member that had told him the bad news.

"BOXFORD!" The pompous man roared to the sky. "This time, you've gone way too far! No matter who purchased you, I'll make you all pay for the terror and such you've been unleashing in our fair country! I swear it... Getting rid of you will ensure that America becomes great again!"

Unfortunately, what Douglas Crump didn't know was that Lector (Jinzo) had bought his death upon himself by joining forces with Gozaburo Gresley and performing unforgiving actions (and unwittingly unleashing more monsters into his own world). Even if the truth was unveiled, the US President was far too stubborn to even listen to reason.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the high-tech city; when the smoke finally clear, all that was left of Jinzo was his head. Spencer approached and held up the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card.

"A deal is a deal." The silver-haired boy pointed out. "I'm taking my card back now." His look grew cold and angry. "Don't you ever touch Maiden with Eyes of Blue ever again!"

With that said, Spencer kicked Jinzo's head away. It rolled along the ground until it crashed into the wall of a building. With no body, the soon-to-be-dead android had no way of fighting back.

"Curse...you...Mr. G-Gresley...!" Jinzo attempted to say, before finally shutting down for good.

The head then turned into light and vanished. Spencer looked on quietly before gazing down at his recovered card.

"Maiden with Eyes of Blue... I'm sorry for letting you get kidnapped by those monsters. I swear I will never let that happen again."

The spirit of the blue-eyed maiden soon appeared.

"Spencer..." Maiden with Eyes of Blue whispered.

Spencer remained stoic. "You..."

Before he could say another word, Maiden with Eyes of Blue wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you." The white-haired female monster merely said.

Spencer closed his eyes and stood there for what seemed like forever. It seems like a happy ending to me, don't you think?

(elsewhere...)

Inside the lab within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo was seated at his desk looking like he was doing some serious thinking. Even though his new plan had failed, he was not angry. As it also turned out, Gozaburo had also made that earlier phone call to the White House to give the ' _bad_ ' news to Douglas Crump.

"So, Spencer is still far stronger than I thought." The evil man said to himself. "No matter... I'll get rid of him before too long."

He the looked to his right. A nearby computer monitor began showing images of Thomas and his friends setting up camp near a beautiful lake.

"But in the meantime, I think it best to focus on our main target."

What could Gozaburo have planned for Thomas and the others this time? Well, we will just have to wait and see...next time. Either way, it will be somewhat of a doozy.


	42. Be Careful What You Fish For

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up beside a beautiful lake, Thomas and his friends were currently busy setting up camp and making some dinner. Their newest ally, Sarina, was busy making a salad on a nearby table that had been set up.

"Just a little bit of this-" The girl said almost in song. "-and some of that..." Soon, she had finished. "And there we are; we have a salad to go with dinner!"

Edward was impressed. "Looks great. How did you learn to cook so well?"

"I used to help my Mother in the kitchen of our home before she passed away." explained Sarina.

"I'm... I'm sorry." apologized Maiden of the Aqua. "With your brother also gone, you must have no more family to see."

"But on the plus side-" said Sarina, sounding slightly more cheerful. "-I got to meet all of you after being freed."

"And we're glad to have met you, too." agreed Thomas, before remembering something he was told earlier. "It's hard to believe there are so many different routes to the capital city."

"My brother and I used to explore for routes like these as children in case others would be closed off. By taking this route, we should be able to arrive before evening. Even faster if nothing slows us down."

Just then...

"Since we're by such a beautiful lake, maybe we should say here for the night?" suggested Henry, walking by while carrying some fire wood. "If my hunch is correct, the sky will be clear of clouds and there will be plenty of stars to light the nightime."

"I like that idea." smiled Rosie.

"As do I." agreed Edward.

"It would be better if we didn't." said Thomas impatiently. "The sooner we get to the Capital City, the better."

"Come on, Thomas." said Percy. "It's a wonderful spot here. Can't we spend the night and rest? Please? If we carry on without stopping, we'll be too tired."

"He's right." said Molly. "We'll need all the rest and energy we can get if we're going to stop the Court of Darkness."

Despite feeling anxious to get to the capital city as quickly as, Thomas knew they were right.

"Oh, alright." shrugged the blue-haired boy.

Unknown to anyone, there was something in the middle of the lake. It looked like a fishman-like Duel Monsters spirit. The monster never said a word, but merely glared before sinking back into the water.

* * *

 **Title: Be Careful What You Fish For**

* * *

Somewhere else in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Chaos Sorcerer was riding on the back of a Curse of Dragon. It would seem that the spellcaster-like monster was in the middle of a search for a large body of water...

"I've searched long and hard." thought Chaos Sorcerer. "The lake should be here somewhere..."

It was clear to tell that his search was not going very well. Was Chaos Sorcerer going to give it up, though? Not even close...

"Regardless, I will not give up! Lord Diablon would be most displeased with me."

And the search went on...

(elsewhere...)

Back at the camp sight, Thomas, Percy, and Toby were each down by the dock doing some fishing (catching fish for dinner).

"I bet this take you back to that one fishing trip, Thomas?" asked Percy, giving a cheeky smile.

"You mean the one where I lost control of my line and the fish dove down the back of my shirt?" mumbled Thomas in an irritated tone. "Yes, I quite remember that. Any reason you chose to bring up that unpleasant memory?"

"Never mind, Thomas." said Toby kindly. "That was years ago."

"True that..."

Five minutes passed... then ten... then fifteen...

"GAH! Why aren't the fish biting?!" complained Percy, getting fed up with waiting.

"Maybe they're on a diet." teased Thomas.

Pretty soon, James had arrived with a fishing pole of his own.

"How's the fishing going?"

"Lousy." groaned Percy.

"The fish aren't biting right now." came from Toby.

James snorted. "Step aside, amateurs! Let me show you what a fishing pro can do!"

"This ought to be interesting." whispered Thomas to Percy and Toby.

The trio moved out of the way while James readied his pole.

"Let's cast off!" grinned the red-haired boy, casting his reel into the water. "The perfect cast."

So far so good, eh?

(elsewhere...)

Back at the campsite, it had been nearly 45-minutes since Thomas, Percy, Toby, and James all went down to the lake to gather fish for dinner.

"Huh?" peeped Maiden of the Aqua, looking to nearby.

"What's the matter?" asked Mavis.

"I think Thomas and the others are coming back from fishing."

Indeed... coming up the hill came a smiling Thomas, Percy, and Toby... Along with a soaking wet, very irritated looking, James.

"What in the world?" blinked Stanley.

"What happen to you, James?" asked Edward.

"Gone for a swim without changing into your swim trunks?" joked Rosie, trying to resist letting out a laugh.

Molly couldn't help but giggle. "Good one, Rosie."

James said nothing and merely mumbled and grumbled.

"Let's just say that James wanted to show us what a fishing pro is capable of doing." grinned Toby.

"And he certainly showed us!" laughed Percy.

"He got us all these fish for dinner!" finished Thomas, carrying a box full of caught fish. "...the hard way!"

James stayed silent, but his face was now bright red from humiliation.

"Oooh... Why is it always me?" James thought to only himself.

"Never mind, James." chuckled Edward. "You got our dinner, so that's all that matters."

James started to smile from hearing that, but then...

"Trespassers, leave at once!" boomed a new voice (male).

On cue, the good mood atmosphere has ceased.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" snapped Gordon, falling to his knees. "Don't tell me we're in another forbidden area!"

"I...know that voice." whispered Sarina.

"You do?" asked Henry.

Before the girl could say anything more, the nearby lake started to...go all tsunami-like.

"The lake!" exclaimed Rosie.

"Can you try and stop it?" asked Molly to Maiden of the Aqua.

Maiden of the Aqua raised her staff as it glowed.

" _ **Great spirits of the water! I command you to obey my whim**_!"

It didn't work.

"Nothing!" grunted Maiden of the Aqua. "We'll have to get closer so I can get a better chance of stopping the cyclone."

"Isn't that dangerous?" questioned James.

"Yes, but it's the only way!"

"Suicide may be a hobby-" muttered Mavis to only herself. "-but I certainly wouldn't do it for a living."

(elsewhere...)

Down by the dock, the water-like cyclone had been becoming fiercer and fiercer. By then, Thomas and everyone else had arrived.

"I hope you know what you're doing." said Thomas.

Maiden of the Aqua nodded before turning to face the rage of the lake. Se raised her staff and began to glow.

" _ **Great spirits of the water! I co**_ -"

Just then, a hydro pump-like attack came from the water-like cyclone. Striking and sending Maiden of the Aqua flying back a small distance and slamming against the ground.

"NO!" screamed Thomas.

Sarina immediately ran over to the injured Maiden of the Aqua to see if she was badly hurt.

"Nothing is broken." The girl said to the blue-haired female monster. "You'll be okay."

"I've warned you not to do that!" called James. "Next time, take what I have to say seriously!"

The watery cyclone soon started to weaken.

"So, you not heeded my warning to leave?" came the voice (male).

Sarina closed her eyes. "That voice... why does it sound so familiar to me?"

"Look!" called Thomas. "If you want us to leave, we'll go! Last thing any of us want to do is die!" He began going back to the shore. "Come on, guys. Pack up and lets get going."

"You should have heeded my warning earlier!" snapped the voice (male). "Now you all shall face the consequences!"

The watery cyclone soon died down, and a figure emerged from the water.

"Look out!" cried Percy.

"Now we're in for it." mumbled James, looking upward with widened eyes.

The figure landed on the dock. It was...

"The Deepsea Warrior!" exclaimed Sarina. "This is his domain!"

"Why didn't you leave when I warned you earlier?" demanded Deepsea Warrior.

"We're sorry!" protested Henry. "We didn't know! We were just looking for a place to setup camp, and we found your lake thinking it was a great place to stay!"

Deepsea Warrior listened, but then he spotted someone in the middle of the group of humans.

"What?!"

The warrior-like monster was gazing at Thomas for what seemed like forever. But in his mind... it was...him...

"You...!" snarled Deepsea Warrior.

"What are you looking at?" questioned Thomas curiously.

Suddenly, Deepsea Warrior twirled his spear and hurled it at Thomas... the weapon impaled the ground by the blue-haired boy's feet.

"Yipe!"

"You're the ' ** _Evil One_** '!" shouted Deepsea Warrior. "I trusted you before, but then you went and made my people suffer after you promised peace among this land!"

"Um... what?" blinked Thomas. "What are you talking about?"

"What's he talking about?" whispered Gordon to James and Henry, who both merely shrugged.

"Don't play innocent with me!" Deepsea Warrior yelled once more, making another spear appear in his hands.

"Stop!" called Sarina, rushing forth. "You've got it all wrong! This boy is not Diablon! He is Autraius, the one who defeated him!"

"LIES! ALL LIES!"

"It's the truth!" The girl protested some more. "If he truly was Diablon, then he would have killed you were you stood! He and his friends rescued me from the Court of Darkness!"

Alas, Deepsea Warrior would not listen. But instead of using his weapon to try and impale Thomas where he stood, he made a Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"If he is who you believe he is, then I want him to show me!" ordered Deepsea Warrior. "He will face me in battle!"

"Fine!" agreed Thomas, activating his Duel Disk.

Suddenly, Percy stepped in. "Hey, fish-face! Make that face both of us!"

"Percy?"

"Stand back!" ordered Deepsea Warrior. "This is not your fight!"

"He's right, Percy." agreed Thomas. "Let me fight him on my own. I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"Not a chance!" refused Percy. "You're still weakened from your nightmare. If you are not even a little bit careful, who knows might happen to you."

"I don't care!" snapped Thomas stubbornly. "I would rather die that let anything bad happen to my friends!"

"Thomas, listen to-"

"I accept the challenge!" interrupted Deepsea Warrior.

Thomas and Percy ceased their arguement and looked over to the warrior-like monster silently.

"I will face the both of you in battle!"

"Y-You will?" spluttered Thomas.

Deepsea Warrior nodded. "That way, I'll know if you are telling the truth...or lying!"

"So be it." said Percy, activating his own Duel Disk.

Thomas gazed at his best friend. "I have to finish the duel before Deepsea Warrior tries to take Percy down."

With that said, all three duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x3.

"Let the triangle duel commence!" declared Deepsea Warrior.

Over with the gang...

"Man, what's up with Thomas?" asked James.

"He's willing to fight Deepsea Warrior on his own even in his weakened condition." said Henry.

"And even refusing to allow Percy to help him." added Gordon. "I don't if that's either a brave thing, or a foolish thing, to even do."

"He doesn't want any of us to get hurt." Rosie pointed out.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

Over in the duel on the dock...

"Allow me to get things started!" announced Percy, drawing a card. "NOW!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Knight of Landstar, Divine Knight Ishzark, Question, Rocket Warrior, Skull Dice, and Dice Re-Roll

* * *

The green-haired boy's hand contained Knight of Landstar, Divine Knight Ishzark, Question, Rocket Warrior, Skull Dice, and the added Dice Re-Roll.

"Not too shabby!" Percy smirked to himself. From there, he placed one of the cards onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth - Rocket Warrior!"

The Rocket-like monster appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300). Not done with his turn, Percy took and slotted two more cards into seperate Spell/Trap slots.

"Finally, I'll set two cards facedown and call it a turn!"

Two facedown cards materialized behind Rocket Warrior.

"Now it's my turn!" announced Thomas, drawing a card. He then looked to his best friend. "Percy, leave this to me."

Percy merely looked on grimly, knowing that Thomas was wrong to say that.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Archfiend of Gilfer, Buster Blader, Black Luster Ritual, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Ultimate Offering, and Double Spell

* * *

Thomas's current hand contained Archfiend of Gilfer, Buster Blader, Black Luster Ritual, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Ultimate Offering, and the added Double Spell.

"I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode!"

The all-familiar beast monster appeared with a howl (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).

"That's all." finished Thomas, easing up.

"I was expecting more than that." said Deepsea Warrior, drawing a card. "If you really aren't the ' ** _Evil One_** ', you would have done more!"

Thomas said nothing in response, and neither did Percy.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Deepsea Warrior (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mermaid Knight, Battle at Sea, Big Jaws, Levia-Dragon - Daedalus, Aqua Jet, and Warrior of Atlantis

* * *

Deepsea Warrior's hand contained Mermaid Knight, Battle at Sea, Big Jaws, Levia-Dragon - Daedalus, Aqua Jet, and the added Warrior of Atlantis.

"I have all that I need to put an end to the ' ** _Evil One_** ' once and for all." The warrior-like monster thought to himself. He then discarded a card to the graveyard. "To start off my turn, I'll discard Warrior of Atlantis from my hand to the graveyard!"

The spirit of said monster appeared briefly before vanishing. Deepsea Warrior then took his deck out of his Duel Disk and selected a card from it.

"By doing so, I can add one copy of A Legendary Ocean card from my deck to my hand."

"A Legendary Ocean?" thought Percy. "This sounds rather familiar..."

Deepsea Warrior's Field Spell zone suddenly opened up.

"Now watch as I activate my obtained A Legendary Ocean!" announced the warrior-like monster, placing the card in the Duel Disk.

All of a sudden, the lake...started to rise!

"The lake!" gasped Henry.

"Run for it!" ordered Mavis.

Everyone in the group, with the exception of Thomas and Percy, tried to make their escape up the hill... but failed. Before long, the lake had turned into a huge ocean with a large underwater city.

"Why aren't we drowning?" questioned James stupidly.

"Beats me." shrugged Gordon. "But we can breath."

Back in the duel field...

"Thanks to this card-" said Deepsea Warrior. "-the levels of all water-attribute monsters in our hands are reduced by 1, and they gain 200 attack and defense points."

"Knowing this guy's deck, he likely has tons of 'em." thought Percy.

"Hold up!" called Sarina to Deepsea Warrior. "Is this your home under the lake?"

Deepsea Warrior looked towards Sarina looking rather bitter.

"Yes, it is. Why do you ask me that?"

"Because I remember something my late brother told me." said Sarina. "It used to be a wonderful kingdom... but was then destroyed in the war years ago."

"Yes, it was." confirmed Deepsea Warrior, before glaring at Thomas. "It was Diablon's fault!"

"You've got it all wrong!" protested Percy. "Thomas here would never cause destruction without reason!"

"Yeah!" came from Edward. "He's here to help stop the Court of Darkness!"

Again, Deepsea Warrior refused to listen. He merely took a card from his hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Mermaid Knight in attack mode! And thanks to A Legendary Ocean's effect, her level is reduced by 1, and she gains 200 attack and defense points!"

Appearing to the field was a red-haired mermaid with knight's armor and a sword as a weapon (Level: 4 - 3/ATK: 1500 - 1700/DEF: 700 - 900). Deepsea Warrior followed up by holding out another card from his hand.

"Now I activate Aqua Jet!" declared Deepsea Warrior. "With this Spell card, all of my current face-up Fish, Sea-Serpent, and Aqua-type monsters gain 1000 attack points"

A pair of jets appeared behind Mermaid Knight, making her even stronger (ATK: 1700 - 2700).

"A 2700 attack point monster." mumbled Percy.

"And since I've played a Spell card-" continued Deepsea Warrior, taking another card from his hand and holding it out. "I can special summon this terror of the deep!"

Over with the gang...

"Terror of the deep?" quizzed Gordon.

"I don't like the sound of that." groaned Rosie.

"Me neither." agreed Toby.

Suddenly, the rock walls behind the gang started to crack.

"Look out!" called Edward.

Before anyone could move, a large blue shark broke through the walls and started swimming around.

"SHARK!" panicked Henry.

"And it's humming the theme from Jaws!" mumbled Gordon to himself.

"Lets get out of here!" cried James.

Surprisingly, the shark ignored the audience and instead began swimming around the duel field.

"Meet my Big Jaws!" declared Deepsea Warrior.

Big Jaws soon joined Mermaid Knight (Level: 3 - 2/ATK: 1800 - 2000/DEF: 300 - 500).

"Gaze upon the instruments of your death, Diablon!" The aquatic warrior-like monster went on, taking the last card from his hand. "And to make things worse for you, I activate the Spell card Battle at Sea!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"This Continuous Spell card can only be used whenever I attack with a water attribute monster. Now when I do attack with a water monster, all battle damage inflicted upon the opponent is doubled!"

"Doubled?!" gasped Thomas.

"That isn't good." commented Mavis.

The battle phase commenced...

"Now go forth, my monsters!" commanded Deepsea Warrior. "Destroy Diablon once and for all!"

Mermaid Knight attacked and destroyed Rocket Warrior first.

"Rocket Warrior!" called Percy (LP: 1600).

Suddenly, Mermaid Knight attacked again and destroyed Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts this time around.

"Gazelle!" cried Thomas (LP: 1600).

"How was Mermaid Knight able to strike twice?" demanded Henry.

"Its effect." answered Maiden of the Aqua. "If Deepsea Warrior controls a copy of the Umi card, then Mermaid Knight is allowed to attack twice a turn."

"But there is no Umi in play!" protested Molly.

"A Legendary Ocean is allowed to be considered as Umi." corrected Deepsea Warrior. "Now, Big Jaws, attack Diablon directly and avenge my fallen home!"

Big Jaws obeyed and started to swim towards the defensless Thomas.

"This is it..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "Goodbye everyone..."

It wasn't over yet...

"Go, Skull Dice!" shouted Percy, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Your monster is about to lose some attack points!"

The little demon with the large red die appeared in front of Thomas and rolled the die.

"Percy?!"

"You can thank me later, Thomas." winked Percy, before turning his attention to his activated Skull Dice card. "Now then, let's roll the dice and see what we get... Go, Dice Roll!"

The die rolled and rolled...a two.

"A two?!" Thomas was very worried. "Skull Dice will halve Big Jaws' attack... but it won't be enough for me to survive!"

"Indeed not." agreed Deepsea Warrior. "Continue your attack, Big Jaws!"

"I don't think so!" retorted Percy. "I activate my other facedown card - Dice Re-Roll!"

The green-haired boy's last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Since I've used a dice card, a.k.a. Skull Dice, I can now use the effect of the dice card a second time to try and get a better result!"

The red die jumped back into the little demon's arms as it made a second roll.

"This time, I'm sure my luck will show itself." insisted Percy, sounding confident.

Deepsea Warrior didn't think so, but remained quiet about it.

"Go again, Dice Roll!"

The die rolled for a bit before finally landing.

"It's a five!" exclaimed Thomas.

Big Jaws' attack with lowered quite a bit (ATK: 2000 - 400).

"Big Jaws, continue your attack!" commanded Deepsea Warrior.

Big Jaws obeyed, striking Thomas with its tail, pushing him back some (LP: 800).

"He's still in the game!" sighed James in relief.

"But barely." said Gordon.

"If it weren't for Percy, Thomas would have lost right there and then!" put in Stanley.

Back in the duel field...

"You may have lucked out this time-" growled Deepsea Warrior. "-but you won't last next turn!"

"Look, I'm only gonna say this one more time; Thomas here was NOT the one who destroyed your home city!" Percy pointed out. "It must have been someone who looked like this...Diablon...you speak of!"

"He bares the same face of the ' ** _Evil One_** '!" Deepsea Warrior pointed out. "Explain that!"

"Maybe later."

With that said, Percy drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (4): Knight of Landstar, Divine Knight Ishzark, Question, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Almost immediately, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed!" said Percy, drawing two more cards. "This lets me draw two more cards from my deck."

The two drawn cards were Giant Trunade and Premature Burial (both being Spell cards). Percy gave a smirk as he selected the latter card first.

"You're going down." The green-haired boy declared, slotting his first card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I'll first activate Premature Burial - an Equip Spell card!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"By giving up 800 life points-" explained Percy, taking a life point hit (LP: 800). "-I can bring back Rocket Warrior and put it in attack mode!"

Rocket Warrior returned to the field. It was then the Giant Trunade Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And now I activate Giant Trunade! This returns all Spells and Traps on the field to our hands! So say bye-bye to your ocean card!"

A monstrous storm began.

"No!" screamed Deepsea Warrior. "You can't!"

"Oh, yes I can!" grinned Percy.

Within seconds, the field had been whiped clean of all Spells and Traps. In addition, everyone was back by the lake and dock.

"And without your ocean, your monsters lose their power-ups."

Big Jaws (ATK: 400 - 200) and Mermaid Knight (ATK: 2700 - 2500) both got weaker than from before.

"Why, you!" scowled Deepsea Warrior.

"But I'm not done." continued Percy, taking a card from his hand. "I sacrifice my revived Rocket Warrior so I can summon a new monster...!"

Rocket Warrior faded away in a blue streak.

"Come forth - Divine Knight Ishzark!"

Appearing to the field was a knight in white armor with a huge sword (Level: 6/ATK: 2300).

"Oh yeah!" cheered James. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"A comeback of epic portions!" agreed Gordon.

"Divine Knight Ishzark, attack and destroy Big Jaws!" ordered Percy, pointing forth.

Ishzark obeyed, striking the mighty shark with his sword. Big Jaws collapsed into the water and faded away, causing Deepsea Warrior to grunt (LP: 1900).

"Best of all; if Divine Knight Ishzark destroys a monster, the opposing monster is removed from the game rather than sent to the graveyard!"

Deepsea Warrior cursed under his breath.

"Way to go, Percy!" cheered Toby.

"Percy..." mumbled Thomas. In his mind... "Thank you..."

It was then Percy looked over to the blue-haired boy with a smile on his face.

"Friends help each other, Thomas." The green-haired boy said wisely. "If you were fighting this guy on your own in your current condition, you would have been beaten."

Thomas remained silent still. Finally, after a long silence, the blue-haired boy took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 800)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (6): Archfiend of Gilfer, Buster Blader, Black Luster Ritual, Ultimate Offering, Double Spell, and Card Destruction

* * *

His drawn card was the Card Destruction Spell card. Giving Deepsea Warrior a nasty glare, Thomas held out his card for the opponent to see.

"To prevent you from using A Legendary Ocean again-" The blue-haired boy said. "-I will play this Spell card - Card Destruction!"

"No!" gasped Deepsea Warrior.

"Now we must send all cards in our hands to the graveyard and draw the same number of cards we had before activation!"

The three duelists discarded their hands (reluctantly for Deepsea Warrior) and drew a number of cards from their respective decks:  
-Thomas: Five  
-Percy: Three  
-Deepsea Warrior: Three

"One of the cards I've discarded was Archfiend of Gilfer." continued Thomas, just as a card slid out of his graveyard. "What this does, when sent to the graveyard by being discarded or being destroyed by battle, is it equips itself onto any monster you control and lower its attack by 500 points!"

Archfiend of Gilfer suddenly appeared behind Mermaid Knight and attached itself to her, thus causing the mermaid-like monster to lose attack points (ATK: 2500 - 2000).

"You...!" seethed Deepsea Warrior, watching as his opponent slotted another card into his Duel Disk.

"Next I activate a powerful Spell card!" Thomas went on, just as the Dark Magic Curtain Spell card materialized face-up. "Dark Magic Curtain!"

Back with the rest of the gang...

"Anyone know what our friend is about pull?" asked Gordon knowingly.

"I sure do!" answered Rosie. "And I like it, too!"

Back in the duel...

"By giving up half of my life points-" explained Thomas (LP: 400). "-I can call forth from the deck one of my most powerful and trusted monsters; Dark Magician!"

Appearing from some light came the purple-haired, male spellcaster himself; twirling his scepter skillfully and posing afterward (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100). Deepsea Warrior was deeply shocked to see Dark Magician.

"D-Dark Magician?"

Just then, the Magic Formula Spell card materialized face-up behind the newly summoned Dark Magician.

"Now I shall boost his strength with Magic Formula." continued Thomas, with two finger braced upon a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.. "This will increase his overall attack points by 500!"

A large spellbook appeared infront of Dark Magician. Upon opening and reading it, the male spellcaster's attack points went up quite a bit (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Now take down Mermaid Knight with Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician obeyed, twirling his staff and firing a blast of black magic. Mermaid Knight was struck, gave a scream, and then shattered into pieces of glass (alongside Archfiend of Gilfer).

"My Mermaid Knight!" exclaimed Deepsea Warrior (LP: 900), he then growled in frustration.

"Now are you ready to admit that I am not this Diablon?" asked Thomas firmly.

"Even if you command such a monster like Dark Magician, I'm not convinced that you're who you say you are!" The aquatic warrior-like monster objected in denial.

Thomas scowled. How could one monster be so stubborn?

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere with Chaos Sorcerer, he was now traveling on foot to find the one lake containing what Airknight Parshath wanted to him to find. As the spellcaster-like monster walked through the woods he started to feel something.

"I must be close to finding it..."

Indeed he was... and close to starting one of Airknight Parshath's big plans.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the lake of Deepsea Warrior, the warrior-like monster had drawn his next card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Deepsea Warrior (LP: 900)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (4): Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness, Deep Diver, Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord, and Moray of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Moray of Greed.

"Moray of Greed..." thought Deepsea Warrior, adding the card to his hand.

The aquatic warrior-like monster's hand contained Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness, Deep Diver, Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord, and the added Moray of Greed.

"It's time for me to finish this!"

Thomas and Percy both braced themelves as Moray of Greed materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Moray of Greed!" announced Deepsea Warrior, who had two fingers braced upon a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "This lets me shuffle two water attribute monsters, such as Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness and Deep Diver, from my hand back into my deck and draw three new cards."

Doing as what he explained, the warrior-like monster shuffled two cards into his deck before drawing three cards. Deepsea Warrior was pleased with what cards he had drawn.

"It's all over for you both." he said quietly, readying one of the drawn cards.

Over with the gang, James started to run back up the hill.

"Hey! Where are you going?" demanded Gordon.

"I've got a feeling we're all about to take another swim." answered James. "So I'm running back up to camp to go change into my swim trunks."

Gordon and Henry both just facepalmed.

"Forget I even asked." groaned Gordon.

Back in the duel...

"It's time for me to activate another Field Spell card." announced Deepsea Warrior. "One that was once my true home!"

A Field Spell card called Lemuria, the Forgotten City materialized face-up.

"Lemuria, the Forgotten City!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"Earthquake, take cover!" panicked James.

"More like another Field Spell card is activating." corrected Sarina.

Rising up from the lake was an incredible looking city.

"This is..." began Thomas.

"...your home?" finished Percy. "But I thought-?"

"This was once my home." said Deepsea Warrior. "Long ago, my people and I lived peacefully in it."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Many years ago, Deepsea Warrior's home city was considered to be paradise. It had pure water, lots of plant-life, both humans and fish-like monsters living in harmony.

"We had not a care in the world for what was happening elsewhere." Deepsea Warrior narrated. "That all changed when...YOU...came!"

(new scene...)

Thousands of evil monsters were attacking the city. Up in the sky, standing atop the head of one of the three Sacred Beasts, was the ' ** _Evil One_** ' himself.

"All who refuse to bow before me shall perish!" cackled Diablon.

Deepsea Warrior could only watch helpless as his people died in the attack, buildings were being destroyed, the whole nineyards.

"How could you, Anakin?" The poor warrior-like monster whispered sadly. "After you and your wife both agreed to a treaty of peace?"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Innocent lives were ruined that day." went on Deepsea Warrior. "Our home was destroyed. And it was all because of you!"

At this point, Dark Magician was starting to become very angry with Deepsea Warrior for accusing his master/friend of a crime he never even commit. Regardless, Deepsea Warrior, continued with his turn...

"Lemuria, the Forgotten City, like A Legendary Ocean, grants all water attribute monsters a 200 attack and defense point boost! In addition, during my main phase 1 or 2 I can have all of my face-up water monsters gain additional star levels equal to the number of water monsters I control until the end phase."

"Sounds handy." said Percy.

"And now to call forth one of my most powerful monsters!" continued Deepsea Warrior, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up. "I activate Monster Reborn! Be revived; Levia-Dragon - Daedalus!"

The large sea serpent-like dragon reappeared.

"One strong ocean beast you have there." gulped Percy.

"Unfortunately, there is much worse to come!" Deepsea Warrior pointed out. "I offer my monster as a tribute!"

The mighty Daedalus vanished in a blue streak.

"Now I can special summon something just as good!" Deepsea Warrior went and showed his opponents one of the last cards in his hand. "Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus!"

Appearing from a beam of light came a much more powerful, two-headed version of Daedalus.

"Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus...!" gasped Thomas.

"That thing can crush any of us in an instant!" added Percy, looking quite scared.

"That indeed it can!" confirmed Deepsea Warrior. "And now for its special ability. By sacrificing my Field Spell card, Neo Daedalus can destroy all other cards on the field and in our hands except for it!"

"You would get rid of your own home?!" exclaimed Thomas.

"If it's to eliminate you; so be it!"

Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus gave a terrifying roar and the city started to disappear, sending the whole gang back to the lake. In addition, every remaining card in each player's hand was wiped out. To make matters even worse, Dark Magician and Divine Knight Ishzark were both gone as well.

"Our monsters!" Thomas and Percy both exclaimed at once.

Over with the gang...

"Dark Magician and Divine Knight Ishzark are both gone!" gulped Henry.

"This leaves Thomas and Percy both completely open to an attack!" added Toby.

"Now they're going to lose!" cried Molly.

Back in the duel...

"Hey, I've got news for you, pal." called Percy to Deepsea Warrior. "Your card destroying move was a big misplay on your part."

"What do you mean?" demanded Deepsea Warrior.

A card slipped from Percy's graveyard, and he took and showed everyone what it was.

"One of the cards you made me get rid of is a monster card called Neko Mane King! If at anytime it is sent to the graveyard, you automatically must enter your end phase."

Deepsea Warrior gawked. "HUH?!"

Everyone else in the gang was surprised by Percy defensive strategy as well. This caused Deepsea Warrior to swear in frustration.

"That means I can't attack!"

"Man, that was a close one!" sighed James in relief.

"Even so, Thomas and Percy lost all of their other cards." reminded Edward. "And unless one of them manages to draw something, either of them will be defeated once Deepsea Warrior's next turn comes."

"Never give up faith!" interrupted Maiden of the Aqua. "One of them will pull something out to turn things around."

"The question is if it'll be now." came from Toby.

Back in the duel field...

"It's my go!" announced Percy, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (1): Arduous Decision

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Arduous Decision. Percy frowned; he knew that he had drawn a VERY risky card. One that could help him, or hurt him badly...

"If I play it right-" The green-haired boy said to himself "-it could help me out. If not, I'm a goner."

Finally, Percy slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Arduous Decision Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Alright, what I've played is a VERY risky card called Arduous Decision. What this does is it allows me to draw two cards from my deck, and then the opponent must select one of the two cards I've drawn."

"...if the card is a monster card Percy can summon it." said Edward, who was busy explaining the effect of Arduous Decision to the rest of the gang. "But if it's a Spell or Trap card, then both cards are sent to the graveyard."

"So Percy's taking a big risk." said Toby.

"If this fails, then it'll be all over for him..." added Molly quietly.

Over with Percy, the green-haired boy drew his two cards. They were shown to be Magical Arm Shield (Trap card) and Flame Swordsman (Monster card). Giving a smile, he held both cards out without showing what they were.

"Alright." Percy said to Deepsea Warrior. "Pick a card. Any card."

Deepsea Warrior was thinking on which card to pick. Thomas, meanwhile, was looking very worried. Would Percy's strategy work?

"Please be careful, Percy..."

Finally, Deepsea Warrior came to a decision on which card he would choose, and pointed to the right card.

"I pick the card in your right hand." The aquatic warrior-like monster announced. "The card in your right hand is a Spell or Trap card!"

Slowly, Percy turned around until Deepsea Warrior could fully see it.

"Wrong!" The green-haired boy teased. "The card you chose was actually the monster card Flame Swordsman!"

"Flame Swordsman?!"

The warrior wielding the sword of fire appeared on the field with a battle cry (Level: 5/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"But that's too weak to attack!" protested Deepsea Warrior.

"That may be-" agreed Percy. "-but if Thomas can draw the right card, then this monster will help in taking you down!"

The green-haired boy then looked to is best friend, causing Thomas to do the same. The two duelists shared a quick nod before Percy looked back at Deepsea Warrior.

"With my end phase going on, my turn has come to an end!"

"That means it's my turn now." said Thomas, looking at Deepsea Warrior.

The warrior-like monster folded his arms and nodded. From there, Thomas reached for his deck and braced two fingers on it.

"This is it. Our last chance..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "The cards I need are sleeping in the deck, and I need to draw them now. Heart of the Cards... please lend me your power!"

At last, Thomas drew from his deck (Destiny Draw, that is).

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" said Thomas, preparing to draw from his deck once more. "I believe we all know what it does by now."

Over with the gang...

"One question." spoke up James.

"Yeah?" answered Edward.

"Why is it that in every duel we take part in we always explain what our cards do even if one, say Pot of Greed, was already played earlier in the duel?"

"I have no idea." shrugged Gordon.

Back in the duel, Thomas finally drew his two cards.

"Please let them be the ones..."

When he opened his eyes, Thomas could see he had just drawn Polymerization and Monster Reborn.

"These are it!" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. Finally, he looked back to Deepsea Warrior. "It's time to end this duel!"

"Indeed." agreed Deepsea Warrior. "It will end with your defeat!"

"Not MINE-" corrected Thomas. "-YOURS! First I activate Monster Reborn!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. On cue, Dark Magician reappeared with a mighty yell.

"Using this card, I revive Dark Magician from my graveyard!"

"Your monsters are no match for my Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus!" reminded Deepsea Warrior.

"Alone, maybe not." said Thomas, holding up his final card. "But together, perhaps they will. I activate Polymerization to fuse the two monsters into Dark Flare Knight!"

All of a sudden, a new monster that resembled Dark Magician wearing black and red armor showed itself. He wielded a Flame Swordsman-like sword for a weapon, and a shield for protection (Level: 6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 800).

"Dark Flare Knight?!" exclaimed Deepsea Warrior.

"That's right." confirmed Thomas. "This monster is a fusion of Dark Magician and Flame Swordsman, and will be the instrument of your defeat."

"It's too weak!"

Thomas grinned grimly. "We'll see about that. Dark Flare Knight, attack the Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus!"

Dark Flare Knight obeyed, raised his sword, aimed it at his target, and sent a powerful blast of fire towards the opponent.

"Dark Flare Knight won't last this battle!" called Maiden of the Aqua.

Neo Daedalus countered with a powerful blast of water. Eventually, Dark Flare Knight was struck down by the water, leaving behind a pool of darkness.

"I've won!" smirked Deepsea Warrior. His look of triumph became one of confusion. "Huh?"

To the warrior-like monster's surprise, Thomas's life points...were untouched (LP: 400).

"Your life points! They're undamaged?!"

"When Dark Flare Knight does battle with a stronger monster-" explained Thomas, smirking "-any battle damage Percy or I would take is reduced to zero. Not only that, but when Dark Flare Knight is destroyed in battle, a new monster will be special summond from my hand or deck to take his place!"

"And that monster happens to be..." began Percy.

"MIRAGE KNIGHT!" The two duelists finished at the same time.

Appearing in place of the fallen Dark Flare Knight from a pool of light was a blue-haired knight with yellow armor, and a large scythe (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000).

"I-It can't be...!" whispered Deepsea Warrior, becoming greatly shocked. "It's... it's..."

This was the ultimate form of Autraius! T-That must mean Thomas was NOT the ' ** _Evil One_** '...but really Autraius! Had he (Deepsea Warrior) been wrong all this time?

"Mirage Knight!" commanded Thomas. "Attack Neo Daedalus!"

Mirage Knight readied his weapon and got ready to charge into battle. Deepsea Warrior recovered from his shock to smirk.

"Even though I now believe you, it won't be enough! You're still 100 attack points too short!"

"Wrong!" called Percy.

"Huh?" gasped Deepsea Warrior.

Suddenly, Mirage Knight's scythe and Neo Daedalus both began to glow, much to the aquatic warrior-like monster's surprise.

"What's happening?!"

"When Mirage Knight does battle with a monster stronger than himself-" explained Thomas. "-he gains attack points equal to the attack points of his target during damage calculation only!"

Mirage Knight's attack stat took a big jump in power (ATK: 2800 - 5700).

"5700 attack points?!" screamed Deepsea Warrior.

"Consider this duel over and done with!" declared Percy, before looking over to Thomas. "Am I right?"

"Right." nodded Thomas, before looking over to his new monster. "Mirage Knight, attack now!"

With an almighty yell, Mirage Knight went and zipped right past Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus with a swing of the scythe. At first nothing seemed to happen, but after a moment of silence the top half of the latter monster started sliding down until it landed in the water with a massive splash. From there, the bottom half sank into the lake. Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus...was no more!

"I... I admit defeat." sighed Deepsea Warrior (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton and Percy Avonside both win!**

* * *

The warrior-like monster, as the holograms faded away, then collapsed to a knee and bowed towards Thomas out of respect.

"Please forgive me." he said quietly. "Ever since my home was destroyed I've been on alert for the eventual return of the ' ** _Evil One_** '. You resembled him, so I thought that-"

"It's okay." interrupted Thomas. "All you need to know is that I'm the reincarnation of Autraius, and I'm here to put an end to the Court of Darkness, the war, and save a very good friend of mine."

Over with the rest of the gang...

"And so, our two boys had won again." smiled James, folding his arms. "Was there any doubt about it?"

"None at all." agreed Gordon.

Finally, Thomas, Percy, and Deepsea Warrior each walked over.

"Again, I must apologize for attacking." said Deepsea Warrior apologetically. He then looked to Maiden of the Aqua. "And for injuring you, miss."

"It's quite alright." soothed Maiden of the Aqua. "You were blinded by anger towards Thomas and weren't thinking clearly at the time."

(elsewhere...)

As everyone spoke on, there was soon gonna be a nasty visitor... That's right; Chaos Sorcerer had arrived from a good distance of the lake and felt something about it.

"It's here..." The spellcaster-like monster thought to himself. "I've finally found it!"

Indeed, so... Chaos Sorcerer had found what he was looking for... With no time to waste, he took out a number of cards from his cloak...

"Blast with Chain..."

(elsewhere...)

Back with the gang, they were still speaking with Deepsea Warrior.

"You are free to camp out here for the night if you still wish to." said Deepsea Warrior. "Consider it thanks for setting me straight."

"Oh, we will!" smiled Percy.

Just before anything else could be said...

 ***BOOM!***

"Fizzling Fireplaces!" cried James. "What was that explosion?"

"Whatever it is-" added Edward, looking around. "-it can't be good."

More and more explosions were ensuring, and the lake...was getting affected by 'em.

"What's going on?" demanded Stanley.

"Someone's trying to dry up the lake!" exclaimed Deepsea Warrior. "But who?"

"Gwa ha ha ha ha!" laughed a voice (male). "That would be my doing!"

Everyone looked ahead, and saw someone doing the deed...

"You slime..." snarled Deepsea Warrior. It was clear he recognized the culprit behind this.

"Hello, my old friend..." said the voice...belonging to Chaos Sorcerer.

"That's a Chaos Sorcerer!" exclaimed Edward.

"What's he doing?" came from Toby.

Chaos Sorcerer merely smirked and held three more Blast with Chain cards up. Thomas's eyes widened at what was about to happen.

"He must be here to dry the lake up!"

"Why are you here?" demanded Deepsea Warrior. "Tell me, this instant!"

No answer came... Instead, Chaos Sorcerer threw the three Trap cards nearby, and causing more explosions to ensure. Three more... and three more... It went on for what seemed like minutes!

"STOP IT!" screamed Thomas desperately.

But it was too late to do anything about it...


	43. Secrets of the Arena

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some nudity, gore, public humiliation, and some physical torture (as a result, the chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

When the smoke finally clear, the whole lake...was completely gone. Chaos Sorcerer looked into what used to have beautiful, clear, pure, water...and got very disappointed at what he saw.

"It's not here! Where is it?!"

The dried up lake...had only rock formation-like buildings and dying fish-like monsters lying on the ground.

"Hey, you!" called the voice of an angry Thomas.

The blue-haired boy and his friends all started to approach the Chaos Sorcerer in anger for what he did to Deepsea Warrior's lake.

"Grr! I don't have the time to deal with you lot." grunted Chaos Sorcerer, taking a card out of his cloak. "I have more important matters to attend to, but we will meet again!"

"You're not getting away!" shouted Thomas, starting to run forth.

"No, wait!" cried James.

But it was too late.

"Imbecile." muttered Chaos Sorcerer, throwing his card onto the ground.

All of a sudden, a smokescreen covered the spellcaster-like monster. This caused Thomas to stop in his tracks.

"Smoke?!"

When the smokescreen finally cleared...Chaos Sorcerer was gone.

"Damn!" cursed Thomas, falling to his knees in defeat.

"Where did that guy go?" questioned Percy, walking over towards his best friend.

"Who even was that?" came from Gordon, although he should have already known.

Deepsea Warrior narrowed his eyes. "Chaos Sorcerer."

"You know him?" asked Henry.

"He works with the Court of Darkness, but not directly."

"Not directly?" quizzed Edward. "What does that mean?"

"He's more or less an informant for them, performing minor tasks for a price." explained Deepsea Warrior. "And I have a feeling I know what he's trying to do."

Maiden of the Aqua stepped forth. "What is it?"

"He's trying to raise Diablon's Coliseum from the one of the great lakes of this world."

"Diablon's Coliseum?" blinked Rosie. "What is that?"

"During the war-" explained Deepsea Warrior. "-some monsters or humans that were captured by the Court of Darkness were taken to a coliseum to take part in unfair battles for the amusement of Diablon's forces."

"Anything else?" asked Toby.

Deepsea Warrior sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything else about it... but there is a village one mile from this location that has more info about the coliseum."

"Is it in the same direction as the capital city?" demanded Thomas. The last thing he wanted was to be strayed from their objective right when they were getting so close.

"Yes, it is." spoke up Sarina. "I know where this village is, too."

Thomas smiled slightly. "Then you can lead us there."

With that said, the group began to set off, but Deepsea Warrior stayed behind.

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Molly.

"I must stay here and try to rebuild my home." said Deepsea Warrior. "No matter how long it takes, I will make sure all is well again."

"Maybe I can help." offered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Huh?"

Edward added to what his friend had said... "I think she means she can fill your lake with water once more with her power."

"You would be wiling to help me?" asked Deepsea Warrior. "Even after I attacked you earlier?"

"Of course." smiled Maiden of the Aqua. "You're not a bad guy; just someone who had a case of mistaken identity."

With that said, Maiden of the Aqua raised her staff as it began to glow.

"Now watch..."

Within seconds, as the blue-haired female monster also started glowing, the lake began to fill back up with water. Deepsea Warrior couldn't believe his eyes about it...

"Amazing..." he whispered.

* * *

 **Title: Secrets of the Arena**

* * *

Ten minutes later, the gang was all packed up and ready to continue on. Deepsea Warrior was there to see them off.

"On behave of my people, thank you."

"You're welcome." bowed Percy.

"Just...don't try mistakening anyone else for the 'Evil One'. Okay?" joked James.

Deepsea Warrior chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."

Everyone else then gave a light laugh. All of a sudden, Thomas took off from the gang and down the road.

"Come on!" The blue-haired boy yelled impatiently. "Let's hurry to the village and get some answers!"

"Wait for us!" called Percy, giving chase.

As the rest of his friends gave chase, Thomas had only one thought on his mind...

"Emily... wait for me just a bit longer!"

He was determined to rescue Emily no matter what, and would not let anything, or anyone, try and stop him.

(elsewhere...)

A hour later, with the gang still traveling on the road, they soon came upon a glorious sight... a huge, crisp, clear, lake...with a village nearby.

"Cinders and Ashes!" exclaimed James. "I think this is the place..."

"Very lovely looking." admired Rosie.

"Let's hope we can get some information here." said Thomas. "And remember. We're not staying long; one day's rest. No more, no less.."

"Yeah, yeah, we know." sighed Gordon. "You want to get to the capital city soon and all that jazz."

With that said, everyone ran down the hill towards the village. But up on the nearby treetops, Chaos Sorcerer had been spying on our heroes.

"That lake..." The spellcaster-like monster thought to himself. "It HAS to hold the coliseum Airknight Parshath told me of! ...but I must wait to try and unveil it."

This monster would not give up his evil deed.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the village, all was currently peaceful. Humans and monsters were roaming around minding their own business, and Thomas and his friends were exploring the place trying to find a building with info on the coliseum Chaos Sorcerer was trying to locate.

"There has to be someone here with info about that Coliseum." said Edward.

"Maybe a library?" suggested Gordon.

Thomas remained silent on the subject, when suddenly...

"I remember this place quite well... don't you?" echoed a voice inside the blue-haired boy's head.

Thomas looked up. Who was this voice he kept hearing?

"Thomas?" blinked Toby. "Are you okay?"

Thomas snapped out of his thought. "I thought I heard that voice again."

"Um... what voice?" blinked James.

"I think you might need a memory refresher..." snickered the voice in Thomas's head.

Thomas collapsed to his knees and clutched his head in pain.

"N-No...!"

"Thomas!" cried Stanley. "What's happening to him?"

All of a sudden, Thomas stood up and ran away from his friends.

"Thomas, stop!" called Henry, but it was futile.

"Where is he going now?" asked Percy.

"He seems to be heading for the lake." answered Rosie. "After him!"

Agreeing with the pink-haired girl, the group quickly gave chase through the village. Although the gang was getting questionable stares from the villagers, it didn't matter to them right now. All that mattered was that they catch up with Thomas as soon as possible before anything bad happened.

"Thomas, wait for us!" called Edward.

"We can help you!" added Mavis.

"Why do you have to keep randomly running away from us?" called James.

(elsewhere...)

Eventually, Thomas arrived outside the lake. The way he was smiling over it... it was almost...evil-like.

"This is the lake..." The blue-haired boy whispered. It was a sign he had become possessed once more. "The coliseum is under this water!"

"Thomas!"

Thomas (possessed) raised an eyebrow when he heard the voice. It belonged to Maiden of the Aqua, and that meant the possessed blue-haired boy was still being chased.

"No one will stop me from unveiling my once beautiful arena." thought Thomas (possessed), raising his hands into the sky. "Someone will do the deed for me one way or another!"

"What's gotten into you?" called the voice Henry.

With everyone still a big distance away from him, Thomas (possessed) suddenly shot lightning into the air.

(elsewhere...)

With Chaos Sorcerer outside the village, he saw the lightning coming from the lake down below.

"That lightning..." whispered Chaos Sorcerer. "It must be a sign!"

From there, he took a Crystal Ball from his cloak and held it up.

"I wish to speak to Airknight Parshath!"

Within seconds, a vision of Airknight Parshath appeared on the Crystal Ball.

"Have you found the right lake?" The Court of Darkness member asked almost immediately. "Time is running out."

"There has been a sign!" answered Chaos Sorcerer. "The lake that holds Lord Diablon's Coliseum is here!"

Airknight Parshath smiled. "Very good... but this duty will be difficult to accomplish alone, and so I'm sending you some aid."

"Who?"

On cue...

*SMACK!*

Someone had crashed into a tree, shaking it enough to cause Chaos Sorcerer to fall and land on the ground.

"Why the impertinence!" growled the spellcaster-like monster, trying to get back up.

"Ooh... so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." apologized a familiar voice. "So sorry, indeed."

"Oh, not you again..." groaned Chaos Sorcerer, once he was able to get a good look at one of his new allies.

It was Sky Scout. The very same one who had first served the Harpie Lady Sisters in getting them a trio of potential husbands before finally abandoning them out of fear and such. Apparently, he had found other work.

"Sky Scout, ready and able!" smiled Sky Scout...before losing his facade. "Um... what are doing exactly?"

Before another word could be said anyone, a pool of darkness nearby...before rising and forming the body of...a Skull Knight?

"Skull Knight at your service." said the Duel Monster.

"Oh, wow!" gasped Sky Scout, before zooming all around in a burst of wicked speed. "A Skull Knight?! How cool is it we get to work together! I know I like it already! With your brains and my speed, we can be almost unstoppable! I can see it-"

"Will you just shut up?!" snapped Chaos Sorcerer. The winged monster was already getting on his nerves.

On cue, Sky Scout stopped.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say...Skull Knight, you AND me."

Skull Knight merely walked up and delivered a wallop to Sky Scout's head, thus knocking him senseless.

"Much better..." sighed Skull Knight.

"Indeed." agreed Chaos Sorcerer, relieved to be free of Sky Scout's idiotic behavior for at least a while. "Now we shall plan our strategy in peace."

"Let us shall..."

This was not going to be good.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the lake, Thomas had just collapsed after control over him had been released. It was also then Percy, Maiden of the Aqua, and everyone else had finally caught up.

"Thomas!" called Percy.

Everyone gathered around the unconsious blue-haired boy.

"Is he hurt?" asked Rosie.

"I don't think so." said Maiden of the Aqua, kneeling down and laying a hand onto Thomas's chest. "I feel a heartbeat."

"Still, what was up with that freakout?" James wondered. "It was as if he KNEW he had to come to the lake."

"I think Diablon might have had something to do with it." answered Edward. "The question is why?"

"Why, indeed." agreed Toby. "Hopefully, once Thomas awakens, we can find some answers at the library."

"IF he wakes up." Gordon pointed out.

On cue...

"Ugh..." moaned the voice of Thomas.

Gordon sighed. "Forget I even said anything."

Slowly, the blue-haired boy opened his eyes.

"What...?"

"Two answers, and the first doesn't count." said James.

Edward followed up with... "You got possessed again, Thomas. While we travelled through the village to find the library, you suddenly flipped out on us and came here to the lake."

Suddenly, Thomas braced a hand to his forehead wearily.

"Thomas?" gasped Molly. "Are you-?"

"I..." whispered the blue-haired boy. "...know of...this Coliseum..."

Everyone was shocked to hear that.

"You do?" asked Mavis. "How?"

"I don't know... all I do know is that I know of it."

"Weird." commented Percy. "Very weird indeed."

"Perhaps Diablon's letting you know of it because HE knows of it." suggested Henry.

Thomas didn't say a word about it. He instead got up and started to return to the village.

"We'll worry about it later. For now, let's head to the library and dig up some information."

"Alright then." nodded Stanley.

From there, Thomas and everyone else started to make their way back to the village in order to proceed to the library and get a book about the Coliseum the Evil One had used to run many years ago.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the library...

"So, you'd be wanting the book about the Evil One's coliseum, eh?" asked the librarian (male), looking through a bookshelf.

"Yes." confirmed Thomas.

"We do hope the mention of him hasn't upset you." added Percy.

"It's okay. He's gone, and we have Autraius here once again."

"And someone who has his inner darkness to conquer." muttered James.

Gordon immediately elbowed the red-haired boy in his side to shut him up. Finally, the librarian had found a book.

"Here we are." he announced.

Edward was given the book, and he and the rest of the gang went over to a table to read it.

"Let's see what this book says." began Edward, as he turned to the right page. "Ah, there we are!"

"Well?" asked James impatiently. "What does it say?!"

"The coliseum was built during the time of the war..."

As everyone, including Thomas, listened on with hearing the tale, Thomas closed his eyes and... cue flashback!

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Diablon was overseeing the construction of a coliseum during the great war thousands of years ago. Soon, a smiling Vampire Lord approached his master.

"Sire, this coliseum was a terrific idea. We'll have all our slaves do battle for their own pathetic freedom and our personal amusement."

"Excellent." grinned Diablon. "If they won't worship me willingly, then we can force them to!"

It took many months, but soon the coliseum had been built. Diablon was very pleased with the foundation and size. In addition, the army of darkness already had a number of prisoners with them.

"Tee hee hee..." snickered Earl of Demise. "It's time to put our hard work to the test!"

With that said, some of the prisoners had been forced into the arena. An eager Darkbishop Archfiend was also in there and armed with a whip. Diablon seated himself in the 'Emperor's View' station and waited for combat to begin, with Vampire Lord and Airknight Parshath both standing by his side.

"Amuse me well." The 'Evil One' simply said.

Suddenly, two gates opened.

"Enter the area!" shouted Darkbishop Archfiend.

Three human adult males wearing gladiator gear and armor emerged from one gate, and three Zombie Warriors (zombie-type monsters wearing bits of armor and wielding a sword as a weapon) emerged from the other gate.

"Let the fighting commence!"

One of the men threw his spear down. "We will never fight for our lives or for your sadistic amusement!" he bellowed in protest.

Darkbishop Archfiend merely used his whip to strike the man in his chest, causing him to cry out in pain and become quiet.

"You will fight or you will die!" snapped Diablon, standing up and moving towards the railing of the balcony. "I have spoken!"

With little choice on the matter, the men agreed to fight. While the battle was short, it was also deadly, gory, and ended with the deaths of the three human males.

(new scene...)

Other events included public humiliation and/or torture. Human men and women were often stripped of their clothing and forced to be shown in the nude before the whole audience in the Coliseum while being whipped/tortured by Darkbishop Archfiend. For one such moment...

"Summon those who are due to ' _amuse_ ' the audience and me!" called Diablon from atop the balcony.

The gate opened up, and out came...a brown-haired adult man (who looked like a grown up version of Toby), and a blonde-haired adult woman (who looked like a grown up version of Mavis). Both of the humans were 20-years old and completely naked. Because of that, the audience of evil Duel Monsters was laughing, howling, and/or hooting at them...but mostly at the young woman for perverted reasons.

"How nice of you both to join us, today." smirked Darkbishop Archfiend. "I promise that this will be rather quick."

Silently, the two humans were quickly locked and bound to two wooden walls by a pair of Zombie Warriors. The man and woman were both very scared, indeed.

"Why are you doing this to us?" asked the young man.

Darkbishop Archfiend never answered the question. He merely readied his whip, turned to the blonde-haired young woman, and began whipping her without any sort of remorse. Her pained screams excited the crowd of evil monsters.

"No... stop it!" cried the brown-haired young man. "STOP HURTING HER!"

Darkbishop Archfiend didn't listen and only continued to whip the naked blonde-haired young woman. He was hitting her in various spots; face, chest, stomach, groin, etc.. The Court of Darkness member was getting an enjoyment out of torturing his prisoners and hearing their screams of agony.

"STOP IT!"

Before long, however, the brown-haired man began screaming in pain as he was being whipped and even getting his genitals cut off by two Zombie Warriors respectively. Up on the balcony, Diablon was smiling wickedly over what was going on in the arena. Even he was enjoying the ' ** _show_** ' being put on...

"There is nothing I love more than seeing the pain of others." The "Evil One' commented in sick amusement.

"As do we, m'lord." agreed Vampire Lord.

(new scene...)

In a later time, a fight to the death was going on within the arena. One Duel Monster known as Gladiator Beast Spartacus, a humanoid lizard wearing armor and wielding an axe for a weapon, was devastating the opposition with no mercy whatsoever.

"I haven't met one yet who dares have the strength to stand against me!" The lizard-like monster boasted, taking and using his weapon to slice a Blade Knight's head off. "Someone give me a REAL challenge."

Up on the balcony, Earl of Demise and Witty Phantom were both speaking to Diablon.

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus is among one of your most powerful and ruthless minions." Earl of Demise was saying. "We should ensure that we have a way to bring him back if he were to...fall...in battle."

"Right." agreed Witty Phantom. "Perhaps if we put him to sleep within this place, we can call upon him whenever we need to."

"Very well." said Diablon, agreeing to the terms. "The Army of Darkness requires someone of brute strength as a last resort, and so we will have Chaos Sorcerer perform a spell on Gladiator Beast Spartacus."

(new scene...)

Much later, Chaos Sorcerer was walking towards Gladiator Beast Spartacus in the arena. The powerful, and brutal, dinosaur-type monster had been informed of Diablon's plan and agreed to it.

"No one will be able to escape from my power." said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, flexing a muscle. "Lord Diablon will always rely on my power if he ever needs it!"

Minutes later, Gladiator Beast Spartacus was now laying inside a stone coffin.

"Ready."

Chaos Sorcerer nodded and performed the spell as the coffin began to seal shut. Once it was finished, Gladiator Beast Spartacus was now in a deep sleep and sealed inside the stone coffin.

"It is done." whispered Chaos Sorcerer. "All that needs to be done is revive him when needed to."

(new scene...)

After what seemed like forever, big battle was soon raging inside the coliseum's arena...but not between prisoners and evil Duel Monsters. Instead, the army protecting the Duel Monsters spirit world was instead clashing with soldiers loyal to Diablon.

"For freedom!" cried Autraius, slashing Zombie Warriors with his sword.

On the balcony, Diablon was watching the fight going on, and was pretty furious with Autraius and his troops.

"Stop them!" he screamed. "For heaven's sake, stop those rebels!"

The Army of Darkness tried its hardest to fight back, but to no avail. Eventually, Diablon decided to try and call on his secret weapon.

"Chaos Sorcerer!" thundered the 'Evil One'. "It's time! Awaken Gladiator Beast Spartacus, and get him to destroy those fools!"

"Yes, my lord!" obeyed Chaos Sorcerer.

(elsewhere...)

Rushing into the chamber where Gladiator Beast Spartacus was sleeping, Chaos Sorcerer reached the coffin just in time.

"The time has come, Spartacus!" announced the spellcaster-type monster, readying his weapon. "Lord Diablon is in need of you!"

His weapon began glowing as the spell began. But before Chaos Sorcerer could even finish the spell, a scythe of light came soaring in and striking the staff out of the monster's hands.

"WHAT?!"

He looked quickly around, wondering who threw the weapon. Very soon, Autraius arrived in the chamber...as Mirage Knight.

"Attempting to revive someone to stop our rebellion?" taunted Autraius. "Sorry, not on my account!"

"You!" scowled Chaos Sorcerer.

Suddenly, the whole chamber started to rumble.

"Oh, did I forget to mention my boys have destroyed enough pillars to collapse the whole building and ensure that this place is never used for evil again?"

Chaos Sorcerer's eyes widened. "You did what?!"

"You heard me loud and clear." teased Autraius. "Say goodbye to this building!"

(elsewhere...)

In the arena, the whole area was shaking itself to pieces. Diablon was dismayed that his coliseum was about to fall to the rebels.

"This can't be possible!" he shouted in horror. The "Evil One' then called out from the balcony... "Everyone, retreat!"

The evil monsters, along with the Court of Darkness members taking part in the battle, all obeyed the command and raced towards the exits. They were hoping to get away from the rebel army as fast as possible.

"We are victorious!" cried a Blade Knight, raising his sword up in triumph.

The rebel army immediately cheered at their work. On the balcony, Diablon merely fumed at his loss... The next time he and Autraius faced each other in combat, Diablon would kill him.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, with Edward speaking...

"Legend has it that should the blood of innocence ever touch the stone coffin-" The intelligent blue-haired boy read on. "-Spartacus will be freed from his stone prison once again."

Suddenly, Thomas's eyes snapped open from surprise.

"HUH?!"

All eyes from the gang were aimed in his direction.

"What's wrong, Thomas?" asked Henry. "Did you fall asleep through Edward's story?"

Thomas couldn't explain it. "I... I saw... the whole thing happen."

"Huh?" questioned James.

"What does that mean?" came from Stanley. "You...saw the whole thing happen?"

"It's like I was being shown the memories of those events. Or perhaps... I already know of them like I was...there."

No one else said a word about that. This whole vision thing of Thomas's was getting way out of hand. It was then Toby spoke up with a possible solution to help the blue-haired boy somewhat...

"It's almost nightime." The brown-haired boy remarked. "Why don't we stop at a diner for some food and then rest up at the Inn."

"Some food and sleep might help you a little bit." put in Sarina.

"I don't think so." protested Thomas, refusing some help. "Every time I go to sleep, nothing but nightmares seem to pop up."

"This time could be different." said Gordon.

"It won't be any different. I can guarantee it."

(elsewhere...)

Either way, Thomas and the others did go to eat at the local diner. They enjoyed the food that was served to them. In addition, the village was soon dying down as night fell.

(elsewhere...)

Hours later, the village was all quiet as the lights in the buildings went out. But once it was all quiet, Chaos Sorcerer, Sky Scout, and Skull Knight each snuck into the village and making their way through to the lake.

"Tip toe, tip toe, tip toe, tip toe, tip toe, tip toe..." whispered Sky Scout repeatedly. "Tip toe, tip toe, tip toe, tip toe, tip t-"

"Quiet!" hissed Chaos Sorcerer. "You'll get us caught!"

The idiotic winged beast-type monster shrugged innocently. "I thought some dramatic cues would make this ' _sneak through_ ' lots more interesting and intense."

"Remind me why we keep this idiot breathing." remarked Skull Knight quietly.

"Shut up and keep moving!" growled Chaos Sorcerer.

(elsewhere...)

Pretty soon, the three monsters arrived at the lake.

"Oh man! Look how vast this lake is!" grinned Sky Scout.

"And deep beneath its waters lies Gladiator Beast Spartacus." said Skull Knight. "Lying in deep slumber until the moment to free him comes."

"In addition to the remains of Lord Diablon's coliseum." added Chaos Sorcerer. "Once Gladiator Beast Spartacus is awakened, the Coliseum will rise once more!"

"Right." agreed Sky Scout. "So... how we gonna wake up him?"

Skull Knight facepalmed. "We must first drain this lake of its water."

"Shh!" hissed Chaos Sorcerer suddenly. "Someone is coming!"

The trio quickly hid from sight. From there, Sarina showed herself. She soon approached the lake and stared out into it.

"Brother... how I miss you so much..." The girl whispered. "How I wish...I could see you again..."

What Sarina didn't realize was that she had walked herself right into danger, as the three evil Duel Monsters had took notice of her appearance.

"That human girl." began Skull Knight quietly. "Perhaps we can use her blood for the big revival."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." whispered Chaos Sorcerer.

"I thought we had someone else in mind?" questioned Sky Scout curiously.

"Oh, like who, genius?" asked Skull Knight sarcastically.

Nothing answer was given.

"I thought so."

"Maybe I can go get that girl?" suggested Sky Scout, after stopping with his silence.

"At this point-" grumbled Chaos Sorcerer. "-we can't trust you to even boil a potato."

"I have super speed, so you can count on me to get her with no trouble."

Skull Knight scoffed. "Fine, whatever."

With a deadly smirk on his face, Sky Scout cracked is knuckles and zoomed straight for Sarina, who was too busy gazing out into the lake to pay any attention to the winged beast-type monster standing behind her.

"Excuse me, miss?" whispered Sky Scout, tapping the girl on the shoulder to try and get her attention.

Sarina turned around. "Yes?"

She immediately blacked out...

(elsewhere...)

Inside one room of the Inn, James, Gordon, and Henry were each sound sleep in their beds.

(elsewhere...)

Inside another room, Maiden of the Aqua was asleep in her bed.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a third room, Thomas was...wide awake in his own bed.

"I am never sleeping again." he said to himself. "Every time I fall asleep, I have nothing but nightmares."

Trying as he might, Thomas was slowly starting to doze off.

"I must...stay...awake..."

Finally, the blue-haired boy fell into a peaceful sleep against his will (he was very tired, so that played a part).

(elsewhere...)

Back at the lake, Sarina was now held captive by Chaos Sorcerer and his party.

"You're that Chaos Sorcerer from earlier!" exclaimed Sarina, struggling. "What do you want with me?"

"Hostages are always fun to have." commented Sky Scout.

"Most importantly, your blood will be needed." added Skull Knight.

"M-My blood?" asked Sarina.

"All will be explained soon enough." said Chaos Sorcerer. "Provided that you live long enough to witness the Court of Darkness triumphing."

Sarina didn't like this one bit.. Oh, if only it ended there...

"Oh, yes, yes!" spoke up Sky Scout. "To drain this river of its water, unveil the Coliseum that was destroyed, find that old coffin-"

"Don't say too much!" interrupted Skull Knight, hissing.

"You'll never get away with this!" protested Sarina. "Autraius stopped you once, and he'll do it again!"

"Autraius who?" blinked Sky Scout, acting like he didn't know who Autraius was.

Chaos Sorcerer and Skull Knight, however, both began laughing at the threat.

"If 'Autraius' is that mere boy, then you are sorely mistaken." commented Skull Knight.

"What do you mean?"

"He is not Autraius's descendant." Chaos Sorcerer said in a cold tone. "He is...Lord Diablon's reincarnation."

"No!" objected Sarina, shocked. "You're lying, I just know it!"

"Blegh! She's getting on my nerves." grumbled Sky Scout. "Can I hurt her yet?"

"Be silent!" snapped Skull Knight. He then looked to Sarina. "Then tell us... How can you be so sure that your young friend IS Autraius?"

"For one thing-" said Sarina "-he wields the Egyptian Gods, and he's fighting AGAINST the Court of Darkness."

Chaos Sorcerer said nothing at first, but then looked to Skull Knight and Sky Scout.

"You both know what to do."

"Yes, sir." obeyed Skull Knight, taking six cards out of his armor.

"Got that right!" added Sky Scout, taking three cards from his bag. He then lost his confident facade and had a clueless look on his face. "Umm... what do I do with these cards?"

It was taking Chaos Sorcerer every ounce of self control he had not to strangle that fool Sky Scout.

"You are to use those cards to drain the lake!" The spellcaster-like monster hissed, trying to keep calm. "Once the lake is dried up, we will find the coliseum."

"Oooooooooh, right." said Sky Scout. His brain was finally kicking into gear. "Great idea there, chief."

"Now get going!"

Skull Knight bowed and Sky Scout saluted their boss. From there, the two Duel Monsters split up to cover some ground.

"Intelligent help is so hard to come by these days." sighed Chaos Sorcerer.

"I feel sooooo sorry for you." scoffed Sarina in sarcasm.

That comment didn't please Chaos Sorcerer at all; he immediately turned and glared at his prisoner hotly.

"You will watch your tongue, girly."

Sarina merely glared back in defiance.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Thomas's room within the Inn, the blue-haired boy was sleeping rather peacefully for the first time in what seemed like weeks. Just then...

*BOOM!*

The sound of an explosion woke Thomas with a start.

"Bubbling Sodas!" The blue-haired boy cried out in shock. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, his door flew open. There stood James looking all panicked.

"We've got trouble!" he announced.

"What kind of trouble?" quizzed Thomas. "Does it have anything to do with the explosion just now?"

From there...

*BOOM!*

"There it is again!" said James, turning around. "Come on!"

With that said, the red-haired boy ran off, with Thomas following close behind.

(elsewhere...)

The whole village was in a state of panic from all the explosions going on nearby.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" wailed one human (male).

"It's the end of the world!" screamed another human (female).

The explosions kept happening just as Thomas and the gang ran into the area.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Edward.

Mavis pointed forth. "At the lake, look!"

The blonde-haired girl was right. With the explosions at various parts, the lake was beginning to evaporate.

"The lake...!" stuttered Percy.

"It's going, going..." added Gordon.

"...gone!" finished Henry.

"It must be the work of Chaos Sorcerer again." mumbled Toby.

Before anyone else could move or say anything...

"There... it is...!" announced Thomas. There was a serious gleam in his eyes.

There, rising from the remains of the drained lake, was the same Coliseum of evil that Deepsea Warrior had mentioned and the gang had read all about in the library. It was still badly damaged from the war years ago, but it was still standing nonetheless.

"It looks cool." commented Percy. "In a...creepy sort of way."

"Wait, where's Sarina?" questioned Rosie suddenly.

It was then everyone else finally noticed that their new ally was no where to be seen. Where in the world could Sarina be? We certainly know what had happened, but the gang doesn't know though... Anyway, stay tuned for bigger and more dangerous adventures!


	44. Operation:Coliseum

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of the rather frosty castle somewhere in the rigid parts of the Duel Monsters spirit world, many of the creatures there were sorely disappointed that their new ruler (Emily) had announced her intention to leave them to continue her journey.

"Y-You're leaving us now, Queen Emily?" asked a snowman sadly.

"Yes." answered Emily with heavy regret. "As honored as I am that you all want me to be your new ruler, I just don't belong in this place. I'm not even a Queen. I must go and find my friends so that I can return home to the real world."

"But what's to stop someone evil from becoming our kingdom's new ruler once you're gone?" shivered a yeti in fright.

"We'd be stuck in misery just like when our last ruler was alive." added a penguin, referencing Ice Queen.

"You all need to learn to stand up for yourselves." said Emily wisely. "Look at how many there are of you."

Indeed, there were hundreds-to-thousands of penguins, snowmen, and yetis in the whole kingdom.

"The strength in numbers and teamwork is always the key to pulling through."

"Queen Emily is correct!" announced a second penguin.

"Numbers and teamwork shall keep us safe!" added a second yeti.

Emily smiled. "That's the spirit!"

With that said, the entire crowd erupted into cheers for Emily. She gave a brief bow to all of her new friends before turning and heading for the exit. With Ice Queen taken care of, and the icy creatures able to take care of themselves, the dark green-haired girl was finally able to carry on her journey.

"As much as I want to be with Thomas again-" she thought to herself. "-he will have to wait. Right now, I'm on a quest to conquer my inner darkness. And no doubt he's doing the same as well. Be strong, Thomas. We will be together again and go home soon. I promise."

Yeah... Emily's journey to conquer her darkness was not gonna be getting any easier, I'm afraid.

* * *

 **Title: Operation:Coliseum**

* * *

Back in one village somewhere in another part of the spirit world, Thomas and the rest of the gang was looking out at the dried out lake...and especially the Coliseum in the middle of the area.

"So that's...Diablon's Coliseum." murmured Stanley.

"It sure looks cool." commented Gordon.

"...yet looks very scary." came from Rosie.

Thomas stared long and hard at the ruined Coliseum in the middle of the dried up lake. He could see images of all the ruthless battles, tortures, public humilations, etc. flashing before his very eyes.

"I...remember this place." Thomas thought to himself.

"So you do." remarked a new voice mentally. "This was our pride and joy! ...until it was brought down by those accursed rebels."

"Our?" asked Thomas mentally. Suddenly he realized who was talking to him. "Hold on, NOW I know who you are now! You're the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' himself!"

"Wrong! I'm you..."

Just before anything more could be said...

"Wait, where is Sarina?" cut in the voice of Rosie.

Thomas raised his head up and looked back.

"Huh? What?"

"Sarina is missing." repeated Rosie. "She isn't with us."

"Now that you've mentioned it..." said Edward. "I saw her leaving the Inn a while back before the explosions summoned us here. I thought she'd be back soon, but..."

"...she's missing." concluded Toby. "Where could Sarina have gone?"

Good question...

(elsewhere...)

"Where are you taking me?!" demanded Sarina.

The captured girl was being taken by Chaos Sorcerer, Sky Scout, and Skull Knight down the dried lake's banks towards the Coliseum near the middle of the lake.

"You're our ticket to bringing Lord Diablon's most powerful soldier back." remarked Skull Knight, giving Sarina the evil eye. "All we need is some of your bl-"

Sadly, a certain idiot of the evil trio had to interrupt and go into a bit of a long-winded speech...

"See, Lord Diablon had built this place for some action." said Sky Scout very quickly. "Then Gladiator Beast Spartacus was put in a sleep spell for in case something happened to him such as him being killed by that Mirage Knight guy! Err, I mean-."

"Enough already!" shouted Chaos Sorcerer, growing more and more fed up.

"What?" asked Sky Scout innocently. "I'm just saying..."

Chaos Sorcerer hissed. "And I'M just saying ' _Shut up_ '!"

Sky Scout felt very disappointed, indeed. Sarina couldn't help but laugh at how foolish the winged beast-type monster really was.

"Ha! So much for ' _teamwork_ '!" she joked.

"Go ahead and laugh." warned Skull Knight. "But soon you won't be laughing once we have you ready for being sacrificed!"

"Autraius will stop you from reviving Gladiator Beast Spartacus! I just know it."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" said Chaos Sorcerer threateningly.

Yes, we will see about that...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in yet another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Airknight Parshath was in the middle of, yet another one, forest. This, however, wasn't just any other forest. It was home to another ally of the Court of Darkness.

"She's here..." thought Airknight Parshath, searching for his ally. "I know she is."

He carefully crept forward.

"I knew you'd come eventually..." echoed a feminine voice suddenly. "You promised you'd call for me when the time came..."

"I did." confirmed Airknight Parshath. "But first you need to show yourself."

The voice laughed softly. "As you command."

A figure began to approach from behind some trees; it was a humanoid woman with black hair, wearing a full bodysuit along with high heel-like boots, two large pink wings, and a whip with sharp thorns all around 'em.

"Fallen Angel of Roses..." smiled Airknight Parshath. "How good to see you again."

"Hello, Airknight Parshath." greeted the Fallen Angel, purring the Court of Darkness's name in a seductive tone. "How can I be of assistance to you?"

Two old friends with a common goal... I can tell this will not be good whatsoever.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Thomas and the gang...

"Sarina must have been kidnapped at some point while out fot a walk." said Mavis thoughtfully.

"No doubt by Chaos Sorcerer." added James.

"But why?" came from Percy.

Suddenly, Edward had an uneasy feeling. "He must be going to use her blood in an attempt to revive Gladiator Beast Spartacus!"

"What?!" gasped Gordon.

"Are you sure?" added Rosie.

"I'm sure of it." nodded Edward seriously. "That means we have to find her before it's too late!"

James looked down to where the Coliseum was. "Then it looks like...we're going into the lion's den..."

"That's one way to put it." agreed Toby.

Thomas closed his eyes. "We're on our way, Sarina..."

With that said, the friends began making their way down the lake banks towards the ruined Coliseum. What horrors awaited them? You'll all find out now...

(elsewhere...)

Outside the ruined Coliseum, Chaos Sorcerer, Sky Scout, Skull Knight, and the captured Sarina were making their way through.

"So... where is this coffin?" asked Skull Knight.

"It's deep inside the ruins." answered Chaos Sorcerer.

"Hold up, what about those...kids?" quizzed Sky Scout.

"What about 'em? They're no threat to me." The spellcaster-like monster then smirked and looked at Sarina sinisterly. "Even ' _Autraius_ ' isn't a match for me..."

Sarina scowled, but remained silent.

"But just to be on the safe side-" continued Chaos Sorcerer, looking at Skull Knight and Sky Scout. "-I want you both to go and stall for time until Spartacus has awoken."

Skull Knight smiled wickedly. "With pleasure."

With that agreed to, the two monsters (Skull Knight and Sky Scout) both set into the Coliseum to act as guards and prevent Thomas and friends from going any further.

(elsewhere...)

Very soon, Thomas and the rest of the gang finally arrived at the entrance of the ruined Coliseum.

"This is the place." said Maiden of the Aqua, feeling uneasy.

"The sooner we find Sarina-" added James. "-the sooner we can leave."

Almost immediately, the group was met upon by a small force of Zombie Warriors.

"Zombie Warriors!" exclaimed Percy, drawing a card. "Jinzo, help us out!"

The android monster appeared to the field and fired a blast from its eyes, vaporizing the Zombie Warriors. But there were more of 'em charging into battle.

"We don't have time for this!" growled Thomas, drawing a card from is deck and holding it out. "Seiyaryu, attack those Zombie Warriors with Razor Fire Blast!"

A large pinkish dragon appeared and fired a mighty blast of fire at the Zombie Warriors, roasting them alive.

"Come on!"

From there, the gang proceeded into the Coliseum. Inside, it was...quite vast. Bigger than your ordinary Olympic Stadium.

"Great balls of fire..." breathed Toby in awe.

"Look at the size of the place!" complained Gordon. "It's so big that you could get lost easily."

"It doesn't matter." interrupted Thomas, looking serious and such. "Chaos Sorcerer and Sarina are both in here somewhere."

"Along with Gladiator Beast Spartacus." added Mavis.

"Should we split up?" asked Percy.

"As much as I don't think that's a good idea-" Edward spoke up. "-it might be our best best to cover more ground."

"But what if we get captured and no ones around to help us?" asked Rosie.

"It's a risk we'll just have to take." answered the voice of Thomas, much to the pink-haired girl's surprise.

"Thomas?!"

"Look, Rosie-" continued Thomas, looking very firm. "-this place would be much easier to explore if we split up. As much of a risk it is, it's one that we HAVE to take, despite the possibilities of one of us getting captured."

"Alright then..." sighed Rosie, although she was still worried.

Once the two parties were formed, they started to depart... Well, all except for Thomas.

"Thomas?" blinked Henry. "Which group are you going with?"

"Neither." The blue-haired boy answered simply. "I'll go by myself."

Percy was shocked. "What?! Why?"

"Because this is something I need to do by myself."

"Sorry, Thomas, but I'm not letting you go by yourself." Stanley spoke up, taking a step forth. "I'm coming with you."

"Oh no, you're not." insisted Thomas heatedly. "If you were to go with me, it would only put your life in danger."

"Doesn't matter. I'd gladly put my life in danger to save those who are close to me."

Thomas tried to argue. "But-!"

"He has a point, Thomas." interrupted Molly.

The blue-haired boy turned to look over to the black-haired girl, but didn't say anything at first.

"Friends look out for each other." continued Molly. "No matter what the risk. Look at me - I'm a very shy individual, but I'll still gladly give my life up to save my friends and loved ones."

"Like me?" piped up James, looking at his girlfriend while grinning.

"Not helping my point, James, but yes... You would be one I'd gladly give my life up to save."

Thomas could see there was nothing he could do to convince his friends to let him carry on alone.

"A-Alright." The blue-haired boy sighed heavily.

Stanley smiled. "Thanks, man."

"And the rest of you-" Thomas continued, looking to the rest of the gang. "-be careful."

"We will." nodded Gordon.

"Good luck, Thomas." advised Maiden of the Aqua, walking over and giving her blue-haired friend a ' _good luck_ ' kiss on his forehead.

Rather than blushing from the kiss, Thomas merely nodded slowly in response. From there, he and Stanley took off down a hallway.

"We'd better get going." advised James to his group.

"We're right behind you." agreed Gordon.

James, Gordon, Henry, Molly, and Maiden of the Aqua all then took of down another of the hallways, thus leaving Percy, Edward, Toby, Mavis, and Rosie to all proceed down the third hallway.

"Hang on, Sarina." thought Percy. "We're on our way!"

The group of friends were not going to give up.

(elsewhere...)

With Chaos Sorcerer and Sarina, they had finally arrived inside a chamber.

"Here we are at last." said Chaos Sorcerer.

Sarina didn't say a word and just glanced around cautiously. From there, Chaos Sorcerer lead the captured girl to the coffin.

"Inside is the sleeping Gladiator Beast Spartacus. And the only thing that can wake him up again is the blood of innocence...and being in the arena."

"The arena?" qustioned Sarina. "Why there?"

"To where Spartacus was born to be." answered Chaos Sorcerer. "He was born to fight and kill there, after all!"

Sarina sweated nervously.

(elsewhere...)

Over with Percy's group, they had reached a dining chamber.

"Not here..." sighed the green-haired boy.

"We might as well keep going." came from Toby.

Before anyone could try to leave, a number of Skull Knights materialized around the doorways.

"Oh, oil slick..." Mavis mumbled. "Company."

"We can take them." said Percy confidently, raising a card. "Gilford the Lightning!"

The familiar warrior-type monster of the storms appeared with a mighty yell. But then, two Skull Knights lunged forth and impaled Gilford the Lightning with their swords. The almighty monster gave a cry of agony...before shattering into pieces.

"Oh boy..." gulped Percy. "Maybe not."

"Who's doing this?" asked Toby aloud.

Suddenly, the Skulls Knights...all merged into one complete being.

"That would be me."

"How did he do that?" asked Rosie.

"I'm not one to give secrets." retorted Skull Knight. "But what I will tell you, is that I'm not about to let you guys stop the revival of Gladiator Beast Spartacus!"

"Who said you had a choice in what we do?" retorted Percy. "Now get out of our way!"

"The answer...is no!"

"Fine." The green-haired boy huffed, activating his Duel Disk. "If you won't get out willingly, we'll duel you out of our way!"

Skull Knight gave a laugh. "A duel? You MUST be desperate!"

The monster then made an activated Duel Disk appear on his left arm.

"But regardless, I'm up to the challenge!"

"Bring it on!" dared Percy, getting into a dueling position.

Skull Knight didn't say anything else and only got into his own dueling position.

"Make this quick, Percy!" called Rosie. "We have to find Sarina before it's too late!"

"Don't worry; I plan to make it fast."

From there, the two duelists readied for battle (LP: 4000) x2.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Skull Knight (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Lycanthrope, Mad Dog of Darkness, Vorse Raider, Reverse Effector, Spell Purification and Magical Merchant

* * *

Skull Knight had drawn his card (which was a monster card called Magical Merchant). His hand contained Lycanthrope, Mad Dog of Darkness, Vorse Raider, Reverse Effector, Spell Purification and the added Magical Merchant.

"I'll place one monster in defense mode and end with one card facedown." Skull Knight simply said, taking two cards from his hand. "That's all for me."

Two facedown cards materialized (one was sideways).

"Huh?" thought Percy. "No strong monster?"

Over with the audience...

"It's like this guy's not even trying." remarked Toby.

"It was only his first turn." Mavis pointed out. "Skull Knight is bound to play seriously once his next turn comes up."

Back in the duel field...

"It's my go!" said Percy, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Inferno Fire Blast, Monster Reborn, The Fiend Megacyber, Gearfried the Iron Knight, Cyber-Tech Alligator, and Shield Crush

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Shield Crush. This brought a smile to Percy's face.

"Say bye-bye to your monster!" he chuckled, holding his card out. "Watch as I play Shield Crush!"

The mentioned Shell card materialized face-up.

"Trap card, open!" announced Skull Knight, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Reverse Effector!"

"Eep!" squeaked a worried Percy.

"This Trap card allows me to flip my facedown monster face-up and negate the destruction of it." explained Skull Knight, taking the facedown monster card on his Duel Disk and flipped it over and into attack mode. "I flip summon Magical Merchant!"

"The what?!" exclaimed Percy.

"Magical Merchant... Now behold it!"

Appearing to the field was a large blue insect with a sack on its back (Level: 1/ATK: 200/DEF: 700).

"When this monster is flipped summoned, I am to draw cards from my deck until I get a Spell or Trap card. While any monster cards I draw are sent to the graveyard automatically."

"Now why would he do that?" quizzed Rosie. "He could possibly throw half of his deck away doing something like that."

"Perhaps he's doing so for a reason." suggested Edward. "There are all kinds of ways to hurt your opponent even if you have to discard lots of cards to the graveyard."

"Good point."

Back in the duel arena, Skull Knight draw card after card. It looked like e would never stop drawing cards...well, at least until...

"I've drawn a Spell card!" The spellcaster/warrior-like monster announced, looking at his drawn Synthesis Spell card. He then saw he had drawn twelve monster cards. "Now all of the other monster cards I've drawn are discarded to the graveyard!"

Skull Knight sent the twelve monster cards to the graveyard one-by-one. From there, he continued with his play.

"And now for the second effect of my Reverse Effector! After using my Trap card's primary effect, I must send Magical Merchant to the graveyard."

"You'd be wide open for a direct attack!" Percy pointed out.

"A small price to pay." shrugged Skull Knight.

On cue, Magical Merchant faded away in a blue streak. Percy grimaced and looked at his hand... It contained Inferno Fire Blast, Monster Reborn, The Fiend Megacyber, Gearfried the Iron Knight, and Cyber-Tech Alligator.

"In that case-" said Percy at last, taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!"

The iron-like knight appeared ready for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"Go, and attack Skull Knight directly with Metal Forearm Thrust!"

Gearfriend obeyed, striking Skull Knight in the chest with his blade, causing him to stagger back and grunt (LP: 2200).

"Heh! Not sounding so tough now, aren't ya?" taunted Percy.

"Don't get cocky now." warned Skull Knight, drawing a card. "You may just regret it in the end."

Percy merely gave a bored yawn like he wasn't listening. Skull Knight looked at the card he had just drawn.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Skull Knight (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 21  
 **Current Hand** (6): Lycanthrope, Mad Dog of Darkness, Vorse Raider, Spell Purification, Synthesis Spell, and Undead Lineage

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Undead Lineage.

"There's no way that guy can beat me." Percy thought to himself. "Gearfried the Iron Knight can so kick his butt!"

Skull Knight just grinned. It was like he sensed what his opponent was thinking and was eager to prove him wrong.

"I play the Ritual Spell card Synthesis Spell!" The spellcaster/warrior-like monster announced, holding a card up.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"A Ritual Spell card..." mumbled Percy.

"In order to use this spell-" said Skull Knight. "-I must offer up monsters with a combined level of 6." He sent two cards from his hand to the graveyard. "So I shall offer both Mad Dog of Darkness and Vorse Raider from my hand!"

The two mentioned monsters appeared on the field briefly before being absorbed into the face-up Ritual Spell card. Cue summon chant...

" ** _From the science of darkness, a creature descends. One who's full power is unlocked by the light of the full moon, and one who strikes fear into every foe he comes across_**!"

The ritual commenced.

"Whatever it is-" thought Percy. "-I can handle it!"

" ** _RITUAL SUMMON_**!" shouted Skull Knight, placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. " ** _Arise at once - Lycanthrope_**!"

A cloud of smoke covered the field. Suddenly, they heard a wolf's howl from within it.

"Yes..." said Skull Knight softly to himself.

When the smoke cleared, standing before them was a very powerful looking werewolf monster (Level: 6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800). Just then, a Spell card called Undead Lineage materialized face-up.

"Now I'll strengthen my monster with Undead Lineage!"

"Uh-oh!" panicked Percy. "Now your monster receives a 500 attack point bonus during the damage step!"

"Now attack!" commanded Skull Knight.

Lycanthrope, growing stronger (ATK: 2400 - 2900), obeyed the command and clawed Gearfried the Iron Knight. The warrior-type monster gave a cry of pain before falling back a small distance before landing and shattering into pieces of glass.

"Gearfried!" cried Percy (LP: 2900).

Unfortunately, it was about to get much worse...

"And now I activate Lycanthrope's special ability!" announced Skull Knight. "Whenever he inflicts battle damage to you, you lose 200 additional life points for every normal monster in by graveyard!"

"Normal monsters?"

Over with the gang...

"Those discarded monster cards..." whispered Rosie. She then realized the truth. "Skull Knight must have discarded twelve different normal monster cards on purpose!"

"And I have a grand total of fourteen in my graveyard." said Skull Knight, showing his monsters from his graveyard.

The normal monsters were as followed:  
-Gene-Warped Warwolf  
-Luster Dragon  
-Soul Tiger  
-Dark Blade  
-Spiral Serpent  
-Blazing Inpachi  
-Jerry Beans Man  
-Battle Footballer  
-Summoned Skull  
-Serpent Night Dragon  
-Feral Imp  
-Fiend Scorpion  
-Mad Dog of Darkness  
-Vorse Raider

"That's a lot of normal monsters!" gulped Percy.

"And that means 2800 points of damage to you!" shouted Skull Knight.

The spirits of all the monsters Skull Knight had sent to his graveyard started to gather and rise into the sky.

"Meep." whimpered Percy.

Skull Knight laughed. "Now feel the pain of all my monsters! ATTACK NOW!"

The spirits soared forth and struck Percy, causing him to scream in pain and get sent flying back (LP: 100). The green-haired boy then hit the ground, rolled about, before laying down in pain.

"Percy, no!" called Rosie and Edward at once.

"I'll... I'll be fine." groaned Percy, getting back to his feet wearily.

Skull Knight sighed. This boy wouldn't give it up. No matter; next turn would be the end of him.

"My turn is over!"

(elsewhere...)

With James's group...

"Well, well...!" came a familiar voice (male). "It's nice to see you all again!"

"That voice..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Oh, not him again..." groaned Molly, remembering the voice all too well.

On cue...

 ***CRASH!***

Sky Scout ran in...and crashed into a pillar.

"Um... What's up with that?" asked James blankly.

"It's the same Sky Scout we encountered before." said Maiden of the Aqua unhappily.

"Sky Scout?"

"Remember those Harpie Lady Sisters?" spoke up Molly. "This guy was the one who kidnapped you, Thomas, and Toby for them."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Suddenly, the girls overheard a gloating male voice they never heard of before.

"Yahoo! That was great! Man, those three sisters sure know how to make a kidnapping count!"

They looked up to see Sky Scout flying about.

"A Sky Scout?" Mavis blinked.

"What did he say about a kidnapping?" asked Molly.

Rosie's eyes flared up. "He must've been in charge of the kidnapping of all our male friends!"

That was all the girls needed to know!

"Hey, you!" called Mavis to Sky Scout.

Sky Scout stopped gloating and flinched when he heard a female voice.

"Uh-oh... busted!" The humanoid bird-like monster thought to himself.

"What did you do with our friends?" demanded the blonde-haired girl angrily.

Hastily, the bumbling winged beast-type monster started to escape.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Maiden of the Aqua, raising her rod up.

Suddenly, she glowed in a blue aura as her rod shot something into the sky... but it missed Sky Scout and hit the clouds.

"Nah nah!" mocked Sky Scout.

"Who said I was aiming at you?" asked Maiden of the Aqua with a small smirk on her face.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang of thunder.

"Ulp..." Sky Scout's eyes widened in worry.

It started to rain. Sky Scout's wings were becoming wet from the water drops... and that meant one little thing for him...

"The rain!" The humanoid bird-like monster cried out, losing control of his flying. "It's making my wings heavy!"

Finally too soaking wet to fly anymore, Sky Scout dropped to the ground like a rock. He fell flat on his face with a loud ***CRASH!***. When the male monster looked up after recovering from his fall, he could see the very angry stares from three human girls, and one female Duel Monster spirit.

"Uh oh..." Sky Scout whimpered. "This is going to be painful."

"Alright, you!" Rosie grabbed the monster by his throat and pulling him up until they were seeing eye-to-eye. "Where are they?!"

"Where are who?" asked Sky Scout, trying fake innocence.

"Don't play innocent with us." snapped Mavis. "Tell us where our friends are, right now!"

"Those human males are your friends?" gulped Sky Scout.

"Yes!" nodded Molly crossly. "Where are they at?"

It was then Maiden of the Aqua realized something about this place.

"This is the ' **Valley of the Harpie Ladies** '...! No wonder I felt danger all around this place!"

"But then that means the signs were switched!" gasped Mavis.

All angry eyes were again aimed at Sky Scout, who smiled sheepishly in response.

"Really?" he asked innocently. "Who in their right mind would do such a thing like that?"

The glares from the human girls got more intense... Finally, Sky Scout caved in.

"Mercy! Mercy!" The winged beast-type monster wailed, falling to his knees.

"Oh, we'll show you mercy." growled Rosie, shaking her fist in anger. "But only if you tell us what the Harpie Ladies want with the guys!"

"They want to get married!" admitted Sky Scout.

"MARRIED?!" The girls all exclaimed at once.

"Yes! Yes! The Harpie Lady Sisters in this area each want a husband! And their master, Darkbishop Archfiend of the Court of Darkness, had promised them each a human male as a husband! He suggested three of the males of your band! ...and I said too much, didn't I?"

"The Court of Darkness?!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

"Didn't that Vampire Lord we encountered say he is a member of that group?" asked Mavis.

"Oh no!" cried Rosie. "We have to find our friends!"

"But where do we even start looking?" asked Molly, clealy worried for James's safety.

"Why don't we ask our friend here for directions?" suggested Mavis in a threatening tone, looking towards Sky Scout.

Sky Scout, despite looking like he wanted to refuse, knew he had no other choice but to comply.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"What?!" exclaimed James. "You mean this guy was the one who almost got me married to a sleazy Harpie Lady?!"

"Yup, and I've come to do some distraction time!" boasted Sky Scout.

"You're not going to stop us from stopping Spartacus from waking up!" hissed Maiden of the Aqua. "Now get out of the way or else!"

"Nope, never!"

"You do realize your outnumbered, right?" asked James.

Sky Scout scoffed. "And you guys realize that I can most certainly outrun any of you, right?"

"He's got a point." agreed Gordon.

"I guess there's only way to deal with this guy." mumbled James to himself, activating his Duel Disk. "Sky Scout, I challenge you!"

Sky Scout, taking out a Duel Disk, put it on his left arm and activated it.

"Bring it on, pal!" The winged beast-type monster dared. "I could use a work out against small fries like you."

With that said, the two duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x2.

"You totally got this one, James!" encouraged Henry.

James looked back to his tall green-haired friend, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. Sky Scout, meanwhile, drew his first card.

"I think I'll take the first turn."

* * *

 **Turn One** : Sky Scout (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Whirlwind Prodigy, Summon Storm, Level Tax, Tornado Bird, Glory Level Talisman, and Simorgh, Bird of Divinity

* * *

His hand contained Whirlwind Prodigy, Summon Storm, Level Tax, Tornado Bird, Glory Level Talisman, and the added Simorgh, Bird of Divinity.

"Heh! This birdbrain probably can't even duel well." thought James cockily.

From there, on Sky Scout's side of the field, a Spell card called Summon Storm materialized face-up.

"I'd like to start with something called Summon Storm." Sky Scout announced (LP: 3200). "First I have to give up 800 life points."

Over with the gang...

"Summon Storm?" quizzed Gordon, looking to Maiden of the Aqua. "Do you know what it does?"

"It allows Sky Scout to special summon a wind attribute monster from his hand." explained Maiden of the Aqua.

On cue, a monster card known as Whirlwind Prodigy materialized face-up.

"I want you all to meet Whirlwind Prodigy!" announced Sky Scout.

Appearing to the field was a short blonde fellow wearing a green shirt and hat (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"But he won't be sticking around."

James winced. "That's right, you've special summoned that monster. That means you can still perform a normal summon for this turn."

The red-haired boy was right; Whirlwind Prodigy faded away in a blue streak.

"By sacrificing Whirlwind Prodigy-" explained Sky Scout. "-he can count as enough tributes for a monster that usually requires two!"

To prove his point, the winged beast-type monster held up a monster card called Simorgh, Bird of Divinity.

"Simorgh, Bird of Divinity, for example, is a level 7 monster. Meaning he would normally require two sacrifices. But since I've tributed Whirlwind Prodigy, I can summon my powerful level 7 monster!"

James was dismayed, but remained quiet.

"Come on out - Simorgh, Bird of Divinity!" called Sky Scout. "Help me make mincemeat out of these bozos!"

Appearing from the skies was a large, majestic green bird (Level: 7/ATK: 2700/DEF: 1000).

"Aaaaaand James has to face a 2700 attack point monster almost immediately." gulped Gordon.

Sky Scout still wasn't done yet, he held up two cards and slotted them into his Duel Disk.

"Next I set a card and activate a Continuous Spell card!"

A facedown card materialized, followed by a face-up card called...

"Level Tax!" Sky Scout announced. "As long as this beauty is face-up, neither you nor me can summon a Level 5 or above monster without taking damage equal to the ATK of the summoned monster."

"Oh no!" cried Molly.

"That means James can't fight back with his fusion monsters!" added Gordon.

"Or Elemental HERO Neos!" finished Henry.

"Wha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Sky Scout. "How do you like that? I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

"Riiiiiight." agreed James sarcastically, preparing to draw a card. "It's my t-"

"WAIT! Now that we're at my end phase, Simorgh, Bird of Divinity's effect activates! During each end phase, no matter who's, both players receive 1000 points of damage to their life points!"

The red-haired boy was not happy (LP: 3000). Sky Scout's life points were untouched (LP: 3200).

"Why didn't your life points drop?" questioned James.

"If you have one or more Spell or Traps cards on your respective field-" explained Sky Scout. "-the amount of life points lost by Simorgh, Bird of Divinity's effect is reduced by 500 until all damage becomes...zero!"

James facepalmed. "Oh, come on!" He then recovered and drew his card. "At least I now know how to stop myself from losing life points!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : James Hughes (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Polymerization, Elemental HERO Clayman, Elemental HERO Necroshade, Elemental HERO Neos, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, and Elemental HERO Bubbleman

* * *

The red-haired boy's drawn card was Elemental HERO Bubbleman.

"This is a good start!" thought James, looking to his hand. It contained Polymerization, Elemental HERO Clayman, Elemental HERO Necroshade, Elemental HERO Neos, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, and the added Elemental HERO Bubbleman. "I think I know what I can do!"

He started to selected Polymerization, just before suddenly stopping himself.

"No, I can't summon Mudballman. If I do summon a fusion monster, then Level Tax will only hit me with big damage."

Finally, with no other choice, the Elemental HERO Bubbleman monster card materialized face-up.

"I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in defense mode!" announced James, with two fingers braced on a card he place onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The Elemental Hero in blue appeared to the field (Level: 4/DEF: 1200).

"And when he's summoned while I have no other monster on my side of the field-" continued James, drawing two cards. "-I get to draw two more cards."

His two drawn cards were Winged Kuriboh (Monster card) and Fake Hero (Spell card). From there, James selected Polymerization and Fake Hero from his hand and slotted them into seperate Spell/Trap slots.

"Finally, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn! And since it's the end phase, your monster's effect would activate! ...but we both take no damage because we have at least two Spell/Trap cards on the field."

"Drat!" pouted Sky Scout.

"He found a way to save himself." sighed Henry.

"For now." Gordon pointed out.

Sky Scout got miffed. "Man, you really know how ruffle a birdman's feathers! It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Sky Scout (LP: 3200)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (2): Tornado Bird and Wing Requital

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Wing Requital.

"Okay, let's see you deal with this!" Sky Scout took a card from his hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I summon Tornado Bird in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a large red bird with eyes on its wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1000). Almost immediately afterward, a Spell card called Wing Requital materialized face-up.

"Next I play Wing Requital!" continued Sky Scout. "At the cost of 600 life points, I'm able to draw a card for each winged beast-type monster I control."

"Don't forget-" called James. "-that each card you draw cannot be played after drawing for the rest of the turn."

"Pfff! I know that."

With that said, Sky Scout drew his two cards (because he had two winged beast-type monsters on his side of the field) and immediately entered his battle phase.

"Simorgh, Bird of Divinity... attack and destroy Elemental HERO Bubbleman!" The wingd beast-type monster commanded.

Simorgh, Bird of Divinity obeyed, waving its wings, and sending gusts of wind to destroy Bubbleman.

"And with your life points wide open, I'll have Tornado Bird attack you directly!"

Tornado Bird began to spin around until it became a large tornado and made its way towards James.

"Oh, crap..." The red-haired boy mumbled. That was all he could say before the tornado picked him up.

"James!" cried Molly.

Once the tornado had ceased, James fell until he landed on the ground with a loud ***THUMP!***!

"And thanks to that direct attack-" Sky Scout pointed out. "-you've taken 1100 points of damage."

James moaned as he got back to his feet while feeling very dizzy (LP: 1900).

"What a ride..." The red-haired boy commented.

At that point, two facedown cards materialized on Sky Scout's side of the field.

"While I can't play these cards directly, I can still set them for later." said Sky Scout knowingly. "I'll set them and call it a turn."

"My go!" declared James, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : James Hughes (LP: 1900)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (6): Elemental HERO Clayman, Elemental HERO Necroshade, Elemental HERO Neos, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, Winged Kuriboh, and Graceful Charity

* * *

The red-haired boy's drawn card was the Graceful Charity Spell card.

"This could help me out." he said to himself. Just then, the Graceful Charity card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate the Spell card Graceful Charity!"

James immediately drew his three cards and then selected two from his hand to discard to the graveyard.

"Now I draw three more cards and then send two from my hand to the graveyard!"

The cards sent to the graveyard were both Elemental HEROES Burstinatrix and Necroshade. From there, James placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk... and it was one of his favorites.

"Now I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole in attack mode!" announced the red-haired boy proudly.

The alien mole appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 900).

"Neo-Spacian Grand Mole?" blinked Sky Scout.

"Now this guy may seem weak-" said James. "-but when he attacks, you'll be wishing that he WAS just a weakling!"

Neo-Spacian Grand Mole charged towards Simorgh, Bird of Divinity.

"See when Grand Mole attacks a stronger monster-" explained James. "-both he and that monster are returned to our hands without any of us taking damage!"

"Oh no!" wailed Sky Scout.

"Way to go, James!" whooped Gordon.

"That's a good way to stop him from taking any more life point damage!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

The collar around Neo-Spacian Grand Mole created a drill over his head.

"Say goodbye to Simorgh, Bird of Divinity!" declared James boldly.

"Not today, bucko." interrupted Sky Scout, now grinning widely.

James's look of triumph was replaced with worry.

"I play my Trap card!" As the winged beast-type monster said this, his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Glory Level Talisman! Because your monster's level is lower than the level of my monster, your own monster bites the dust!"

Neo-Spacian Grand Mole was hit by a bolt of lightning and shattered into pieces of glass.

"No!" screamed James. "Grand Mole!"

Unfortunately, James's troubles were only beginning... On cue, another facedown card belonging to Sky Scout flipped up and revealed itself.

"Next I'll play Icarus Attack!" announced Sky Scout, just as Tornado Bird faded away in a blue streak. "By tributing Tornado Bird, I can rid the field of two facedown cards you own."

James's facedowns were also hit by lightning as well, destroying them.

"James, no!" cried Molly.

Back with Sky Scout...

"Aaaaaand that's the end!" He then gave a laugh. "Just kidding! I still have one more card to play!"

James cursed quietly, watching as a third and final set card belonging to Sky Scout flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Explosion Wing! This inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points for each card you've lost to a card effect!"

"James lost three cards." Henry said to Gordon and Molly. "That means he'll receive 1500 points of damage to his life points!"

An explosion hit James, causing him to cry out in pain as his life points dropped to very low levels (LP: 400).

"Man, this is too easy!" laughed Sky Scout.

James struggled to get back up. As he did so, he took two cards from his hand.

"I'm not finished." The red-haired boy said wearily, slotting his two cards into seperate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn.

Two facedown cards materialized.

"At least I'll be spared from taking 1000 points of damage again."

Over with the gang...

"Oh, wow." whispered Molly. "Sky Scout isn't as stupid as I first thought he was."

"I hope James can find a way to save himself." prayed Gordon.

"You and me both, Gordon." agreed Henry.

"Well, it has been fun." commented Sky Scout, drawing a card. "But it's time for me to win the duel."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Sky Scout (LP: 2600)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Harpie Lady

* * *

"Simorgh, Bird of Divinity, it's time! Attack my opponent directly and end the duel!"

Simorgh, Bird of Divinity obeyed, diving towards James. Unfortunately for Sky Scoy, this was just what the red-haired boy wanted.

"Activate facedowns!" shouted James, pressing two buttons on his Duel Disk. "First up is the Quick-Play Spell card - The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!"

His first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. James immediately added a card from his deck to his hand...just before showing what it was.

"This either lets me add one ' _Kuriboh_ ' or one ' _Winged Kuriboh_ ' from my deck to my hand, OR let's me special summon one ' _Kuriboh_ ' or one ' _Winged Kuriboh_ ' from my deck."

On cue, Winged Kuriboh appeared in attack position (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"Finally, my other Quick-Play Spell card!" continued James, motioning to his remaining face-up card. "Transcendent Wings!"

"Transcendent Wings?" quizzed Sky Scout. "What does that even do?"

"By discarding two cards-" explained James, sending two of the three remaining cards from his hand to the graveyard. "-my Winged Kuriboh can evolve into its most supreme form!"

Yup, Winged Kuriboh...was beginning to transform.

"Sky Scout... meet Winged Kuriboh Lv.10!"

When the light faded, Winged Kuriboh looked much stronger (Level: 10/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"Wah ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Sky Scout. "You went and summoned something like that? Don't tell me you have forgotten about my Level Tax card?"

"I know." nodded James, taking life point damage (LP: 100). "If I summon a level 5 or higher monster I take damage equal to my summoned monster's attack."

"So, tell me... Why bother summoning that thing?" asked Sky Scout. "It's still too weak to defend against my Simorgh, Bird of Divinity."

"For its special ability."

Sky Scout blinked cluelessly, but said nothing.

"When Winged Kuriboh Lv.10 is attacked-" explained James. "-he can sacrifice himself to destroy all attack mode monsters you currently control, inflicting damage to you equal to the combined attacks of the monsters!"

Sky Scout was panicking. "Simorgh, Bird of Divinity! Stop! Don't attack!"

"You're too late!"

Winged Kuriboh LV.10 turned itself into a ball of light and slammed into Simorgh, Bird of Divinity, destroying it in a massive explosion that clouded the whole arena.

"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" screamed Sky Scout in agony (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

Back with Percy's group, the green-haired boy drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Percy Avonside (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (5): Inferno Fire Blast, Monster Reborn, The Fiend Megacyber, Cyber-Tech Alligator, and Foolish Burial

* * *

His drawn card was the Foolish Burial Spell card.

"Well now..." said Skull Knight snidely. "What will you do?"

"Why tell you when I can show you?" asked Percy, holding his card. "And I'll begin with the Foolish Burial Spell card!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. From there, Percy selected a card from his deck and send it to the graveyard.

"This allows me to send one monster card from my deck to the graveyard."

Over with the gang...

"I thought it allowed Percy to send a card from his hand to the opponent's graveyard?" Rosie whispered to Mavis.

"Must have been edited by Discord after Battle City." said Mavis, shrugging in response.

Back in the duel...

"But I'm not finished yet." continued Percy, holding up his Monster Reborn card. "I play Monster Reborn!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I'll use it to bring back the monster I just sent to the graveyard." explained Percy, taking a card out of his graveyard. "Meet the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

On cue, the legendary black dragon appeared with a loud roar (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"The Red-Eyes Black Dragon?!" gasped Skull Knight. "B-But it won't be of-"

"I know it's not strong enough for your monster." interrupted Percy. "But it will help me win this duel." With that, he showed Skull Knight another card from his hand. "I activate the Spell card Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon started charging a powerful blast of fire in its mouth.

"With this card, you're dealt damage equal to my dragon's original attack points!"

"Original?!" winced Skull Knight.

"That's right." confirmed Percy. "A grand total of 2400 points! And with only 2200 life points left, this makes it Game Over for you!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon immediately unleashed its attack. Lycanthrope was destroyed (for dramatic effect), and Skull Knight gave a cry of pain from the flames overwhelming him (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Percy Avonside wins!**

* * *

Outside in the arena, Chaos Sorcerer had brought Sarina and the coffin out.

"It's time..."

With that said, he went over to Sarina and slit her wrist with the sharp end of his staff, making the girl yelp in pain. Now that Chaos Sorcerer had some human blood, he was ready to do it...

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus..." whispered the spellcaster-like monster. "The time has come for you to rise!"

He held Sarina's wrist over the coffin and squeezed hard, causing a few drops of blood to fall from the open wound and onto the coffin's lid. From there, Chaos Sorcerer began to cast the spell...

(elsewhere...)

Inside another chamber, Thomas and Stanley were both racing against the clock trying to find the arena. Would they make it in time? Only one way to find out... next time!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	45. Gladiator's Assault (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some nudity, brief language, violence and gore, public humiliation, and some physical torture (as a result, the chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

WARNING 2: Starting from this chapter, many of the later chapters are going to have an even darker tone than ever before, with much less humor thrown in.

* * *

(Thomas stood by himself in a black void-like area as Duel Monsters cards appeared behind him. Then, he began to spin in a circle as Emily appeared back-to-back with him.)

 **Wonder Wings, let me soar through the world**

 **A radiant world lies ahead. Take off!**

(The two then became seperate, smiled at each other, and both turn to beams of blue and emerald green energy, flying into the sky as the title appeared.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**

(Thomas looked over into the distance of the Duel Monsters spirit world and began to run/charge into battle. Joining his side were his friends Emily, Percy, James, Gordon, Henry, Edward, Toby, Mavis, Molly, Stanley, Rosie, Spencer, and Maiden of the Aqua.)

 **Dueling with you will show our destinies.**

 **Let the Heart of the Cards show their potential.**

(Appearing opposite of the heroes were the Court of Darkness. Each wielding their own monsters:

-Airknight Parshath: Darknight Parshath.  
-Earl of Demise: Exodia the Forbidden One, and a stronger version called Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord.  
-Darkbishop Archfiend: Emperor, the First Lord of Horror.  
-Vampire Lady: Adreana the Vampire King.  
-Vampire Lord: Vampire Genesis and several other weaker monsters.  
-Gozaburo Gresley: Three Ancient Gear Golems and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem.

(The ultimate clash was soon to begin.)

 **Darkness will try to extinquish your light.**

 **Fight on and never give into hate.**

(Thomas looked at himself in a mirror. His reflect turned into a slightly older version of himself wearing the clothing of a simple warrior. Standing next to him, in a more regal, completely of royalty, outfit, was a slightly older version Emily. The vision of Emily then vanished as Thomas's reflection changed into that of Diablon, the ' ** _Evil One_** ', shocking Thomas.)

 **Though the truth makes us weary, we must never stray from our paths.**

 **Make the right choices.**

(Several allies of the heroes appeared. Three of them being Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel. Thomas soon found himself surrounded by evil numerous evil Duel Monsters who served the Court of Darkness, but this didn't scare him whatsoever. An aura of light appeared around him as he drew a card from his deck, performing a Destiny Draw)

 **Oh! And when the odds are against you,**

 **Look to the truth to know that your will and courage are bold. Shining Draw!**

(Some of Thomas's allies summon some of their monsters:

-Emily: Wingweaver, Kuribon, Serapheem, and another monster shrouded in yellow light.  
-James: Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman, Elemental HERO Neos, Yubel, and Winged Kuriboh.  
-Mavis: Cyber Blader, Cyber Prima, Cyber Angel Natasha, Cyber Angel Idaten, Cyber Angel Dakini, and Cyber Angel Vrash.  
-Stanley: Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster, Destiny HERO - Dogma, Destiny HERO - Plasma, and Destiny End Dragoon.  
-Rosie: Guardian Angel Joan, Diamond Head Dragon, and Injection Fairy Lily.  
-Spencer: Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Maiden with Eyes of Blue.

(All of a sudden, Diablon appeared through the ground and, with a mixed look of glee, evil, anger, and sorrow on his face, faced off against Thomas in the final battle with the three Sacred Beasts; Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.)

 **Wonder Wings, let me soar through the world**

 **Shine through the dawn with your auras of life and love.**

(Thomas was shown flying through the air with several of his monsters in form of Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician's Valkyria, the three Poker Knights, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, the three Magnet Warriors, Seiyaryu, Buster Blader, and Kuriboh. Percy was then shown facing off in a final showdown against Knight of Dark Dragon at the top of a reactivated volcano. Both wielding Red-Eyes Black Dragons, before they suddenly became an upgraded form of them... Percy's was Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon's was Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon. Both of them attacked at the same time... The three Egyptian Gods monsters, Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra, each then appeared from the glow of the Millennium Puzzle. The three then instantly turned into bright light and merged together.)

 **Take a chance! Let the willpower strike!**

 **Find the strenth to fight your inner demons. Take off to the future!**

(Appearing from the merge of the three Gods is what looked like a gigantic woman. A final shot showed Thomas and his friends standing together as the title comes back again.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**

* * *

Opening up in the arena of the 'Evil One's' Coliseum, Chaos Sorcerer was busy casting the spell to revive one of the most dangerous creatures found in the Duel Monsters spirit world; Gladiator Beast Spartacus. And to make matters worse, he had Sarina as a hostage (or even a potential sacrifice), and she was powerless to stop the revival.

"Yes..." whispered Chaos Sorcerer, with his staff glowing with dark energy. "The process is working..."

"Autraius... please hurry..." thought Sarina to only herself.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one hallway, Thomas and Stanley were both still trying to find their way to the arena. Unfortunately, a number of Vorse Raiders ambushed the duo at one corner.

"Dammit! We don't have time for this!" complained Thomas, drawing a card. "Dark Magician, attack now!"

The purple-haired, male spellcaster appeared and fired a blast of black magic from his scepter, shattering the Vorse Raiders in an instant.

"We should almost be there to the arena!" Stanley claimed.

"Then let's not waste anymore time!"

The two teenage boys continued onward.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the arena, the coffin was beginning to glow with dark energy.

"It's nearly finished!" laughed Chaos Sorcerer.

"Not so fast!" called a voice.

Chaos Sorcerer's smile grew colder and eviler. On cue, Thomas and Stanley both emerged from a doorway.

"Well, well, well..." said Chaos Sorcerer. "Look who's come to join the party. I've been waiting for you, Lord Diablon!"

"Let Sarina go!" demanded Thomas. "She's has done nothing to deserve something like this!"

"If you don't release her-" threatened Stanley. "-we'll destroy the coffin so that you can never awaken Gladiator Beast Spartacus!"

"Try if you must." shrugged Chaos Sorcerer. "But it won't do you any good!"

"What?!"

"Yes!" confirmed the spellcaster-like monster. "This coffin can never be destroyed! You both are powerless to stop me from completing the spell!"

Thomas and Stanley both looked angry and defeated. At last... the sky started darkening with storm clouds as the spell was finally completed.

"The time has come..." cackled Chaos Sorcerer, spreading his arms out. "...TO RISE!"

Thunder and lightning crackled from the storm clouds above, and a lightning bolt soon struck the coffin in the center of the arena.

"Arise from your eternal slumber, and show these fools your pure power!"

Suddenly, something within the coffin began to forcefully punch the lid, breaking the chains in the process. Then, with one big punch, BOOM! The lid blew to pieces.

"My God!" mumbled Stanley in shock.

Slowly, but surely, the newly awakened Gladiator Beast Spartacus rose from the middle of his slumbering place and raised his weapon in triumph of his revival.

"I live again!" shouted Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "Let all those watching tremble in sight of my power! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus..." murmured Thomas.

The revived monster then looked over at Chaos Sorcerer and smiled wickedly.

"It has been too long, old friend."

"Indeed it has... So sorry it took so long." apologized Chaos Sorcerer, bowing out of respect for the dangerous warrior. "But you know what they say; there are things in life well worth the wait."

"Indeed so..." agreed Gladiator Beast Spartacus. He then saw Thomas and Stanley both watching from nearby. "And who are these...fools?"

"Humans from another world." answered Chaos Sorcerer. "Though one would be more... familiar to you than the other."

"Familiar?"

"Most certainly." continued the spellcaster-like monster. "That blue-haired boy is...the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' reincarnated vessal of the present day."

"No, I'm not!" protested Thomas. "I am...!"

"Leave Autraius out of this!" protested the voice of Sarina.

Chaos Sorcerer and Gladiator Beast Spartacus both looked down at the captive girl, who was glaring hatefully at the two villains.

"Do whatever you want with me, but leave him out of this!"

"And who might you be?" questioned Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"The one who's blood was used to revive you." said Chaos Sorcerer. "We have captured her to ensure that you were brought back."

Gladiator Beast Spartacus glared at Sarina with evil intention before looking back at Thomas and Stanley. Very soon, a cold, twisted smile smile appeared on his face while the blade of his battle axe shimmered sharply.

"Let her go!" demanded Stanley.

"As much as I'd like to-" retorted the revived Gladiator-like lizard, looking towards the gray-haired boy. "-I must decline. Oh, and since I'm finally alive, I must now see if I have gotten...rusty."

"HUH?!"

Chaos Sorcerer, smirking, then went and held Sarina down (until she was lying on her stomach). Thomas, his eyes widening with horror, ran forth.

"No!" screamed the blue-haired boy.

It was too late; Gladiator Beast Spartacus gripped the handle of his battle axe with both hands, raised the weapon up, positioned to the blade is near Sarina's neck, and, with a loud cry, brought it down...

* * *

 **Title: Gladiator's Assault, Part 1**

* * *

There was a sickening cutting sound and clatter as something hit and rolled along the ground. Thomas and Stanley both watched on with horror and silence.

"SARINA!" screamed Thomas and Stanley at once.

Alas, she could not say a thing. For Sarina...had been...be-headed by Gladiator Beast Spartacus. Her body was now lifeless, and disgusting, oozing, blood was spewing from the neck and such (as well as the motionless body). Sarina's eyes remained open and widen with shock, but completely motionless.

"N-No..." spluttered Thomas. He felt VERY sick to his stomach from actually watching a be-heading execution.

There was some blood on Gladiator Beast Spartacus's weapon, as well as the monster's body, but he didn't care and felt rather pleased from killing someone for the first time in years.

"Well-" Gladiator Beast Spartacus said sadistically. "-it looks like I do still have it in me even after thousands of years of sleeping."

Within seconds, Sarina's body and her severed head turned to light and vanished. While Stanley remained stunned over what had happened, Thomas clenched his fist in anger at the cruelty of the Court of Darkness and their allies as his darkness started to flare and grow more powerful than ever before.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!" The blue-haired boy screamed in pure rage. "SHE DID NOTHING TO DESERVE THAT!"

"Actually, my Mother was a chemist." joked Chaos Sorcerer, despite being called a very harsh name by Thomas.

Thomas felt the darkness in his heart growing stronger and started to try and resist it with all his might...to some very mixed results.

"N-No..." winced Thomas. "I can't...!"

He clutched his head with his hands and screamed.

"Now do you see my point?" said Chaos Sorcerer to Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "This boy is the reincarnation of Lord Diablon, and our master is trying to gain control of his body and soul."

"Thomas!" cried Stanley. "You have to calm down!"

After a serious struggle, Thomas was able to regain control of himself. From there, he activated his Duel Disk and pointed at Gladiator Beast Spartacus and Chaos Sorcerer.

"I am going to make you both pay for what you have done!" The blue-haired boy shouted with hatred. "Do you hear me? DO YOU?!"

Chaos Sorcerer was about to activate his own Duel Disk, but was stopped by Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"This boy won't be trouble to me."

"I see." Chaos Sorcerer mumbled, and then smiled. "Then show him what you're really capable of doing."

Gladiator Beast Spartacus then made a special Duel Disk appear on his left arm. Just before Thomas could draw his opening hand, Stanley stepped forth with his Duel Disk already activated.

"I'll help you out, Thomas." offered the gray-haired boy.

"I don't want you to end up like Sarina." objected Thomas.

Stanley frowned. "Do you remember what I and the rest of our friends have told you earlier?"

Thomas sighed unhappily. He remembered it all very well.

"I know..." The blue-haired boy mumbled. "But after what had happened just now..."

"Two heads are better than one." insisted Stanley. "And believe me when I say this... I'm more than willing to give my life up to keep my friends and loved ones safe."

At last, Thomas gave a defeated sigh and got into a dueling stance.

"Very well. But be careful!"

With that, all three duelists drew their opening hands and got ready for battle (LP: 4000) x3.

"You two are no match for me!" boasted Gladiator Spartacus. He then drew a card. "I may be made for fighting, but I'm a good duelist, too!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Gladiator Beast Spartacus (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Defensive Tactics, Gladiator Beast Laquari, Gladiator Beast Noxious, Medallion of Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast Murmillo, and Pollice Verso

* * *

His drawn card was a Trap card called Pollice Verso. Smirking, the Gladiator-like lizard added the card to his hand while entering his personal thoughts...

"An excellent first hand so far. I'll soon show these two boys just who they're messing with."

Gladiator Beast Spartacus's hand contained Defensive Tactics, Gladiator Beast Laquari, Gladiator Beast Noxious, Medallion of Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast Murmillo, and the added Pollice Verso.

"Alright, you two weaklings, it's time for you to feel the brutal power of the ' _Gladiator Beast_ ' archtype!" declared the Gladiator-like lizard, readying and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Gladiator Beast Laquari, come forth!"

Appearing to the field was what looked like a tiger in armor with a ring of fire around it (Level: 4/ATK: 1800).

"A Gladiator Beast monster..." mumbled Thomas.

"I've heard about them." said Stanley serious. "When used correctly, they can be one of the most dangerous deck types to face."

Thomas braced himself, determined to face this threat. Just then, three facedown cards materialized behind Gladiator Beast Laquari.

"To ensure you both don't try anything funny-" remarked Gladiator Beast Spartacus, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "-I'll place these three cards facedown and end my turn."

Determined, Thomas took the next turn. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mirror Force, Dark Effigy, Double Summon, Magic Cylinder, Detonate, and Dark Magician

* * *

He added the drawn Dark Magician card to his hand, which also contained Mirror Force, Dark Effigy, Double Summon, Magic Cylinder, and Detonate.

"To begin my turn-" began Thomas, taking a card from his hand and placig it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I'll summon Dark Effigy in attack mode!"

"Dark Effigy?" snorted Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "A pure weakling!"

The large dark cube appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500).

"He won't be around for long." continued Thomas, readying another card. "Because now I sacrifice him to summon Dark Magician!"

"But you've already performed a normal summon this turn!" argued Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "Because of that, you cannot summon anymore monsters this turn!"

"You're right, indeed... but with this Spell card, I can now perform a second normal summon this turn!"

The Double Summon Spell card suddenly flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"D-Double Summon?!" gasped the Gladiator-like lizard. "Isn't that-?"

"That is correct." confirmed Thomas. "Using this Spell card, I can now perform a second normal summon on this turn. Best of all; my Dark Effigy's effect allows it to be treated as TWO tributes for a dark attribute NORMAL monster."

Dark Effigy split itself in two before fading away in a blue streak. Thomas then placed his next card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Come forth - Dark Magician!"

Appearing before them was the Dark Magicican (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"I have to make this duel quick, and Dark Magician can help me do just that." thought Thomas. He then spoke aloud. "Destroy Gladiator Beast Laquari with Dark Magic attack!"

Dark Magician obeyed, twirling his scepter and firing a blast of black magic at Laquari.

"I thought you would try something like that." spoke up Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Thomas became shocked. "HUH?!"

"This Trap card will prevent you from destroying my monsters!" continued the Gladiator-like lizard, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "Go Medallion of Gladiator Beast!"

His first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. The Dark Magic attack struck Gladiator Beast Laquari, but didn't destroy him. Gladiator Beast Spartacus also took more damage than normal (LP: 2600).

"Why did you take more damage?" asked Thomas. "And why is your monster still standing?"

"That is the effect of my Medallion of Gladiator Beast Trap card." explained Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "So long as this card remains face-up on the field, none of my Gladiator Beast monsters can be destroyed by battle...but I also take double the battle damage, too."

Thomas grunted slightly, but then gasped as Gladiator Beast Laquari suddenly faded away in a blue streak.

"And because Laquari did battle, its own effect activates! I can return my monster to the deck and special summon a Gladiator Beast monster with a different name in its place."

He took up a new card and showed it. It was a monster called Gladiator Beast Secutor.

"Gladiator Beast Secutor!" announced Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "And I'll place him in defense mode."

Appearing to the field was a frog-like Gladiator Beast in armor with two cannons on his shoulders (Level: 4/DEF: 300). Thomas growled and slotted two cards into his Duel Disk.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Two set cards materialized behind Dark Magician. Thomas then looked on over to Stanley.

"I've got this, Thomas." reassured Stanley, drawing a card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Destiny HERO - Defender, Guard Penalty, D - Counter, Destiny HERO - Disk Commander, Urban Demise, and Destiny Draw

* * *

He added his draw Destiny Draw card to his hand, which also contained Destiny HERO - Defender, Guard Penalty, D - Counter, Destiny HERO - Disk Commander, Urban Demise.

"If I play these cards correctly-" The gray-haired boy thought to himself. "-we can win!"

Thomas watched his friend carefully and silently, hoping that he (Stanley) can do what it takes to help win the duel. Finally, Stanley slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"First up... the Spell card Destiny Draw!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"By discarding one Destiny HERO from my hand-" explained Stanley, holding up a card and discarding it to the graveyard. "-I am allowed to draw two cards!"

The two cards were drawn and added to Stanley's hand. They were shown to be Destiny HERO - Drilldark (Monster card) and Monster Reborn (Spell card).

"This will help." thought Stanley with a smirk. He then took and placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come on out - Destiny HERO - Drilldark!"

"Destiny HERO - Drilldark?!" exclaimed Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Appearing to the field was a Destiny HERO with drills for fingers on one hand, and the other hand replaced by an even larger drill (Level: 4/ATK: 1600).

"Because I've normal summoned this guy successfully-" continued Stanley, taking and placing another card onto his Duel Disk. "I can special summon one Destiny HERO monster from my hand with an attack stat equal or less than of Drilldark."

A monster card called Destiny HERO - Defender materialized face-up on the field.

"And I choose Destiny HERO - Defender! And I will put him in defense mode."

Appearing to the field was a huge monster made of gray bricks with a metal guard over his face (Level: 4/DEF: 2700).

"And now, Destiny HERO - Drilldark-" continued Stanley, going into his battle phase. "-attack Gladiator Beast Secutor this instant!"

Drilldark obeyed, charging his drill.

"Don't you remember?" asked Spartacus. "My Trap card prevents my Gladiator Beasts from being destroyed in battle!"

"Of course I do." smirked Stanley, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "However, you left out one factor."

"And what's that?"

"Any battle damage you take involving your beasts becomes doubled." Stanley reminded. "And when Drilldark attacks a monster in defense mode, he inflicts piercing damage!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus was left shocked by that detail.

"And with only 2600 life points left-" continued Stanley. "-that means if the attack goes through, you would lose!"

"Not a chance." growled Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "I reveal Defensive Tactics!"

The second of the Gladiator-like lizard's facedown cards flipped up and revealed itself.

"This prevents my monsters from being destroyed for the remainer of the turn and reduces all battle damage I would take to zero!"

Just as Drilldark could strike Secutor, a protective barrier appeared around it.

"No... I failed to win!" thought Stanley unhappily.

As with Gladiator Beast Laquari earlier, Gladiator Beast Secutor faded away in a blue streak as Gladiator Beast Spartacus added the card to his deck..

"And now I shall call forth two more Gladiator Beasts from my deck!" declared Spartacus, taking a card from the deck. "That's right; two instead of one!"

Thomas frowned. "What will they be?"

Spartacus held up two cards and showed them. They were called Gladiator Beast Augustus and Gladiator Beast Murmillo respectively.

"Now meet Gladiator Beasts Augustus and Murmillo!" cackled Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Appearing to the field were two new Gladiator Beasts. One was a four armed bird-like creature (Level: 8/ATK: 2600), the other looked like a huge blue humanoid fish in armor (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"Now because Gladiator Beast Augustus was special summoned by the effect of one of my Gladiator Beast monsters, it's own effect activates!"

"Another effect?" quizzed Stanley. "What Gladiator Beast will you play this time?"

"The effect allows me to special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from my hand in defense position." explained Gladiator Beast Spartacus, folding his arms. "However, once the end phase comes up, said monster will return to deck."

The Gladiator-like lizard then selected and held out a card from his hand.

"I will special summon a second copy of Gladiator Beast Murmillo now!"

A second Murmilo appeared to the field (Level: 3/DEF: 400). Gladiator Beast Spartacus was now grinning widely as the stage was set.

"With two Gladiator Beast Murmillos on my side of the field, I can activate their special effects!"

Thomas and Stanley both braced themselves for what was coming... which was not going to be pretty at all.

"When Murmillo is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster-" explained Spartacus. "-he can destroy one monster on the field!"

"But you control two of them!" Thomas pointed out. "And they were summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster."

"And that means I get to destroy two monsters instead of one!"

And the two monsters that went *BOOM* were both Destiny HERO - Drilldark and Dark Magician! The resulting explosion clouded the field in thick smoke, and Thomas and Stanley both tried their hardest to withstand the force of the blast.

"Dark Magician!" cried Thomas.

"Drilldark!" came from Stanley.

But Gladiator Beast Spartacus wasn't finished yet... "And since I control at least ONE Gladiator Beast monster on my side of the field, I'll activate this Trap card!"

The Gladiator-like lizard's final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"That's the rare Pollice Verso card!" said Stanley in realization.

"What does it do, Stanley?" asked Thomas curious, although he had a feeling it would be very bad.

"So long as he controls a Gladiator Beast monster, every time a card is destroyed, the card's owner loses 500 life points!"

"And you both lost one apiece!" Gladiator Beast Spartacus pointed out. "That means 500 points of damage is dealt to the both of you!"

Thomas (LP: 3500) and Stanley (LP: 3500) both scowled in defiance. Over with a very pleased looking Chaos Sorcerer...

"This is going better than expected." The spellcaster-like monster grinned. "I knew those two boys would be no match for Gladiator Beast Spartacus."

Back in the duel arena, Stanley's turn wasn't over yet.

"I play Monster Reborn!" announced the gray-haired boy, just as the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

On cue, Destiny HERO - Disk Commander materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 1/DEF: 300).

"From using it, I'll bring back Destiny HERO - Disk Commander in defense mode! And because it was special summoned from the graveyard, I can draw two cards from my deck."

Stanley drew his two cards and slotted one of them into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Finally, I'll set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Stanley. "And because it's my end phase, you must send the Gladiator Beast Murmillo special summoned by Augustus back to your deck!"

The other copy of Gladiator Beast Murmillo disappeared.

"Playtime has ended!" declared Gladiator Beast Spartacus, drawing two cards. "Because of your Destiny HERO - Defender's effect, I draw an extra card during my draw phase."

Stanley scowled.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Gladiator Beast Spartacus (LP: 2600)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (6): Gladiator Beast Noxious, Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield, and Double Tag Team

* * *

Gladiator Beast Spartacus's two drawn cards were Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield and Double Tag Team (both Trap cards).

"And now-" The Gladiator-like lizard announced. "-I send Gladiator Beasts Augustus and Murmillo back to my deck!"

The two mentioned Gladiator Beasts returned to his deck.

"Why is he doing that?" questioned Thomas.

"Well, you know of whenever James performs a contact fusion summon with Elemental HERO Neos and any Neo-Spacians?" asked Stanley knowingly. When Thomas nodded, the gray-haired boy continued. "I think that's what Gladiator Spartacus is doing now."

Thomas was now worried. "Whatever he is summoning, we have to defeat it and avenge Sarina!"

"You'll never win!" insisted Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "By sending the two Gladiator Beast monsters to my deck, I can summon Gladiator Beast Andabata from the extra deck!"

"Gladiator Beast Andabata!" thought Thomas bitterly. "Is that the most powerful monster in his deck?"

Just then, Gladiator Beast Spartacus spread his arms out as he began a summoning chant.

" _ **Fierce bird of prey, master of the amphibian might, merge together to call forth the one who brings fear into the hearts of his enemies**_!" The Gladiator-like lizard then brought his hands together in welcome. " _ **FUSION SUMMON! Come forth - Gladiator Beast Andabata**_!"

Thomas and Stanley both watched in awe and shock as the summon sequence commenced.

"Here is comes..." mumbled Stanley.

Appearing before them was another lizard-like Gladiator Beast. It wore blue and white armor, a sword in one hand, a shield in the other, and metal wings on its back (Level: 8/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2800).

"For the first order of business-" said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, feeling very pleased that his new monster was summoned. "-I can special summon from my extra deck, while ignoring summoning conditions, one Gladiator Beast fusion monster! ...however, if it does battle with the opponent, then the monster is returned to my extra deck as soon as the attack is completed."

A card materialized in his hand, and he showed his two opponents what it was.

"Gladiator Beast Gyzarus will do quite nicely."

Appearing to the field was a bird-like Gladiator Beast in armor (Level: 6/ATK: 2400). Thomas merely scowled at having to face two powerful monsters at once.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the Coliseum, Percy and James's respective groups finally managed to reunite in one part of the ruined building.

"James!" called Percy.

"Percy!" came from James.

The two teenagers high-fived happily.

"You're alright!"

"Now we can look for Thomas and Stanley so we can save Sarina and hopefully stop Gladiator Beast Spartacus's revival." said Edward.

"But where do we even start looking?" asked Henry.

No one seemed to have an answer to that question.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the arena, Gladiator Beast Spartacus was beginning to explain the effect of his newly summoned Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.

"When my new beast is summoned-" he explained. "-up to two cards on your sides of the field are destroyed!" The Gladiator-like lizard smirked. "...like one of your set Spell or Trap cards."

Stanley's facedown card and one of Thomas' facedown cards were both destroyed.

"Damn!" scowled Thomas. Suddenly, he collapsed to his knees as he felt some pain inside his head. "UGH! What's-?"

He started to have some flashbacks about the Coliseum.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In one such flashback, Diablon was inside the barracks of the Coliseum. He was looking over the dead bodies (some of them were in the nude) of those who had been subjected to public torture or battles that day. He eventually eyed one naked body belonging to a dead 18-year old young woman with long black hair before walking over to it. Once Diablon reached the table with the body lying on it, he stroked and squeezed the dead woman's left breast gently with his right hand, and chuckled darkly like he enjoyed doing the deed.

"Apparently torture wasn't enough for someone so young...and beautiful...as yourself." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' said to the dead woman, just before she turned into light and vanished. "But what's done is done."

Obviously, Diablon had little-to-no restraint with touching the private parts of the body of even a dead woman. Goes to show how sick he truly is...

(new scene...)

In another flashback, Diablon was observing more public tortures on the ' _Emperor's balcony_ '. Down in the arena, Earl of Demise was happily heating a metal bar in a pot of hot coal before some naked men, who were locked and bound to wooden walls

"This will be very quick...and painful." The Court of Darkness member hissed in what may seem to be one of the most sadistic tones ever heard.

Soon, he took the metal bar out and menacingly approached the helpess men.

"S-Stay back!" begged one man.

Earl of Demise gave a creepy laugh. "Make me."

With that said... he thrust the super-heated metal bar straight into the man's face. Back on the balcony, the inhuman screams of agony from that man seemed to even frighten Diablon quite a bit.

"Such cruelty... such agony...!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' mumbled. He then recovered and smiled wickedly once more. "I love it all."

He then began to laugh maniacally.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas suddenly recovered.

"What's happening to me?" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "Why am I having more of these horrible memories shown to me?"

Over with Gladiator Beast Spartacus...

"Because two cards you both own were destroyed-" he pointed out. "-500 more points of damage are dealt to you!"

While Stanley merely grunted (LP: 3000), Thomas was too busy thinking about those flashbacks to pay any attention (LP: 3000).

"And now... it's time for battle!" declared Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, attack Thomas Billinton directly!"

Gladiator Beast Gyzarus obeyed and lunged for Thomas...who still wasn't paying any attention! ...well, at least until Stanley tried to issue a warning...

"Thomas! Watch out!"

Thomas soon looked up, but was too late to do anything about it. Gladiator Beast Gyzarus immediately used his powerful arms to swat the blue-haired boy away, who went flying until he crashed into the wall.

"Thomas, no!" screamed Stanley in horror.

Thomas, while still alive, completely felt that blow. He also left a nasty imprint on the stone wall, as well...

"Ugh... the pain!" The blue-haired boy winced (LP: 600).

"Thomas!" cried Stanley. "Are you alright?

"He's fine...for now." said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, before smirking evilly. "And because Gyzarus had attacked, he is returned to my extra deck."

Gyzarus turned to light and returned to the Gladiator-like lizard's extra deck. Just then, something started happening with Gladiator Beast Andabata.

"What's going on with your Gladiator Beast Andabata?" questioned Stanley. "Is it returning as well?"

"No." denied Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "In fact, it's going to be getting much worse for the both of you as of now."

"How so?"

"When a Gladiator Beast monster is returned to my deck or extra deck-" continued Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-then Andabata gains power equal to the returned monster's attack points!"

"That's 2400 extra attack points!" gasped Stanley.

Gladiator Beast Spartacus laughed. "Indeed! Now watch closely..."

Gladiator Beast Andabata gained a power boost (ATK: 1000 - 3400).

"With 3400 attack points, your blue-haired friend is left a sitting duck for me to go and finish him off! Now go and take him down at once!"

Gladiator Beast Andabata obeyed by readying his blade and charging straight towards a defenseless Thomas.

"I won't let you kill my friend!" shouted Stanley, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I play from my hand a Quick-Play Spell card - HERO Guard!"

On cue, the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Using this card, I special summon a HERO Token to take the blow instead!"

A HERO Token suddenly appeared to Thomas's side of the field.

"So be it." grumbled Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "Gladiator Beast Andabata, turn your attention to that HERO Token!"

Gladiator Beast Andabata obeyed, slashing the HERO Token in half with his blade, but it immediately reformed at once without fading away.

"Your HERO Token hasn't met its end?"

"Thanks to its effect." winced Stanley, taking heavy damage (LP: 600). "My token cannot be destroyed by battle... although battle damage is still sustained as you can see."

From there, Gladiator Beast Andabata started to fade away in a blue streak.

"Gladiator Beast Andabata will now return to my extra deck." said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, who then took two cards from is deck. "And I can special summon two Gladiator Beast monsters from my deck." He then held two cards out for Thomas and Stanley to both see. "And I will choose these two; Gladiator Beasts Bestiari and Murmillo!"

Appearing to the field was another green, bird-like Gladiator Beast (Level: 4/ATK: 1500), and the familiar aquatic Gladiator Beast (Level: 3/ATK: 800).

"And because Gladiator Beast Murmillo has been special summoned by the effect of one of my other Gladiator Beast monsters, its effect will target and destroy your HERO Token!"

The Hero Token still wasn't destroyed despite the Gladiator-like lizard's claim.

"What?! Why isn't your token going down?" demanded a shocked Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Stanley smirked grimly. "Because my token cannot be destroy by either battle nor monster effects."

"Very well... Now I activate the effect of Gladiator Beast Bestiari!"

Thomas's final set card shattered into pieces of glass, and the blue-haired boy received 500 points of damage (LP: 100).

"I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on my opponent's side of the field." continued Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "...like so."

Thomas cursed weakly. Just then, Gladiator Beasts Bestiari and Murmillo faded away in blue streaks and returned to Gladiator Beast Spartacus's deck.

"Now, again, I'll perform a contact fusion summon by sending Bestiari and Murmillo back to my deck and fusion summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus in attack mode."

On cue, Gladiator Beast Gyzarus returned to the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2400). From there, Gladiator Beast Spartacus looked over to where Chaos Sorcerer was watching.

"Shall I?" The Gladiator-like lizard asked hopefully.

Chaos Sorcerer, acting like an Emperor, did a thumbs up gesture...before turning it into a thumbs down gesture.

"Do it."

Smirking at being given the go ahead, Gladiator Beast Spartacus turned and looked towards Stanley eagerly.

"I will now activate Gyzarus's special ability!" he shouted. "Say goodbye to Destiny HEROES - Disc Commander and Defender!"

"Oh no!" thought Thomas. "If the effect manages to get through, Stanley will lose!"

Gladiator Beast Gyzarus charged towards Stanley's monsters. Alas, there was nothing more the gray-haired boy could do to stop the attack. His set cards were all gone, and his monsters were much weaker than what was attacking right now.

"Thomas..." said Stanley sadly. "Forgive me..."

At last, the two Destiny HERO monsters were destroyed by Gladiator Beast Gyzarus...who didn't even stop there, and then took aim at Stanley.

"What?!"

"Because my monster has destroyed your two monsters-" said Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-my Trap card deals a grand total of 1000 points of damage!"

Gladiator Beast Gyzarus shoulder bashed Stanley at full speed, causing the gray-haired boy to scream as he was sent flying back until he crashed into a pillar and destroyed it, thus resulted in him getting slightly buried by the rubble while falling unconscious and losing the remains of his life points (LP: 0).

"Stanley! STANLEY!" screamed Thomas desperately.

Alas, Stanley would not awaken. Snapping, Thomas turned to glare at his hated enemies when he collapsed to his knees and began struggling against his darkness once more. Gladiator Beast Spartacus merely shrugged it off and walked over to the unconscious gray-haired boy in an attempt to finish him off...for good.

"I think I'll put you out of your misery." sneered the Gladiator-like lizard, readying his weapon.

Just before the killing blow could be dealt...

"Step away from the boy!" ordered a new voice.

Gladiator Beast Spartacus was shocked by the voice, and so was Chaos Sorcerer.

"Can it be?" whispered Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

The two villains turned to the source of the voice...and saw Thomas back on his feet...and possessed once more by the " _ **Evil One**_ '. Wat will happen next? Stay tune for the answer, fellow readers!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**

* * *

(Thomas looked at the scenery of Sodor as evening fell. Something was apparently on his mind.)

 **Wavering eyes, they see the worlds we fail to comprehend. But they can blind us from the paths we're meant to take.**

(Thomas walked across the setting sun, looking about his surroundings. Over at another part of town, Emily looked out to the scenery as well. She too had something on her mind. She then went out for a walk, too.)

 **I take a walk through the streets of my soul, taking in all that I can grasp, wondering what to do myself.**

 **But then I see you drifting through my life, thinking that the world has just froze still. Together we can spin it as it should.**

(The two teenagers soon happily united as the credits roll.)

 **Just what is the meaning of life? I think that the best answer lies where we least expect it to!**

(Many of Thomas's monsters appeared in the sky... Skull Archfiend of Lightning, Curse of Dragon, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Black Luster Soldier, Watapon, Magician of Black Chaos, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Mystical Elf, the Magnet Warriors (including Valkyrion), Big Shield Gaurdna, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, the Poker Knights, Magician's Valkyria, Dark Magician Girl, and Dark Magician.)

 **Wavering eyes, they blind us from that we chose to just ignore. Although much of it is what we may need the most.**

(Thomas and Emily look out at the nighttime scenery of the Island of Sodor. Emily looked down and noticed something. She got Thomas to look down, as well. Their reflections in the water below have turned into those of their ancestors form the Duel Monsters spirit world. The two teenagers smile at each other and embraced in a loving hug.)

 **I just can't lie. Your smile is what's given me the strength even when hope, it seemed, was too far from my reach to grasp.**

 **Yes, the truth is that my future's nothing but you.**

(The two ancestors of Thomas and Emily both had also embraced in a loving hug, just before looking at each other with such love and trust that they soon go and kiss passionately.)

 **YU-GI-OH! The Sodor Chronicles**


	46. Gladiator's Assault (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the arena of the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' Coliseum, Chaos Sorcerer and Gladiator Beast Spartacus were both staring on in complete shock... Their master had seemingly returned to them.

"L-Lord Diablon!" shouted Chaos Sorcerer.

Indeed... Thomas had become possessed once more, and he currently wasn't very pleased with what Gladiator Beast Spartacus tried to do to a badly injured and unconscious Stanley Hudswell.

"Keep away from him!" ordered Thomas (possessed).

Gladiator Beast Spartacus bowed. "M'lord, seeing you again is a great honor."

"If it's ' _such_ ' an honor, then I will win the fight and eliminate you, here and now!"

"W-What?!" gasped Gladiator Beast Spartacus, taking a step back in immense shock. "But why?"

"You tried to kill my vessel!" snarled Thomas (possessed). "As long as Thomas Billinton lives, I live as well. And if you had succeeded in killing him, you would have killed me in the process!"

All of a sudden...

"GRH! What is...happening?!"

Thomas (possessed) fell to his knees clutching his head. Apparently, the blue-haired boy's true self was fighting back for control.

"Get...out...of...my...head!" shouted Thomas.

Gladiator Beast Spartacus watched carefully before frowning and taking two cards from his hand.

"That boy..." The Gladiator-like lizard mumbled to himself. "I'll have to see to it that our master wins control one way or another."

Two facedown cards materialized.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

Thomas (possessed) continued to struggle with his true self trying to break free.

"You won't regain-!" The possessed blue-haired boy started say, but suddenly said something else... "I...said...GET OUT!"

It was clear that Thomas was returning to himself and not willing to give up. And so, to prove his point, he drew his card as Chaos Sorcerer watched and frowned.

* * *

 **Title: Gladiator's Assault, Part 2**

* * *

Thomas's drawn card was the Spell card Card of Sanctity.

"C-Card of Sanctity." winced the blue-haired boy. He then glared at Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "Alright... get ready for my turn!"

Gladiato Beast Spartacus said nothing. Instead, he watched as Card of Sanctity materialized face-up on his opponent's side of the field.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (2): Detonate and Card of Sanctity

* * *

"I activate the Spell card Card of Sanctity!" announced Thomas. "This allows us both to both draw until we both have six cards in our hands!"

Both duelists drew five cards from their respective decks. Thomas's hand now contained Detonate, Graceful Charity, Magician of Black Chaos, Watapon, Dark Burning Attack, and Dark Magic Expanded.

"This is a good start." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. He then selected and held a card out. "Because I've drawn Watapon with the use of a Spell or Trap card, I can special summon it to the field."

The cute, little, cottonball-like monster appeared with a cry of ' _Watapon!_ ' in a defensive stance (Level: 1/DEF: 300).

"Bah! That thing is so cute it makes me sick!" gagged Gladiator Beast Spartacus in an attempt to antagonize Thomas.

Thomas frowned - yet ignored the comment; he instead selected another card from his hand and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Next I activate Graceful Charity!"

An angel appeared above Thomas, who then raised her hands to the sky and caused gentle raindrops to fall from the clouds. The waterdrops carefully landed on the blue-haired boy's deck and made it glow.

"This Spell card allows me to draw three cards and discard two to the graveyard." explained Thomas, drawing his three cards. From there, he sent two cards from his hand to the graveyard.

All of a sudden, Watapon faded away in a blue streak.

"I will now sacrifice Watapon. From there, I will call upon one of my greatest of allies - Dark Magician Girl!"

Appearing onto the field was the beautiful female spellcaster dressed in blue and pink (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700).

"A woman?!" snarled Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "How I will enjoy tearing her limb-from-limb like I do to all of my opponents!"

Thomas narrowed his eyes. "You will do no such thing! My new monster receives 300 additional attack points for every Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in either players' graveyard!" From there, he took two cards that slipped out of his graveyard and held them out. "As you can see, I have one of two there currently. That means Dark Magician Girl gains 600 attack points!"

Dark Magician Girl glowed in a pink aura as she grew stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2600).

Gladiator Beast Spartacus gave a taunting smile. "Heh! Even then, she is still not gonna make a dent in my monster!"

"You think so, eh?" quizzed Thomas, now smirking confidently.

"Huh?"

Thomas immediately took another card from his hand and showed his opponent what it was.

"Dark Burning Attack!" The blue-haired boy announced. "What this does - is it destroys all monsters on the opponent's side of the field!"

Dark Magician Girl raised her wand up and began charging a blast. Unfortunately for her...

"That won't work!" exclaimed Gladiator Beast Spartacus, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "I play a Trap card!"

One of the two set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield! This protects my Gladiator Beast monsters from being destroyed by card effects."

The Dark Burning hit the shield, but Thomas wasn't licked just yet...

"I activate Dark Magic Expanded from my hand!" He took from is hand and held the mentioned Quick-Play Spell card out for his opponent to see. "This card's effect depends on the amount of Dark Magicians or Dark Magician Girls on my field or in the graveyard!"

Thomas's graveyard began to glow. On cue, Dark Magician briefly appeare on the field with his arms folded.

"With one Dark Magician in my graveyard, and one Dark Magician Girl on the field-" continued Thomas. "-you are prevented from using cards and effects in response to the activation of any of my cards and effects." He gave a taunting grin. "In simplier language; your Trap card in activation to Dark Burning Attack...is negated!"

"What?!" gasped Gladiator Beast Spartacus, watching as his activated Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield fizzled out. "My Trap card!"

"More to the point; Dark Magician Girl also gains 1000 attack points thanks to another effect of Dark Magic Expanded!"

From there, Dark Magician Girl, as she got more powerful (ATK: 2600 - 3600), fired the blast from her wand. Gladiator Beast Gyzarus got struck and destroyed in an instant.

"And don't forget about your Pollice Verso Trap card!" reminded Thomas. "500 points of damage is dealt to your life points if a card you own is destroyed."

Gladiator Beast Spartacus grunted as he took slight damage (LP: 2100).

"But that doesn't matter; you're open for a direct attack! Dark Magician Girl, attack Gladiator Beast Spartacus directly and finish him off!"

Dark Magician Girl was more than happy to finish off the evil monster. She charged her wand and fired a blast.

"Again, I'm prepared for your attack!" declared Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Thomas and Dark Magician Girl both gasped from hearing that statement. To prove his point, the Gladiator-like lizard took and held a card out from his hand.

"I'll play the effect of Gladiator Beast Noxious from my hand! Whenever I'm going to be attacked directly, I can special summon this monster to the field in defense mode and have it become the newest target for attack!"

Appearing to the field was what looked like an armored cheetah (Level: 5/DEF: 1000). The black burning blast struck the monster, but it was not destroyed.

"And thanks to my Medallion of Gladiator Beast Trap card-" continued Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-my monster is not destroyed due to it being from the 'Gladiator Beast' archtype."

Thomas growled in frustration. Just then, as with the other Gladiator Beasts before, Gladiator Beast Noxious turned into a ball of light and returned to Gladiator Beast Spartacus's deck.

"Now because Gladiator Beast Noxious had battled with your Dark Magician Girl, I return him to my deck to special summon a new Gladiator Beast monster in his place."

On cue, Gladiator Beast Augustus reappeared on the field and ready for battle.

"And so, I'll special summon Gladiator Beast Augustus!" announced Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

Thomas frowned and took a step back out of reflex. Too bad, he wasn't out of the woods just yet...

"But I'm not finished still." continued Gladiator Beast Spartacus, placing a card from his hand onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "As Gladiator Beast Augustus was summoneed by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, I can special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from my hand in defense mode!"

A monster card called Gladiator Beast Retiari materialized face-up.

"So I'll summon this Gladiator Beast for you to try your luck with; Gladiator Beast Retiari!"

Appearing onto the field was a reptile-like Gladiator Beast with a trident for a weapon (Level: 3/DEF: 800).

"Don't forget that your monster will return to your deck once the end phase has been reached." reminded Thomas.

"Yes, I am aware of that fact." retorted Gladiator Beast Spartacus, who then have a evil smile. "But because Gladiator Beast Retiari was special summoned by the effect of another Gladiator Beast monster... its effect activates! I can now banish one card from your graveyard."

Thomas and Dark Magician Girl both winced from hearing that statement. They had a very strong feeling about what the Gladiator-like lizard was going to select to banish...

"Say goodbye... to Dark Magician!"

With that said, the Dark Magician monster card slid out from Thomas's graveyard and faded away into oblivion.

"My Dark Magician!" cried Thomas. "NO!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus laughed. "And I'm not finished yet. Because a Gladiator Beast monster has been summoned, I can activate this Trap card!" On cue, his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Double Tag Team!"

The blue-haired boy was more worried than ever before.

"As I special summoned a Gladiator Beast-" explained Spartacus, taking his deck out of the Duel Disk. "-I can special summon another level 4 or lower Gladiator Beast from my deck!"

He chose a card and held it out for Thomas to see.

"And I'll choose Gladiator Beast Laquari..."

Reappearing on the field was the tiger-like Gladiator Beast. From there, Gladiator Beast Retiari turned into a ball of light and returned to its owner's deck.

"Because we're on your end phase-" teased Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-the effect of Dark Magic Expanded ends and Gladiator Beast Retiari returns to my deck."

Thomas scowled some more. Not only had Gladiator Beast Spartacus stopped his chance to win, but he had also banished Dark Magician from the game. Now, unless Thomas drew the right card, he couldn't use him anymore. And as Dark Magician was no long in Thomas's graveyard, Dark Magician Girl lost 300 additional attack points (ATK: 3600 - 2300). The blue-haired boy then looked back to his hand, hoping he had something that could help him.

"There has to be a card I can use." thought Thomas. His hand contained only Detonate and Emergency Provisions. "Nothing! I guess I'll have to draw next turn and hope it'll be useful."

"Alright..." said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, drawing a card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Gladiator Beast Spartacus (LP: 2100)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (5): Virtus of Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast's Resprite, Gladiator Beast Andal, Gladiator Beast Octavius, and Gladiator Beast Darius

* * *

His drawn card was the monster card Gladiator Beast Darius. Immediately, the Gladiator-like lizard added the card to his hand...which also contained Virtus of Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast's Resprite, Gladiator Beast Andal, and Gladiator Beast Octavius.

"All I truly have to do is attack the boy and this game is done." mumbled Gladiator Beast Spartacus to himself, before looking up at his opponent. "But first... that Dark Magician Girl needs to be put down."

Dark Magician Girl only glared at her enemy hatefully. Gladiator Beast Spartacus then took his drawn card and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Gladiator Beast Darius in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a horse-like monster in orange armor (Level: 4/ATK: 1700).

"And now I'll return all three of my monsters to the deck." continued Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "By doing so... I can perform a contact fusion summon!"

"What will he summon with this?" Thomas thought to himself.

Whatever it was, the blue-haired boy hoped he could withstand it.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the the temple in the Santuary in the Sky, Guardian Eatos was busy meditating when her eyes suddenly opened with horror.

"Oh no..." The female Guardian whispered to herself.

Just then, Nathaniel arrived to see his adopted Mother.

"What's wrong, Mother?" The black-haired young man asked. "Why do you look so-?"

"Nathaniel..." interrupted Guardian Eatos, standing up while looking very serious. "I'm afraid we cannot wait out any longer."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus has been reawakened." explained Guardian Eatos. "At the moment, he is battling the boy, who is trying his hardest to fight off Diablon's deadly influence, but isn't succeeding. I'm afraid the time has come... you must go and take the boy down before it is too late."

Nathaniel frowned. "But am I ready for such a task?"

Guardian Eatos sat up and walked over to her son. She could tell he was having some doubts about being assigned to a mission like this. Once the female Guardian was close enough, she placed her right hand gently onto Nathaniel's face, causing him to look up.

"Do not be doubtful, my son." soothed Guardian Eatos. "I, myself, don't like this either because it goes against our kind's moral grounds, but it needs to be done. And in any case, I will be by your side in this fight."

"I... I understand." Nathaniel said after a few seconds. Although still feeling very uneasy about possibly killing someone, the black-haired young man looked up to his adopted Mother once more with a look of determination on his face. "May your shining light see me through this coming battle."

Guardian Eatos smiled and started glowing all gold. Before long, she turned into a ball of light and entered her son's chest (towards his heart), causing Nathaniel to close his eyes and begin glowing as well. Once he ceased glowing, the black-haired young man took a deck of Duel Monsters cards out of his coat pocket and looked them over.

"I know what I have to do." Nathaniel said only to himself. "The cards I've been chosen to use by Mistress Wingeaver have never been beaten and have never let me down. And with my Mother's light guiding and protecting me, I will protect this land!"

He finally opened his eyes and a look of determination once more. Sudden, two large white angel-like wings grew from his upperback. It was a sign Guardian Eatos was keeping true to her word in protecting her adopted son. Suddenly, there was the sound of knocking on the door and Nathaniel's wings faded away as he turned around.

"Come in."

The door opened and a Shining Angel entered. He was carrying a letter in his hands.

"Mistress Wingweaver wanted me to give this to you." said Shining Angel, handing Nathaniel the letter.

Curiously, Nathaniel opened the letter. Inside was a message as well as a card.

" _Nathaniel, I have become aware of what your Mother wishes for you to go and do. As much as I also wish for the ' **Evil One** ' to be stopped, this is not the way to do it. Thomas Billinton MUST live for Emily's sake. With that said, we have come up with an alternate solution... While the guards were interrogating Darklord Zerato, they came across a card that could help you_."

Nathaniel took a brief break from reading and took a look at the card he had been given. But once the black-haired young man saw it, he gasped in shock at what it was. Just what card was it that Wingweaver was giving to him? That's something we'll have to find out later on...

(elsewhere...)

Back in Diablon's Coliseum, Gladiator Beast Spartacus had a new card ready to be shown to his opponent.

"Now then... I think I'll play this handy beast once more." The Gladiator-like lizard remarked. He then turned it over. "I fusion summon Gladiator Beast Andabata in attack mode!"

The Lizard-like Gladiator Beast reappeared (Level: 8/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2800). Thomas also knew what was coming next...

"And because you've special summoned it-" The blue-haired boy said nervously. "-you're now able to summon a Gladiator Beast fusion monster from your extra deck with summoning conditions ignored."

"Correct." grinned Gladiator Beast Spartacus. He materialized a card out of thin-air and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Gladiator Beast Heraklinos, it's time for you to show yourself!"

Back over with Chaos Sorcerer, the spellcaster-like monster was watching on with wicked interest.

"That's the way, my friend." Chaos Sorcerer thought to himself. "Take that boy down, now!"

Appearing to the field was a fierce looking lion-like Gladiator Beast monster armed with a blade and shield (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2800).

"You're finished!" boomed Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "One attack will eliminate Dark Magician Girl and finish you off!"

Thomas merely silently awaited for the attack.

"Gladiator Beast Heraklinos, attack and destroy Dark Magician Girl, now!"

Gladiator Beast Heraklinos obeyed, reading his blade and charged.

"With only 100 life points left-" laughed Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-once this attack goes through, you'll be finished!"

Dark Magician Girl, feeling very frightened, shut her eyes and waited for the attack to come through.

"I won't let you hurt her!" shouted Thomas in defiance.

With a burst of energy, he ran forth and wrapped his arms around Dark Magician Girl and spun so that he was now in the way, surprising Dark Magician Girl in the process. The blue-haired boy couldn't stop her her from being destroyed in battle, but the least could do was protect her from the pain.

"The fool...!" thought Chaos Sorcerer, still watching.

Just before Gladiator Beast Heraklinos's weapon could strike and kill both Thomas and Dark Magician Girl, a surge of electricity suddenly shocked the enemy monster and made it stop its attack while crying out in pain.

"What?!" grimaced Gladiator Spartacus, becoming greatly surprised from what he saw. "My monster!"

Thomas could feel as though some very soft pillows were being pushed against his cheeks... One problem; it wasn't pillows that were pushing against his face! When the blue-haired boy finally opened his eyes as things became calm once more, he, much to his embarrassing shock, came to realize he briefly had his face buried straight into Dark Magician Girl's cleavage when he had gotten in front of her and wrapped his arms around the female spellcaster-type monster to try and shield her from the attack.

"O-Oh...!" Thomas cried out, hastily backing away while red-faced, and feeling very sheepish and flustered from his mistake. "I-I am so sorry about that!"

Dark Magician Girl, despite being very thankful for the rescue, couldn't help but blush and feel slightly embarrassed from the accidental action of her master/friend getting his face planted right into her chest. Either way, Thomas quickly recovered from the awkward moment and turned to look back at Gladiator Beast Spartacus before making a card slip out of his graveyard.

"One of the cards I've discarded from Graceful Charity was Electromagnetic Turtle." explained Thomas, turning over and showing what the card was... "And by banishing this monster card from the graveyard, I was able to end the battle phase and save my Dark Magician Girl."

"Then why did you attempt to use yourself as a shield for her?" demanded Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"Because she's my friend. And just in cause my Electromagnetic Turtle move didn't work, I wanted to at least protect her from the pain she would have endured from your beast."

"Friend?!" Chaos Sorcerer's voice spat spitefully. Thomas looked over and saw the spellcaster-like monster speaking to him... "She's only a mere Duel Monsters spirit! They can NEVER be friends with a human with powerful amounts of darkness in his or her heart!"

"You're lying!" snapped Thomas. "Besides, it doesn't matter if she is a Duel Monsters spirit. Because while that may be what she is to the rest of you, to me, just as I do with the rest of my cards, I see her as a real person!"

Dark Magician Girl smiled at this comment as a tear rolled down her cheek. Thomas really did see her and the others in the deck like real individuals and truly felt of them all as his friends.

"Heh!" scoffed Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "You know, there will come a time where you will betray your own cards despite your claims. When you finally do that, what would they think of you? Would they even consider you a ' ** _friend_** ' to them anymore? I don't think so!"

Thomas merely gritted his teeth in anger. Just then, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos faded away in a blue streak. Gladiator Beast Spartacus knew what this meant and smirked.

"It's time for me to activate the effect of Gladiator Beast Andabata!" he announced. "After a Gladiator Beast monster is shuffled into either the deck or extra deck, my big monster gains attack points equal to the amount the shuffled monster had beforehand!"

Gladiator Beast Andabata got 3000 attack points stronger as expected (ATK: 1000 - 4000). Just then, a Spell card called Gladiator Beast's Respite materialized face-up on the field.

"Now... From my hand, I'll play the Spell card Gladiator Beast's Respite! This allows me to shuffle two Gladiator Beast monster cards from my hand into the deck to draw three cards!"

From there, Gladiator Beast Spartacus selected both Gladiator Beast Andal and Gladiator Beast Octavius and shuffled them into his deck. Afterwards, he drew three cards, selected one of them, and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Finally, I'll set one card-" Gladiator Beast Spartacus finished, just as a facedown card materialized behind Gladiator Beast Andabata. "-and end my turn there."

"The smart thing to do would be to surrender and save yourself the humiliation." advised Chaos Sorcerer. "There's not a card in your deck that can save you, now!"

Thomas merely drew his next card without a word, much to Chaos Sorcerer's annoyance.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 23  
 **Current Hand** (3): Detonate, Emergency Provisions, and Dark Magic Vase(!)

* * *

The blue-haired boy's drawn card was a Spell card called Dark Magic Vase. Was it what he needed to turn things around? Only one way to find out! But first...

"Facedown card, open!" announced Gladiator Beast Spartacus, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - Virtus of Gladiator Beast! So long as this remains face-up and I control a Gladiator Beast monster, none of your monsters can attack me except my Gladiator Beast monsters!"

Thomas scowled and looked back to his hand. His hand contained Detonate, Emergency Provisions, and the added Dark Magic Vase.

"This is a card I purchased before this all began." thought Thomas, looking at his new card. "I guess now is a good time to put it to the test." He then slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk, which caused the Dark Magic Vase Spell card to flip face-up and reveal itself. "I play Dark Magic Vase!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one."

"Indeed." agreed Thomas, and then explained the card's effect... "By controlling either Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field, I am able to draw two cards from my deck, but I will be prevented from summoning any monsters this turn."

"Go ahead and draw!" snorted Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "It's not like they'll help you out."

Thomas ignored the comment and drew his two cards. They were shown to be Mystical Space Typhoon (Spell card) and Zero Gravity (Trap card). While not what he was hoping for, Thomas knew they could both be helpful.

"Next I'll activate one of the cards I've drawn... Mystical Space Typhoon!" The blue-haired boy announced, slotting the mentioned card into his Duel Disk and causing it to materialized face-up. "I'll use it to wipe out one Spell or Trap card on your side of the field!"

A typhoon appeared and moved towards Spartacus's side of the field.

"Say goodbye to your facedown card!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus's set card flipped up and revealed itself to be Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield before shattering into pieces of glass.

"And since a card of yours was destroyed-" Thomas pointed out. "-you know what that means!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus growled (LP: 1600). "I take damage from my own Trap card..."

A facedown card then materialized behind Dark Magician Girl.

"Finally, I set this facedown and end my turn!" finished Thomas.

Just then...

"I activate the second effect of the Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield in my graveyard!" announced Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"What!?" gasped Thomas in shock.

"If my Gladiator Beast Medusa Shield was sent to the graveyard this turn, I am able to add a set a Gladiator Beast related Trap card from my deck at the end phase!"

Searching through his deck, the Gladiator-like lizard found what he was looking for and selected it. From there, a facedown card appeared behind Gladiator Beast Andabata.

"I think this one will do nicely..." commented Gladiator Beast Spartacus, and then drew his next card. "And just in time for my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Gladiator Beast Spartacus (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 26  
 **Current Hand** (4): Gladiator Proving Ground, Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd, Gladiator Taming, and Gladiator Beast Dimicari

* * *

He added the drawn Gladiator Beast Dimicari to his hand. The Gladiator-like lizard's hand also contained Gladiator Proving Ground, Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd, and Gladiator Taming.

"And now-" said Gladiator Beast Spartacus, entering the battle phase. "-I will attack...!"

"Set card, open!" shouted Thomas. On cue, his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Zero Gravity!"

Suddenly, both monsters (Dark Magician Girl and Gladiator Beast Andabata) on the field were switched into defense mode.

"What did you do?!" demanded Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"Zero Gravity switches the battle positions of all monsters currently on the field." explained Thomas. "Now you're unable to strike down Dark Magician Girl!"

"I... I end my turn!"

"You may have saved yourself this time, boy." seethed Chaos Sorcerer, still watching. "But on Gladiator Beast Spartacus's next turn, you're finished!"

"Not a chance!" retorted Thomas. "I'll find a way to end this duel with my victory!"

"Then go ahead and try." smirked Gladiator Beast Spartacus, folding his arms. "It will make MY victory all the sweeter."

Now that it was his turn, Thomas then braced two fingers onto his deck in preparation to draw a card.

"I have to draw the right card." The blue-haird boy thought to himself. "If I don't, then Stanley and I will both be killed."

Just then, he noticed Dark Magician Girl had floated over and placed her own two fingers over his in the same stance. Although she never said a word, she gave Thomas a kind, confident, look that made him feel much better.

"Thank you... Now, let's win this duel!"

With that said, Thomas and Dark Magician Girl both drew a card from the deck, performing a Destiny Draw in the process.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 20  
 **Current Hand** (3): Detonate, Emergency Provisions, and Multiply

* * *

Thomas's drawn card was the Multiply Quick-Play Spell card. Knowing what to do, the blue-haired boy motioned his right towards the face-up Dark Magic Vase.

"I remove my Dark Magic Vase from the game to activate its second effect!" announced Thomas. "By banishing it from the field if I ever control either Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field during the main phase 1 or 2, I am able to draw one card!"

"You're just stalling." criticized Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"Am I really?"

With Dark Magic Vase now gone, Thomas drew another card...and subsequently placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Kuriboh, come forth!" ordered Thomas.

The brown, furry, loveable monster appeared with a ' **kuribi** ' sound (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"That's it?" gawked Chaos Sorcerer, looking like he wanted to laugh scornfully at the blue-haired boy. "THAT's the last monster you'll play?"

"Yes." confirmed Thomas, taking three cards from his hand. "And it's the one that will help me win this duel."

Three facedown cards materialized behind Dark Magician Girl and Kuriboh.

"I'll set these three cards facedown and end my turn."

"You've summoned a mere Kuriboh in attack mode." growled Gladiator Beast Spartacus, drawing a card. "A pathetic weakling to challenge me?! That was the final mistake of your whole life!"

Thomas kept a neutral look on his face.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Gladiator Beast Spartacus (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (5): Gladiator Proving Ground, Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd, Gladiator Taming, Gladiator Beast Dimicari, and Gladiator Beast Lanista

* * *

Gladiator Beast Spartacus's drawn card was the Gladiator Beast Lanista monster card. Just then, Gladiator Beast Andabata got back up into a battle stance.

"I switch Gladiator Beast Andabata back into attack mode!" declared Gladiator Beast Spartacus, having placed two fingers onto the monster card on his Duel Disk. "Now skin that Kuriboh of his...alive!"

Gladiator Beast Andabata obeyed and readied to attack poor Kuriboh. Dark Magician Girl quickly turned to face Thomas and shot him a quick nod, which Thomas did right back.

"Activate facedown cards!" cried the blue-haired boy. This caused all three of his set cards to flip face-up and reveal themselves. "Emergency Provisions, Multiply, and Detonate!"

"Those cards?" blinked Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "But why?"

"First, Emergency Provisions allows me to tribute my Spell and Trap cards on the field to gain 1000 life points each!" explained Thomas. "So I'll send Multiply and Detonate both to my graveyard to gain 2000 life points!"

The two mentioned Spell cards faded away in a blue streak, which caused the blue-haired boy to recover 2000 life points (LP: 2100), much to Gladiator Beast Spartacus's anger and confusion. But alas, Thomas wasn't finished just yet with his strategy...

"Next I play the effect of Multiply!" he continued. "It allows me to tribute my Kuriboh and special summon a Kuriboh Token in defense mode for every empty monster zone I have left." Thomas then smiled slightly. "Dark Magician Girl currently occupies one zone, so that means..."

Kuriboh faded away, before four Kuriboh Tokens appeared in his place.

"Tell me-" demanded Gladiator Beast Spartacus. "-why do this?"

Thomas kept his smirk. "Because, now, the effect of Detonate activates!"

"Detonate?"

"That's right!" The blue-haired boy confirmed. "It allows me to destroy all of my Kuribohs in order to destroy the same number of cards you have on the field!"

With that said, the Kuriboh Tokens began to turn to light.

"And I choose... to take down all but your face-up Pollice Verso Trap card!"

"What?!" gasped Gladiator Beast Spartacus. But then he realized something about Thomas's plan... "Since you're destroying your tokens, you take the same amount of damage that I do! ...but you've raised your life points enough to... to..."

"...to survive!" finished Thomas. "You, on the other hand, will not be so lucky!"

Chaos Sorcerer watched in horror. "He's right... With only 1600 life points remaining, Gladiator Beast Spartacus won't survive this attack!"

From there, the four Kuriboh Tokens all launched themselves towards Gladiator Beast Spartacus's cards. Once the chosen cards were grabbed onto...

"Kuribohs..." began Thomas, giving a thumbs up motion...just before turning it into a thumbs down motion. "...finish him!"

The four Kuribohs nodded at once, and...they self-destructed and destroyed all of Gladiator Beast Spartacus's cards. That was an explosive finish - with style.

"All my cards-" The Gladiator-like lizard screamed in shock. "-they're gone!"

"Except for one." smirked Thomas (LP: 100). "And you know which one it is... right?"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus's eyes widened. He knew EXACTLY which card Thomas was referring to...

"Because of you losing four cards to my Kuribohs-" continued Thomas, now growing very stern. "-you lose 500 life points per card! 4 times 500 equals 2000 points of damage dealt to you!"

Gladiator Beast Spartacus was speechless (LP: 0). "How could I lose?"

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton and Stanley Hudswell both win!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away. Gladiator Beast Spartacus immediately glared at the victorious blue-haired boy with hatred.

"This... this isn't over!" The Gladiator-like lizard growled, readying his weapon. "Nobody defeats Gladiator Beast Spartacus and lives!"

Thomas merely glared in response. Just then, before he could try to attack, Gladiator Beast Spartacus dropped his weapon and fell to the ground, clutching his chest like he was having a heart attack or something.

"Wh-what's...happening...to me?!"

Again, Thomas never said a word about it! ...although the Millennium Eye symbol on his forehead had something to do with it. It looked like he was coldly performing a Penalty Game on his foe with the Millennium Puzzle's power. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Gladiator Beast Spartacus's eyes closed, and he collapsed and laid on the ground, now completely motionless...or rather dead. Meanwhile, a stunned Chaos Sorcerer could only watch on in complete disbelief over Diablon's most powerful minion meeting his end.

"He just killed Gladiator Beast Spartacus..." The spellcaster-like monster whispered. He then scowled and turned around to leave. "I'll make him pay for this!"

With no one to spot him, Chaos Sorcerer managed to escape from the Coliseum undetected. Thomas, meanwhile, continued to coldly watch Gladiator Beast Spartacus die and fade away into a pool of light. Just then, the blue-haired boy heard the sound of clapping from nearby.

"Well done! Very good!" came a voice (male).

"Who's there?" demanded Thomas, feeling slightly startled before looking around.

"Just look over here."

Thomas looked over to the source of the voice. It was a crystal ball with an image of Airknight Parshath clapping sarcastically and coldly.

"You!" The blue-haired boy stuttered, running over. "You're-!"

"Airknight Parshath of the Court of Darkness." confirmed the Duel Monster, as he stopped clapping and gave a polite bow. "At your service."

"You're among the monsters who took Emily away from me!" snarled Thomas. "Give her back, right now!"

"But why should I do that? She currently isn't even with us."

Thomas gasped. "She isn't?"

"I'm afraid not. At one point, she escaped our castle while rejecting our hospitality." admitted Airknight Parshath. "But don't you worry, we WILL find her for you..." He then said this last part darkly... "...so that she could pay for leaving our fold."

Thomas glared hatefully at the image of Parshath. He could feel his anger boiling to an unbearable height.

"You leave her alone." The blue-haired boy growled bitterly. "I swear... if you do anything to try and hurt her, I will track you down and eliminate you like I've done with every other pawn you've sent after me!"

Airknight Parshath started to laugh slowly, but still loud enough for Thomas to hear.

"So, you do love her?" The Court of Darkness member teased in a highly ruthless/uncaring tone. "Then we will make absolute sure that Professor Melvin tortures her well enough for her to possibly...what's the word? Reproduce? Nah, that can't be it..."

Thomas immediately knew what Airknight Parshath was saying about how Professor Melvin was gonna torture Emily when she was brought back to the Castle of Dark Illusions if she were to be recaptured by him (Airknight Parshath). He (Professor Melvin) was gonna rape and forcefully impregnate her. This REALLY got Thomas angry as his inner darkness flared up intensely (even moreso than usual, I'm afraid).

"YOU KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER!" roared Thomas, just as his eyes turned red once more.

Airknight Parshath only started laughing louder and harder. The blue-haired boy only got more and more uncontrolled and enraged from hearing the taunting laughter.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! **SHUT UP**!"

With that said, he began to pound on the crystal ball with his bare hands. Unfortunately, Airknight Parshath still continued to laugh at Thomas.

"I will hunt her down..." The Court of Darkness member taunted. "I will recapture her... I will make her embrace her darkness..."

Thomas pounded the crystal ball harder and harder, even beginning to punch it, as he continued to scream in rage.

"And when that is done-" Airknight Parshath continued further. "-you will then embrace your own darkness as well. You cannot resist it, Thomas Billinton. It is your destiny!"

With one final, primal roar of intense fury, Thomas punched the crystal ball hard enough for it to shatter into countless pieces of glass, finally ending that message. Over from one of the many doorways leading into the arena, Percy and the others arrived in time to find Thomas standing in a nearby corner while breathing hard.

"Thomas!" called James. "How's Stanley doing?"

Thomas never answered.

"Thomas, what's wrong?" asked Percy softly.

Rather than calm down from the chilling message he got from a member of the Court of Darkness, Thomas started shaking violently and became angry once more.

"Those monsters are planning to recapture Emily and torture her!" The blue-haired boy shouted desperately. "We have to find her before they do!"

"Uh... what?" blinked Gordon. "I thought the Court of Darkness only wants her darkness?"

"I can't let this happen to her!" said Thomas, completely ignoring his older friend. He then turned to face the rest of his friends. "We have to find Emily, NOW!"

"But, Thomas...!" protested Rosie, walking over to her blue-haired friend and taking him by his hands. "Stanley's hurt! And you're... Oh my gosh; your hands!"

Thomas's hands had become badly scratched and bloodied after punching the crystal ball into pieces of glass, but that was the last thing he cared about.

"Never mind my hands!" retorted Thomas, pushing Rosie aside and beginning to leave. "We have to find Emily now before the Court of Darkness does! That means we have to postpone our trip to the capital city."

"Thomas, just what is the matter with you?!" demanded Mavis. "Why are you acting like this?"

Thomas glared at the blonde-haired girl. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even care that your friend is hurt! And you're willing to throw off our quest!"

"Wouldn't you do the same if Toby had been kidnapped?" Thomas spat spitefully.

Mavis, feeling hurt from being asked that question, immediately backed off.

"Thomas, listen up!" began James, now becoming rather angry. "Throughout this whole journey you've slowly grown either depressed or more and more reckless and bitter. Not even caring that a good friend of yours got badly hurt just now!"

"There are far more important problems to worry about, right now!" bellowed Thomas, reaching his rage breaking point. "Emily has escaped from the Castle of Dark Illusions and is being hunted down by a member of the Court of Darkness! She's in more danger than she ever was before! Why can't any of you just realize how serious this is and how much this means to me?!"

The dark aura was beginning to appear around him once again. Neither James nor anyone else dared to even speak up as their friend continued his fiery speech...

"Every since she went back to being her old, caring, selfless self after those two long, hard years of being bullied by James and Gordon, I've made a solemn vow that I would always do whatever it took to protect Emily from any and all harm, no matter how hard or painful it was, even if I had to die if it meant she was safe and sound. Emily's in grave danger now because I failed to protect her! It's my fault she was captured!"

Thomas's anger was reaching an alarming pitch; his eyes had temporarily flashed the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' crimson red. The blue-haired boy clenched his injured hands into a fist, causing them to bleed more than ever before, but he didn't care whatsoever.

"Emily is the sole reason why I live." Thomas ranted on further. "I can never live without her! So that's why I will stop at nothing to get her back from the darkness! You can all worry about Stanley for all I damn well care, but I only came to this world for one reason only; and that is to save the most important person in my life from losing herself to the darkness once more! And I swear... if any of you guys try to stand in my way of rescuing her, then I won't hesitate to take you down just as I did to everyone else I've taken down in this godforsaken world!"

With that said, Thomas walked past his friends (shoving both Gordon and James away in the process) and began to leave the Coliseum.

"T-Thomas, you can't be-" Percy began to speak and reach out to stop his best friend, but that was a big mistake on his part.

Without any kind of warning, Thomas suddenly turned around and punched the green-haired boy hard in the face, knocking him onto the ground right near Edward and Molly, who, along with the rest of the gang, were staring on in a mixture of shock and fright. The blue-haired boy only glared coldly at his so-called friends before storming out of the arena. He was determined to rescue Emily before she could be tortured or worse.

"Some friends you all turned out to be." The blue-haired boy thought bitterly to himself.

Before long, Thomas had left his friends behind.

"Thomas..." mumbled Percy in shock. He couldn't believe that Thomas hit him like that.

"What's happening to Thomas?" whispered Molly fearfully.

"It's the ' ** _Evil One_** ' within him." explained Maiden of the Aqua. "Thomas's care for Emily and his anger for the thought of her being tortured is making his influence more and more powerful and dangerous."

Everyone in the group realized something about this and became greatly ashamed and horrified.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Emily eventually found herself in a lovely forest with lots of pretty flowers. Although this place looked dangerous, the dark green-haired girl couldn't help but find it very pretty.

"The scenery here is so amazing." Emily said to herself. "If I didn't feel like this was so dangerous, I just might stay to admire everything."

"Hm hm hm hm hm..." giggled a new voice. "What have we here? A lovely looking tresspasser? And here to smell my flowers?"

Emily peeked over her shoulder... and saw Fallen Angel of Roses standing in some nearby bushes. The way she was smiling meant that Emily was in very deep trouble.

"And who are you?" purred Fallen Angel of Roses, although it was clear she already knew based on what her ' _ally_ ' had told her beforehand.

"I-I'm Emily Sterling." stuttered Emily nervously, trying to sound brave. "I didn't mean to trespass."

Fallen Angel of Roses didn't response back and only kept her sinister smiling face present.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas was racing away from the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' Coliseum as fast as he could, hoping he could save Emily from getting recaptured and possibly becoming a Teen Mother against her will. But what the blue-haired boy didn't seem to know was that Airknight Parshath had merely lied all about Emily being raped and impregnated by Professor Melvin (Gozaburo) should she be successfully recaptured by him. The Court of Darkness member had only said all of that stuff to try and provoke and enrage Thomas in an attempt to make his darkness even greater than before, and, well, he had succeeded in doing so on his part...


	47. Every Rose Has Its Thorns (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

It had been half-an-hour since Thomas defeated Gladiator Beast Spartacus... but also after he abandoned his friends after chewing them out for not helping him find Emily before the Court of Darkness did. Needless to say, everyone was feeling awful about it.

"Man, I've never felt so... so... low...before." said James glumly.

"Me neither." agreed Gordon, looking down.

"Do... do you think Thomas was right?" asked Percy. "Are we being selfish for not looking for Emily when she needs us?"

"Especially with a member of the Court of Darkness hunting her down?" added Edward.

No one else had a possible answer. They knew their mission was to stop the Court of Darkness, and reaching the capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world was part of the mission. After a long silence, Toby looked over to Rosie... who was tending to the injuries of a now conscious, and shirtless, Stanley.

"How's Stanley doing?" The brown-haired boy asked.

"He has a few broken ribs." answered Rosie, gently wrapping bandages around the gray-haired boy's upper torso. "But they'll heal in time."

Stanley couldn't help but blush at how soft the pink-haired girl's hands were when she touched his very skin.

"Y-You know, Rosie-" he spoke up. "-I've never known just how soft your touch is."

"Thanks." smiled Rosie, blushing.

The two teenagers stared at each other for what seemed like forever until...

"Ahem!" coughed the voice of James.

Stanley and Rosie both then remembered that they weren't alone. James and the others were all watching the little scene. The red-haired boy was also grinning in a cheeky way.

"Do you two need some alone time?"

Nothing was said by Rosie nor Stanley. Just then, Maiden of the Aqua turned and looked down at the drained lake and the Coliseum that was sitting in the middle.

"That place must never be used for evil again." she said seriously, readying her staff. "I will now use my power to restore the lake." Maiden of the Aqua raised her staff to the sky and closed her eyes. " ** _May my powers restore what was lost not long ago_**!"

The staff began to glow as water slowly began to surround the remains of the Coliseum. Before long, the lake had been restored, and the Coliseum...was buried by the water once more.

"The Coliseum is gone." breathed Henry.

"Hopefully forever." added Gordon.

Everyone else just stared out into the wide lake down the steep hill. The humans and Duel Monsters spirits of the village would likely reward them for this service, but no one was feeling very happy about it right now.

* * *

 **Title: Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Part 1**

* * *

Back in the flower-like forest, Emily and Fallen Angel of Roses both continued to stare at each other for what seemed like forever. Fallen Angel of Roses had a sickening smile on her face and she slowly walked over.

"Yesssss... I know all about you..." The humanoid flower-like monster purred once more. "I've been expecting company from the likes of you."

"You... you have?" asked Emily nervously.

"Indeed... an old friend came by to tell me about you..."

Emily started to realize that this ' _old friend_ ' was a member of the Court of Darkness. Even then, she dared not bring it up, lest this also brought along trouble.

"What do you want with me?" The dark green-haired girl questioned.

Fallen Angel of Roses laughed softly. "We are going to have a duel, that's what." she answered earnestly.

"A duel?" Emily repeated.

"Yes." nodded Fallen Angel of Roses, just as a Duel Disk appeared on her arm. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Emily didn't answer and only activated her own Duel Disk in response.

"Very good. I had a feeling you'd see it my way."

With that said, the two duelists got into a dueling stance and drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x2.

"DUEL!" Fallen Angel of Roses and Emily both declared at once.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Nathaniel was walking through a forest looking at a card he had with concern.

"Mistress Wingweaver..." The black-haired young man mumbled quietly. "Are you sure what you have given me will help stop the evil one without killing the boy?"

Suddenly, there was a ruffle of bushes coming from nearby. This immediately alerted Nathaniel, who then got into a defensive stance.

"What?! Who's there?"

If it was someone from the Court of Darkness, then Nathaniel was ready to handle it. ...and it was indeed a member; Airknight Parshath.

"You!" gasped Nathaniel. "Y-You're-!"

"It has been a long time, Nathaniel." said Airknight Parshath, smiling politely. "How is my fellow Guardian doing?"

"We have never forgiven you for what you have done!" snapped Nathaniel, growing quite angry. "We've treated you as family, we looked out for you, and this is how you thank us? By betraying us all for power?!"

Airknight Parshath laughed. "Now, now... I'm here to bring harm to you. I just want to see what card you're holding."

"You should know about it - Professor Melvin created it, after all."

With that said, Nathaniel went ahead and showed his former ally the card. Airknight Parshath gave a gasp of false shock at what it was.

"Oh my!" exclaimed the Court of Darkness member. "This is it!"

It was The Field of Dark Graves card.

"You could gain a serious advantage using this very card!"

"In a way, yes." said Nathaniel, taking the card back. "However, I have no interest in ever using it for my own. Not only would it be plain unfair to my opponent, but the cards in my deck would be tainted by the darkness from this very card if I did play it."

"Then why do you bother having it then?" asked Airknight Parshath.

"I see no need to tell you; you'd probably try and stop me if I did tell you."

With that said, Nathaniel walked away. The atmosphere around him was a clear sign he didn't want to see Airknight Parshath ever again. Rather than become angry with the black-haired young man, Airknight Parshath merely smiled in an evil way to himself.

"Go ahead and try whatever it is you're after." he said to himself. "Because as long as the Court of Darkness has anything to say about it, it won't work."

Okay... I can tell Airknight Parshath is up to something big!

(elsewhere...)

"The first turn will be mine!" announced Emily, drawing a card.

Back in the flower-like forest, Emily and Fallen Angel of Roses both had begun their duel.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dunames Dark Witch, Celestial Transformation, Magician of Faith, Gemini Elf, Waboku, and Ultimate Offering

* * *

"Alright, this is a good start."

Emily's hand contained Dunames Dark Witch, Celestial Transformation, Magician of Faith, Gemini Elf, Waboku, and Ultimate Offering. Indeed, this was a decent start for a potential deadly duel.

"Perhaps I'd better start off small." Emily thought some more, before finally taking a card from her hand. "Alright, take this!"

Fallen Angel of Roses merely smiled, watching as the Dunames Dark Witch monster card materialized face-up.

"Dunames Dark Witch in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was the purple-haired fairy with red armor (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1050). Taking two more cards from her hand, Emily slotted them into separate Spell/Trap slots on her Duel Disk.

"Finally, I'll place these two cards facedown and call it a turn!" finished Emily, just as two facedown cards materialized behind her only monster. "Alright, let's see what you've got!"

"Very well." said Fallen Angel of Roses, drawing a card from her deck.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Fallen Angel of Roses (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Queen Angel of Roses, Seed of Deception, Cursed Ivy, Rose Lover, Wall of Ivy, and Wall of Thorns

* * *

Her hand contained Queen Angel of Roses, Seed of Deception, Cursed Ivy, Rose Lover, Wall of Ivy, and the added Wall of Thorns. Smiling some more, Fallen Angel of Roses looked towards her lovely opponent.

"Miss Emily, I think it's time to take the time to remember the good old days."

"What do you mean?" asked Emily.

Without saying anything about it at first, Fallen Angel of Roses took and held out one of her cards.

"You'll find out soon enough." The humanoid flower-like monster insisted. "But first, I will activate Seed of Deception! This allows me to special summon a level 2 or lower plant-type monster from my hand in eiter attack or defense mode!"

On cue, a monster card called Rose Lover materialized face-up.

"So I'll choose this one; Rose Lover in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and a pink gown decorated with roses (Level: 1/ATK: 800/DEF: 800).

"But now comes the one monster that will remind you of the good times!" continued Fallen Angel of Roses, taking another card from her hand. "I sacrifice Rose Lover!"

Rosie Lover faded away in a blue streak. From there, Fallen Angel of Roses placed her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Arise - Queen Angel of Roses!"

"Queen Angel of Roses?" thought Emily to herself.

A large rose bud appeared to the field. Suddenly, it grew, and grew until it blossomed. Appearing from it was a rather beautiful woman. She was dressed in a rather royal looking gown made from roses. She wielded a sword and sported a pair of rose wings on her back (Level: 7/ATK: 2400). Emily was speechless from seeing this new monster, and Fallen Angel of Roses took the time to continue speaking.

"My monster can be tribute summoned to the field in attack mode by offering a plant-type monster on my field, and its effect now activates!"

Queen Angel of Roses then readied her sword and raised it into the sky.

"It can destroy one monster you control that has the lowest attack points..." explained Fallen Angel of Roses. "...such as your Dunames Dark Witch!"

Queen Angel of Roses raced forward and slashed at Dunames Dark Witch, destroying her in an instant. Emily recovered enough to see her monster meet its end.

"My Dark Witch!" The dark green-haird girl cried out.

"Now you're wide open for a direct attack!" laughed Fallen Angel of Roses. "Queen Angel of Roses, give that girl a taste of your 2400 attack points!"

Queen Angel of Roses obeyed and charged at a defenseless Emily. But, when she was about to strike, got pushed back by an unknown force.

"Huh? What?!"

Beside Emily...was the activated Waboku Trap card.

"Waboku?!" exclaimed Fallen Angel of Roses.

"That's right." nodded Emily. "Waboku makes all battle damage I take become zero this turn."

The card then faded away, having used up its effect.

"So you've survive..." whispered Fallen Angel of Roses. She then looked up with a smile. "But tell me, my little buttercup, does this monster remind you of anything?"

"What do you mean?" asked Emily.

"Perhaps of anything good in your life?"

Emily began to think as she looked at this new monster. Queen Angel of Roses did look bright, happy, beautiful... it kinda almost reminded Emily...a bit of herself.

"It does seem to resemble a little bit of me when I first came to the Island of Sodor." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "And when I was new to Sodor Middle School..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In a classroom within Sodor Middle School, the teacher, Mr. Perkins, was calling out the register.

"Percy Avonside?"

"Here." said the 8-year old green-haired boy.

"Thomas Billinton?" asked Mr. Perkins.

No one replied.

"Typical." sighed Mr. Perkins. He figured Thomas was running late...again.

"Late as usual." laughed 10-year old James.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Middle School, 9-year old Thomas was running as fast as he could. He was late, and knew it full well.

"Oh man, I'm late again!" The young blue-haired boy wailed.

He ran through the main school entrance...without looking in front of him, and thus ran into someone else This caused both Thomas and the other person to fall back on the ground.

"Ow..." groaned Young Thomas, rubbing his head. "I'm so sorry about that, are you alri-"

The young blue-haired boy stopped mid-sentence when he looked at the person he bumped into. In front of him was a very pretty 10-year old dark green-haired girl with a yellow headband. She was also rather tall, making her look as though she was Young Gordon's age. The girl didn't look to be in too much pain, as she had a reassuring smile on her face. This made Thomas's heart skip a beat, as well as make him blush.

"Don't you worry, I'm perfectly fine." replied the girl, in a sweet voice. "Are you okay?"

"U-U-Um... y-yeah, I'm okay." mumbled Young Thomas nervously, as he and the girl both stood back up.

The girl was only a little bit taller than Young Thomas, but he didn't take much notice of that. The young blue-haired boy was more focused on how pretty the girl was, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Um, I've never seen you around before."

"I've only just moved to the Island of Sodor. As you can see, this is actually my first day in this school." The girl pointed out. "I'm Emily, by the way. What's your name?"

"M-My name is Thomas. Welcome to Sodor, Emily." Young Thomas kindly held his hand out, to which Young Emily accepted and shook hands with him.

The young blue-haired boy started blushing again he felt Young Emily's hand touching his. Young Emily saw that and, admittedly, thought that Young Thomas looked cute with a blush on his face.

"Late again are we, Thomas?" A new voice (male) spoke up.

Young Thomas gulped, looked aside, and saw the school principal, Mr. Arkwright, walking towards him and Young Emily.

"M-Mr. Arkwright, sir!" Young Thomas stuttered nervously. "I... I was just on my way to class w-when I ran into-"

"So you've acquainted yourself with our new student already." said Mr. Arkwright, smiling. "Well, Mr. Billinton, young Emily here will be joining your class with Mr. Perkins... where you should be right now. Please show Ms. Sterling the way to your classroom. I hope you will help her settle in with the rest of the students... And please try not to be late to school in future, will you?"

"Y-Yes sir." Young Thomas promised, before turning back to Young Emily. "You'll like Mr. Perkins, he's a really nice teacher."

"Really? Well you'd better show me the way then, you're already late enough, I don't want to get you into trouble." said Young Emily.

"O-Oh no, it's fine, don't worry about me. How about I show you around during lunch?"

"Oh, that's so sweet of you, Thomas." The young dark green-haired girl gushed happily with a warm smile, making Young Thomas blush again.

"It's no problem." The young blue-haired boy said nervously - but kindly.

With that said, Young Thomas began to lead the new girl to class.

(new scene...)

Later on during lunch hour, Young Emily was sitting alone at a picnic table outside eating her lunch when Young Thomas came walking by.

"Hello, Thomas." greeted Young Emily. "Did you want to sit with me?"

"Sure." nodded Young Thomas, accepting the invite.

The two kids were soon talking and getting to know each other.

"So, where did you used to live before you came to Sodor?" asked Young Thomas. "I myself was born in Brighton."

"I was born in ' **Glasgow - Scotland** '." explained Young Emily. "But... as you can tell by now, I speak with an American accent instead of a Scottish accent."

"If you don't mind me asking, why's that?"

"My Mother came from America." The young dark green-haired girl answered, before becoming somewhat embarrassed. "I bet I sound silly to you when I speak with a non United Kingdom-related accent."

"Not even close!" denied Young Thomas. "Your voice sounds like an angel to me."

Young Emily blinked. "An angel?" She then giggled slightly. "You're just saying that to try and make me feel better."

"No, I'm not... I really do mean it." The young blue-haired boy then curiously began to look at Young Emily's body. "Also, not to sound rude or sketchy, but you're really tall. Are you sure you're not actually 13?"

"You're not the first person to ask me that." admitted Young Emily. "I may look like I'm 13, but I'm actually only 10. My accent wasn't the only thing I inherited from my Mother."

Thomas cocked his head curiously to the side. Young Emily then smiled at her new friend.

"Thomas... can I ask you something?"

"Sure." nodded Young Thomas. "Ask away." He then felt a little nervous as his new friend scooted over more closely. "Umm... y-your question, Emily?"

"What do you think about tall girls?" asked Young Emily, smiling in a flirting sorta way. "Do you like them, or are they bothersome to you?"

Young Thomas was blushing and stuttering... But then, he suddenly got a look of worry.

"Hey! Isn't that Oliver over there?" The young blue-haired boy pointed to nearby.

Young Emily looked over to the nearby road. "Oliver?"

Out on the middle of the road was Young Oliver, and he was trying to cross the street. Suddenly, he stopped and saw that his shoe-laces were undone.

"My shoes!" The young green-haired boy exclaimed, bending over to tie them. "I'd better tie them."

As Young Oliver was distracted by his shoes, he didn't realize that he had put himself in great danger... A car was coming down the road, and Young Emily was the first to notice this!

"A car's coming!" she cried, getting up from the picnic table and running off. "Oliver will get hit by it if he doesn't hurry!"

"Emily!" called Young Thomas, but was too late to stop his new friend.

Young Oliver still didn't pay any attention as the car got closer and closer. Inside the car, the person driving soon started to notice that the kid on the middle of the road wasn't moving out of the way and started to panic.

"Get out of the way, kid!" The man screamed, honking the horn.

Finally, Young Oliver took notice... But in his haste to move, he fell down... and the car was closing in fast!

"Help! Help!" cried Young Oliver in fear.

Young Emily ran as fast as she could, hoping to reach the young green-haired boy. The car began screeching to a stop, but was still going too fast. Just when it looked like it was the end for Young Oliver, Young Emily went in for a flying tackle and managed get the young green-haired boy, and herself, onto the sidewalk across the street... which allowed the car to pass by and screech to a stop. The man inside the car looked out the window towards the two kids lying on the grass.

"Be more careful next time!" The driver called out, and then drove away.

"You okay?" asked Young Emily.

Young Oliver looked up at the new girl with shock and admiration. "Y-You've saved my life."

"That was a very reckless thing you did." scolded Young Emily. "Why were you tying your shoes in the middle of the road? Didn't anyone teach you how dangerous that was?"

"My shoelaces were undone-" protested Young Oliver. "-I had to tie them up."

"You still should have waited until you had finished crossing the road before you tied them. Better to be safe than sorry."

Just then, Mr. Arkwright and a few teachers came running in.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Mr. Arkwright.

"We are now, sir." said Young Oliver. "Emily here saved my life."

"Indeed, she did." smiled one of the teachers. "You were very brave to do what you did, Emily."

Young Emily smiled. "I...just did what anybody else would have done." she insisted.

Either way, this successful rescue got Young Emily out of getting homework for a day.

(new scene...)

One week later, Young Emily had gotten settled into Sodor Middle School and made a few friends, but Young Thomas was the one she spent the most time with. However, while the young dark green-haired girl saved Young Oliver from being ran over by a car, she was soon going to save another life... One day during gym glass outside,some of the students were getting ready to run a lap around the racetrack. Young Emily was stretching when she saw one of her classmates looking uneasy.

"Are you alright, Henry?" The young dark green-haired girl asked in concern.

The tall, young green-haired boy (Henry), wearing his gym clothes, was shown clutching his stomach like he was feeling sick there.

"I... I think so." Young Henry answered, groaning in pain. "I think my stomach is hurting because I ate something bad at breakfast."

"Maybe you should go see the nurse, or even go home for the day?" suggested Young Emily helpfully.

"N-No, I'll be fine, Emily... Don't worry."

But Young Emily wasn't so sure... After about ten minutes, the boys were first to run their lap on the track. Mr. Baldwin, the gym teacher, was ready to blow his whistle once the boys were lined up and ready to run.

"Alright, one lap around the track!" said Mr. Baldwin. "On your marks... get set... go!"

With a blow of the whistle, the male students took off. The run was looking good at first, but soon...

"Huh?" blinked Mr. Baldwin. "Henry?"

Young Henry was trying to keep up the pace, but he was clutching his stomach and slowing down. Eventually... the tall, young green-haired boy collapsed to his knees in searing pain.

"Henry!" Mr. Baldwin called out. "What are you doing?"

"Take it easy, sir." protested Young Emily, starting to walk over. "Henry isn't feeling well."

"Not feeling well? Why didn't he say something earlier?"

Young Emily didn't answer her gym teacher. Once she reached Young Henry, she knelt down to his level.

"Come on, Henry." The young dark green-haired girl offered kindly. "Let's get you to-"

When Young Emily saw her friend's face, the look on her face went from merely worried to outright frightened. Young Henry's face was beet red and sickly, and he was clutching his stomach more than ever before.

"Help...me..." The tall, young green-haired boy groaned. "My...insides feel like they're...on fire!"

"Someone please call an ambulance!" screamed Young Emily in a panic. "Henry needs some serious medical attention, right away!"

Within seconds, numerous students, including Mr. Baldwin, surrounded Young Henry while looking deeply worried and/or scared.

(new scene...)

Minutes later, Young Henry was asleep inside an ambulence heading for Knapford Hospital, and Young Emily was there by his side.

"Don't worry, Henry-" she thought, clutching the young, tall green-haired boy's hand. "-you'll be just fine."

(new scene...)

Two days later, Young Thomas, Young Percy, Young Edward, and Young Emily were all visiting Young Henry at the hospital (Young Henry's parents were there, too).

"Your friend had an enflamed appendix-" explained the doctor. "-and so we had it removed with surgery. We're happy to say Henry Stanier should be fine with a little more rest."

"That is a big relief." sighed Young Thomas.

The doctor then spoke directly to Young Emily... "Little girl, you were very quick to get an ambulence called to your school."

"I was just looking out for a friend." said Young Emily honestly.

"Even then, you've become a hero in a short period of time."

"He's right." agreed Young Edward. "You've saved two lives in a short period of time since coming to Sodor Middle School."

"Three cheers for Emily!" cheered Young Percy.

Young Emily honestly felt she had blessed her friends like she was an ' ** _Angel of Light_** '. That was something the young dark green-haired girl felt most proud of.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily couldn't help but smile fondly at being reminded of those good memories.

"Those really were some of my best moments." she said aloud. The dark green-haired girl then frowned. "But I don't understand, why do you want me to remember them?"

"All in good time." Fallen Angel of Roses commented. "But for now... I activate the effect of the Rose Liver in my graveyard!"

A card (Rose Lover) slipped out of her graveyard and faded away into oblivion.

"By banishing Rose Lover from my graveyard-" explained Fallen Angel of Roses, taking a card from her hand and readying it. "-I can special summon a plant-type monster from my hand."

Emily merely braced herself, watching as the humanoid flower-like monster turned her card over to show what it was.

"Wall of Ivy; defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a huge wall made out of ivy vines (Level: 3/DEF: 1200).

"I'll finish my turn by setting these two cards facedown." finished Fallen Angel of Roses, slotting two cards into her Duel Disk. On cue, two set cards materialized behind the two plant-type monsters. "That's it for me."

Emily wasn't sure what was going on. Why was it that her good memories from the past were being revisited? Deciding to worry about it later, the dark green-haired girl went to take her turn.

"It's my turn!" she announced, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (4): Celestial Transformation, Magician of Faith, Gemini Elf, and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Pot of Greed!" declared Emily, drawing two cards. "With this, I can draw two more cards."

The two cards were Light Effigy and Wingweaver (both being Monster cards). Smirking, Emily added the two cards to her hand, took another card and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"Now watch as I activate Celestial Transformation!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"This Spell card lets me special summon a fairy-type monster from my hand with only half of its original attack points." explained Emily, readying a card. "So here comes Light Effigy!"

The familiar cube of light showed itself (Level: 4/ATKl: 1500 - 750).

"Light Effigy?" blinked Fallen Angel of Roses. "It can't stop me! And by summoning it with Celestial Transformation, it will be destroyed at your end phase!"

"That is true-" agreed Emily, readying another card. "-but now I sacrifice it!"

The cube of light split into two monsters and vanished in streaks of blue. The dark green-haired girl raised her card into the air with triumph.

"Since I'm about to summon a high leveled light attribute monster, Light Effigy will count as TWO tributes instead of one!"

A monster began to lower from the sky.

"So now... meet Wingweaver!" announced Emily in welcome.

Finally lowering from the sky was the six-winged angelic-like monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2750).

"Wingweaver, attack Queen Angel of Roses!" ordered Emily. "Luminous Light Rain!"

Wingweaver obeyed, firing a shower of rain at the Queen Angel of Roses, but Fallen Angel of Roses wasn't gonna let her monster go down like that.

"Open set card!" The humanoid flower-like monster announced, just as her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Wall of Thorns!"

Emily was worried.

"Here's how it works; since a plant-type monster I control has been targeted for an attack, all attack position monsters on your field are wiped out!"

"Oh no!" cried Emily, watching as her only monster got ensnared by thorn vines. "Wingweaver!"

Within seconds, Wingweaver was gone.

"So much for your all-powerful Wingweaver." smirked Fallen Angel of Roses.

Growling, Emily poked a button on her Duel Disk, which caused her last set card to flip face-up and reveal itself.

"I'm not finished yet!" shouted the dark green-haired girl. "Continuous Trap - Ultimate Offering!"

Fallen Angel of Roses raised an eyebrow. "Ultimate Offering?"

"By giving up 500 life points-" explained Emily (LP: 3500). "-I can summon another monster during either of our turns!"

On cue, the Gemini Elf monster card materialized face-up.

"While this monster isn't strong enough to fight Queen Angel of Roses, I can still use her to take out Wall of Ivy! Go - Gemini Elf!"

The twin elves appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1900). Almost immediately, the twins lept into the sky and delivered an aerial kick, striking Wall of Ivy and destroying it. Fallen Angel of Roses braced herself from the force of the wind thanks to the destruction of her monster, but quickly recovered.

"Nice play, now let me show you one of my own!" The humanoid flower-like monster announced. "When you attack my monster, Wall of Ivy creates and puts an Ivy Token onto your side of the field!"

Appearing to the field was a smaller version of Wall of Ivy.

"My field?" blinked Emily. "But why do that?"

"When an Ivy token is destroyed-" explained Fallen Angel of Roses. "-you take 300 points of damage!"

"If that's the case, what's to stop me from using them as tributes for a tribute summon?"

"Who says you'll even get the chance?" mocked the humanoid flower-like monster, drawing a card. "Either way, your turn is finished...and mine can start."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Fallen Angel of Roses (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

Almost immediately, Fallen Angel of Roses held her drawn card out to show Emily.

"Like you've done, I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards."

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and and Fallen Angel of Roses drew two more cards from her deck. With them both being Fallen Angel of Roses (Monster card) and Ring of Magnetism (Spell card). Just then, Fallen Angel of Roses final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activated my set Trap card - Cursed Ivy!" announced the humanoid flower-like monster. "With it, I revive the fallen Wall of Ivy in defense mode and equip my Trap card to it!"

With that said, Wall of Ivy reappeared to the field.

"Why bring it back?" asked Emily. She then saw Ring of Magnetism materialize face-up. "Ring of Magnetism?"

"Indeed." confirmed Fallen Angel of Roses, with two fingers based on a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "While decreasing Wall of Ivy's attack and defense by 500 points, it becomes the only monster you can target in battle."

"Bother!" groaned Emily.

Wall of Ivy's attack and defense points both decreased (ATK: 300 - 0/DEF: 1200 - 700). Fallen Angel of Roses readied her final card while giving a menacing smile over what she was about to do and say...

"I hope you've enjoyed your happy memories, because now you'll be revisiting more of your past...in darkness."

Emily, narrowing her eyes, didn't like the sound of that. She had a feeling what the humanoid flower-like monster was talking about...

"But first-" continued Fallen Angel of Roses. "-I must return Queen Angel of Roses to my hand."

The beautiful Queen Angel of Roses turned into a ball of light and returned to the humanoid flower-like monster's hand, who then placed the replacement card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"And now... it's time to show you that ' ** _every rose has its thorns_** '!" announced Fallen Angel of Roses. "I call forth...me! The Fallen Angel of Roses!"

Within seconds, a second version of Fallen Angel of Roses appeared (Level: 7/ATK: 2400).

"That's...you!" gasped Emily.

Fallen Angel of Roses cackled. "Now, myself, attack and destroy Gemini Elf!"

Fallen Angel of Roses* obeyed and whipped her thorn whip at the two Gemini Elves, striking, knocking down, and destroying them.

"My elves!" cried Emily (LP: 3000). She then recovered... "So, that is the real you?"

"Correct. While Queen Angel of Roses symbolizes the light, Fallen Angel of Roses symbolizes the dark! ...like you have in your heart."

Emily put a hand to her chest. "Yes... I do..."

"Your inner darkness was born when you were bullied by two of your eventual friends shortly after arriving at your new home." continued Fallen Angel of Roses. "It tainted your heart so much that you lost sight on who you were... and you took your inner pain and anger out on all of your friends!"

Emily shut her eyes tightly, fighting hard to hold back tears, just as a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It had been less than three weeks since Young Emily was warmly welcomed to Sodor Middle School (and even managed to save two lives in a short period of time). Because of her pretty face, as well as kind, gentle, friendly, self-sacrificing personality, Young Emily became quite popular with many of the students. Like so...

"Hi, Emily." called Young Edward.

"Good day, lass!" called Young Donald.

"Good of you to save Oliver from being run over!" praised Young Duck.

"You were very brave to get help for Henry when his appendix needed to be removed at the hospital!" came from Young BoCo.

Young Emily honestly thought her new life couldn't get any better. Unfortunately...

(elsewhere...)

Outside during noon hour, a 13-year old Gordon was lying on a large blanket near the race track, soaking some rays and listening to some music on his headphones. Young Emily was walking near the track field when she saw the young, tall blue-haired boy.

"Hello, Gordon!" called Young Emily cheerfully.

Unfortunately, Young Gordon didn't seem to hear her. Curiously, Young Emily walked over and tried to get the young, tall blue-haired boy's attention.

"Hello, Gordon!" The young dark green-haired girl said loudly.

That got Young Gordon's attention alright... but not in a way Young Emily was expecting...

"Goodness gracious, what cheek! Who do you think you are, interrupting music time?!" he roared.

Young Emily was surprised, and a little bit hurt, by the outburst. "I...was just trying to say hello."

"Huh! I bet..." grunted Young Gordon, standing back up. "So, you're the new student to Middle School? Phooey! I was actually expecting someone as athletic as me. Not someone as girly as you."

And the tall, young blue-haired boy grabbed his belongings and walked away in a huff. Young Emily felt rather annoyed over being called girly.

"Now what reason has he to be rude?" The young dark green-haired girl said to herself. "I was only trying to be nice."

Unfortunately, things were not gonna get any better...

(elsewhere...)

The next day, Young Emily was at her locker getting a few things. Young James, meanwhile, was walking down the hall when he saw the new girl minding her own business. Seeing how pretty she looked, the young red-haired boy smirked and decided to turn the charm on.

"Hey there." he greeted, giving a wink.

Young Emily, hearing the voice, turned towards it and saw the red-haired boy.

"Um... hi there."

"My name's James Hughes." said Young James, slicking his hair back. "You must be Emily."

"Y-Yes." The young dark green-haired girl nodded, getting the feeling that boy was trying to hit on her. She was not gonna have any of that. "Ca-"

"You're in luck." boasted Young James. "You're talking to one of the most popular kids in the whole school...and the most handsome, too."

"Listen, can-" Young Emily tried to speak up, but was cut off.

"Can you deny ever seeing such magnificence in your life?"

Young Emily was starting to get annoyed. This boy, while indeed handsome for a 10-year old, seemed to be quite vain, boastful, and liked to talk about only himself.

"Yes, I can." The new girl said as calmly as possible.

Young James was alarmed. "What?!"

"I can deny ever seeing someone as ' **magnificent** ' in my life." Young Emily continued firmly. "You are nothing but a vain, arrogant showoff."

Red faced with anger and humiliation at being told off like that, Young James gave a snort of disgust.

"Yeah? Well, what would you know?!"

And thus, he walked away in a huff. As soon as Young James was gone, Young Emily sighed to herself.

"Well... that could have gone better..." she remarked aloud.

The new girl got her books out of her locker and made her way to class.

(new scene...)

A week later, Young Emily was at her locker again, when suddenly it slammed shut on her. It was Young Gordon who did the deed, and Young James was standing beside him.

"What did you do that for?" Young Emily asked in surprise, but got nervous when she saw that the taller boy was smirking deviously. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"Lookie what we have here, James." said Young Gordon.

"Yeah..." agreed Young James, also smirking. "Someone who doesn't appreciate someone as handsome as me..."

"And someone who dares to interrupt my time when I was busy listening to music."

Young Emily was again annoyed. "Oh, you two are still upset about-"

Suddenly, Young Gordon roughly shoved the young dark green-haired girl until her back smashed into the locker. Young Emily wasn't hurt, but she was feeling scared right now. But what really made her upset...was where she was touched for the shove (her chest, that is).

"D-Did you just touch my-?" Young Emily began, getting red in the face.

"Keep quiet!" threatened Young James, cutting off what the girl was about to say. "Because of what you said to both of us, Gordon and I don't like you."

"W-Well...I-I don't like you either." retorted Young Emily, trying to remain brave...but her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Now leave me alone or I'll report you both to the principal."

This only caused Young Gordon and Young James to burst out laughing.

"You? Tell on us?" chortled Young James. "Did you hear that, Gordon?"

"You were right." laughed Young Gordon. "She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale."

"T-Tattletale?" Young Emily spluttered.

"Oh yes..." The young red-haired boy confirmed. "No likes a tattletale...like you."

With that said, Young James went and shoved Young Emily back into the lockers (touching her clothed chest in doing so) as he and his older friend both walked off laughing, unaware of what they would eventually be responsible for. Feeling humiliated, threatened, violated, and hurt, Young Emily finally started to cry as she ran down the hallway towards one of the girls' bathrooms.

(new scene...)

From that point onward, Young Gordon and Young James both continued to secretly bully Young Emily up until one night, while asleep in bed at her home, the young dark green-haired girl was moving about while sleeping and hearing voices in her head (she was definitely having a nightmare).

" _Girly girly tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon / Young James)

" _Ms. Perfect know-it-all_..." - (Young James)

" _Tell on us, and you'll be forever labelled a goody-goody tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_..." - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Finally, Young Emily woke up with a start. Again, her eyes were wetting with tears...

"I wish those two would just leave me alone." weeped Young Emily. "What reason have they to pick on me? Maybe I'm too tall or something..."

That could have been one possible factor. You see, even though Young Emily was only one year older than Young Thomas (and Young Percy by the same extention), she was tall enough to be the same age as Young Gordon. This growth rate was a trait she had inherited from her Mother.

"Or maybe... Maybe it's because I'm too nice..."

(new scene...)

The bullying got to such an extreme, that eventually...Young Emily made her dramatic fall from grace. At her locker one day, a saddened Emily was getting her things for class...when Young James walked by and rudely slammed the locker shut.

"Oops, my bad!" he said sarcastically.

Suddenly, without any warning, Young Emily turned, clenched her fist, and punched Young James in the chest so hard that the young red-haired boy was knocked onto the ground.

"Oops, my bad!" growled Young Emily in the exact same sarcastic tone that the Young James had used.

And she walked away in a huff. Young James wasn't hurt badly from the punch, but he was surprised by this sudden change.

(elsewhere...)

During noon hour, Young Gordon was eating some lunch in the lunchroom when he saw that Young Emily was in a bad mood. Smirking, the young, tall blue-haired boy decided to throw his pudding at the young dark green-haired girl.

"Hey, Emily, think fast!" called Young Gordon.

With that said, Youg Gordon tossed the pudding in the air, hoping it would hit Young Emily...which it did...in the face. From there, she started getting many stares from the surprised students in the lunchroom. Almost in an instant, the tall, young blue-haired boy started laughing... not expecting this event to happen...

"Hey, Gordon! Think fast!"

Suddenly, the tall blue-haired boy was hit in the face by a container of applesauce. Everyone else in the cafeteria was shocked per say. Who did that, anyway? As it turned out...it was Young Emily who did it.

"That was for the pudding, you jerk!" she snapped, getting up and leaving.

Young Gordon could not believe it.

(elsewhere...)

Unfortunately, Young Emily also started having moments of taking her anger out on other people, teacher and student alike. One minute, she was being her regular sweet self. The next, however, she was being bossy and rude...almost like being a bully herself.

"No, no, no, no!" The young dark green-haired girl snapped at Young Edward, when they were partnered for a math-like game. "You're doing it all wrong!"

"What do you mean I'm doing it wrong?" asked Young Edward.

Young Emily responded by mixing the numbers in different orders. Young Edward, however, knew that his friend was in the wrong and tried to explain...

"I'm sorry, Emily, but that's not-"

Unfortunately, Young Emily wouldn't hear of it, and thus she and Young Edward both got into an argument over it. This attracted the attention of Mr. Starr, the math teacher, and resulted in some noon hour detention for both kids for the disturbance. That was only one such incident...

(new scene...)

Outside during gym class, the students were about to play softball. The teams were chosen and Young Emily started giving orders to her team...

"Alright, you lot!" she called in a bossy tone. "If you want a chance to win this, then just do as I say and when I say it. Got it?!"

"But, Emily, we just want to play and have fun." protested Young Percy. "You usually play the game just for the fun of it."

Young Emily got very cross. "Forget it! WE play to win it all, and nothing more!"

Mr. Baldwin then walked over to the young dark green-haired girl and gave a sigh of disapproval over her behavior.

"That is not how we do things around here, Miss Sterling." The gym teacher said sternly. "The point of sports is to have fun and to make new friends, not boss your team around just for the sake of winning."

"But, sir-!" objected Young Emily, but was cut off.

"Furthermore, this is the third time this month you've bossed everyone about when we go outside to play sports. I'm afraid you'll have to go see Mr. Arkwright in his office."

Young Thomas could only watch sadly as his dark green-haired friend was lead back to the school by Mr. Baldwin. Over with the other team, Young Gordon and Young James both snickered quietly over Young Emily getting into trouble.

(new scene...)

Later in the winter, Young Thomas and Young Emily were both in Knapford park trying to build a big snowman...but the latter wasn't exactly being very...responsive in teamwork - she was being rather being bossy than helpful.

"You alright, Emily?" asked Young Thomas. He had heard about what his friend had been doing and he was feeling rather worried about her.

"I'm fine." huffed Young Emily. "Now go and make that bottom half! The snowman won't build itself, you know."

"There's no reason to be so bossy." snapped Young Thomas, just as he set to work. "I'm just concerned with this new attitude of your's. Lately you've been bossing the others around and getting into trouble for it. Why are you acting like this, anyway?"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Rubbish!" replied Young Thomas. "Please, Emily, just tell me what's-"

Finally, the young dark green-haired girl lost her temper. "I SAID I'M FINE, YOU LITTLE TWIT!"

With that said, she pushed her young blue-haired friend down into the snow, turned about, and stormed out of the park to go home and cool off from her outburst. Rather than be angry or upset for being pushed down like that, Young Thomas merely felt more worried than ever for his new friend.

"What's wrong with her?" he thought to himself. "I thought we were friends...?"

As she walked out of the park, Young Emily looked back, feeling bad for what she had done.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas." The young dark green-haired girl whispered only to herself, with a teardrop of regret falling from her eye.

(new scene...)

Christmas Break had helped Young Emily feel a little bit better. During that free time, she would be free from Young Gordon and Young James's bullying and even feel a little more like her old self once again (including when she and her family spent some time with Thomas and his family). But I'm afraid that her new-found attitude became so much worse only a month after the Christmas holidays and school resumed; a new student named Molly Russell had been accepted into the Middle School. But rather than be warm and welcoming like she usually was in the past, Young Emily instead began to bully Young Molly upon meeting her! Like so...

"Look at you!" Young Emily said in a taunting tone. "You look almost like me, yet you don't even have any curves. But take a good look at me...!" The young dark green-haired girl pulled her shirt up a bit and showed off her own figure (her waist-line) before wiggling her hips in a rather...suggestive matter (for a young old girl, nonetheless). "I am tall and beautiful enough to be in high school already! But then again, I suppose not every girl at this school can be as lucky as me. Oh well!"

Poor Young Molly felt very embarrassed over this.

(new scene...)

Later during the transition from 3rd to 4th period, Young Molly was walking down the hallway when she suddenly tripped and fell on her face.

"How was the fall, loser?" laughed a voice.

Young Molly looked up and saw that it was Young Emily, smirking in a mean gesture.

"Why did you do that?" asked the young black-haired girl, feeling hurt.

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe you should watch where you're going?"

Young Molly honestly felt like crying right about now.

(new scene...)

In May, Young Emily and Young Molly were both partnered for a project. The young black-haired girl worked the best she could, but that was sadly not good enough for Young Emily.

"Geez, you're so slow!" The young dark green-haired girl criticized. "Do you want us to fail?"

"I'm doing it as best as I can!" protested Young Molly. "If you're not happy, then do it yourself!"

"This is a group project, dummy! We HAVE to work together if we wanna pass!"

Yup, things weren't getting any better.

(new scene...)

During a bake sale one day in April, Young Emily was working with both Young Percy and Young Toby in selling baked goodies. They were making lots of money, but it didn't seem to satisfy Young Emily at all.

"This isn't working." said Young Emily. "We need a better sales approach."

"I think we're doing just fine." commented Young Toby.

"Me too." agreed Young Percy.

"That's your opinion, but mine is final. We NEED a better idea!"

"Well, what do you suggest?" asked Young Percy.

"Not what I suggest-" snapped Young Emily. "-what YOU both suggest! You two started this event, you two should have an idea and not me!"

Rather than just argue with their troubled friend, Young Toby and Young Percy both got up from their and walked away, leaving Young Emily to yell and call for them to no success.

(new scene...)

One year later, despite her short recovery during Summer vacation, Young Emily (now 12-years old) and her new attitude had hit an all-time low. She continued to bully Young Molly, continued to get bullied by Young James and Young Gordon, and continued to be troublesome all-around with everyone else. Like the year before, one minute she was being sweet. The next minute, she was being bossy, rude, and/or mean. The worst part was that no one knew why the young dark green-haired girl had suddenly changed in personality. The only one who Young Emily had not been nearly as rude to was Young Thomas, but he was now even more worried than ever before.

One night, while she was asleep in bed at her home, Young Emily was once again tossing and turning about while hearing voices in her head (a nightmare of a sort). This time, however, it was worse than from before...

" _I hate her guts! She's nothing but a bully_." - (Young Arthur)

" _We hate you, Emily_!" - (Young Duck)

" _You're nothing but a bossy, short-tempered, witch_!" - (Young BoCo)

" _You know what the scariest monster in the world is? YOU ARE_!" - (Young Charlie)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Finally, Young Emily woke up with a heavy start, and then started to cry herself back into a very uncomfortable sleep. Unfortunately, she was completely unaware of feeling something growing within her tainted heart. Something dark... evil... and powerful.

(new scene...)

But the worst memory came one day when Young Emily had arrived at the school one day. Just before she could open the front doors and go inside, she overheard some voices inside...

"Emily has been nothing but trouble!" said a voice (Young Oliver). "I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over!"

"She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here." weeped a female voice (Young Molly).

"She was so nice... now she is just a big bully." added a second male voice (Young Percy).

"I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done." finished a third voice (Young Duck)

Young Emily opened the door slowly and...saw some of her friends talking about her.

"She's a muckle nuisance!" said Young Donald.

"Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her!" agreed Young Douglas.

"Why is she acting like this to us?" asked Young Toby. "What did we do to deserve such treatment?"

Young Emily felt like her heart was breaking into tiny pieces. Her worst nightmares were officially coming true; the young dark green-haired girl's friends were turning against her. Unfortunately, it wasn't over yet...

"Stop talking about her like that!" exclaimed a voice (male). It was Young Thomas, and he wasn't happy at all. "I can't believe you guys are acting this way!"

"Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept-" said Young Toby calmly. "-but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways."

"She's become a pure monster." agreed Young Percy.

"No, she hasn't!" argued Young Thomas, beginning to break down in tears. "Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER!"

Young Emily's eyes started welling with tears when she saw Thomas start to cry. It was because of her, he was suffering... And I'm afraid the worst was still yet to come...

"Edward..." Young Thomas pleaded, weeping softly. "Please tell them... Emily still has some good deep within her heart..."

Unfortunately...

"I'm sorry, Thomas." sighed Young Edward, feeling sad for his younger friend. "But you've seen how mean she's become."

"But she has still done good things even when acting rude! I know something has been bugging her, I just know it!"

"Even then, she's been a bully for far too long." came from Young Henry. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but I don't think she has a chance for being redeemed at this point."

"I refuse to believe that!" screamed Young Thomas through his sobbing. "Emily helped you get to the hospital when you had that appendix issue, and this is how you thank her?!"

"Thomas, knock it off!" Young Edward finally snapped, getting angry. "Emily is too far gone!"

Finally, everyone heard the sounds of crying... It was coming from Young Emily, who had slammed the front door shut and was trying to get away from the school as fast as she could.

"Emily!" gasped Young Thomas, no longer crying. He then realized something to his horror... "Oh no, she heard everything we were talking about!"

Suddenly, the bell rang. That signalled it was time for homeroom class... but Young Thomas never followed his friends.

"Aren't you coming with, Thomas?" asked Young Percy.

"No." said Young Thomas with determination. "I'm going to find Emily and get the answers!"

(elsewhere...)

Outside the school, Young Emily continued to bawl her eyes out while running away from Sodor Middle School. No one there wanted her around anymore, she was causing Thomas endless amounts of pain, Gordon and James both destroyed her life... It was all just too much for her to take anymore...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily finally allowed her tears to fall as she felt her tainted heart break.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" The dark green-haired girl demanded through her broken sobs. "Why are you making me relive the worst moments of my life?!"

"You should know." taunted Fallen Angel of Roses. "You created that darkness out of your sorrow, anger, and hate. It was your own fault that all happened!"

"I was so desperate! I wanted it to stop! I never meant for it to happen!"

"Then why did you choose to act that way?" asked Fallen Angel of Roses. "Why didn't you tell anyone what you were going through instead of driving them away?"

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" screamed Emily, collapsing to her knees and clutching the sides of her head. "I'm...not a devil from the dark!"

"Then prove it to me!"

Managing to stand back up, Emily shakily drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (2): Magician of Faith and Monster Reborn

* * *

Her drawn card was the Monster Reborn Spell card. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, Emily held the card out.

"Using Monster Reborn!" The dark green-haired girl blurted out. "I'll bring back Wingweaver in attack mode!"

Wingweaver soon reappeared to the field.

"Wingweaver!" commanded Emily. "Destroy her wall of Ivy!"

Wingweaver obeyed the command, raised her hands into the sky, and made rays of light rain down. Wall of Ivy was struck and destroyed, but Fallen Angel of Roses only grinned in response.

"Now you've gained a second Ivy Token." she pointed out.

A second copy of Ivy Token appeared. Just then, Cursed Ivy shattered into pieces of glass.

"And because Wall of Ivy was destroyed-" continued Fallen Angel of Roses. "-Cursed Ivy is destroyed as well... but not before leaving a farewell present."

Emily blinked. "Huh?"

Then, to her shock, two more copies of Ivy Token joined the other two on Emily's side of the field.

"What did you do?" demanded the dark green-haird girl.

"That's another ability of Cursed Ivy." explained Fallen Angel. "When destroyed, you gain two more Ivy Tokens."

Emily's monster field zones were completely populated. With nothing more to do, the dark green-haired girl was forced to enter her end phase.

"I...end my turn!"

"Heh! As I expected." taunted Fallen Angel of Roses, drawing a card. "Let's see..."

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Fallen Angel of Roses (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (2): Queen Angel of Roses and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up.

"I'll activate Card of Sanctity!" continued Fallen Angel of Roses, drawing five cards. "We both draw until we hold six cards in uor hands!"

Emily drew five cards. In Fallen Angel of Roses' hand, she now had Queen Angel of Roses, Rose Tentacles, Reversal Attack, Rose Fairy, Vengeful Servant, and Mark of the Rose all added.

"Excellent." The humanoid flower-like monster thought with a cold smile. She then held up a card called Rose Fairy. "Since I've drawn Rose Fairy from the effect of a Spell card, I can special summon her to the field in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a small fairy with a rose on its head (Level: 3/ATK: 600).

"Finally-" continued Fallen Angel of Roses, removing her newly summoned monster card off the Duel Disk and replacing it with something else. "-I tribute Rose Fairy to summon this man-eating plant - Rose Tentacles!"

Rose Fairy vanished. And in her place appeared what looked like a giant squid made out of vines wit a rose atop its head (Level: 6/ATK: 2200).

"This is the end!" cackled the humanoid flower-like monster. "Strike down Wingweaver now!"

Rose Tentacles obeyed and used its numerous arms to try and grab hold of Wingweaver, who tried to fight back.

"My monster is still stronger!" objected Emily. "Your attack is gonna fail and damage you instead!"

"Tell that to the Quick-Play Spell card Reversal Attack!"

On cue, the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. From there, something started to happen to Wingweaver and Rose Tentacles.

"Reversal Attack?!" spluttered Emily.

"This switches the attack points of both of our monsters." explained Fallen Angel of Roses. "Meaning mine becomes stronger...and yours becomes weaker!"

Wingweaver tried to fly away, but was grabbed by some tentacles. From there, the angelic-like monster started to get crushed. Both monsters then had their attack stats swapped; Wingweaver (ATK: 2750 - 2200) became weaker, and Rose Tentacles (ATK: 2200 - 2750) became stronger.

"Wingweaver!" exclaimed Emily. In her mind... "I've failed to save you again... I'm so sorry..."

"You have much more to worry about than losing your monster." teased Fallen Angel of Roses. "You see, for every plant-type monster on the field, Rose Tentacles gains an additional attack!"

Remembering the Ivy Tokens on her side of the field, Emily realized that this had been Fallen Angel of Roses's strategy all along. Very soon, Wingweaver was crushed into dust, and Emily took some more heavy damage (LP: 2450).

"And remember-" continued the humanoid flower-like monster. "-you take 300 additonal points of damage whenever an Ivy Token is destroyed! And most importantly; Rose Tentacles also inflicts 300 points of damage for every plant-type monster that is destroyed!"

Before long, Rose Tentacles summoned more tentacles, grabbed the defenseless dark green-haired girl, and hoisted her into the sky.

"Now attack, my monster!" commanded Fallen Angel of Roses. "Inflict the same pain she inflicted on her friends long ago!"

Rose Tentacles obeyed, with the tentacles holding onto Emily started to crush her to death. The other tentacles destroyed all the Ivy Tokens at once. Despite being in defense mode, Emily still took massive damage because of certain effects of the monsters on the field (LP: 50). As she got crushed by the tentacles, the poor dark green-haired girl once again remembered the converstation her friends had about her that fateful day...

" _Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over_!" - (Young Oliver)

" _She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here_." - (Young Molly)

" _She was so nice... now she is just a big bully_." - (Young Percy)

" _I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done_." - (Young Duck)

" _She's a muckle nuisance_!" - (Young Donald)

" _Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her_!" - (Young Douglas)

" _Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and frankly mean-spirited ways_." - (Young Toby)

" _No she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER_!" - (Young Thomas)

" _Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone_!" - (Young Edward)

Feeling as though her friends were attacking her with those horrible memories, Emily had nearly lost conscious right around here. Soon enough, Fallen Angel of Roses got a satisfied smile on her face...

"Okay, that's enough." she commanded, before finishing off with a deadly... "Put her back down...gently."

Rose Tentacles obeyed and put Emily back down... by roughly slamming her down onto the ground, hard. A blow like that would probably have killed her, but that wasn't part of Fallen Angel of Roses's plan right now.

"My goodness!" said the humanoid flower-like monster in a very sarcastic tone. "I do hope you're alright!"

Emily laid very still on the ground, not moving a muscle... not at first, anyway. Finally, after what seemed like forever...

"Playtime...has now ended, you little-!" snarled a familiar female voice.

Fallen Angel of Roses gave a gasp. On the other side of the duel field, managing to get back up, now with a look of pure rage on her face, was Emily Sterling...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	48. Every Rose Has Its Thorns (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the forest of flowers somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Emily was in the middle of a duel with an ally of Airknight Parshath. That ally being the mysterious Fallen Angel of Roses, and she had done something that two people had succeeded in doing back when Emily was only 10-years old; pushed her too far and unlocked the darkness in her heart.

"You wanna play?" thundered Emily out of anger. "Then fine; we'll play... but MY way!"

But rather than become terribly frightened by this sudden change of her opponent, Fallen Angel of Roses instead...began to simply laugh at what she had done.

"This is it!" The humanoid flower-like monster declared in triumph. "This is what I've been expecting to see happen!"

"What's that suppose to mean?" demanded Emily.

"I'll explain it then... My friend is not only out to capture you, but is also trying to get you to accept your inner dark so that you can be used in the process of reviving ' _him_ '!"

At once, Emily knew by then the Court of Darkness was being relentless in their search for her. To make matters worse; she had allowed some of the darkness within her heart to be unleashed and consume her. Too late to turn back, the dark green-haired girl had to make due, and hope it didn't get out of hand. Unfortunately, it was still Fallen Angel of Roses's battle phase...

"With your field empty-" laughed the humanoid flower-like monster. "-I can finish you off!" She pointed forth. "Fallen Angel of Roses, attack the girl directly and end the duel!"

The monster Doppelganger obeyed and charged at Emily with her weapon, but this time...

"I play a Quick-Play Spell card!" The dark green-haired girl announced, holding a card out from her hand. "Rival Arrival allows me to special summon a monster from my hand in attack or defense mode to take the blow!"

On cue, Kuribon appeared on the field (Level: 1/DEF: 200). Emily then gave a dark smile as one of her ace monsters appeared onto the field.

"Now I have a monster protecting my life points again. Nice try, but you're not getting rid of me that easily!"

Fallen Angel of Roses laughed once more. "Yet again, this is exactly what I've wanted you to do!"

Emily's eyes widened. From there, she watched as a Spell card called Mark of the Rose flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Mark of the Rose!" announced Fallen Angel of Roses. "This allows me to take control of one monster on your side of the field until the end phase! ...but come the next standby phase, I'll again get control of your monster."

"You can't!" An upset Emily protested.

"Watch me!"

Within seconds, a rose mark appeared on Kuribon's cheek, causing her to go to Fallen Angel of Roses's side of the field.

"Kuribon, no!" cried Emily, reaching out for her monster in protest.

Kuribon had a sad look on her adorable face. But the worst was yet to come... Fallen Angel of Roses then readied and revealed another card in her right hand.

"Now I activate Vengeful Servant! This powerful Equip Spell card will force whatever monster that's equipped with this to deal damage to your life points whenever the equipped monster is given back to your control."

"Combine that with Mark of the Rose-" said Emily in realization. "-when Kuribon returns to me at the end phase... I'll... I'll receive 300 points of damage!"

"Enough to finish you off!" laughed Fallen Angel of Roses. "And my turn...is over!"

With that said, Kuribon returned to Emily's side of the field. Just before the effect of the Vengeful Servant Spell card could activate, the dark green-haired girl went and discarded a card from her hand to the graveyard.

"Vengeful Servant, activate your effect and finish my opponent off!" commanded Fallen Angel of Roses.

A dark aura came from the terrified Kuribon and was about to hit Emily, when suddenly...

"I activate the effect of Hanewata!"

Fallen Angel of Roses was shocked. "Huh?!"

"By discarding Hanewata-" explained Emily (LP: 50). "-the effect damage I would have taken from your card effect becomes zero..."

An image of a Watapon-like monster (but with yellow fur and angelic wings) appeared and shielded the dark green-haired girl from the dark aura blast.

"I'm safe from losing myself!"

"Well... it would seem that you are..." grunted Fallen Angel of Roses, unhappy her final attack had failed. She then smiled in a sinister way. "But on my next turn, you won't be so lucky!"

Can Emily pull through without giving into the darkness? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **Title: Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Part 2**

* * *

Inside the throne room within the Castle of Dark Illusions, the Court of Darkness were observing a crystal ball showing an image of Emily getting crushed by Rose Tentacle's vines before slamming her onto the ground.

"Ooh, how painful!" winced The Earl of Demise, who then smiled. "I love it!"

"As do we." agreed Darkbishop Archfiend.

Just then...

"Playtime...has now ended...you little-!" snarled a familiar female voice.

On the other side of the duel field, managing to get back up, now with a look of pure rage on her face, was Emily...

"This is it..." whispered Vampire Lord.

"The girl is beginning to release her inner darkness." added Vampire Lady. "This is what we all have been waiting for!"

"Airknight Parshath had better find her before she finds a way to conquer it." said The Earl of Demise.

"It won't be that easy." interrupted a familiar voice (male).

Entering from the big doors was Gozaburo, and he was smiling in an evil way... almost like he knew something.

"What are you saying?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Ms. Sterling's darkness was born from being severely bullied and taking her anger and hate over it out on her friends." said Gozaburo. "Furthermore, she was 10-years old when it all first began. Even when you grow up and move past it, the pain can never truly leave you that easily... and Emily damn well knows it."

"So, are you saying any chance of her conquering said darkness is slim-to-none." muttered Vampire Lord, speaking as if he were asking a question.

The smile on Gozaburo's face confirmed the fact.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, Emily had drawn her card.

"It's my turn!" she announced, before looking at what was drawn.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Emily Sterling (LP: 50)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (5): Magician of Faith, Luminous Rays, Monster Reincarnation, Swords of Revealing Light, and Wingweaver Priestess

* * *

Adding the drawn Wingweaver Priestess to her hand, Emily's hand also contained Magician of Faith, Luminous Rays, Monster Reincarnation, and Swords of Revealing Light.

"Get ready, you!" The dark green-haired girl declared, taking and holding a card out. "I play Luminous Rays!"

"Luminous Rays?!" winced Fallen Angel of Roses. "That card-!"

"Since I control a light attribute monster, all of the Spell and Trap cards on your side of the field are destroyed, and 500 points of damage is then inflicted per card!"

True to Emily's words, Mark of the Rose and Vengeful Servant both were struck by rays of light coming from the skies and vaporized into dust. In addition, Fallen Angel of Roses would be dealt 1000 points of damage due to having two Spell/Trap cards.

"You ignorant little...!" growled the humanoid flower-like monster (LP: 3000).

Continuing with her turn, Emily slotted another card into her Duel Disk. On cue, the Monster Reincarnation Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next, I'll activate Monster Reincarnation!" Emily declared, discarding a card to the graveyard and taking another card back. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can return a monster card from the graveyard to my hand."

The monster card that got returned to her hand was Wingweaver. Alas, Emily still wasn't finished...

"From there, I'll activate the Spell card Swords of Revealing Light!"

Several swords of—well, light—rained down onto Fallen Angel of Roses's side of the field, much to her anger and frustration.

"Now you're unable to strike me for three turns!" smirked Emily. "I now have time to think of a way to win the duel!"

"...which, I promise you, you never will!" rebuffed Fallen Angel of Roses, who then began smirking herself. "At least... not in the current state you are in!"

"Keep quiet!" growled Emily. She then raised an eyebrow. "Besides, why are you even working for the Court of Darkness, anyway? What do you even hope to gain by hurting innocent people and monsters?"

Fallen Angel of Roses snorted. "As if someone with darkness in their hearts would understand my reason!"

"Try me."

Fallen Angel of Roses sighed. For the first time in the duel, she was actually showing genuine emotion.

"Very well, then." The humanoid flower-like monster said at last. "I will tell you."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Many, many years ago, Flashback Queen Angel of Roses was looking out among her land.

"Years ago..." narrated Present Day-Fallen Angel of Roses. "Way back when I was Queen Angel of Roses... I was the ruler of this section of land."

The humanoid flower-like monster was standing before a large amount of plant-like monsters.

"I was loved by my fellow creatures, and I loved them very much."

(new scene...)

Some time later, Flashback Queen Angel of Roses was taking a stroll through her forest.

"One day, when I was returning from a stroll, I arrived to find tragedy..." narrated Present Day-Fallen Angel of Roses.

Eventually, Flashback Queen Angel of Roses stopped walked and gasped in horror at something she was seeing up ahead.

"Oh no!" The humanoid flower-like monster exclaimed, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Up ahead, a section of the forest and a hut had been destroyed in a fire. Flashback Queen Angel of Roses limped slowly over, knelt down, and found a flower dying from the heat. Tears welling in her eyes while gently taking hold of the plan, the humanoid flower-like monster felt powerless to do anything to save her home.

"How? Who?" That was all she could mumble. "My home... my friends... my family..."

Finally, Flashback Queen Angel of Roses looked up to the sky and shrieked in pure agony.

"I've lost everything that day!" narrated Present Day-Fallen Angel of Roses bitterly. "But I did discover who was to blame for it...!"

After taking time to recover, Queen Angel of Roses saw something in the bushes. Curiously, she approached and took hold of whatever the ' _thing_ ' was.

"It was the weapon of a Mirage Knight! Whatever his reason for coming to this forest, HE destroyed everything and took the lives of my friends and family!"

Flashback Queen Angel of Roses's eyes began to fill with anger and hatred.

(new scene...)

"And that's when I soon met my friend." Fallen Angel of Roses narrated some more.

Flashback Queen Angel of Roses was shown to be talking to Airknight Parshath somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"Autraius?!" exclaimed Flashback Queen Angel of Roses, growing very upset. "He did this to my home and family?!"

"I am afraid so." confirmed Flashback Airknight Parshath, although he was faking feeling sorry for the humanoid flower-like monster.

"But... why?"

"He is engaged in a war with our kind." The Court of Darkness member explained (part truth, part lie). "He's trying to destroy this world because he feels entitled to it."

"That's terrible!" gasped Flashback Queen Angel of Roses.

"However..." went on Flashback Airknight Parshath. "There may be a way for you to bring your friends and family back to life. All you have to do...is join the Court of Darkness."

Flashback Queen Angel of Roses was shocked, but said nothing at first.

"Think about it." Flashback Airknight Parshath went on some more. "With the power of darkness at your direct command, anything can be made possible. Even the ability to cheat death or get revenge on those who wronged you."

The offer seemed be tempting, and the Court of Darkness's words seemed to ignite some dark part in Flashback Queen Angel of Roses's tainted heart. Soon enough, the broken humanoid flower-like monster bowed before Flashback Airknight Parshath, who only smiled.

"So, I'm taking it you accept the offer?"

"I will join you." said Flashback Queen Angel of Roses. "I will take revenge on those who destroyed my family and home!"

(new scene...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions, Diablon and much of the Court of Darkness were waiting outside a chamber when Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend first emerged.

"How is she?" questioned the ' _ **Evil One**_ '.

Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend smirked while stepping aside. "See for yourself, master."

The chamber slowly opened... and walking out came a newly created form for the former Queen Angel of Roses.

"I call her... The Fallen Angel of Roses!"

"Fitting." grinned Flashback Vampire Lord.

"Indeed so." agreed Flashback Witty Phantom.

Flashback Fallen Angel of Roses, with her whole body in the shadows, looked up with a cold glare on her face as her eyes flashed red.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"So, now you know..." finished Fallen Angel of Roses. She the gave an evil smile. "And know that this is nothing personal... I'm just following my heart!"

Emily watched on silently, before finally closing her eyes and smiling.

"You know what? I think you're just sad - in a pathetic way."

"What?!" growled Fallen Angel of Roses, clenching a fist.

"The Court of Darkness is full of nothing but liars and manipulators." Emily scolded harshly. "They will say or do anything to get what they want, even if it involves taking advantage of someone in your condition."

Fallen Angel of Roses seethed, but said nothing. This allowed Emily to continue speaking...

"Even then, what if it wasn't this Autraius who destroyed your home and loved ones? It could have been someone who was made to look like it was-"

"How would YOU know?" snapped Fallen Angel of Roses. "You weren't there to witness what happened!"

"Neither were YOU!" Emily argued back. "You judged Autraius just by hearsay instead of taking the time to find out what REALLY happened!"

"You know what? Talking isn't getting us anywhere. Let's just continue the duel!" Fallen Angel of Roses suggested, just before pointing towards her opponent. "And if I remember correctly, it's still your turn!"

Nodding, Emily took and placed a card sideways onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I place a monster facedown in defense mode." The dark green-haired girl announced. "This will help guard my life points."

A facedown card (sideways) materialized on the field.

"Your turn!"

"Hmph! As you wish." huffed Fallen Angel of Roses, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Fallen Angel of Roses (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (2): Queen Angel of Roses and Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : Three Turns

* * *

Her drawn card was a monster card called Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel. The humanoid flower-like monster added it to her hand (which also had Queen Angel of Roses).

"Not time yet..." thought Fallen Angel of Roses. She looked up and announced... "I pass this turn!"

"It's my go again!" declared Emily, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Emily Sterling (LP: 50)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Wingweaver Priestess, Wingweaver, and Dark Angel

* * *

Her drawn card was a monster card called Dark Angel.

"Huh? I don't remember having this in my deck..."

Upon gazing at the drawn card, Emily started clutching her chest like she was experiencing a heart attack or something.

"AUGH!" exclaimed the dark green-hard girl. "What's... What's wrong with...me?!"

It would seem that the card was reacting to the darkness in Emily's heart, making it grow more and more powerful than ever before.

"N-No! I must...resist!"

"Oh?" taunted Fallen Angel of Roses. "Feeling like something wants to bust out of your chest? Maybe something...like darkness, perhaps?"

Managing to gain some control over the pain, Emily added the Dark Angel card to her hand and brace two fingers on the card on a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I flip summon Magician of Faith!" announced Emily.

The dark green-haired girl's facedown monster was flipped face-up, revealing the female magenta-haired magician with pointed ears (Level: 1/ATK: 300).

"When Magician of Faith is flip summoned successfully-" explained Emily painfully, taking and adding a card from the graveyard to her hand. "-I can return Spell card from my graveyard to the hand."

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"And I'll use it immediately; Pot of Greed!"

Emily drew two more cards. From there, Kuribon and Magician of Faith both faded away into blue streaks... meaning the dark green-haired girl was performing a tribute summon.

"Now I sacrifice Kuribon and Magician of Faith in order to summon Wingweaver back onto the field!" declared Emily, holding her card up.

On cue, Wingweaver took to the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2400).

"Wingweaver...!" growled Fallen Angel of Roses.

Just then, the Lightning Vortex Spell card materialized face-up on Emily's side of the field.

"Now, I'll play Lightning Vortex!" announced Emily, sending a card from her hand to the graveyard. "By discarding a card from the hand, all of my opponent's monsters are destroyed!"

Bolts of lightning rained down, struck, and destroyed both Rose Tentacles and Fallen Angel of Roses*.

"My monsters!" cried Fallen Angel of Roses. "They've been destroyed! Worst of all; since I summoned Fallen Angel of Roses by its own effect... it's been banished!"

"That leaves Wingweaver free to attack!" finished Emily. "Attack my opponent directly!"

Wingweaver obeyed and raised her hands to the sky.

"LUMINOUS LIGHT RAIN!"

A shower of light fell from the sky upon Fallen Angel of Roses, striking and causing her to scream in pain (LP: 250).

"We're about even now!" said Emily in triumph, but it was short lived as she suddenly collapsed to her knees. "GAH! M-My chest...!"

It would seem the darkness in her heart was still growing at an alarming rate... and had no interest in stopping either.

"Make it stop!" The dark green-haired girl shrieked in agony. "MAKE IT STOP!"

Taking her chance, Fallen Angel of Roses drew her card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Fallen Angel of Roses (LP: 250)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (2): Queen Angel of Roses, Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel, and Burial from a Different Dimension  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : Two Turns

* * *

On cue, the Burial from a Different Dimension Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Burial from another Dimension!" said Fallen Angel of Roses, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot. "This allows me to return up to three banished monsters to my graveyard."

Although she only had one monster returned to the graveyard, the humanoid flower-like monster had set everything up.

"It's time..." Fallen Angel of Roses whispered. "It's time for me to show you the true power of my deck!"

Emily looked up, wincing and still clutching where her heart was.

"I banish from my hand Queen Angel of Roses, and, from the graveyard, Fallen Angel of Roses!"

Queen Angel of Roses and Fallen Angel of Roses both briefly appeared before turning into orbs of red and black light, soaring into the sky.

"With both monsters out of the way-" continued Fallen Angel of Roses, placing her final card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "-I will special summon the most powerful monster in my deck to the field - Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel!"

The orbs of light merged together as an even brighter light took place. When it faded, descending from the sky was an angel with four wings; two red on one side, the other two black on the other side (Level: 8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2400).

"At...least...it can't attack!" Emily managed to cough out.

"That's where you're wrong." Fallen Angel of Roses grinned evilly. "When Rosaria is summoned, all face-up cards currently on the field have their effects negated this turn."

Suddenly, the magic swords of the Swords of Revealing Light Spell card began to short out.

"M-My swords!" Emily spluttered in horror.

"That means I am free to attack!" said Fallen Angel of Roses, entering the battle phase. "Rosaria, destroy the girl's Wingweaver and banish her into the darkness!"

Everything seemed to run in slow motion. Emily, still clutching her chest and trying to resist the growing darkness, started to hear familiar voices in her head...from a few years ago.

" _Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over_!" - (Young Oliver)

" _She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here_." - (Young Molly)

" _She was so nice... now she is just a big bully_." - (Young Percy)

" _I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done_." - (Young Duck)

" _She's a muckle nuisance_!" - (Young Donald)

" _Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her_!" - (Young Douglas)

" _Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways_." - (Young Toby)

" _No, she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER_!" - (Young Thomas)

" _Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone_!" - (Young Edward)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

That was the last straw... Emily, now standing up and clutching her head, looked up towards the sky and gave a ear-piercing scream of rage and agony as the darkness in her heart...was unleashed.

"What in the-?!" gasped Fallen Angel of Roses, with time resuming normal speed once more.

"I'm not a monster..." mumbled Emily, with a burning dark aura rising all around her body. "Do you hear me?!" She looked up with flashing red eyes and a look of unmatched fury on her face. "I'M NOT A MONSTER!"

Fallen Angel of Roses actually looked scared. Even then, she had successfully declared an attack. That meant if it got through, the humanoid flower-like monster would win.

"Rosaria, end this duel, now!"

Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel obeyed the command and started her attack. Just then...

"NOT SO FAST!" cut in Emily, angrily taking a card out from her graveyard and holding it out. "I activate the effect of the Wingweaver Priestess in my graveyard! If Wingweaver becomes the target for an attack, I can special summon Wingweaver Priestess from the graveyard in attack mode and have her become the target instead!"

Appearing onto the field was the younger, green-haired version of Wingweaver.

"You'll still lose once your monster is destroyed!" protested Fallen Angel of Roses.

"No... I won't lose." mumbled Emily darkly, with her eyes closed...before flaring open. "YOU will lose!"

"How?!"

"I activate the effect of Dark Angel from my hand!" thundered the dark-induced dark green-haired girl, holding the last card from her hand out. "Now observe!"

Appearing onto the field was an angel dressed on dark attire.

"D-Dark Angel?!" gasped Fallen Angel of Roses.

"Because a fairy-type monster has been chosen for the target of attack, I can send Dark Angel from my hand to the graveyard and tribute Wingweaver Priestess to change the target of attack to Wingweaver, and increase Wingweaver's attack power by the same number of points that Wingweaver Priestess has!"

With that said, Dark Angel and Wingweaver Priestess both vanished in blue streaks. Wingweaver then began to grow stronger.

"Wingweaver Priestess has 1950 attack points." Emily pointed out. "That means Wingweaver gains 1950 attack points!"

Wingweaver grew more powerful (ATK: 2750 - 4700).

"And it's too late to call my attack off!" said Fallen Angel of Roses in horror. "This can't be possible!"

"Oh, but it is!" retorted Emily, giving a very dark smile. "Wingweaver, counterattack!"

Wingweaver, despite hearing the anger, aggression, and...evil...in her master's tone, obeyed the command and began charging her hands with light.

" **DIE**!"

Wingweaver soon fired the ball of light, striking and destroying Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel. Unfortunately, it didn't even stop there... The ball of light...soon began to take on a ball...of dark energy.

"W-What?!" winced Fallen Angel of Roses, noticing the dark energy orb.

She never had time to question it—the humanoid flower-like monster was soon hit and overwhelmed by the attack. Emily, with her eyes still flashing red, gave a very sadistic smile while watching the destruction going on, but then...

"STOP!" echoed a familiar voice (male). "What do you think you're doing?!"

The look of sadistic anger on Emily's face softened when she heard the voice inside her head.

"Thomas?"

Although the dark green-haired girl had softened up, the destructive power of Wingweaver's dark energy attack wasn't cancelled out... which Emily finally took notice of.

"W-What's going on?" she asked in shock.

Eventually, the attack started to die down. Once it had finally ended, Fallen Angel of Roses was no where to be seen (LP: 0)...

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

Emily, as the duel holograms started to fade away, looked around for any sign of her opponent, but there was no sign of her. The only hologram that did not fade away, however, was none other than...Wingweaver.

"What happened?" asked Emily. Her eyes had returned to their normal color.

Wingweaver never said a word; only kept a sad and disappointed look on her face.

"Wingweaver?"

Emily really wanted to know what was happening. Suddenly...she gasped and had a flashback to what happened...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Emily had finished declaring an attack on Fallen Angel of Roses's life points with Wingweaver.

"We're about even now!" said Emily in triumph, but it was short lived as she suddenly collapsed to her knees. "GAH! M-My chest...!"

It would seem the darkness in her heart was still growing at an alarming rate... and had no interest in stopping either.

"Make it stop!" The dark green-haired girl shrieked in agony. "MAKE IT STOP!"

"That means I am free to attack!" said Fallen Angel of Roses, entering the battle phase. "Rosaria, destroy the girl's Wingweaver and banish her into the darkness!"

Everything seemed to run in slow motion. Emily, still clutching her chest and trying to resist the growing darkness, started to hear familiar voices in her head...from a few years ago.

" _Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over_!" - (Young Oliver)

" _She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here_." - (Young Molly)

" _She was so nice... now she is just a big bully_." - (Young Percy)

" _I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done_." - (Young Duck)

" _She's a muckle nuisance_!" - (Young Donald)

" _Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her_!" - (Young Douglas)

" _Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways_." - (Young Toby)

" _No, she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER_!" - (Young Thomas)

" _Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone_!" - (Young Edward)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

That was the last straw... Emily, now standing up and clutching her head, looked up towards the sky and gave a ear-piercing scream of rage and agony as the darkness in her heart...was unleashed.

"What in the-?!" gasped Fallen Angel of Roses, with time resuming normal speed once more.

"I'm not a monster..." mumbled Emily, with a burning dark aura rising all around her body. "Do you hear me?!" She looked up with flashing red eyes and a look of unmatched fury on her face. "I'M NOT A MONSTER!"

Fallen Angel of Roses actually looked scared. Even then, she had successfully declared an attack. That meant if it got through, the humanoid flower-like monster would win.

"Rosaria, end this duel, now!"

Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel obeyed the command and started her attack. Just then...

"NOT SO FAST!" cut in Emily, angrily taking a card out from her graveyard and holding it out. "I activate the effect of the Wingweaver Priestess in my graveyard! If Wingweaver becomes the target for an attack, I can special summon Wingweaver Priestess from the graveyard in attack mode and have her become the target instead!"

Appearing onto the field was the younger, green-haired version of Wingweaver.

"You'll still lose once your monster is destroyed!" protested Fallen Angel of Roses.

"No... I won't lose." mumbled Emily darkly, with her eyes closed...before flaring open. "YOU will lose!"

"How?!"

"I activate the effect of Dark Angel from my hand!" thundered the dark-induced dark green-haired girl, holding the last card from her hand out. "Now observe!"

Appearing onto the field was an angel dressed on dark attire.

"D-Dark Angel?!" gasped Fallen Angel of Roses.

"Because a fairy-type monster has been chosen for the target of attack, I can send Dark Angel from my hand to the graveyard and tribute Wingweaver Priestess to change the target of attack to Wingweaver, and increase Wingweaver's attack power by the same number of points that Wingweaver Priestess has!"

With that said, Dark Angel and Wingweaver Priestess both vanished in blue streaks. Wingweaver then began to grow stronger.

"Wingweaver Priestess has 1950 attack points." Emily pointed out. "That means Wingweaver gains 1950 attack points!"

Wingweaver grew more powerful (ATK: 2750 - 4700).

"And it's too late to call my attack off!" said Fallen Angel of Roses in horror. "This can't be possible!"

"Oh, but it is!" retorted Emily, giving a very dark smile. "Wingweaver, counterattack!"

Wingweaver, despite hearing the anger, aggression, and...evil...in her master's tone, obeyed the command and began charging her hands with light.

" **DIE**!"

Wingweaver soon fired the ball of light, striking and destroying Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel. Unfortunately, it didn't even stop there... The ball of light...soon began to take on a ball...of dark energy.

"W-What?!" winced Fallen Angel of Roses, noticing the dark energy orb.

She never had time to question it—the humanoid flower-like monster was soon hit and overwhelmed by the attack. Emily, with her eyes still flashing red, gave a very sadistic smile while watching the destruction going on.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily was filled with regret and sorrow over what she had done.

"Oh my God..." The dark green-haired girl whispered, falling to her knees. "What have I done?"

Tears of sadness and regret began to stream down her cheeks. This was something she never wanted to let happen, and now it did happen.

"I've killed someone out of my rage and darkness..." Emily murmured, feeling more and more broken by the minute. "Maybe I really am a monster after all..."

Looking up at Wingweaver, the dark green-haired girl was hoping her ace monster would try to comfort her. Unfortunately, Wingweaver only kept her sad and disappointed look before suddenly fading away, leaving Emily all alone.

"Wingweaver..." whimpered the dark green-haired girl. "I'm so sorry..."

Suddenly, Emily spotted something on the ground. She walked over saw that it was the Queen Angel of Roses card.

"The Queen Angel of Roses card..."

Emily carefully picked the card up. What could this mean for her future? Will she be able to conquer her darkness successfully? ...or not? I guess we'll have to see about that later on, won't we?


	49. Depths of Darkness (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Thomas was running as fast as he could. It had been three long hours since that infamous moment at the ruined Coliseum, and the blue-haired boy wasn't about to stop his search for any other reason.

"I have to find Emily before it's too late!"

As Thomas continued to run, he started to hear voices inside his head from those years ago...

" _Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over_!" - (Young Oliver)

" _She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here_." - (Young Molly)

" _She was so nice... now she is just a big bully_." - (Young Percy)

" _I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done_." - (Young Duck)

" _She's a muckle nuisance_!" - (Young Donald)

" _Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her_!" - (Young Douglas)

" _Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways_." - (Young Toby)

" _No, she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER_!" - (Young Thomas)

" _Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone_!" - (Young Edward)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Thomas's eyes flared in anger from those memories. Despite it being a few years since Emily was saved from herself, along with Gordon and James both being caught and punished for their unforgivable actions, Thomas still harbored a deep grudge against his friends for betraying Emily and almost letting her kill herself. The grudge towards Gordon and James, however, was especially deep and unable to heal itself.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas was being confronted by his friends over his troubled behavior.

"Thomas, just what is the matter with you?!" demanded Mavis. "Why are you acting like this?"

Thomas glared at the blonde-haired girl. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even care that your friend is hurt! And you're willing to throw off our quest!"

"Wouldn't you do the same if Toby had been kidnapped?" Thomas spat spitefully.

Mavis, feeling hurt from being asked that question, immediately backed off.

"Thomas, listen up!" began James, now becoming rather angry. "Throughout this whole journey you've slowly grown either depressed or more and more reckless and bitter. Not even caring that a good friend of yours got badly hurt just now!"

"There are far more important problems to worry about, right now!" bellowed Thomas, reaching his rage breaking point. "Emily has escaped from the Castle of Dark Illusions and is being hunted down by a member of the Court of Darkness! She's in more danger than she ever was before! Why can't any of you just realize how serious this is and how much this means to me?!"

The dark aura was beginning to appear around him once again. Neither James nor anyone else dared to even speak up as their friend continued his fiery speech...

"Every since she went back to being her old, caring, selfless self after those two long, hard years of being bullied by James and Gordon, I've made a solemn vow that I would always do whatever it took to protect Emily from any and all harm, no matter how hard or painful it was, even if I had to die if it meant she was safe and sound. Emily's in grave danger now because I failed to protect her! It's my fault she was captured!"

Thomas's anger was reaching an alarming pitch; his eyes had temporarily flashed the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' crimson red. The blue-haired boy clenched his injured hands into a fist, causing them to bleed more than ever before, but he didn't care whatsoever.

"Emily is the sole reason why I live." Thomas ranted on further. "I can never live without her! So that's why I will stop at nothing to get her back from the darkness! You can all worry about Stanley for all I damn well care, but I only came to this world for one reason only; and that is to save the most important person in my life from losing herself to the darkness once more! And I swear... if any of you guys try to stand in my way of rescuing her, then I won't hesitate to take you down just as I did to everyone else I've taken down in this godforsaken world!"

With that said, Thomas walked past his friends (shoving both Gordon and James away in the process) and began to leave the Coliseum.

"T-Thomas, you can't be-" Percy began to speak and reach out to stop his best friend, but that was a big mistake on his part.

Without any kind of warning, Thomas suddenly turned around and punched the green-haired boy hard in the face, knocking him onto the ground right near Edward and Molly, who, along with the rest of the gang, were staring on in a mixture of shock and fright. The blue-haired boy only glared coldly at his so-called friends before storming out of the arena. He was determined to rescue Emily before she could be tortured or worse.

"Some friends you all turned out to be." The blue-haired boy thought bitterly to himself.

Before long, Thomas had left his friends behind.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas kept running.

"Regardless of that-" he thought to himself. "-nothing is going to stop me from rescuing the girl I am in-love with... Nothing! And if I fail to prevent her from either losing herself to the darkness or from being killed... then I will take my own life and join her in the afterlife."

(elsewhere...)

Despite not wanting to stop his search, the blue-haired boy eventually decided to take a quick break before resuming his big run. Currently, he was outside a forest which was also near the edge of a cliff.

"That's one long way down." said Thomas to himself, briefly looking off the edge of the cliff. "I wouldn't want to suffer a fall from a height like that."

"Indeed, you wouldn't." agreed a new voice (male).

Thomas immediately sat up in alarm. "Who's there?!"

Emerging from behind a tree was a young, human, male (20-years old) with spiky black hair and wearing a purple trench coat, brown pants, an army green tanktop, and heavy black boots. He also had a rather calm and stoic look on his face. Obviously, Thomas had never seen that young man before in his life.

"Who are you?!" demanded the blue-haired boy, getting into a defensive stance. "Are you with the Court of Darkness?"

"No..." denied the young man, shaking his head. "I am among the many who work to appose them."

The black-haired young man was Nathaniel. The very same Nathaniel who lived in the Sanctuary in the Sky with the other monsters... and who had be sent to take Thomas (or rather Diablon) down.

"I've been searching long and hard for you, Thomas Billinton."

"H-How do you know my name?" asked Thomas, sounding very uneasy.

"Because my people know all about you..." answered Nathaniel. Suddenly, he added a rather chilling... "...Lord Diablon."

Thomas frowned. "What did you call me?"

"Lord Diablon. As in the same Diablon who is currently inside your heart."

Thomas glanced down at his chest (where his heart is) briefly before looking back up at the black-haired young man—yet, he said nothing.

"I have been sent to challenge you in an attempt to destroy the ' ** _Evil One_** ' and prevent his return to our world." Nathaniel declared, suddenly taking off and tossing his coat aside. "Now prepare to face me, Thomas Billinton!"

"I don't have time for this!" argued Thomas. "I have to rescue Emily from the Court of Darkness, and nothing is going to stop me from succeeding!"

He started to make an escape attempt, but Nathaniel suddenly took out two axe weapons from behind his back and hurled them. Thomas's eyes widened in shock as he thought he was about to be sliced in half.

* * *

 **Title: Depths of Darkness, Part 1**

* * *

The two axe weapons continued to approach Thomas, but they merely soared past him...and off the edge of the cliff.

"You're not going anywhere!" exclaimed Nathaniel. "You have to be defeated and put down, or else Emily will NEVER be able to recover from her fall into darkness!"

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas, before realizing something... "And... how do you know about Emily?"

Nathaniel merely smirked. "I feel very honored to be facing the winner of not only the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament, but also the recent winner of the Battle City tournament... The one champion of all Duel Monsters in the field of battle."

"Just who are you? And how do you know about me and my tournament victories?"

"To answer your second question-" began Nathaniel. "-we know all about you and your life on the Island of Sodor. As for the answer to your first quest... my name is Nathaniel, and I'm a Guardian from the Sanctuary in the Sky. In addition, I am also..." He then finished his sentence with... "...a True Duelist."

"Heh! Don't make me laugh." scoffed Thomas, smirking smugly. Just then, his eyes flared with anger... "How can somebody like YOU even be a True Duelist?! If you were a ' _True Duelist_ ', you wouldn't be using the power of Duel Monsters for your own intentions!"

"It's because I share a strong bond with my cards like none you've ever seen before." explained Nathaniel. "And you will soon find out what I mean by that!"

Thomas, knowing that there was no way out, was left with no other choice but to activate his Duel Disk and accept the challenge.

"Then show me!"

"And so you accept my challenge..." grinned Nathaniel to himself. He then spoke aloud... "Before we begin our epic fight, let me ask you something..."

Thomas scowled, but complied to the question about to be asked...

"What is your definition of ' _justice_ '?"

"My definition of ' _justice_ '?" repeated the blue-haired boy. "What are you-?"

"We are both comrades walking on paths we believe in." continued Nathaniel. "In our hearts, we have our own version of ' _justice_ '." He closed his eyes. "The path we of the Guardians walk along...is to make this world safe from the darkness."

Thomas said nothing, and this allowed the black-haired young man to continue some more...

"Amidst the changes ahead, there is only one thing we can do."

"And what's that?" asked Thomas.

"We can only bet on the justice before our eyes and our lives at this moment. Dueling with full strength...with death in mind." said Nathaniel. "Most importantly; keep our minds clear and hope for good to prevail."

At that point, the sun started to rise and the wind also really began to pick up as both duelists drew their opening hands.

"Time to duel!" Thomas and Nathaniel both exclaimed at once (LP: 4000) x2.

And so the fated duel begins...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room of within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo and Vampire Lord were both observing the crystal ball. It was showing images of Thomas and Nathaniel about to begin their duel.

"It would seem that fool Nathaniel is challenging the boy in an attempt to destroy Lord Diablon." Vampire Lord said coolly. "But I'm not worried..."

"How can you be so sure?" frowned Gozaburo. "Without the boy, we can't bring him back."

"Lord Diablon is much stronger than anticipated." answered Vampire Lord. "There is no way he would allow his vessel to lose."

Gozaburo said nothing and looked back at the crystal ball as the Court of Darkness member continued...

"I guarantee it!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest clearing, Nathaniel readied himself for battle...before beginning to glow all white, surprising Thomas a fair bit.

"What the...?!" The blue-haired boy gasped. In his mind... "This Nathaniel... He doesn't seem like a normal human being. I can sense...a powerful light deep inside of him... Even then, what could it even be? Until I know what it is, I'll have to be extra careful in this fight."

"I will take the first move." began Nathaniel, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Guardian Treasure

* * *

"For my first course of action, I want to show you the power of this Continuous Spell card!"

On cue, a Spell card called Guardian Treasure materialized face-up.

"It's called Guardian Treasure." explained Nathaniel, discarding his entire hand. "By sending five cards from my hand to the graveyard I can draw two cards from the deck."

Thomas scoffed. "That's weak."

"But there's more to it than that." The black-haired young man went on, drawing his two cards. "Now, as long as this card remains face-up on the field, I can draw two cards during each of my draw phases instead of the usual one."

"A card that allows two cards drawn on the draw phase...!" thought Thomas in concern. "That's something I've never seen before."

Just then, two facedown cards materialized (although one of them went sideways).

"Then I'll summon this monster in defense mode and add a set card." finished Nathaniel. "My turn has finished!" He then smirked teasingly. "As you can see, Thomas, I have given you a head start; I have no more cards in my hand."

Thomas frowned; Nathaniel was just trying to goad him. The black-haired young man clearly had a strategy up his sleeve, and Thomas darn well knew it.

"He has zero cards in his hand..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "Once I destroy his facedown defensive monster, I'll be in the lead in the duel!"

"Well?" Nathaniel teased further, cutting his opponent's thoughts off. "Aren't you feeling relieved?"

"You're up to something." said Thomas, drawing a card. "But that won't stop me... because it's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, Polymerization, ?, ?, Berfomet, and Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts

* * *

The blue-haired boy's drawn card was the Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts monster card.

"Good." thought Thomas, taking and holding three cards out. "I play Polymerization to fuse two monsters in my hand... Berfomet with Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts!"

The two monsters appeared to the field before fusing together. From there, the Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast card materialized face-up.

"I fusion summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was the two-headed beast with the snake tail (Level: 6/ATK: 2100).

"With 2100 attack points-" continued Thomas. "-Chimera can crush nearly any weak monster you may have!" He pointed forth as Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast charged into battle. "Attack the facedown monster with Pulverizing Pounce!"

Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast obeyed, charging toward the facedown monster. In a flash of light, the set monster was revealed! ...and even managed to stop the attacking Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast.

"W-What?!"

It was a demon-like monster with purple skin and wavy red hair, and he was grabbing and holding back Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast by the horns.

"Say hello to Backup Gardna." said Nathaniel calmly. "He has 2200 defense points, which makes him strong enough to easily repel your pitiful attack and damage your Life Points."

Backup Gardna soon overpowered and threw Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast back over to Thomas's side of the field, and, because Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast's attack power was a bit lower than Backup Gardna's defense power, Thomas ended up taking slight damage from his failed attack.

"Damn..." grumbled Thomas (LP: 3900).

"An attack like that won't defeat me!" Nathaniel criticized his opponent. "Give me your strongest attacks, champion of San Francisco and Battle City!"

Alas, Thomas was forced to end his turn right there. Just then, Nathaniel started glowing all white once more...

"That aura again?" Thomas thought to himself. "Just what IS he?"

"It's now my turn again." announced Nathaniel, drawing two cards instead of one. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (2): Gravity Axe - Grarl and Guardian Grarl

* * *

On cue, an Equip Spell card called Gravity Axe - Grarl materialized face-up.

"I activate the Equip Spell card Gravity Axe - Grarl! By equipping it to Backup Gardna, it grants my monster an additional 500 attack points."

Backup Gardna received an axe-like weapon and a power boost (ATK: 500 - 1000).

"And with Gravity Axe now in play-" continued Nathaniel, taking and placing his last card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I call forth Guardian Grarl!"

Thomas's eyes widened. "Huh?!"

Appearing on the field was a dinosaur-like monster wearing Guardian-based clothing (Level: 5/ATK: 2500).

"Guardian Grarl is part of an archtype called ' **Guardians** '." explained Nathaniel. "These creatures can only be summoned when their respective equipment card is in play."

"The ' _Guardian archtype_ '..." mumbled Thomas. "A powerful group, indeed."

"And now-" Nathaniel continued, pointing to his Backup Gardna. "-I play the effect of Backup Gardna! I can move a face-up Equip Spell card currently equipped onto my monster to another face-up monster on my side of the field!"

Backup Gardna lost his weapon and power up (ATK: 1000 - 500), while Guardian Grarl received the weapon and power boost instead (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"3000 attack points...!" winced Thomas.

"Now, Guardian Grarl! Destroy Chimera with Gravity Axe!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed the command; he lunged forth and swiped at Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast with the weapon. Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast cried out in agony, fell back down, and shattered into pieces of glass, all while Thomas grimaced as he took even more damage (LP: 3000).

"He took Chimera down that easily..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. Good thing he was not finished yet... "When Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast is destroyed, I can special summon a piece of him from the graveyard!"

Thomas's graveyard started glowing all white as something began to emerge.

"Come forth - Berformet!"

The four-armed fiend-type monster appeared to the field in a defensive stance (Level: 5/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1800).

"What's the matter, Thomas?" taunted Nathaniel. "That thing won't do any damage to my fellow Guardians!"

"Fellow Guardians?" blinked Thomas.

The black-haired young man nodded. "Yes, my entire deck is filled with Guardian monsters. Each of them will risk their lives to protect me, and I will protect them with my life, as well."

"You will protect your own monsters?" Thomas asked once more.

"I've said this once before; I share a strong bond with my cards like none you've ever seen before. Can you even begin to grasp just how strong that bond is? Actually, you could never comprehend it!"

Thomas frowned. "That's so shallow of you to say, Nathaniel." he remarked. "A duelist who believes in his or her Guardian cards... it's natural for anyone to believe in their decks."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"I also share a bond with my cards." continued Thomas. "I trust and respect each one I play. They are my friends."

As he spoke, images of Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician's Valkyria, the Poker Knight trio, and Kuriboh appeared around him.

"I am someone who would never betray their cards! I care for them very much!"

"Then tell me... how long have you had 'em?" Nathaniel suddenly asked.

Thomas was surprised, but didn't answer at first.

"I'll repeat myself... How long have you had your cards?"

"Since...before the summer." answered Thomas slowly and quietly.

Nathaniel merely looked at his opponent scornfully and silently before removing both cards from his Duel Disk.

"Let me show you something..." The black-haired young man began. "Here!"

He showed both cards to Thomas, causing the blue-haired boy to gasp at how old and damaged they were.

"I-Impossible!" cried Thomas. "Your cards are nearly worn out."

"Indeed." agreed Nathaniel. "To ensure I can't differentiate them from my other cards, I've constantly pasted new covers on the back."

"If they're like that, that must mean you've had them for a really long time."

Nathaniel nodded once more. "Correct. It was many years ago today..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was long ago in the city of Las Vegas, and Nathaniel was about 10-years old.

"When I was a child-" narrated Present Day-Nathaniel. "-I used to live with my family in the human world. On my 10th Birthday, we moved to Las Vegas."

(new scene...)

Six years later, Nathaniel was driving with his parents down the highway.

"No way!" gasped Nathaniel, looking at his Birthday present. "You've gotten me the Guardian deck?!"

"Of course." smiled the black-haired boy's Mother. "We knew how much you wanted it."

"You guys are the best." smiled Nathaniel.

Just then...

"GWAAAAAA-!" screamed Nathaniel's Father, steering out of control.

A truck was coming (and it looked like the driver was drunk). And pretty soon...black out...

(new scene...)

Hours later, Nathaniel slowly opened his eyes...and found himself in not in a Hospital room, but in the room of a temple of some sort.

"Where... what happened to me?"

Sitting up on the bed, he noticed that the walls were shiny and clean, and there was a warm fire going on in the fireplace.

"What is this place?" asked Nathaniel curiously.

From there...

"It would seem you're awake now." said a calm, soothing voice.

Opening the door, and entering the room, came a female humanoid monster with two large white wings on her back and wore tribal-like clothing (with an exposed midriff) along with an eagle-like headdress and some red facial painting. Nathaniel, with his eyes widening, knew who the monster was based on one of the cards he got for his Birthday.

"I...know of you!"

Guardian Eatos smiled. "Yes, I am Guardian Eatos, one of the leaders of this shrine."

"But how did I get here?" asked Nathaniel. "The last thing I remember was-!"

Suddenly, the black-haired boy began to remember his Mother and Father and the crash with the oncoming truck.

"Where are my parents?!" he demanded, getting desperate. "Are they alright?!"

Guardian Eatos looked away as her smile then turned into a look of sadness, but she didn't answer the question.

"Please! You MUST tell me!"

"I'm sorry, young one." sighed a new voice (female).

Entering the room was a beautiful woman with long purple/red hair and wearing a yellow dress. Not only that, she had six, count 'em, angel-like wings sticking out of parts of her back.

"Mistress Wingweaver." bowed Guardian Eatos.

"Wingweaver?" asked Nathaniel. He had heard of this card as well. "But you're not supposed to be released to the public until-!"

"Calm yourself, dear boy." advised Wingweaver. She then got a sad look on her face before continuing... "And listen to me... Your parents...didn't make it."

Nathaniel felt his word come crashing down on him. "W-What?"

"I am so sorry." apologized Wingweaver, closing her eyes with heavy regret. "They had absorbed a great amount of damage in the car crash, and it was too late for them to be saved by my people. They're gone..."

Nathaniel, with his eyes welling with tears, collapsed to his knees and started to cry. His whole life was ruined, and his parents were dead... He now had nowhere else to go and no other family to see. Nathaniel was all alone in this new, strange world... Suddenly, the poor black-haired boy felt a pair of arms wrapping around his upper body and someone beginning to hug and console him.

"H-Huh?"

It was Guardian Eatos who was comforting him.

"Shhh, easy there, Nathaniel." The female Guardian-like monster hushed. "Everything will be alright, I promise you..."

Her words, and gentle aura, seemed to comfort Nathaniel slightly... Wingweaver couldn't help but smile at the scene...

"Guardian Eatos-" The angelic-like monster spoke up. "-you're like Nathaniel's own, personal guardian angel. Would you care to take in and raise him as if he were your own son?"

"I thought you would never ask." smiled Guardian Eatos, gladly accepting the offer.

Nathaniel felt at ease from hearing that.

"The Duel Monsters at the Sanctuary in the Sky took me in-" narrated Present Day-Nathaniel. "-and raised me to be a Guardian—a protector of this land."

(new scene...)

In a few new scenes, Nathaniel was training to become a duelist. His deck containd the same Guardian-based cards he received for his Birthday back in the real world.

"During the next several years-" went on Present Day-Nathaniel "-I trained to become a a strong duelist should my skills be needed. The Guardians were the only friends and family I had since coming to the world of Duel Monsters."

"How old are you?" Thomas's voice interrupted.

"20. But, as you can see, time passes so much more differently here in the Duel Monsters spirit world. Normally, I'd be well over 100 in your world... yet I'm not at that age."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and the familiar white aura again surrounded Nathaniel.

"That aura..." thought Thomas. "Could his monsters really be protecting him?"

Nathaniel said nothing, but soon an image of Guardian Eatos materialized above his head. This seemed to confirm that the female Guardian-like monster was using all of her power to protect her adopted son from darkness.

"Nathaniel, if you truly love your cards-" said Thomas. "-then why use them to try and kill me?"

"Thomas, you should be able to understand." retorted Nathaniel. "You can't fight against the fate that exists in this world... The same fate that I've experienced!"

Another flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Nathaniel, now 18, was meeting with Guardian Eatos inside her room.

"You wanted to see me, Mother?" The black-haired boy asked curiously.

"Yes." said Guardian Eatos. "I have told you about the Court of Darkness, am I right?"

"You have."

The female Guardian-like monster frowned. "We have been told that they're on the move for the first time since their master, Diablon, was slayed."

"But I thought their master's death was a sign for them to surrender." pondered Nathaniel.

"We thought so, too." nodded Guardian Eatos. "Unfortunately, they now seek to find a way to bring Diablon back."

Nathaniel's eyes widened. "Bring him back?!"

"I'm afraid so. And that means there will come a time where we will be thrown into a war with the darkness once more."

Nathaniel never said a word about it; he only kept the look of shock on his face the whole time.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"It was fate that the Court of Darkness would rise again." continued Nathaniel. "It was fate that you would come to this world to rescue Emily. And... it is fate that you will become the very thing you want to save this world from."

"Does that mean that you're also fighting your own fate?" asked Thomas.

"Perhaps-" shrugged Nathaniel. "-but this fated duel will end with you, Diablon, being put down for good by my own hands."

Thomas tried to argue... "But I have no wish to disappear yet."

"Me neither! But with the darkness in your heart growing stronger and stronger, someone will have to take you down eventually before it becomes too late to turn back!"

There was a long, tense silence... Very soon...

"It's my turn!" announced Thomas at last, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, Pump Up, and Five Star Twilight

* * *

On cue, the Five Star Twilight Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Five Star Twilight! This card can only be activated when I control a level 5 monster on the field... it allows me to tribute that level 5 to special summon five colorful friends of mine from the deck!"

Berfomet turned into a ball of light...before separating into five colorful balls of light.

"I give you... the Five Kuriboh Brothers!" announced Thomas.

The colorful balls of light then turned into five different Kuribohs. One was the original, while the other four were colored white, pink, light blue, and green (Level: 1/ATK: 300) x5. The five brothers each spoke in the ' ** _Kuriboh_** ' language, while Nathaniel frowned like he was being insulted or something.

"Are you insulting me by attempting to use those five monsters to protect you?" he demanded. "If so, then I'm not impressed."

"Don't get careless, Nathaniel." warned Thomas. He then pointed forth dramatically. "I play the effect of Kuribah!"

The four colored Kuribohs leaped into the body of the original Kuriboh.

"I merge all five of my Kuribohs together in order for them to become their strongest form; Kuribabylon!"

The cyan-colored form of Kuriboh stood ready for battle (Level: 5/ATK: ?/DEF: 200).

"Kuribabylon's attack becomes the combined attack of all five Kuriboh monsters." explained Thomas. "300 times 5 equals 1500!"

Kuribabylon grew stronger (ATK: 0 - 1500). On cue, another Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And with Pump Up, his attack points are doubled for the remainder of this turn!"

Kuribabylon grew even more powerful (ATK: 1500 - 3000). Finally, the battle phase had come...

"Kuribabylon, attack Guardian Grarl!" commanded Thomas. "Horn of Destruction!"

Kuribabylon obeyed and charged towards Guardian Grarl. Unfortunately...

"I activate the effect of the Rescuer from the Grave hidden within the graveyard!" announced Nathaniel, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard.

Thomas was very surprise. "You can activate cards like that from the graveyard?!"

"By banishing five cards from my graveyard-" explained Nathaniel, as five cards ejected and faded away into oblivion. "-I can negate your attack and end the battle phase... This will save my Guardian!"

As Kuribabylon tried to strike Guardian Grarl, a barrier prevented the creature from doing so. In addition, it destroyed Kuribabylon and caused the five Kuriboh Brothers to reappear all dazed.

"My Kuribohs!" cried Thomas. He then scowled at Nathaniel.

"I will protect my monsters at any cost." said the black-haired young man with determination. "I believe I've already told you that!"

Thomas grimaced in his thoughts. "To have this kind of defense... That was why he discarded his hand at the start! This won't be an easy duel for me to win." Finally, the blue-haired boy spoke aloud. "I end my turn!"

"It's my go." announced Nathaniel, drawing two cards. "Honestly, I'm quite disappointed. In that turn earlier, both our monsters had the same attack points." He narrowed his eyes further. "Given that situation, your precious monsters would have gone into the graveyard."

Thomas seemed to flinch from that remark.

"Thomas Billinton... I won't forgive anyone who belittles his or her own monsters."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (2): Exchange and Self Tribute

* * *

From there, Nathaniel took and slotted two cards into his Duel Disk.

"I set these two cards facedown!" The black-haired young man began.

Two facedown cards materialized (the shadows of Exchange and Self Tribute could be seen), and then...the previous set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Now I activate this Continuous Spell card - Purity of the Cemetery!" declared Nathaniel. "This is the effect of my card; during each of your standby phases you'll receive 100 points of damage for every monster card you currently have in the graveyard." He then smirked confidently. "But if even one monster card enters my graveyard, the Spell card will be automatically destroyed."

This made Thomas feel rather uneasy. Considering Nathaniel had used a card to stop his attack earlier, who knows what other tricks the black-haired young man had in his deck to protect his monsters.

"Now, Guardian Grarl!" called Nathaniel. "Strike down Thomas's Kuriboh, now!"

Guardian Grarl (ATK: 3000) obeyed and lunged towards the defenseless Kuriboh (ATK: 300).

"With 3000 attack points against a 300 attack point monster, you will take 2700 points of damage!"

Is this game over for our blue-haired hero? Stay tuned to find out the answer, folks!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	50. Depths of Darkness (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up outside a forest and beside a cliff, Guardian Grarl, armed with Gravity Axe, lunged towards the defenseless Kuriboh.

"With 3000 attack points against a 300 attack point monster, you will take 2700 points of damage!" declared Nathaniel.

Just before it looked like it was all over for Kuriboh, the pink Kuriboh (Kuribee) suddenly went and took the blow instead—yet wasn't wipe out. In addition, he had the assistance of his other brothers to block the attack.

"Huh?" Nathaniel blinked. "What just-?!"

"I've played the special effect of Kuribee." announced Thomas, taking and holding out his Kuribee card from the Duel Disk. "Once per turn, if I control a face-up Kuribah, Kuribeh, Kuribee, Kuriboh, or Kuriboo, and it's selected as an attack target... I can negate your attack."

Nathaniel said nothing, and merely kept a calm, collected, and stoic look on his face while watching the five Kuriboh Brothers rejoice at their little victory, almost like he had been expecting something like that to happen, just now.

"I should have known there was more to these little creatures than I first thought." The black-haired young man thought to himself. He then had a confident smirk on his face. "Even then, they won't be enough to stop me." Nathaniel finally spoke aloud... "Then it would seem I've underestimated your five colorful friends."

"Indeed so." agreed Thomas. "Your attack has been negated, and the battle phase has ended. It would also seem we're evenly matched in skill."

"For now." corrected Nathaniel. "But that will soon change in the coming turns."

"Right... but in MY favor!"

As it was Thomas's turn now, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Just then...

"As it is your standby phase-" announced Nathaniel. "Purity of the Cemetery now activates!"

Thomas grimaced slightly.

"As you have three monster cards in your graveyard, you take 300 points of damage!"

Scowling, Thomas took slight damage (LP: 2700). Even then, he couldn't get careless, now.

"I can't get anxious, right now... Although I still have a chance to turn things around!" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. He held out his drawn card. "I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Now I am able to draw two more cards from my deck!"

With that, Thomas drew those two cards from his deck, hoping that they would be something to give him an advantage in the duel.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the flower forest, Emily was busy making a grave of a sort. When she finished, the dark green-haired girl placed the dropped Queen Angel of Roses card in the middle of the bury site.

"I'm so sorry." Emily said quietly. "I've never meant to hurt anybody... But you've pushed me too far by forcing me to relive my worst memories..." Tears began to stream from her eyes again. "I wish Thomas were here with me..."

"Do you now?" spoke a new voice (male).

Gasping, Emily stood up and looked around for the source of the voice.

"You cannot escape from the Court of Darkness, Emily Sterling."

"Who's out there?" asked Emily nervously. "Show yourself, right now!"

"As you command..." snickered the voice (male).

Emerging from behind some trees was...Airknight Parshath.

"Greetings, Emily." The Court of Darkness member greeted politely.

Emily could only stare on in shock. She had been found by the Court of Darkness at last! ...which was NOT a good thing, at all.

* * *

 **Title: Depths of Darkness, Part 2**

* * *

Back outside the woods, Thomas was looking at his two drawn cards. One of them seemed to have an effect on him. He felt calmer and more relaxed... Smiling, the blue-haired boy pointed to his five colorful Kuribohs.

"First I merge my five Kuribohs back into Kuribabylon!"

The first four Kuribohs jumped into the body of Kuribah, transforming it into Kuribabylon.

"And then-" continued Thomas. "-I will use Kuribabylon as a tribute!"

A pillar of light struck the vicious Kuribabylon, but it didn't seem to hurt him. Nathaniel frowned as he watched the play taking place.

"Because Kuriboh, Kuribah, Kuribee, Kuribeh, and Kuriboo were summoned by the effect of Five Star Twilight, they cannot be used for a tribute summon." The black-haired young man thought to himself. "So by combining them into Kuribabylon, he is able to use it for a sacrifice."

"And the monster I summon-" began Thomas, placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-is one of my ultimate servants - Dark Magician Girl!"

Appearing in place of Kuribabylon was the beautiful Dark Magician Girl herself (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700). As before, with her now being out on the field, Thomas somehow felt his darkness...being pushed away.

"I... I feel...better." Thomas thought to himself. "Could Dark Magician Girl...be one of my sources of...light?"

The female spellcaster-type monster looked back to Thomas and smiled kindly. Thomas nodded and smiled back.

"I haven't forgotten my promise to you and Dark Magician. We will take down the Court of Darkness and prevent the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' from ever returning!"

Nathaniel was looking very surprised at his opponent suddenly looking calm and happy rather than dark, brooding, and angry.

"It's as if the boy's own monster is calming the darkness inside him." he murmured. "But how is it... Ah, now I see..."

"Look closely, Nathaniel!" shouted Thomas, readying his card. "THIS is one of my ultimate trump cards!" He held it out. "Dragon's Calling(!)!"

"Dragon's Calling?" asked Nathaniel, looking uneasy.

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Its artwork looked almost like from a card called ' ** _Eye of Timaeus_** '.

"To invoke the power of this card-" began Thomas, drawing and allowing a card to fade away into oblivion. "-I must control either Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field. By banishing one dragon-type monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and also sending my required Dark Magician-related monster to the graveyard, I can call forth something VERY powerful from the extra deck!"

The large, pink dragon known as Seiyaryu appeared with a roar.

"So watch as I fuse Dark Magician Girl with Seiyaryu!"

The two monsters floated into the sky. Nathaniel watched as the fusion took place. Eventually, Dark Magician Girl, now wearing medieval armor and wielding a sword and shied, was riding a giant dragon and lowering down onto the duel field (Level: 7/ATK: 2600).

"Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!" announced Thomas.

"Such a legendary being...!" whispered Nathaniel in shock.

Thomas smirked. "And you'll see that being take action, now! Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, attack Guardian Grarl!"

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight obeyed the command and started her attack.

"But my monster has 3000 attack points!" protested Nathaniel. "Yours only has 2600 attack points!"

"And now, I activate the special effect of my new monster!" announced Thomas, selecting a card from his hand. "It calls for me to send one card from my hand to the graveyard. Now, during the damage step, all damage I would have taken is reduced to zero, and the monster I'm battling is destroyed!"

"W-What?!"

"Go forth!" commanded the blue-haired boy. "Black Dragon Burst!"

Dark Magician Girl fired a blast from her sword while the dragon added with a blast of its own. It struck and destroyed Guardian Grarl in a massive explosion.

"This is the power of a champion duelist!" mumbled Nathaniel, bracing himself.

Thomas clenched his fist in triumph. "I did it...!"

Unfortunately...

"Not yet!" declared Nathaniel, recovering and motioning the right hand to one of his set cards. "I activate a Quick-Play Spell card - Self Tribute!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Thomas then gasped and watched as Nathaniel began crying out in pain as his own life-force energy was being unleashed from his chest and spreading all around the field. Soon enough, it stopped and Guardian Grarl returned to the field like nothing had happened to it.

"W-What in the world?" quizzed Thomas.

"Self Tribute can only be activated when a monster I control is destroyed." explained Nathaniel weakly. "By spending 1000 life points, I can revive the fallen monster as if it was never destroyed." He smiled a little bit (LP: 3000). "So now... Guardian Grarl...is safe and sound."

"So you really will do anything to protect your monsters." said Thomas. "Even giving up your own life points or life-force energy to do it..."

(elsewhere...)

Back with Emily and Airknight Parshath, the two enemies were staring at each other.

"I knew you creeps would find me soon enough." remarked Emily, not sounding hostile or anything.

"And indeed we have." agreed Airknight Parshath. "Now... I hear you wish to see your beloved Thomas again, yes?"

"Y-Yes, I do..."

The Court of Darkness member smiled. "Well, what if I told you I can certainly do that?"

Frowning, Emily said nothing in response. She wasn't sure if she wanted to believe Airknight Parshath. What if it was all a trick?

"So... what do you say? Do you wish to see him?" Airknight Parshath repeated his question. "If you say yes, I'll gladly do it."

"How do I now you're telling me the truth?" asked Emily suspiciously.

"Because-" answered Airknight Parshath, reaching into his armor. "-I CAN show you!"

He took out a crystal ball. It began showing images of Thomas's duel with Nathaniel.

"Oh no..." gasped Emily. It would seem like her nightmare was about to come true.

"Do not be concerned. Your friend is doing very well as of now. And...he even has his alternate source of light there to protect him from his darkness."

"I have to get to him before it's too late!" exclaimed Emily in desperation. "Now stand aside!"

Airknight Parshath merely laughed. "We're in no hurry, so why don't you stay and watch the show for a little while?"

The forest of flowers suddenly came alive and...trapped the two duelists inside a wall of ivy, much to Emily's shock as she looked around.

"I'm trapped!" The dark green-haired girl thought to herself.

"Now you'll be able to watch as your friend loses not only the duel... but himself also!"

"No..." whispered Emily. "No, I can't let that happen! Let me go!"

Vines started to constrict the poor teenage girl and hold her in place of the ivy wall.

"You have no choice." insisted Airknight Parshath, holding up the crystal ball. "Now, we watch what happens!"

(elsewhere...)

Back at the forest clearing...

"Thomas Billinton, we will not lose to you or your team." Nathaniel pointed out. "Do you know the reason behind that?"

"I don't care about the details!" said Thomas angrily. "Besides, you may have saved your monster from destruction, but I'm not giving up the fight. I will find a way to defeat you so I may carry on with my quest."

Nathaniel scoffed. "Heh! Unlike you, I CARE for my own monsters, and would never offer them without reason. You, on the other hand, always seem to be very eager to tribute them for your stronger ones without even considering the consequences!"

"That's not true!" argued the blue-haired boy. "I value the monster cards in my deck as if they were my friends!"

"Well, you have a strange way of proving it."

It would seem that Nathaniel was deliberately trying to make Thomas angry. But why would he do something like that?

"Let me tell you something..." suggested Nathaniel, going into another speech. "We of the Guardians not only serve as the light of this world, but we have to also constantly fight a battle each day... and that is with the darkness in our hearts."

"Darkness in your hearts?" repeated Thomas.

Nathaniel nodded. "Yes, but there is a big difference between how you and me deal with our own source of darkness."

"And what is that?"

"While we do what we can to fight the darkness-" said Nathaniel. "-I embrace it somewhat, while you constantly try to reject it until it becomes too strong for you to do so."

Thomas was shocked, but said nothing.

"Thomas Billinton, there should be ' ** _darkness_** ' that lies dormant within the deepest thresholds of your heart." The black-haired young man went on. "Have you ever thought about that?"

"I do know that!" Thomas argued defensively. "It has been plaguing me ever since Emily was taken from me and my friends!" He closed his eyes unhappily. "It isn't helping that you seem to want Diablon to try and return, just so you can destroy him."

"And another thing I want to ask you... What about your ancestor from many years ago?"

Thomas opened his eyes in surprise. "You mean Atem? What does he have to do with this?"

"You claim he was a good King who was kind to his people, and showed mercy to his enemies... but is that what you truly believe about him?" questioned Nathaniel. "For all we know... he could have been a tyrant who wanted to make people suffer and even use the power of the Shadow Games to either conquer or destroy this world!"

By hearing that statement, Thomas felt like someone had belted him in the stomach. Even then, he remained quiet on the subject... This had allowed Nathaniel to continue speaking some more...

"You weren't there to see for yourself what kind of ruler Atem was. So how can you be so sure that he was a good ruler?"

"I was told so by Ishizu Ishtar." insisted Thomas. "She showed me and a bunch of my friends a part of the past with her Millennium Necklace."

The black-haired young man frowned. "I see... but what if the explaination or visions shown to you by that woman were all lies?"

Thomas never considered that. "L-Lies, you say?"

"Yes, lies." nodded Nathaniel. "This ' **Ishizu Ishtar** ' could have known the true personality of the Pharaoh from years ago, but didn't wish to tell them to anyone—not even you or your friends."

Thomas started to have a flashback.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas, Spencer, and Emily found themselves in a new area that resembled an Egyptian desert.

"We're in Egypt now?" asked Thomas in surprise.

Unfortunately, it was dark, and lots of ruins and buildings were damaged and smoking from being caught on fire.

"Look at all the destruction." whispered Emily in shock. "What could have done this?"

All of a sudden, the Millennium Eye symbol appeared Thomas's forehead as he spotted something in the distance.

"Over there!" he exclaimed, pointing forth.

Spencer and Emily both looked in the direction Thomas was pointing...and gasped.

"What the-?!" gawked the silver-haired boy.

In the distance were familiar body shapes of two certain monsters. Just to be certain, the three teenagers soared over to check it out. When they got there... their fears were confirmed.

"Are those...?" began Thomas.

"They are!" confirmed Spencer.

It was Slifer and Obelisk, and they had been turned to stone.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor...!" Emily pointed out. "...but they've been turned to stone."

"I remember when Spencer, Emily, and myself were brought to this vision-" narrated Thomas. "-during the duel between Spencer and I during Battle City."

(new scene...)

In a new scene, Anzu had been struck by Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack. Atem ran over and caught his longtime friend, holding her in his arms.

"Why?" he asked sadly. "Why did it have to be you?"

Thomas, Emily and Spencer each watched the scene with surprise.

"I... I couldn't let him hurt you, Atem." said Anzu weakly, reaching up to gentle touch her friend's face. "I... I love you..."

Tears welled up in poor Atem's eyes. Before long, Anzu, despite giving a kind smile and accepting her fate, closed her eyes and her body went limb. The blue-haired Egyptian boy shook the girl gently in hopes of getting a response of a sort! ...but there was none.

"Anzu? Anzu?! ANZU!" screamed the Pharaoh, starting to cry.

The rest of the Egyptian people grieved for the fallen girl. Meanwhile, Thomas and Emily both began to get teary-eyed at watching this heartbreaking scene.

"The poor Pharaoh..." sobbed Emily.

"I can't believe it..." thought Spencer, looking a bit sorry for the Pharaoh.

Now looking positively furious, Atem stood back up. "Have you no sense of loyalty?! Or did the Dark One order you to kill everyone in this land?!"

"You're mistaken; my minions and I have no allegiance to the Dark One..." dismissed Seto. "Unfortunately, we have no allegiance to you, either. This is all about the strongest, and that shall be me!"

"Your hatred, greed, and thoughtless actions have resulted in the death of a kind, caring soul - who was also my oldest and dearest friend." Atem seethed, as his eyes became filled with great anger and murder. As he cast a glance of fury at his so-called ' _cousin_ ', a stone tablet began to rise up from behind him. "For that, I will not forgive you, traitor!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended there.

"Was Atem truly evil?" thought Thomas. "Did his anger and hatred over Anzu's death really push him towards the darkness...? I... can't accept that..."

"Don't listen to him, Thomas!" came a voice in his head (female).

Thomas looked up to Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight. It would seem Dark Magician Girl was speaking to him mentally.

"Nathaniel is lying to you." The female spellcaster-type monster insisted. "He is making all of this up to deliberately make you angry."

"But what if it's all true? What we've all seen during those few moments were but a fragment of the past, and it wasn't enough to prove anything."

Outside Thomas and Dark Magician Girl's converstaion...

"It's my turn, now!" cut in Nathaniel, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Nathaniel (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (2): Crystal Seal and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

Upon seeing one of his drawn cards, Nathaniel looked up with a mysterious look.

"The cards I've drawn will decide your entire future."

"Huh?" blinked Thomas.

"It will see if you're able to withstand and control the darkness in your heart... or instead cause you to break and become one with it." continued Nathaniel, taking and slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "But, first, I'll place this facedown."

A facedown card materialized on the field, and then one of the other set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Now, I'll play one of my set cards! ...and one you're quite familiar with."

Thomas frowned in response. "Exchange."

"Exactly." nodded Nathaniel. "This card makes us both swap one card in our hand. But as we both only have one card, we technically exchange our entire hands with each other."

Both players walked over to the center of the field, and Thomas immediately handed Nathaniel his only card.

"Necromancy..." commented the black-haired young man, looking at the card he was given. "This forces the opponent to special summon up to four monsters from their graveyard in defense mode." He then smirked in a teasing-like way. "Too bad it's useless to you, as I have no monsters in my graveyard."

Thomas wasn't in the mood for small talk. "I'll take your card, now."

"Please accept and use it well."

Thomas took the card and returned to his side of the field. Nathaniel returned to his side chuckling softly.

"What's he laughing about?" Thomas asked himself quietly. Then he noticed the card he had been given. "Huh? The Field of Dark Graves?"

Yes, it was the The Field of Dark Graves Spell card... Over with Nathaniel...

"Mistress Wingweaver..." The black-haired young man thought to himself. "I'm taking a huge gamble on this, like you wanted me to do. I just hope you were right..."

He then began to have a flashback.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Nathaniel was staring in shock at the card he had received from Wingweaver.

"T-This card-!"

It was The Field of Dark Graves.

(new scene...)

"Why did you give me this card?" demanded Nathaniel.

The black-haired young man was currently visiting a bed-ridden Wingweaver. It had been days since she got badly wounded and was slowly getting well, but the angelic-like monster still needed more rest before she could begin her duties once more.

"Please tell me... I need to know!"

"It's part of my plan to defeat Diablon without Thomas having to die." explained Wingweaver. "Once this card was brought to me, I requested that it be enchanted with an ancient spell used to extract darkness from innocent minds. Once you find Thomas and duel him, find a way to get this card in his possession. Should Diablon retake control over him, he will no doubt activate it. Doing so will seal his fate. For once you defeat the ' ** _Evil One_** ', he will be forced out of Thomas's body and sealed within this card. That way, Diablon will have been stopped, and Thomas Billinton will be saved."

Nathaniel listened well, but still felt unsure.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Why do you seem so surprised?" asked Nathaniel at last, resuming his ruse. "Aren't you glad you got such a powerful card in your possession?"

"But what does it even do?" asked Thomas.

"It grants your monsters 500 additional attack points, allows you to play up to ten monster cards, treats your monsters as the dark attribute, and the card itself also cannot be destroyed or removed by anything!"

Surprised by the power of the card, Thomas looked back at it.

"I don't trust this card." he thought to himself. "It has to be a trap of some sorts."

"You shouldn't even be surprised!" continued Nathaniel. "After all, your friend Emily had to face its power in protecting my home!"

Thomas, again, was surprised. "Wha-? Emily was...at your home?"

"Yes, and she had to work hard to defeat the fiend that had attacked my home." The black-haired young man confirmed. "If she wasn't lucky enough, she would have died along with everyone else."

Thomas remained very surprised by Emily's accomplishment. This was what Nathaniel had been waiting for...

"Why look so surprised?" he asked snidely. "Aren't you even aware of Emily's abilities in being alone in combat? Or maybe...you're not confident in them?"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers...

"What is that card?" asked Emily, having seen the The Field of Dark Graves Spell card from one image on the crystal ball. "I haven't seen the likes of it before."

"That's because it was created specifically for the Court of Darkness to use." explained Airknight Parshath. "It not only enhances the power of one's monsters, it also makes the controller more and more ruthless in the heat of battle."

"Ruthless, did you say?"

"That's right." confirmed Airknight Parshath. "That means once Thomas activates that card, he will be completely taken over by darkness... And Lord Diablon will finally awaken and retain full control over that body forever!"

"He would never play a card like that!" objected Emily. "Thomas is not that kind of person!"

"Too true, and he isn't doing terrible bad against Nathaniel either. But let's watch and see what happens next, shall we?"

(elsewhere...)

Back outside the forest...

"What did you say to me?" asked a seething Thomas. "Am I... not confident in Emily's abilities to survive on her own?"

"You seem so obsessed with finding Emily and saving her." said Nathaniel, scorning his opponent. "But what if Emily were strong enough to protect herself? If that were true, don't you trust her enough to let her try?"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas. "I would never doubt Emily's abilities! I have lots of confidence in her!"

"Then tell me-" Nathaniel continued teasingly. "-why are you in such a state where you need to find her at all cost? I think that proves to me that you aren't confident at all!"

Finally, Thomas gazed upward and gave a scream of rage as darkness surrounded him.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2700)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (2): The Field of Dark Graves and Big Shield Gardna

* * *

"I ' _AM_ ' confident on Emily's abilities!"

Nathaniel smiled grimly. "Since it's your standby phase, Purity of the Cemetery will now deal more damage to your life points. You have five monsters in your graveyard, so that means 500 more points of damage will be inflicted and bring you down to 2200 life points."

Thomas grunted in further anger and pain as he sustained more damage (LP: 2200).

"Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight-" The blue-haired boy called out, entering the battle phase. "-attack Guardian Grarl once more!"

The female Dragon Knight obeyed. For the effect of Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, Thomas's intentions were to discard the The Field of Dark Graves Spell card so that he wouldn't be tempted to ever use it.

"I activate-!" began Thomas, but suddenly got cut off.

"Stop right there!" ordered Nathaniel, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - Crystal Seal!"

Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight started to get sealed within a huge crystal.

"No!" exclaimed Thomas in horror.

"H-Help...me...!" Dark Magician Girl cried out, before getting completely sealed inside.

"Dark Magician Girl!"

"Crystal Seal traps your attacking monster inside an unbreakable crystal coating." explained Nathaniel. "As long as my Trap card stays face-up, the sealed monster cannot attack, defend, be tributed, or protect you from attacks." The black-haired young man then smiled grimly. "However, if you can somehow raise the trapped monster's attack or defense points by any amount, the Crystal Seal will be destroyed."

Thomas frowned. "You've set me up!" he accused, and then pointed forth. "You WANT me to activate this card... Well, I won't do it!"

"That's fine, but if you don't do something to rescue your favorite monster from her fate soon, she could—well, you know what I'm talking about."

"You son-of-a...!" growled Thomas, cutting himself off from completing the vulgar word while clenching his fist in fury.

This was very bad; as without Dark Magician Girl around to help guide him, Thomas's darkness had started to return and began to grow more and more powerful than from before.

"You can do what you want with me-" The blue-haired boy shouted some more, readying one of his cards. "-but leave my friends out of this!"

A facedown card (sideways) materialized on the field.

"I set a monster and end my turn!"

"Prolonging the inevitable, I see..." taunted Nathaniel. "Well, I'm afraid it won't work against someone like me."

With that said, he drew two cards and began his turn.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers...

"It would seem your little friend is resisting the temptations of his new card." said Airknight Parshath in a highly sadistic tone. "But... how long can he keep it up until his darkness decides to MAKE him play it?"

The trapped Emily said nothing aloud, but in her thoughts...

"You have to stay strong, Thomas..." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "I know you can resist the darkness."

Like it would be that easy...

(elsewhere...)

Back at the forest clearing...

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Nathaniel (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (3): Necomancy, Rod of Silence - Kay'est, and Guardian Kay'est

* * *

On cue, an Equip Spell card called Rod of Silence - Kay'est materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate the Equip Spell card Rod of Silence - Kay'est!" announced Nathaniel. "By equipping this onto Backup Gardna, it will be granted an additional 500 defense points."

A rod-like weapon materialized in Backup Gardna's hands, increasing its defensive stats (DEF: 2200 - 2700).

"And with this weapon on the field-" Nathaniel continued, placing a new card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can special summon this monster!"

A monster card called Guardian Kay'est materialized face-up on the field.

"Guardian Kay'est!"

Appearing onto the field was a long, green-haired mermaid also dressed like a guardian (Level: 4/ATK: 1000).

"Now, Guardian Grarl-" commanded Nathaniel. "-attack Thomas's facedown monster!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed and swiped his weapon forth.

"GRAVITY AXE SWIPE!"

The axe cleaved Thomas's facedown monster card in two, revealing the monster to be Big Shield Gardna. Since his defense points weren't high enough to withstand the very strong attack, he was destroyed just like that.

"Big Shield Gardna...!" winced Thomas.

"And with Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight still trapped inside the Crystal Seal-" smirked Nathaniel, pointing forth. "-I can send Guardian Kay'est to attack you directly!"

Guardian Kay'est started charging a sphere of water inbetween her hands.

"PURE WATER BEAM!"

The beam of water was fired and struck Thomas, causing an explosion of water to ensure. Once it was clear, Thomas fell to one knee (LP: 1200).

"With that, I shall end my turn." finished Nathaniel (LP: 3000). "Well now... what do you think of me?"

Thomas was breathing heavily. It was taking every ounce of self control he had to not succumb to the darkness. He was starting to wonder whether or not Nathaniel was truly against the Court of Darkness... or actually on their side.

"It looks like I was wrong about you." The black-haired young man continued. "The legendary duelist himself can not even match wits with someone like me. Ha, how pathetic!" He then smiled darkly. "We both know who's going to be the winner next turn, so why bother continuing?"

"WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" screamed Thomas, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (2): The Field of Dark Graves and Card of Sanctity

* * *

"Because six monsters are in your graveyard-" Nathaniel pointed out. "-600 points of damage is dealt to you thanks to Purity of the Cemetery!"

Thomas was dealt even more damage (LP: 600).

"If this carries on-" warned Nathaniel. "-you will be defeated." He shook his head scornfully. "You were never able to show me the light in your heart."

Thomas could feel his anger growing worse by the second. "Will I...be defeated here?"

The blue-haired boy looked up at his trapped Dark Magician Girl. She looked so helpless and scared inside the crystal, and this burned Thomas's blood something fierce.

"I swear I'll find a way to free you..." he said quietly. "But I won't do it with The Field of Dark Graves!" Thomas then took his newly drawn card. "There is no way in hell I will be defeated in a place like this... I activate Card of Sanctity!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside the forest of flowers, Airknight Parshath and the trapped Emily were both still watching the duel, and the latter was growing more and more worried as Thomas and Nathaniel drew their new hands.

"Thomas..." whispered Emily. "Please don't play that card..."

"It's useless to wish for that to happen." retorted Airknight Parshath. "With Dark Magician Girl sealed up, his darkness will continue to grow until...he has no other choice!"

"I know he can win without playing it, I just know it!"

Airknight Parshath laughed to himself before looking back towards the crystal ball.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas's hand contained Hand Control, Dark Magician, Sangan, Black Luster Ritual, Black Magic Ritual, and The Field of Dark Graves.

"It's pointless to resist, Thomas." remarked Nathaniel, drawing five cards.

Thomas's anger was reaching its limit, but then gripped his chest as he felt pain and darkness coming from it. Looking back at his hand, the blue-haired boy had nothing else that could help him out.

"I'm out of options." he said to himself. "This is the only card that can help free Dark Magician Girl. But... No. I won't use it!"

At last, Thomas looked back up to Nathaniel.

"I think I have finally discovered your true intentions, Nathaniel."

"Hmm?" Nathaniel raised on eyebrow.

"You're not fighting AGAINST the Court of Darkness." Thomas accused. "You're fighting FOR them! That's why you've done nothing but antagonize me and slander my ancestor's name throughout this whole duel! You're been deliberately making me angry because you want to make my darkness stronger so that Diablon will take full control over me! You're trying to aid in his revival to destroy the world! You're not a True Duelist or a Guardian. You're a fool and traitor to your kind!"

Nathaniel scowled at this accusation.

"And me activating The Field of Dark Graves was part of your plan to make me embrace the darkness." continued Thomas. "Well, I won't give you the pleasure! If I can't find any other way to free my Dark Magician Girl, then I would rather surrender the duel peacefully."

Although she couldn't move, Dark Magician Girl was pleased that Thomas was resisting the darkness of the wicked card.

(elsewhere...)

Emily too was glad that Thomas was refusing to give in to his darkness.

"I knew it..."

Airknight Parshath, however, wasn't very convinced.

(elsewhere...)

"Let this be a warning to anyone who serves the Court of Darkness." declared Thomas, just as he began to bring his palm to his deck. "I will never embrace the darkness! Not now, not ever!"

"Oh yes, you will!" snarled a voice in Thomas's head (male).

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy's hand froze just inches before he could touch his deck.

"What's going on?" asked Thomas. "M-My hand..."

"If you won't use that card to win the duel for us-" The voice continued. "-then I will do it myself!"

Thomas clutched his hand to his face. "N-No... I c-can't...!"

"Oh really? Then search your deepest thoughts, and locate the darkest and most desirable things you want out of 'em!"

And searching, Thomas did... Those dark and desirable thoughts were as followed:  
-Win the duel  
-Free Dark Magician Girl from Crystal Seal  
-Find and rescue Emily

"Dark Magician Girl... Emily..." The blue-haired boy winced hard, trying to resist.

Even the trapped Dark Magician Girl became worried for her master/friend. Suddenly, once the thoughts and desires he wanted had become too much for him to try and handle, Thomas screamed in pain as a dark aura took over his body, shrouding him from sight.

"Huh?" Nathaniel looked up in shock.

(elsewhere...)

"That boy...!" gasped Airknight Parshath, gazing hard at the crystal ball.

"Thomas...!" came from Emily.

The crystal ball was showing images of a now possessed Thomas suddenly readying a card from his hand. Emily REALLY hoped that her friend wouldn't play the The Field of Dark Graves Spell card.

"Please don't play that card..."

Alas...

(elsewhere...)

Back at the duel, Thomas (possessed) had finally readied his card. It was an all-too familiar one, too.

"Now, I activate - The Field of Dark Graves!" Thomas (possessed) announced at once.

Nathaniel only looked on silently and grimly.

(elsewhere...)

The crystal ball showed images of the Field Spell zone opening up. Emily knew exactly what was about to happen...

"Thomas Billinton!" screamed the dark green-haired girl in pure desperation. " **NNNNNNOOOOOO**!"

(elsewhere...)

Back outside the forest, Thomas (possessed) slotted the card inside the Field Spell zone on his Duel Disk as it started to spark.

"It is..." mumbled the possessed blue-haired boy, which was also all he could say.

Suddenly, the dark aura around him thickened and much more powerful than ever before, causing him to scream in intense agony while emulating a massive shadow over the whole field.

(elsewhere...)

The dark aura became so bright that Airknight Parshath and Emily both had to look away and cover their eyes.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Percy and the rest of the gang were walking along trying to continue their quest.

"Man, I wish Thomas were here..." sighed Percy.

"We all do." said Edward.

Suddenly...

"HOLY OIL SLICK!" screamed a very shocked Mavis, pointing upward. "Look at that, you guys!"

Everyone else looked to the sky and became horrified.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Rosie.

"What is that beam of dark light?" came from Henry.

"I don't know." answered Maiden of the Aqua.

"I say we go check it out!" insisted James, running forth.

"Hey, wait for us!" came from Gordon, following.

The gang could only hope they can make it in time to whoever created that beam of dark light.

(elsewhere...)

Back at the forest clearing, Nathaniel had been shielding himself and looking away from the powerful burst of dark energy. Soon, he recovered and looked on ahead to whoever was standing in the nearby purple smoke.

"So-" The black-haired young man grunted. "-we meet at long last..."

As the smoke began to fade, standing there was what looked almost like Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, no shirt, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. It was ' _him_ '! It was the ' ** _Evil One_** '! It was...

"...Diablon."

The ' **new** ' Thomas said nothing, but there was a grim look of anger on his face.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	51. Depths of Darkness (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up within the forest of flowers, Airknight Parshath was downright amazed, and speechless, at what had happened to Thomas just now.

"He... he's back..." The Court of Darkness member mumbled. "The Court of Darkness's master, Lord Diablon, has returned to this world at long last!"

Out of respect for his revived master, Airknight Parshath started to kneel and bow whilst still holding onto the crystal ball in his left hand. Too bad the same couldn't be said with Emily. She was outright terrified at what Thomas had turned himself into from playing that one card while under the influence of his darkness and rage.

"T-Thomas...!"

It was as one of her previous nightmares had foreshadowed, and now Emily was witnessing it first-hand. It was just a terrible moment in her life she never wanted to let happen.

(elsewhere...)

Back near one certain forest clearing, the purple smoke on Thomas's side of the field soon finished fading away... and the revived ' **Diablon** ' began to slowly laugh at his long awaited return.

"I have been waiting many, many years for my eventual return to life... But now, thanks to this boy's inner darkness and anger, I've finally become strong enough to claim full control of his body!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' gave the nearby Nathaniel an evil eye. "And I have you, Guardian Nathaniel, to thank for setting me free. I think I shall reward you for this little service... The reward for allowing me to break free at long last...is death!"

Nathaniel raised his head slightly to gaze at the demon grimly, but didn't say anything in response. Deep down, however, he regretted provoking Thomas throughout, and now the black-haired young man found himself facing off against the most dangerous creature known in the whole Duel Monsters spirit world.

"But your eternal reward will come soon enough." continued Diablon, just before motioning his right hand towards the trapped Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight. "With The Field of Dark Graves now in play, all of my monsters will receive a power boost of 500 attack points, and you know what that means!"

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight's attack points were increased to a higher level (ATK: 2600 - 3100).

"With the attack points of Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight changed, the Crystal Seal Trap card is destroyed, and my monster becomes free once more!"

Yup, Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight was able to break free of Crystal Seal. However, just as quickly, the huge Timaeus-like dragon gave a loud roar before fading away, thus forcing Dark Magician Girl to lower back onto the ground before going from her medieval armor back to her normal spellcaster outfit.

"W-What?!" cried a shocked Diablon. "What happened to my monster?!"

"Apparently, you were so busy boasting about your long awaited return to this world that you've forgotten one very important detail about The Field of Dark Graves." Nathaniel chuckled darkly. "' **A** _ **ny fusion monsters you have on your side of the field when it's activated is destroyed, and any of the monsters that were used to summon it are then brought back to the field**_ '." The black-haired young man pointed forth to his opponent. "And because you've banished Seiyaryu to first summon your Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, it isn't brought back to the field like Dark Magician Girl was." He then laughed scornfully. "No longer will I have to deal with your biggest threat, Diablon!"

That was something Diablon didn't take very well, as the darkness around him began to thicken and grow even stronger in resonse to his already peaked anger.

"Damn you... Damn you...!" Diablon growled repeatedly to himself. " **DAMN YOU**!" And then, with a cry of rage, the dark aura was beginning to create a silhouette of himself above his body. "It doesn't matter anymore! I don't even need that weak monster any longer! As of now, I can control up to ten monsters on my side of the field, treat them as dark attributes, and even give them increased attack strength, as well! Even if you did trick me into playing the card, I'll continue to use this power to fight on and deliver to you...your eternal reward!"

And so began the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' play... First, he took and held up a Spell card he had drawn from Card of Sanctity.

"I play the Spell card Hand Control!"

"Hand Control is a Spell card that allows you to guess a card I might have in my hand." explained Nathaniel, who knew exactly what the card did. "And if I do have the card in question, then I must play it immediately."

The black-haired young man's hand currently contained the following drawn cards; Wicked-Breaking Flamberge - Baou, Kishido Spirit, Aid to the Doomed, Rod of the Mind's Eye, Necromancy, and Monster Rebirth(!). There was one card that Diablon knew was there, however, which was thanks to an earlier played Exchange.

"I know you're after the Necromancy card I currently hold in my hand. So, I'll spare you the trouble of guessing and play it, now... Use it well, Diablon!"

The Necromancy Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself, much to Diablon's dark amusement.

"As I'm sure you know-" said the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', chuckling slightly. "-Necromancy allows you to special summon up to four random monsters from my graveyard... However, I know that they are the following ones; Kuribablyon, Big Shield Gardna, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, and Berfomet!"

First appeared Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, followed by Berfomet, then Big Shield Gardna, and finally Kuribabylon. Unfortunately, Diablon wasn't even close to being finished yet.

"And thanks to being able to support up to ten monsters, I will now separate Kuribabylon back into the five Kuriboh Brothers!"

Kuribabylon vanished as the five colorful Kuribohs returned in its place. They were placed in the Spell/Trap zones.

"And now I'll tribute Gazelle and Berfomet!" continued Diablon, pointing forth.

The two mentioned monsters (Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet) faded away into blue streaks as a familiar monster card appeared face-up and took the stage.

"With the offerings met, I call forth Dark Magician!"

Appearing onto the field was the purple-clad, male spellcaster himself (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100). Surprisingly, Nathaniel was rather amazed that Diablon was quick to summon so many powerful monsters despite having been at a severe disadvantage earlier.

"It's all thanks to the power of The Field of Dark Graves!" boasted Diablon. He then clenched his fist and allowed his own darkness to grow and/or be unleashed all around the field to his monsters. "Now, my monsters, allow the darkness to consume your hearts, so that we may win!"

Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both gripped their heads in agony as they tried to resist the darkness of the Field Spell card (or rather from Diablon himself), but they were unable to prevent it. The two famous ace monsters of Thomas's whole deck soon cried out in pain before evil, crazed smiles appeared on their faces, their eyes turned red, and their respective attack stats increased even further (ATK: 2500 - 3000)(ATK: 2000 - 2500). Meanwhile, Big Shield Gardna gave a howl of pain before a look of pure anger appeared on his face, his own eyes turned red, and his fairly low attack went up (ATK: 100 - 600).

"Thanks to the power of The Field of Dark Graves, the attack points of the five Kuriboh Brothers have gone up, as well!" announced Diablon. He then put yet another cruel smirk onto his face. "Like so..."

The darkness shrouded the Kuribohs, turning their innocent eyes red and making them slightly stronger (ATK: 300 - 800) x5.

"And by merging them all back into Kuribabylon again-" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' continued speaking some more. "-he will have a much more powerful attack than ever before! And now, Kuribah, activate your effect and combine with the other four Kuribohs!"

The five Kuriboh Brothers obeyed and combined into Kuribabylon once more.

"The attack power of Kuribabylon is determined by the total attack of the five Kuribohs had to create it. They had 800 attack points a piece, and 800 times 5 would equal 4000 attack points in total... However, there is also The Field of Dark Graves to take into consideration, too! It also grants Kuribabylon 500 extra attack points for...4500 in total!"

Kuribabylon's eyes began glowing red as its fur changed color and face became demonic-like (ATK: 4000 - 4500).

"4500 attack points..." mumbled a worried Nathaniel.

"Indeed." confirmed Diablon, looking around his field proudly. "And, again, I have you to thank for giving me that power."

"I know..."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers...

"Well now, Emily..." teased Airknight Parshath. "Your friend has given into his darkest of desires, after all... Take a good look at where it got him..."

Emily could only look at the crystal ball with a heartbroken expression on her face.

"Thomas..." The dark green-haired girl mumbled. "How could you...?"

* * *

 **Title: Depths of Darkness, Part 3**

* * *

Back outside the forest, the big duel between Thomas (now Diablon) and Nathaniel continued to grow worse and worse...

"Guardian Kay'est is a monster that cannot be targeted for an attack." said Diablon. He then pointed forth at the opposition. "Because of that, I will send Kuribabylon to attack Guardian Grarl instead!"

The demonic Kuribabylon obeyed and used its horn to violently impaled the dinosaur-like Guardian monster through his chest, causing him to cry out in agony before shattering into pieces of glass.

"Guardian Grarl!" cried Nathaniel (LP: 1500).

"And now that there's a monster in your graveyard-" went on Diablon. "-Purity of the Cemetery is finally destroyed!"

The face-up Purity of the Cemetery Spell card was destroyed in an instant.

"Best of all-" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' spoke on some more. "-Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both have yet to attack this turn." He then pointed at Backup Gardna. "Go, Dark Magician! Attack and destroy Backup Gardna with Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician obeyed, twirling his staff and firing a blast of black magic.

"I don't think so!" cried Nathaniel, discarding two cards from his hand. "I counter with the Quick-Play Spell card Aid to the Doomed!"

A Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself, creating a giant angel that blocked the magical attack and destroyed it, much to both the possessed Dark Magician's, and Diablon's, anger.

"What?!" shouted Diablon in shock.

"As one of my monsters was destroyed this turn-" explained Nathaniel. "-I was able to discard two cards and end the battle phase automatically."

"Tch! Such persistence..." complained the ' ** _Evil One_** '. Just then, he heard sounds of bushes being pushed around. "Hmm?"

"This must be it!" came a voice (male).

Rushing out of the forest...came Percy and the rest of the gang.

"Hey, Thomas is over there!" called Percy.

"And it looks like he's in a..." began Gordon, before stopping and getting a nasty look of shock on his face. "What the-?!"

"Great balls of fire!" cried Toby.

Standing near the edge of the cliff was someone who looked like Thomas... but looked so much different than ever before.

"T-Thomas...?" stuttered Rosie in a stunned way.

Diablon only glared coldly at the gang for a few seconds before looking back at his opponent (Nathaniel). Everyone else could not believe what they were seeing with their friend.

"What has happened to Thomas?" asked a horrified Henry.

Maiden of the Aqua looked positively shocked at what Thomas had become. In fact, she knew exactly who it was, but didn't say a word about it...

"Thomas, what could have happened to you?" James thought to himself. "You're like a whole new person now."

Back over with Diablon, the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' growled in anger as an aura of darkness burned and surrounded him. The situation of the duel went as followed:  
-Diablon (LP: 600) had Big Shield Gardna (ATK: 600), Kuribabylon (ATK: 4500), Dark Magician (ATK: 3000), Dark Magician Girl (ATK: 2500), and The Field of Dark Graves (Field Spell card) on his side of the field.  
-Nathaniel (LP: 1500) had Guardian Kay'est (ATK: 1000), Backup Gardna (DEF: 2700), Rod of Silence - Kay'est (Equip Spell card), and Guardian Treasure (Continuous Spell card).

"You may have bought yourself another turn, Nathaniel-" snarled Diablon. "-but you're only delaying the inevitable!"

"Yes, you're right." agreed Nathaniel, closing his eyes. "I am delaying the inevitable." He then opened them fiercely. "The time where I make sure you're put down for good!"

Diablon smirked smugly. "You sure do talk about a lot of crap. Besides, how can you even try and defeat me, now? I have three powerful monsters, and you have only your pathetic ones to protect you."

Nathaniel scowled when the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' said something nasty about his monsters, although he said nothing in response. This allowed Diablon to continue with his little speech...

"Actually, now that I think about it, you wanted my vessel to activate The Field of Dark Graves earlier in the duel for a whole different reason than what you claim... You wanted to bring me back because you were still feeling devastated by the tragic death of your parents years ago, and so you decided to try and bring me back so that I can conquer this world and kill everyone except for my loyal servants... The irony is so sick and twisted that I could laugh at it!"

"That is not true!" protested Nathaniel. "I did what I had to do to bring you out!"

"Well, it must be." mocked Diablon. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have wanted me to take control. Why did you badger my host into giving into the darkness?"

Nathaniel didn't say anything back, and merely looked towards his deck.

"Mother... please lend me your power..."

The black-haired young man felt a pair of white angel-like wings appear briefly on his upper back before they vanished. From there, Nathaniel drew two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Nathaniel (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (4): Rod of the Mind's Eye, Monster Rebirth, Swords of Revealing Light, and Limit Tribute

* * *

Almost immediately, he took and held out a Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Rebirth!" Nathaniel announced. "This shuffles one monster card in my graveyard back into my deck."

The Guardian Grarl monster card slid out from the graveyard, and Nathaniel added it back into his deck.

"Hmph! You really don't like having monsters in your graveyard, do you?" snorted Diablon. "But it doesn't matter! The Field of Dark Graves is all I will ever need to beat you into submission!"

Nathaniel ignored that violent comment and instead slotted another card into his Duel Disk, causing a facedown card to materialize behind Backup Gardna.

"I place one card facedown..."

On cue, the Swords of Revealing Light Spell card materialized face-up.

"And now I will activate Swords of Revealing Light!" finished Nathaniel.

Right away, several large swords made of light surrounded Diablon's field, much to his frustration.

"Now Thomas can't attack for three turns!" came from Percy.

"I have to admit it—that guy is good." admitted Edward, referring to Nathaniel.

"Indeed, he is." agreed Toby. "It's like he knows how to counter all of Thomas's best cards and moves."

"Yeah, but can he actually defeat Thomas?" asked Gordon.

No one had an answer. Back with Diablon, meanwile, he scoffed at the obstacle in his way to victory, and drew a card.

"It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 21  
 **Current Hand** (4): Sangan, Black Luster Ritual, Black Magic Ritual, and Catapult Turtle  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : 3 Turns

* * *

The ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' drawn card was a monster card called Catapult Turtle.

"I sacrifice my awful Big Shield Gardna in order to summon a monster called Catapult Turtle!" announced Diablon.

Big Shield Gardna disappeared in a streak of blue and in his place was a large turtle with a catapult mounted on its back. The new monster immediately got an angry look on its face once it became consumed by darkness (Level: 5/ATK: 1000 - 1500).

"Catapult Turtle's effect works by offering a monster I control as a tribute." explained Diablon. "By doing that, half of the tributed monster's attack points are inflicted on the opponent as life point damage. Best of all... Swords of Revealing Light cannot stop this kind of attack!"

Over with the gang...

"Kuribabylon has 4500 attack points, and Dark Magician has 3000 attack points!" said Edward in realization. "If Thomas offers either one of them to use the effect of Catapult Turtle...!"

"He'll win!" finished James.

Over with Nathaniel...

"Will it?" he asked ominously.

Diablon's smile turned into a frown, although he said nothing in response.

"Reveal facedown card!" announced Nathaniel, as one of his set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Continous Trap - Limit Tribute!"

"What?!" roared Diablon in shock.

"This Trap card limits the amount of monsters we can tribute each turn to one each turn." explained Nathaniel. "Because you've tribute summoned Catapult Turtle, you're unable to sacrifice anymore monsters this round!"

Diablon cursed strongly. That meant he was forced to end his turn right now, and this also allowed Nathaniel to finally take his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Nathaniel (LP: 1500)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): Rod of the Mind's Eye, Nightmare Binding, and Forced Donation

* * *

The black-haired young man's hand contained Rod of the Mind's Eye, Nightmare Binding, and Forced Donation. The latter two cards were exactly what he needed thus far.

"Diablon-" grinned Nathaniel, taking and readying one of his drawn cards. "-I will now continue to lock down any chances you had of winning." Finally, he turned the card over and showed his opponent. "First, I activate the Nightmare Binding Spell card!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"What?!" winced Diablon, taking a step back.

Suddenly, several chains appeared from the ground, wrapping around Kuribabylon. The mighty creature tried to break free, but to no avail.

"Nightmare Binding traps your monster and reduces its attack points by 800." explaind Nathaniel. "In addition, it cannot use its effect, attack, defend, or be tributed for anything."

Kuribabylon's attack went down (ATK: 4500 - 3700). Not only that, but Nathaniel's life points went up by the same amount (LP: 2300).

"The lost attack points also went into my life points."

Diablon cursed once more. "Damn you...!"

"Oh, but I'm not even done just yet." continued Nathaniel, holding out another card. "I now activate Forced Donation! With this, you have to return your entire hand to the deck and reshuffle."

Diablon reluctantly obeyed; sending what was left of his hand to his deck and shuffled.

"My turn is over!"

"You think you have me beat?" asked Diablon harshly. "All because you have handicapped one of my monsters and taken out all other options I had from my hand? That's where you're wrong! I'll still win the duel and kill you!"

With that said, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 24  
 **Current Hand** (1): Mirror Force  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : 2 Turns

* * *

The drawn card was the Mirror Force Trap card. With a snort of disgust, the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' looked towards his Dark Magician.

"Because Dark Magician is now worthless to me-" Diablon commented in a rather cruel tone. "-I will offer him as a tribute for the effect of Catapult Turtle!"

Dark Magician gave a shocked gasp at being called worthless, but leaped into the air and landed on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"Open fire!"

Dark Magician was fired, turning into a ball of light and striking Nathaniel, causing him to yell in pain (LP: 800).

"One more attack-" proclaimed Diablon. "-and I'll have you down." He then looked towards Dark Magician Girl. "Best of all; with Dark Magician now in my graveyard, he powers up Dark Magician Girl's attack points by 300."

Dark Magician Girl's attack rose as the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' had pointed out (ATK: 2500 - 2800). Over with the rest of the gang...

"Thomas..." whispered Percy. "Why? Why are you something like this?"

"We want you to win-" said Edward sadly. "-but... but not like this!"

"What the hell has happened to you, Thomas?" mumbled James to himself, clenching a fist out of anger. "No... That isn't Thomas..."

Percy and the others looked over to the red-haired boy.

"James?" quizzed Gordon.

"That's not Thomas, guys! The Thomas we all know would never go and sacrifice his own monsters just like that to win a duel. He would play fairly and give many of his monsters an equally chance to fight."

"You're right." agreed Mavis. "This Thomas talks trash about his monsters, uses them as pawns for his own desires, and doesn't care if he badly hurts someone!"

"Yes..." whispered a saddened Maiden of the Aqua. "That is because this is the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' true form... Diablon."

"Diablon?" asked Rosie in shock.

"Yes, Diablon."

Back in the duel field, Diablon was standing in his spot with darkness continuing to surround him whilst smirking and chuckling evilly. Although Nathaniel was getting badly injured from the real-like damage he was taking from Catapult Turtle, he wasn't out just yet...

"It's my turn!" The black-haired young man exclaimed, drawing his two cards. "This is your last warning, Diablon... Release Thomas Billinton from your control, or you will suffer the consequences!"

"Never! This body is now mine, and I will not surrender it to the likes of you."

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Nathaniel (LP: 800)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (3): Rod of the Mind's Eye, The Warrior Returning Alive, and Shrink

* * *

Scowling, Nathaniel took one of his drawn cards and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"I place this facedown and end my turn!" declared the black-haired young man, as a facedown card materialized behind his monsters.

Diablon smiled darkly. It was time for him to finish this duel and return to power as the ruler of the Court of Darkness.

"Here is where it ends for you, fool." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' said, drawing a card. "I will now put an end to this charade!"

Nathaniel calmly watched what his opponent was going to do.

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 23  
 **Current Hand** (2): Mirror Force and Soul Charge  
 **Swords of Revealing Light** : 1 Turn

* * *

Diablon motioned his left hand towards Dark Magician Girl and said those very words...

"I will now offer the equally useless Dark Magician Girl to finish you off!"

Hearing this made Dark Magician Girl very upset. Despite being possessed by the darkness of The Field of Dark Graves, even she still had some signs of herself.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers...

"No...!" Emily whispered. She immediately began struggling and raised her voice once more, and this time out of pure desperation. "PLEASE, THOMAS, DON'T DO IT! SHE'S ONE OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS! PLEASE, DON'T GET RID OF DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!"

Airknight Parshath merely kept a neutral look on his face and said nothing.

(elsewhere...)

Back outside the forest, Dark Magician Girl was still gazing at what used to be her friend/master, hoping that the Thomas deep within could somehow break free and stop this madness before it was too late to turn back. Alas...

"Go on!" demanded Diablon, not giving a rat's behind on what his monster was feeling right now.

With tears in her eyes, Dark Magician Girl was forced to obey the command; leaping up, landing, and readying herself on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"And now..." grinned Diablon wickedly, beginning to point forth. "Eat this, Guardian Nathaniel... Attack and-ARRRGH!"

Suddenly, Diablon grabbed the left side of his face in searing pain. He threw his head to the ground as he continued screaming in pure agony while Percy and the others could only watch in complete shock at what was happening. After a few seconds, the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' raised his head back up to reveal...a back to normal Thomas.

"Huh? What?"

On cue, Dark Magician Girl was launched off of Catapult Turtle's launcher and turned into a ball of light. As it got closer and closer, Nathaniel smirked triumphantly...

"I activate Shrink!" he exclaimed, holding his hand out.

The black-haired young man's final facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. The whole audience was shocked to the core by his play...

"HUH?!"

"That guy is going to lessen the impact from Catapult Turtle's attack!" exclaimed Toby.

Back on the duel field...

"Your Dark Magician Girl's attack power has been cut in half for the turn!" announced Nathaniel.

With that said, the ball of energy shrank just before it could hit the black-haired young man. Even then, it still slammed into him and sent him flying until he crashed into a tree and destroyed it... although he didn't flinch nor shout in pain from being hit by it (LP: 100).

"W-What happened to me?" The voice of Thomas asked.

Over with Percy and the others...

"Thomas?" blinked James.

"He's back!" came from Mavis. "Thomas has regained control of his body!"

It would seem the blue-haired boy had finally managed to successfully fight for control of the body! ...although he didn't know what had happened earlier in the duel after becoming possessed and activating the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card.

"My aching head... What have I been doing?"

Suddenly, Thomas heard Nathaniel quietly and ominously laughing to himself as he sat up...

"You want to win... You want to win, don't you?" The black-haired young man asked very snidely, just as he weakly started to try and stand back up. "No matter who it is, or whatever means it may take..."

Thomas was surprised by Nathaniel's claim, but he said nothing in response... This allowed Nathaniel to continue speaking as he finally got back onto his feet successfully...

"What a sight, Thomas Billinton. How do you feel about your impending victory? You've proven well."

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Hmm...?"

"You've proven that darkness exists in your heart, as well..." Nathaniel went on, not stopping with his speech. "Not only that, you've also proven to me and everyone here that you're not merely just the vessel for Diablon... You ARE Diablon himself." Hearing those words caused Thomas to flinch a bit, but the black-haired young man still didn't stop there. "Thomas Billinton, your eagerness and selfish desire to win has caused you to fall into this trap."

"What are you saying?!" demanded Thomas.

"The Field of Dark Graves is a card whereby the stronger the darkness in your heart is, the more power you can get from it." continued Nathaniel. He then closed his eyes. "Haven't you noticed? Look carefully at what's on your field!"

Thomas looked at the two remaining monsters on his field; Catapult Turtle, and the corrupted, now demonic, and chained up Kuribabylon.

"Your persistence to win has corrupted the monsters you cherish so dearly and turned them into demons. You've become a slave for more power!"

Thomas stared at his two monsters in horror. He could see the five innocent Kuriboh Brothers within the now satanic-looking Kuribabylon, entirely devoid of anything resembling its original self.

"Did I...really do all of this?" Thomas thought to himself. He could hear the weak, sad cries of ' _Kuribi_ ' coming from the five Kuriboh Brothers deep within Kuribabylon. "My poor, innocent Kuribohs..." Finally, the blue-haired boy's eyes widened with shock over the terrifying truth. "Oh my God! What have I done to my monsters...?!"

"You activated The Field of Dark Graves, entirely from your own darkness-filled will, all in a vain attempt to free Dark Magician Girl from her crystal prison!" continued Nathaniel in anger, just as certain images of Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight being freed from the effect of the Crystal Seal Trap card were shown. "You were so blinded by your own dark will to win the battle at any and all cost, and also to try and find the one girl you have claimed you're in-love with. You were so desperate to accomplish your own selfish desires, that you willingly sent your beloved monsters one-by-one to their deaths! If you really do claim to love Emily, then how do you think she would react seeing the one boy she loved embrace the true nature of his past life? How would she react witnessing you as the devil Diablon you truly are?!"

Suddenly, several horrible memories of what had happened the moment he became angry began to flood Thomas's mind. In his brief fit of dark rage and desperation to free Dark Magician Girl, win the duel quickly, and then go find and save Emily from the Court of Darkness before it was too late, he had succumbed to his deepest, most darkest of desires... And that was to mercilessly, brutally, and viciously defeat and slay anyone who dared to stand in his way of rescuing Emily. Thomas was so blinded by his rage and hatred over possibly losing his friend/love interest forever, that he foolishly activated the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card before finally succumbing to Diablon's will once more. This time, however, the blue-haired boy had actually transformed into the ' ** _Evil One_** ', and almost caused mass destruction in the process. While Diablon was in control of the body, Thomas had poisoned several of his beloved monsters with the darkness from the activated Field Spell card, insulted them like they were nothing more than pawns, and even selfishly sacrificed each and every single one of them in an attempt to achieve victory. A feeling of horrified shock and great remorse began to wash all over him...

"I..."

Before long, the blue-haired boy then began to see a faint image of Emily floating before him him, looking at him with wet, teary, heartbroken eyes after seeing what her friend had done and become. Before long, she sadly turned her back on Thomas without saying a word.

"Emily...!" Thomas called out desperately, reaching out for her. His arm phased through Emily as she disappeared, much to his further sadness. "Emily, I... I..."

"You ARE Diablon, Thomas Billinton!" shouted Nathaniel accusingly. "Deep down, you know that!"

"No!" Thomas exclaimed, dropping to his knees. "NO! What have I done?! I... I really am a monster!"

And he began to cry out of shame and remorse. Tears dripped onto the ground as the blue-haired boy's broken sobs echoed.

"I've betrayed my monsters... It's just as Gladiator Beast Spartacus said I would do eventually!"

Over with the rest of the gang, they looked very sad over the state of their poor friend.

"Poor Thomas..." whimpered Molly.

"He looks so broken..." added Rosie.

"My love..." thought Maiden of the Aqua to only herself.

Back over with Thomas, he, still feeling devastated, had then noticed the very card he had drawn. It was a very rare Spell called Soul Charge, and this was its effect; **_'Special Summon any number of monsters from your Graveyard. Then, you must pay 500 Life Points for each monster Summoned by this effect. Those monsters cannot attack during this turn_**.' The blue-haired boy knew that if he did go and play that card, he would lose (he had only 600 life points left). But at this point, after all he had done, Thomas no longer cared about winning the duel, and now only wanted to make things right.

"This is the only way I can end the duel peacefully and atone for my actions." Thomas said to himself quietly.

With that said, Thomas began to reach for the Soul Charge Spell card. He was just about to select and activate it when...

"Oh no, you don't!" came a voice in Thomas's head. "Not this time!"

Thomas looked to the sky and gave a scream of pain as an aura of darkness burned around him. When he lowered his head back down, facial scars, and appearance of Diablon had returned once more. But the eyes... Oh, they were the worst of all. They were no longer shown to be the crimson red that symbolized both rage and hatred... Instead, they were now a terrifying luminous golden yellow that symbolized pure madness.

"This body is all mine now!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' insisted, standing back up. "...and I already have a play in mind."

Instead of taking and playing the Soul Charge Spell card, Diablon took the Mirror Force Trap card and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I end the turn by setting one card facedown!"

A facedown card materialized behind Catapult Turtle (Mirror Force). On cue, the Swords of Revealing Light began to fade away.

"Well now-" remarked Diablon, looking around at the disappearing swords. "-it would seem your swords have finally faded away."

Nathaniel scowled, but said nothing.

"You're going to lose next turn, Guardian Nathaniel!" continued the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', still smirking evilly. "Next turn, I will have successfully drawn another monster card, which then I will summon and offer as a tribute for Catapult Turtle's effect, which will deplete the last of your life points! You can't win against me, admit it!"

"I'm afraid you're wrong!" shouted Nathaniel, as, once more, two large white angel-like wings grew from his upperback. "I've made a promise to my fellow Guardians that I would put an end to your evil once and for all, and that's what I am going to do! Our fates will depend on what I draw this round!"

Diablon merely scoffed. With that said, however, Nathaniel braced two fingers atop his deck and closed his eyes while beginning to glow all white.

"There's only one card that can save me now... Heart of the Cards, guide me..."

Finally, the black-haired young man drew his two cards while slashing a wave of color in the process. It was a sign that he had performed a Destiny Draw of his own.

"Mother..." Nathaniel thought to himself, feeling he had drawn the two cards that were needed. "The time has come..."

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Nathaniel (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (4): Rod of the Mind's Eye, The Warrior Returning Alive, Guardian Eatos, and Celestial Sword - Eatos

* * *

Opening his eyes fiercely, Nathaniel took one of the drawn cards and raised it up into the sky.

"I play an Equipment Spell card - Celestial Sword - Eatos!"

Descending from the sky was an angelic sword until it stabbed into the ground. Backup Gardna immediately picked it up as its stats went up (ATK: 500 - 800).

"With my graveyard completely empty of any monster cards-" continued Nathaniel, taking and holding up another drawn card. "-I can special summon from the hand without a tribute my guardian angel—Guardian Eatos!"

A ball of light eminated from the card and shot into the sky with a screech that sounded similar to Egyptian God Phoenix. Soon, a ray of light shined from the sky and struck the ground as Guardian Eatos eventually descended from the heavens (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"GAH!" screamed Diablon, wincing and covering his eyes. "That l-l-light! I...can't stand it!"

The audience was also amazed at what was going on.

"The legendary Guardian Eatos...!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua

Back in the duel field, Guardian Eatos soon took hold of her sword and grew slightly stronger (ATK: 2500 - 2800).

"It's time, Eatos!" ordered Nathaniel. "Activate your special ability - Spirit of Celestial Sword!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed the command. She first closed her eyes and raised the weapon into the sky to absorb as much sunlight possible into her weapon. Eventually, the female Guardian-like monster opened her eyes fiercely, and Diablon was hit by an unknown force and cried out in pain as he tried to withstand it.

"W-What's happening to my...body! I c-can feel it...moving on its...own!"

Indeed, Diablon found himself raising his arm containing the Duel Disk up into the air.

(elsewhere...)

Back within the flower forest...

"It would seem that Lord Diablon is about to be counterattacked in a big way." said Airknight Parshath in what could be dismay. "But more importantly..."

He then looked back over to the trapped Emily, who looked like she had been paralyzed from the shock over what Thomas had become over the course of the duel... A pure evil, black-hearted demon.

"Show me no more." begged Emily, who was becoming closer and closer to finally breaking. "Make it go away! MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

Airknight Parshath smiled darkly, and decided not to grant his prisoner that wish.

(elsewhere...)

Back outside the forest, Guardian Eatos was pointing her sword at Diablon's Duel Disk.

"The special effect of Guardian Eatos... It allows her to remove monster cards from your graveyard one-by-one until she reaches a Spell or Trap card." explained Nathaniel. "Those monsters' attack points are then added to Eatos's overall attack points, while the monsters themselves are removed from play!"

Diablon was shocked. "WHAT?! Removed from play?!"

One card slipped out of the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' graveyard, and it also was the first monster card to appear. The monster in question was Dark Magician Girl, and she looked positively heartbroken with Thomas.

"Why...?" The female spellcaster-type monster asked mentally.

"Dark Magician Girl...!" cried Diablon in pain.

"Next up is your other ace." said the voice of Nathaniel, just as another card flew out of the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' graveyard.

Appearing was an upset-looking Dark Magician.

"How could you?" The purple-haired, male spellcaster asked mentally.

"Dark Magician...!" winced Diablon.

From there, three more monster cards materialized...and revealed the following monsters; Big Shield Gardna, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, and Berfomet.

"You have the power of every one of my fallen monsters." growled Diablon.

"It's your own fault for doing it, Diablon." retorted Nathaniel hotly. "You did this to them when you selfishly sacrificed them just so you could win against me! And Thomas Billinton, this message is directly for you... I want you to think long and hard - you've allowed your most dark and selfish desires to consume you, and this is the consequences of your actions! Now gaze into the eyes of your fallen monsters!"

Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. He actually felt very scared as to what he had done to try and win the duel, but unfortunately...

"Don't stare at me... Don't stare at me with those eyes, you fools!" exclaimed Diablon angrily.

Unfortunately, Thomas had also managed to gain part of himself back... and found that Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at ' ** _him_** ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. Thomas had never felt so ashamed and scared in his life, and was now convinced that his own monsters hated him for giving into his darkest and most selfish desires that resulted in Diablon finally claiming complete control of the body.

"Please...forgive me for what I've done to you!" begged Thomas sadly.

"The darkness in your heart has finally allowed Guardian Eatos to reach her full potential." said Nathaniel in a rather cold tone, before directing his attention to the banished monsters. "Now be absorbed into the Celestial Sword!"

The spirits circled around Diablon before being absorbed into the sword, causing Guardian Eatos to grow unbelievably strong (ATK: 2800 - 10000).

"10000 attack points?!" gasped Diablon. Suddenly, he felt something fighting for control of the body. "AUGH!"

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' fell to his knees and yelled in pain. When he rose once again, his appearance had changed once again... His hair was blue again, his skin tone normal, but his head looking to the ground. Then, to Nathaniel's surprise, the blue-haired boy began to slowly walk backwards towards the cliff.

"What are you doing?" asked Nathaniel in shock.

Even Guardian Eatos was surprised by this. The boy raised his face up to show he was back to Thomas. His blue eyes were also red with tears and filled with nothing but despair, shame, and pain.

"I want to die." The poor blue-haired boy answered in a truly heartbroken tone. "I have committed an unforgivable crime, and I must pay the price for it. If you truly wish to save your world from darkness and Diablon, Nathaniel, then start by killing me so that I can never hurt anyone again. Please, attack me right now..."

Percy and the gang was beyond shocked. Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos were both equally horrified by the demand. Just then...

"No!" A voice inside Thomas's head cried out in rage. "I won't allow it to end this way!"

Suddenly, Thomas gripped his head and yelled in agony once more. He eventually opened one eye, revealing it to be crimson red. It would seem Diablon was trying to regain control of the body!

"We will NOT lose this duel!" snapped the ' _ **Evil One**_ '. "Do you hear me? DO YOU?!"

"No! I don't care about winning anymore!" argued Thomas, wincing. He then turned his attention over to Nathaniel in pure desperation. "Hurry and deliver the attack, now! I don't know how much longer I can hold him off!"

The black-haired young man didn't have to be told twice. He didn't like what he was about to do, because it almost seemed like murder... But Nathaniel also knew full well that there was no other choice in the matter, right now. The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' had to be struck down here and now before he could spread his evil all around this world. Finally, the command came...

"Guardian Eatos!" Nathaniel called to the monster version of his adopted Mother. "Destroy Diablon's monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising and slashing a great light from her sword with a great yell. A devastating wave of energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field.

"You fool!" snarled the voice of Diablon, with one of Thomas's eyes shut as the other was crimson red, watching as Catapult Turtle got destroyed. "If you don't use that Trap card and save yourself, we'll both die!"

He then shut his eye and opened the other one, which was blue.

"I don't care if I die from this attack, ' _ **Evil One**_ '!" Thomas exclaimed, just as Kuribabylon was destroyed. "If I have to die, then I'll make sure to take you down with MEEEEE!"

With that said, the blast finally struck Thomas, overwhelming and causing him to scream in pain and dread as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Nathaniel wins!**

* * *

The light show was so powerful that some of the audience members had to cover their eyes... although the rest of them couldn't help but still watch on in horror.

"Thomas lost the duel!" came from Molly.

"THOMAS!" screamed Percy, James, and Rosie in shock.

But worst was to come... The force of Guardian Eatos's attack slowly began to push Thomas back some, before finally it happened... Thomas was sent flying off the edge of the cliff and soon fell down.

(elsewhere...)

"THOMAAAAAAAAS!" screamed Emily with tears running down her face, helplessly watching the boy she loved fall to his death.

(elsewhere...)

The light show finally ended... and Nathaniel had collapsed to one knee while panting hard.

"The deed is done." he said quietly. "Diablon is no more."

Just then...

"THOMAS! THOMAS!" screamed the voices of the blue-haired boy's friends.

Nathaniel saw that Percy and the others were running over to the cliff's edge where Thomas had fallen, and were trying to look for a sign of him.

"Any sign of him?" asked Gordon.

"No..." answered Mavis, with her voice cracking and lips quivering hard.

"He's gone..." added Percy quietly.

The entire gang looked over to Nathaniel, who was still breathing hard on one knee from the intenseness of the duel.

"You..." whispered James, before raising his voice in a pure rage. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!"

"You monster!" cried Rosie, her vision blurry from tears. "You killed him!"

Nathaniel soon stood back up...and was immediately met by a fist to the face by an extremely angry Gordon, knocking him (Nathaniel) onto his back.

"You bastard!" The tall, blue-haired boy snarled.

Nathaniel slowly got up, rubbed where he was punched, and still remained silent.

"Why did you have to do it?" asked an angry Edward. "Why did you attack our friend like this?"

Nathaniel didn't answer...and instead turned to leave.

"Come back here!" screamed James. "Come back here, damn you!"

But his demand fell upon deaf ears. The red-haired boy, shaking with fury over the seeming death of his friend, was just about to go and attack Nathaniel when he got held back by both Henry and Percy.

"Forget about him." said Toby, starting to leave. "Let's get down the canyon and find Thomas's body."

And everyone agreed to the idea.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the flower-like forest...

"THOMAS! THOMAS!" Emily screamed repeatedly through her broken sobs. "He's gone..."

"Hmph! How pathetic."

The trapped Emily stopped crying and looked over to look at Airknight Parshath. The Court of Darkness member had his arms folded and a look on his face that read he wasn't impressed with how the duel turned out.

"Lord Diablon should have been able to resist that foolish boy's attempts, but I guess it wasn't meant to be." Airknight Parshath grumbled. "It would appear that all of our hard work was to be for nothing... Huh?"

He then noticed Emily was trembling hard. When she looked back at Airknight Parshath, her eyes were no longer red from crying—but were flashing instead red from one other thing... Rage.

"Unforgivable..."

Airknight Parshath raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... What are you-?"

"Parshath...!" snarled Emily. "You are completely unforgivable! ...completely UNFORGIVABLE!"

With a dark aura beginning to burn and form around the dark green-haired girl (and increase her physical strength greatly), she gave a scream of fury and eventually managed to break herself free from the vines and land back on her feet, much to Airknight Parshath's shock.

"Impossible!" he cried out.

"Because of you and the other members of the Court of Darkness, not only have I been forced to remember the worst moments of my life, but now I've lost the only boy I ever loved for all eternity! You've all ruined my life! Why couldn't you have just left me alone?!"

It would seem that the dark green-haired girl was getting closer and closer to finally breaking and embracing her inner darkness, and she was also now blazing with the want of revenge over Thomas's death. What will happen next? Stay tuned, readers!


	52. The Angel Trapped in Darkness (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo Gresley was NOT a happy camper.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" The evil man was screaming, trying to smash the crystal ball to pieces of glass in his fury over what had happened. "The boy, along with Lord Diablon, has died! Now all of our hard work has been for nothing!"

Vampire Lord closed his eyes, about to feel nothing but anger over his master no longer being able to be brought back to life, when he suddenly felt something dark coming from his black heart.

"No... The boy is...still alive."

"Huh?" Gozaburo stopped his rampage and looked over to the leader of the Court of Darkness. "Alive? But how? The boy won control of his body before falling off that cliff! There's no way a mere human could survive a fall like that."

"Calm yourself, Gozaburo." said Vampire Lord, looking quite serious. "I can sense the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' power, and it would seem he regained control in enough time to withstand the fall... However, with the Thomas boy now lying in a coma, it will be much harder for Diablon to retake control."

Gozaburo frowned. While pleased that the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' was still alive, it would be harder to bring him back out.

"Even then-" continued Vampire Lord, looking to the nearby (seemingly undamaged) crystal ball. "-we still have another of our targets to focus on."

The other target he was referring to was, of course, Emily, and she was beyond pissed with each and every member of the Court of Darkness.

(elsewhere...)

Back within the forest of flowers, Emily was glaring at Airknight Parshath with nothing but anger and darkness burning brightly in her heart. Because of the Court of Darkness's actions, she had lost Thomas for what seemed like for good, and she was not about to forgive them for it!

"Let's settle this once and for all!" The dark green-haired girl suggested, activating her Duel Disk while readying her deck. "You and me, Parshath, right now!"

"Very well." nodded Airknight Parshath, activating his own Duel Disk. he then gave an evil smirk. "Once I've defeated you, Emily, you will be brought back so the Court of Darkness may use your darkness to revive Lord Diablon!"

"You're not taking me back!" roared Emily. "I am ' **NOT** ' some helpless damsel in distress!"

"So you say... We know of your history with being kidnapped. Commander Laura of Sailor John's crew, Marik Ishtar, and even-"

Emily scowled intensely. "Just bog off with the reminders of my past, alright?!"

"Hmm... As you wish." obeyed the Court of Darkness member cruelly.

With that said, the two duelists walked over and handed each other their respective deck.

"Shuffle well." warned Airknight Parshath, shuffling Emily's deck.

Emily said nothing as she finished shuffling her opponent's deck. But before she stopped, she felt something strange about the deck.

"Huh? What?"

Had Airknight Parshath put a curse on it? Or was there something far more to it?

"Here!" cut in the Court of Darkness member's voice.

Emily looked up and saw Airknight Parshath handing her her deck back. Frowning, the dark green-haired girl accepted the deck and handed her opponent his deck back. From there, the two duelists walked over to one side of the field. While walking, Emily couldn't stop thinking about what she felt from the deck.

"Just what is this guy up to?" The dark green-haired girl thought only to herself. "I sensed something about his deck, but I don't know what it was..."

Finally, the two duelists faced each other.

"It's time for you to face your destiny, Emily Sterling!" announced Airknight Parshath. "You have no where to run anymore!"

"I'm not afraid of you!" snapped Emily. "I am going to make you pay for everything you, along with your evil friends, have done!"

"Then come and get me!"

And thus, the duel had begun!

* * *

 **Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 1**

* * *

Inside the thone room within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Vampire Lord and Gozaburo both gazed at the crystal ball, feeling quite pleased.

"And so it begins..." whispered Vampire Lord. "Our lone Member of Light...faces the Angel of Light."

"She stands no chance." said Gozaburo knowingly. "Her darkness has been growing more and more powerful. Soon, it will become powerful enough that she will have no choice but to willingly embrace it."

Vampire Lord nodded in agreement. "Indeed so..."

Just then, the doors to the throne room opened, catching the attention of the two villains. It was a panting Chaos Sorcerer... Why he showed up was a reason not yet known.

"I-I bring...news!"

"Chaos Sorcerer?" quizzed Vampire Lord. "Why did you come here?"

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus has been slayed." explained Chaos Sorcerer. "But that's not the reason I came here!"

"Then spit it out!" demanded Gozaburo. "Why are you here?"

Obviously, this was not really the time for idle chitchat for Gozaburo and Vampire Lord... They wanted an answer from their visitor, and they wanted it now.

"That young man from the Sanctuary in the Sky!" blurted out Chaos Sorcerer. "He would be a perfect soldier to Lord Diablon's army!"

"You mean the one who tried to kill the boy?" questioned Vampire Lord.

"Yes, him!"

Gozaburo looked thoughtful. "Hmm... you know? That's not a bad idea."

"It is?" blinked Vampie Lord.

"Quite so! ...in fact, I shall personally go to the Sanctuary in the Sky and give this young man a little ' _invitation_ ' to join us."

Vampire Lord frowned. "It won't be easy to attack. That place is well-guarded... and the fact there's Guardian Eatos and Wingweaver to deal with."

"You'll require backup." added Chaos Sorcerer.

"Most certainly..." chuckled Gozaburo. "But with what I have planned... the attack will succeed!"

Those fiends were once again up to no good. And this time, the Sanctuary in the Sky would feel their wrath.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, the duel between Emily and Airknight Parshath was starting, and Emily got ready to draw her card.

"The first turn will go to me!"

"Be my guest." nodded Airknight Parshath. In his thoughts... "Even if you go first and get an advantage going, you'll never defeat me!"

"I draw!" announced Emily, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mage of Fairies, Blade Shade, Pixie Ring, Fairy's Defender, Wonder Wand, and Maha Vailo

* * *

"Alright!"

The dark green-haired girl's opening hand contained Mage of Fairies, Blade Shade, Pixie Ring, Fairy's Defender, Wonder Wand, and the drawn Maha Vailo.

"This hand is a great start!" thought Emily. "And I have Mage of Fairies already there, too." She then spoke aloud... "I think I'll play this monster first!"

"Huh?" questioned Airknight Parshath.

The Mage of Fairies monster card materialized face-up.

"Mage of Fairies in attack mode!" declared Emily.

Appearing to the field was a female fairy dressed in a spellcaster-type outfit (Level: 5/ATK: 1800).

"But that's a level 5 monster!" objected Airknight Parshath. "You cannot summon something like that unless you tribute a monster first!"

"Oh, contraire." teased Emily. "My monster's effect says other wise."

"Effect?!"

"I can special summon it without a tribute." The dark green-haired girl explained. "In return, you get to add one Spell card from your deck to your hand."

Airknight Parshath was surprised. "Add a Spell card from my deck to my hand?"

"But, of course. You can add ' _any_ ' kind of Spell card you want."

The Court of Darkness member took his deck out of the Duel Disk and looked it over. Finally, he selected a card, shuffled the deck, and placed in back into his Duel Disk. Alas, Emily's turn wasn't even close to ending either...

"And since I've performed a special summon-" continued Emily. "-I can still perform a normal summon." The dark green-haired girl then took and placed another card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "Come forth - Maha Vailo!"

Appearing to the field was the blue cloaked spellcaster-type monster (Level: 4/ATK: 1550).

"And I'll raise his strength with Wonder Wand!" Emily went on some more, showing the card.

The mentioned Equip Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself... just before a wand-like weapon appeared in Maha Vailo's hands.

"This raises my monster's attack points by 500."

Maha Vailo started glowing all blue as its attack went up by...1000 points (ATK: 1550 - 2550)?

"Oh, and did I forget to mention my monster's effect grants it an additonal 500 attack points when equipped with an Equipment Spell card?" teased Emily. "Oops! At least you now know."

Airknight Parshath scowled, watching as two facedown cards materialized behind the two monsters. Emily had two fingers from her right hand braced onto where he slotted one of the cards.

"I finish the turn by setting two cards! That's all for me in this round."

"Let's see what I have to counter that." said Airknight Parshath, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Airknight Parshath (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (7): Negate Attack, Sacred Arrow, Darklord Ukoback, Attribute Bomb, Armageddon Knight, Leeching the Light, and Darklord Ixchel

* * *

The Court of Darkness member smiled at his hand before looking back at his opponent like he thought she would be easy to defeat.

"Emily, your turn was but a waste." taunted Airknight Parshath.

"What?" gasped Emily.

Airknight Parshath's opening hand contained Negate Attack, Sacred Arrow, Darklord Ukoback, Attribute Bomb, Armageddon Knight, Leeching the Light, and Darklord Ixchel.

"As a member of the Court of Darkness-" continued Airknight Parshath. "-my deck was built to counter any strategy you try to use against me. Now, you will see what I mean!" He took and held up a card...without showing what it was. "I'll begin by playing this creature..." The Court of Darkness member turned the card over. "Armageddon Knight, come forth!"

Appearing to the field was a knight dressed in dark clothing (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"Now I play Armageddon Knight's special effect!" continued Airknight Parshath, drawing and discarding a card. "I can send from my deck one dark attribute monster to the graveyard!" He then took and held out a Spell card called Leeching the Light. "Now I'll play the one card you let me add to my hand... it's called Leeching the Light! What it does is it lets me select one light attribute monster you control on the field and grant my own monster all of its current attack points for the rest of the turn!"

"What?!" cried Emily, knowing what was about to happen. "You're gonna pick Maha Vailo, aren't you?"

"Right! That means 2550 attack points is added to Armegeddon Knight."

Armegeddon Knight grew stronger because of this (ATK: 1400 - 3950). But then...

"If you're gonna try to target my weakest monster-" Emily spoke up, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "-then I won't let you!"

Airknight Parshath raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Trap card, open!" continued Emily, just as one of her set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Pixie Ring!"

A ring materialized from the face-up Trap card.

"Pixie Ring?" asked Airknight Parshath.

"So long as I control at least two face-up attack position monsters-" explained Emily. "-you are forbidden from selecting the monster I control that has the lowest attack points! ...such as Mage of Fairies."

A large right of light appeared around Mage of Fairies, protecting her.

"So be it!" sneered Airknight Parshath, before pointing forth. "Armegeddon Knight, attack Maha Vailo at once!"

Armegeddon Knight obeyed and readied his sword.

"ARMEGEDDON SWORD ATTACK!"

"Activate facedown card!" called Emily.

"What?!" exclaimed Airknight Parshath.

From there, Emily's remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Continuous Trap - Blade Shade!"

A large shield-like weapon appeared in front of Maha Vailo. In addition, Armegeddon Knight felt itself growing numb and thus stopped its attack.

"W-What's the meaning of this?!" demanded Airknight Parshath.

"Once per turn-" explained Emily. "-I can activate one of two effects when you attack one of my monsters. After that, you take 500 points of damage!"

"W-What do you-?!"

"For example-" The dark green-haired girl continued. "-I can actually negate your attack before it can reach one of my my monsters." She then smirked darkly. "And now, you'll receive 500 points of damage!"

Airknight Parshath grimaced (LP: 3500).

"I'm not some defenseless little girl you can push around." insisted Emily. "I may have been weaker in the past... but ever since that day, I've vowed to become a much stronger individual."

"Indeed, you are." agreed Airknight Parshath, who then grinned. "This will make the capture of you so much more rewarding for when I defeat you!"

"I said I'm not returning to that godforsaken castle! You five creeps will never get me to submit to darkness!"

"Oh yes, we will." The Court of Darkness member grinned darkly. "I promise you that before the duel is over, you will embrace the darkness, Emily Sterling, for it is your destiny to become one with it!" He then took two cards from his hand and slotted them into his Duel Disk. "I'll set two cards facedown."

Two facedown cards materialized.

"My turn has now ended!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside Gozaburo's lab, the evil man had just arrived and was speaking to Earl of Demise.

"What soldiers can you spare?" asked Gozaburo.

"A few Vorse Raiders and Slate Warriors." answered Earl of Demise.

Gozaburo scowled. "That won't be enough! With how well protected the Sanctuary in the Sky is, I need more than what you've offered me!"

Earl of Demise didn't say anything at first, but listened on with interest instead.

"Unless I can get a large enough army, this attack will not even as much put a dent in their defenses or guards!"

"Well now... I'll see what I can do." bowed Earl of Demise, turning to leave.

"You had better." muttered Gozaburo, looking at the large computer monitor. "Now, let's see how the girl is doing..."

The static fizzled away and revealed that the duel between Emily and Airknight Parshath was going on strong.

"So far, so good... even if the girl succeeds in conquering her darkness, which I doubt will happen, I'll still have use for her! ...when the time comes, anyway."

What's Gozaburo Gresley up to? Ah, who knows?

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, Airknight Parshath had ended his turn.

"Because we're at my end phase-" The Court of Darkness member pointed out. "-Armegeddon Knight's attack points return to how it originally was."

Armageddon Knight became weaker (ATK: 3950 - 1400).

"My monster has become weak enough to be defeated by either of your monsters." gloaded Airknight Parshath. "What do you say?"

"It makes little difference to me." retorted Emily, drawing a card. "It's my turn!

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (2): Fairy's Defender and Condemned Maiden

* * *

Her drawn card was the Condemned Maiden monster card. Already, Emily entered her battle phase.

"Maha Vailo!" she commanded. "Attack Armageddon Knight!"

Maha Vailo obeyed and readied the wand.

"Vailo Wand Burst!"

A blast of magic fired from the wand.

"Facedown card, open!" declared Airknight Parshath, motioning his left hand to one of his two set cards. "Negate Attack!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself... just before absorbing the blast.

"Too bad." teased Airknight Parshath. "This does as it says; it negates your attack and ends the battle phase.

Without any other choice, Emily decided to just play her drawn monster and end her turn.

"I normal summon Condemned Maiden in defense mode!" she announced, placing her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk (sideways).

Appearing to the field was a woman dressed in rags (Level: 4/DEF: 2000).

"This monster will protect my life points from an attack you try and throw at me."

"So you say." criticized Airknight Parshath. "So far you've shown lots of promise, but now is where we get serious."

"Serious?" repeated Emily.

"I always play easy with my targets at first." said the Court of Darkness member, drawing a card. "But, now, it's time I kicked things up a notch!"

Emily felt very worried. What was she about to face this time around?

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Airknight Parshath (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (3): Darklord Ukoback, Darklord Ixchel, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Suddenly, Airknight Parshath's graveyard began to glow dark energy.

"H-Hey!" cried Emily. "What's happening to your graveyard?"

The Court of Darkness member smiled. "Since we're on the standby phase, the effect of the Darklord Marie in my graveyard activates!" He then started glowing all purple as he gained some life points (LP: 3700). "My life points increase by 200 so long as my monster remains in the graveyard."

Emily scowled. It would seem that Airknight Parshath was trying to aim for a ' _Perfect Victory_ ' over her. That meant no matter how much damage she would inflict on him, the Court of Darkness member would only regain some of it until he returned to 4000.

"And now I shall activate Pot of Greed." continued Airknight Parshath, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "This allows me to draw two more cards from my deck."

With that, he drew two cards from his deck.

Both cards were revealed to be Banishment of the Darklords (Spell card) and Darklord Edeh Arae (Effect Monster card). One of the cards seemed to bring a rather wicked smile to Airknight Parshath's face.

"It's almost time..."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "The way he's smiling..." she thought to herself. "What does Parshath have planned?"

Her answer came in form of the Banishment of the Darklords Spell card materializing face-up. Emily's eyes widened, for she knew exactly what it was...

"Banishment of the Darklords?!"

"Quite so." confirmed Airknight Parshath, taking his deck out of the Duel Disk to search for a card. "This Spell card allows me to add another 'Darklord' from the deck to my hand."

The card he chose was a familiar monster card Emily had faced once before! ...not that she knew this yet. Continuing with his turn, Airknight Parshath discarded two cards from his hand to the graveyard.

"Next I play the effect of the Darklord Ixchel in my hand. By sending it, along with another Darklord monster, from the hand directly to the graveyard, I am able to draw two more cards from my deck."

Two Darklord monsters briefly appeared before vanishing.

"With Ixchel and Edeh Arae both discarded to the graveyard-" said Airknight Parshath, drawing two cards. "I draw two more cards from my deck."

Emily frowned, but didn't say a word about it. Meanwhile, the two drawn cards the Court of Darkness member got were Foolish Burial and Darklord Descent.

"Next I shall continue to build my graveyard with Foolish Burial." continued Airknight Parshath, holding one of his drawn cards out. "This makes me send one monster card from my deck to the graveyard."

Emily watched with surprise as her opponent drew and sent the card to his graveyard without a second thought. Something had to be up with that strategy! ...but what could it even be?

"But it makes no sense." protested the dark green-haired girl. "Why would you deliberately want to build up your graveyard?"

"You're about to find out." grinned Airknight Parshath. "Soon, you will witness first hand all about the powers of the Dark Side."

"The Dark Side?"

The Court of Darkness member nodded. "Indeed... it is very rewarding, and those who join it will live in a new world promised by Lord Diablon! ...if he were still around, that is."

"Diablon is just using you for his own selfish goals!" argued Emily. "He doesn't care for you nor any of your allies!" She then narrowed her eyes. "Your attempts of reviving him also resulted in the death of Thomas Billinton... which is something I will never forget—nor forgive you for!"

"Then allow me to show you an old friend." suggested Airknight Parshath, removing the Armageddon Knight card from his Duel Disk. "I tribute Armageddon Knight!"

Armageddon Knight vanished in a blue streak.

"Arise... Darklord Zerato!"

"D-Darklord Zerato?!" winced Emily, upon hearing the name of the same monster she battled at the Sanctuary in the Sky. "But it can't be!"

"Oh, but it is!" laughed Airknight Parshath. "I think I should get you reacquainted with him!"

Appearing in a vortex of dark energy was none other than Darklord Zerato (Level: 8/2800).

"Zerato, Emily... Emily, Zerato!"

Emily stood firm against the new monster. Although she faced it once before and nearly let her darkness overwhelm her, this time would be different... this time she would not let her darkness get the better of her!

"I'm not afraid of him!" Emily shouted bravely. "I've defeated him once, and I'll do it again!"

Can she pull it off without allowing the darkness to blind her with rage? Only one way to find out... next time!

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the canyon-like area, Percy and the rest of the gang were making their way down the area the long way.

"Thomas! Thomas!" called Percy.

"Oh, Thomas..." thought a saddened Maiden of the Aqua.

The rest of the gang was quite devastated by the sight of their friend falling off the cliff to his possible death. Hopefully, they could find his body before he disappeared from the Duel Monsters spirit world for good.

"This is all our fault." said Molly in a very sad tone. "If we hadn't been so selfish, this could have been avoided."

"What do you mean?" asked Henry.

"How were we selfish?" came from James.

"We should have helped Thomas look for Emily." explained Molly, with her eyes welling with tears. "We should have gone with him, but we chose to carry on despite the risk of her being captured and tortured by the Court of Darkness. We really ARE terrible friends!"

Poor Molly collapsed to her knees and started to cry. James wrapped his arms around her to try and comfort her.

"There, there." he said gently. "We're not terrible friends. We just made a bad choice without properly thinking."

"We'll find Thomas and make things up to him-" frowned Edward, looking down the cliff (which was still a very long way down). "-before it's too late and he's gone forever."

And everyone else agreed to that.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere at the bottom of the canyon, lying beside some rocks, after enduring such a huge fall, was Thomas! ...but the left side of his face was bleeding severely, his body was badly scratched, and lots of blood was coming from a nasty gash across his chest, his clothes were also still torn up pretty badly, and it looked like he was in a coma. If nothing was done to help him soon, then it looked like it would truly be the end of our blue-haired hero! Game over, man! Game over!

Just then, there were the sounds of footsteps. Before long, a familiar figure was standing before the battered, broken, and nearly dead Thomas Billinton. The figure, looking down, said nothing through out, but his eyes were shining all red as the roar of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon was heard echoing...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	53. The Angel Trapped in Darkness (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. The chapter is noted for some brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the forest of flowers, Emily found herself facing a familiar foe from not long ago! ...and that foe was Darklord Zerato.

"I'm not afraid of him!" Emily shouted bravely. "I've defeated him once, and I'll do it again!"

Airknight Parshath laughed. "That, we shall soon see!" He then looked to his graveyard. "Because I have four dark attribute monsters in my graveyard, I can tribute summon Darklord Zerato with only one tribute instead of two."

The Darklork Zerato monster leered at his opponent with evil intention. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Emily spoke up once more...

"Parshath, I really don't understand you..."

"What don't you understand?" quizzed Airknight Parshath.

"You're a light attribute monster! ...yet, you serve the side of evil." continued Emily. "What I want to know is why are you working for the Court of Darkness?"

Airknight Parshath frowned. Yes, he did work for the Court of Darkness... but the reason for him joining was something that no one, but him, knew about.

"Well?" cut in Emily. "Are you going to tell me?"

"You would never understand." grunted the Court of Darkness member.

The dark green-haired girl frowned. "Try me."

"Alright." sighed Airknight Parshath, beginning to tell his story. "If you insist."

A flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A slightly younger looking Airknight Parshath was wandering through a desert on his own. He looked very tired, thirsty, and hungry.

"It was thousands of years ago before Diablon ever came to power." narrated Present Day-Airknight Parshath. "I was but a wandering soul in this world seeking out my purpose in life... but I was dying."

"I hope I find shelter soon." gasped the Younger Airknight Parsath. "Otherwise, I'm a goner."

Alas...

"N-No... I can't...!"

And Airknight Parshath collapsed into the sand from exhaustion and the heat.

"I would have perished right there and then-" Present Day-Airknight Parshath narrated some more. "-had it not been for them..."

(new scene...)

Airknight Parshath's eyes started to flicker open.

"Where... what happened to me?"

Once his vision slowly returned, the centuar-like monster saw a number of Duel Monsters were smiling at him.

"Welcome home." greeted one Mystical Elf.

"We've been waiting for your arrival." added a Magician of Faith.

"You... you have?" asked Airknight Parshath, looking around. "Where exactly am I?"

"You are at the Sanctuay in the Sky." answered a voice (female). "I was the one who brought you to this place."

Airknight Parshath's eyes widened. "Y-You're-!"

That's right... It was the kind and beautiful leader of the whole Sanctuary in the Sky herself; Wingweaver.

* * *

 **Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 2**

* * *

"Wingweaver!" exclaimed a shocked Airknight Parshath.

The angelic-like monster only smiled. "I, and the rest of the monsters of this shrine, welcome you, Airknight Parshath."

"How was it that you found me?"

"You're a light attribute monster, right?" questioned Wingweaver. "It is our duty here to keep an eye on monsters of the light and wind attribute."

"Like me?" asked Airknight Parshath.

"Yes... someone like you."

Suddenly...

"We also know that you're trying to seek out your purpose in life." came another voice (female). "So, why not become a protector of this land?"

Airknight Parshath looked for the source of the new voice. Wingweaver, meanwhile, smiled at who came into the chamber.

"Guardian Eatos, you've come just in time!" The angelic-like monster proclaimed.

"It would seem I have."

Yes, it was the second-in-command of the shrine's staff from the Sanctuary in the Sky herself; Guardian Eatos.

"So what will it be, Airknight Parshath?" The female Guardian offered. "Will you join us as a Guardian?"

Airknight Parshath finally smiled.

"After they saved my life-" narrated Present Day-Airknight Parshath. "-how could I say no?"

(new scene...)

A few months later, Airknight Parshath was kneeling towards the King of one country within a part of the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"One of my first duties as a Guardian was to establish a peaceful relationship with the neighboring kingdoms."

"Your Majesty." said Airknight Parshath. His tone was full of respect for the rulers of the land he was visiting. "It is an honor to finally meet you."

"Unfortunately, this wasn't your ordinary King..." Present Day-Airknight Parshath narrated.

"What is it that you want!?" demanded the King in a rather rude tone. "If this is for negotiations for an alliance, you can forget it! My army is one of the finest of this world, and has won me many wars!"

"But, Father!" cut in a voice (female). "This warrior has clearly travelled from a far away land! Can't you at least hear him out before dismissing him?"

Entering the throne room was what looked like a much taller, and older, version of Emily, dressed in a royal gown and with long brunette-colored hair instead of dark green (almost emerald) hair.

"Anastasia, you will not talk to me, your Father and King, like that!" snapped the King. "As the princess of this kingdom, you will do as I say, when I say. Do you understand, young lady?!"

"Sire, just let-!" started another voice (male), but he was cut off.

"Be silent, Anakin! You ae NOT to butt in when I'm scolding my daughter!"

The young warrior, Anakin, merely glared at his King as he turned his attention back to the visiting Airknight Parshath. He seemed to resemble an older version of Thomas with short black hair instead of blue hair.

"This King was unlike any I've ever met." narrated Present Day-Airknight Parshath.

"Unlike?" asked Emily's voice.

"He was a considered a cruel, heartless tyrant. He would constantly send his soldiers to war with other kingdoms so that he could take them for himself and expand on his growing empire. He even showed little care towards his own daughter and wife... However, he treated his adopted son, and the greatest warrior of his army, even lower."

(new scene...)

Two years later (time passes differently in the spirit world), Airknight Parshath was patrolling the grounds of the Sanctuary in the Sky when...

"Hold it!" came the voice of a Blade Knight. "What be your business here?"

"We have a little offer we wish to bestow upon your Guardians and civillians." came a familiar voice (male).

"Please let us speak to your ruler." pleaded another familiar voice (female).

Airknight Parshath raised an eyebrow. "Could it be?"

Down at the entrance way, three Blade Knights were busy confronting...Anakin and Anastasia! ...except they were now ages 18 and 19 respectively.

"Let them in!" called out Airknight Parshath. "They are my friends, and are most welcome here."

"S-Sir Parshath?" gasped on Blade Knight.

"You heard me! Now...let them come by."

The Blade Knights obeyed the command and stood down. The two young adults each sighed in relief and walked towards Airknight Parshath.

"Sir Anakin, Princess Anastasia." greeted Airknight Parshath. "I had never expected to see the both of you after two years."

"Likewise, Airknight Parshath." said Anastasia. "Anakin and I both thought that after we all became friends after your visit."

The centaur-like monster smiled, feeling happy to see his two good friends after so long. Just then, something about Anastasia caught his eye...

"Princess? Is there something wrong with your stomach?"

Anastasia's stomach was shown to be swollen, very big, and round.

"Oh... that..." The brunette-haired young woman mumbled, bringing both her hands to her clothed, enlarged tummy.

"She's pregnant..." answered Anakin, sounding part proud/part unhappy. "...with our child."

"You mean you two are married now?" asked Airknight Parshath. "But last I heard, Princess Anastasia was set to marry-"

"No!" Anastasia suddenly shouted, just as her eyes watered. "My arranged marriage was a sham!"

"Sham?"

"I've hated my fiance ever since we first met!" continued Anastasia, as more tears streamed down her delicate face. "That horrid prince never love me for who I am! ...he only loved me for my body, and for other selfish reasons!"

"Selfish reasons?" questioned one of the Blade Knights.

"Like Anastasia's Father, this prince wanted to conquer kingdoms and start an empire of his own." explained an angered Anakin. "Anastasia was completely disgusted by that and rejected his advances towards her, but he wouldn't give it up."

Airknight Parshath frowned, but said nothing.

"Eventually, one night, the prince went too far." Anastasia sighed sadly. "He managed to ambush me in my room, and, here I quote..."

"' _ **If I can't win you over willingly, then I will ravish your land by force**_!'" said Anakin, finishing his friend/lover's sentence. "Fortunately, I discovered what was happening, and the prince and I got into a brutal scrap."

"But being a coward he was, the prince eventually begged for mercy and Anakin here did so... before getting a knife pulled out on him."

"My God..." whispered Airknight Parshath, feeling sorry for his two human friends. "So that's how you got those scars, Sir Anakin. I-I thought you got them from a war..."

"I did, in a way." explained Anakin, feeling ashamed. "When Anastasia's Father found out what the prince had tried to do, he was furious—but not with him. Instead, he was angry with me!"

"Y-You? But why?"

"My Father has always resented Anakin from the get go." Anastasia pointed out. "While my Mother loves Anakin very much, my Father only saw him as a worthy tool for winning battles and nothing more. And to him, killing my fiance meant a possible war would break out. From there, the prince got away with his actions with only a mere one day sentence in the dungeons."

"Anastasia was then ordered to tend to my wounds." continued Anakin. "From there, it became clear as crystal that we love each other very much."

Anastasia nodded. "On our way here, I ended up becoming pregnant with our child. However, I do not care who objects to it; Anakin and I are deeply in-love, and my Father can NEVER change that!"

"But why ARE you here?" asked Airknight Parshath. "I mean... there has to be a reason for it."

"We want to make peace with your kingdom." explained Anakin.

"Yes." agreed Anastasia. "My Mother was tired of my Father constantly declaring war on all of the other kingdoms, and so sent us on a journey to the other kingdoms. The Sanctuary in the Sky is currently our last stop." She then felt distressed. "But once that's all done..."

"You'll have to return home." finished Airknight Parshath. "And when you do, your Father will likely discover the pregnancy..."

"We know..." sighed Anakin. "We don't know what to do. Anastasia here is currently eight months into her pregnancy."

Though keep down inside, the black-haired boy KNEW what to do; he wanted to kill the King and ensure that peace was restored to the land, but deep down knew that it was pointless to try and assassinate Anastasia's own Father. This was because every time he had tried to do so, Anastasia would stop him. After what seemed like forever to everyone, Airknight Parshath smiled and snapped his fingers.

"I have an idea." he announced. "Could you both come with me into the temple, please?"

The royal couple followed their Duel Monsters spirit friend, unsure of what he was thinking of doing to help them.

(new scene...)

Inside a new chamber...

"Well, what do you think?" asked Airknight Parshath, arms folded.

Anastasia was now decked out in a beautiful emerald green gown that seemed to help conceil her pregnant belly from very sharp eyes.

"Oh, Parshath... it's beautiful." gushed the brunette-haired young woman. "Thank you!"

"You can hardly tell she's pregnant." smiled Anakin. "And she looks absolutely beautiful wearing the gown."

Anastasia giggled. "Oh, my Ani..."

The young couple then shared a kiss.

"Those two humans came to me when they needed help the most." narrated Present Day-Airknight Parshath. "I never forgot them to this day! ...but my happiness was not to last..."

(new scene...)

One morning, Airknight Parshath was making his usual rounds when...Wingweaver suddenly walked up to him.

"Oh, Mistress Wingweaver!" greeted the centaur-like monster, feeling pleased to see his superior. Suddenly, he saw that the angelic-like monster looked very upset. "W-What's the matter?"

"Something terrible has happened." explained Wingweaver. "Someone has awakened the Sacred Beasts!"

"What?!"

"And what's more... Anakin and Anastasia are...both dead." Wingweaver finished grimly.

Airknight Parshath felt like his whole world came crumbling before him.

"No..." he whispered quietly, with his back legs falling to the knees. "Not them...!"

Wingweaver did her best to console the devastated centaur-like monster.

"The two best friends I've ever had...were gone." Present Day-Airknight Parshath narrated bitterly. "What's more, is that I have no idea who even did the deed!"

"Parshath..." whispered Emily's voice. "But, I don't understand..."

"You will. Because that was when I met Lord Diablon!"

(new scene...)

Airknight Parshath was alone in another section of the spirit world trying to find answers on how to bring his two friends back from the deade, but was not succeeding in doing so.

"GODDAMMIT!" The centaur-like monster cried out, hurling fallen debris aside in his anger. "Why? Why did they have to die?! Who could have done this unforgiving deed?! I wish there was a way I could bring them back!"

"Oh, you do?" echoed a new voice (male).

Airknight Parshath turned and saw a small squad of Duel Monsters, along with a demonic-like human, approaching him. Because it was very dark, the demonic-like human was completely concealed by the darkness (with an exception to his glowing red eyes).

"You wish to bring your two friends back?" asked the demon. "The answer is very simple."

"How?" demanded Airknight Parshath, growing more and more desperate. "You have to tell me, please!"

"All you have to do is join me." continued the demon, managing to briefly show himself. "Learn to use the darkness to its full potential."

"Darkness?" It was then Airknight Parshath realized something about who he was talking to... "Hold on! Your voice... it sounds so familiar to me... do I know you from somewhere?"

The demon's glowing red eyes narrowed. "No, you do not. You may think you know me, but you actually don't."

He walked back into the shadows, while the centaur-like monster frowned and gave a dejected sigh for getting his hopes of ever seeing Anakin and Anastasia ever again up.

"Besides..." spoke one of the Duel Monsters (Vampire Lord). "By joining forces with the Court of Darkness, you can achieve many great things."

"Really?" asked Airknight Parshath, looking at the Court of Darkness member.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback suddenly ended without continuing.

"I've said too much." said Airknight Parshath. "I suggest we continue with the duel, now!"

Emily frowned. This was why Airknight Parshath had joined the Court of Darkness - to avenge his fallen friends? But she decided to say no more for the time being.

"And, since we're still on my turn, I will now activate Darklord Zerato's effect!"

Emily braced herself for what it could be.

"By sending one dark-attribute monster from my hand to the graveyard-" explained Airknight Parshath, discarding a card from his hand. "-I can destroy every single card on your side of the field!"

"All of my cards?!"

"Correct!" laughed Airknight Parshath. "Say goodbye to 'em!"

Darklord Zerato formed a ball of dark energy in his hand, and threw it towards Emily's side of the field.

"I play the effect of my Blade Shade Trap card!" announced the dark green-haired girl. "My Maha Vailo monster will not be destroyed by your card effect, and 500 life points worth of damage will also be inflicted upon you!"

The shield protected Maha Vailo while inflicting more damage towards Airknight Parshath (LP: 3200).

"I also play the effect of Wonder Wand!" continued Emily. "I can send it, along with Maha Vailo, to the graveyard to allow myself to draw two cards from my deck."

"That is suicide!" Airknight Parshath pointed out. "You'd be open for an attack if you got rid of your only monster."

"No one got anywhere in life without taking risks." Emily insisted, drawing two cards.

From there, the rest of her field was cleared away of cards.

"Now watch as I activate a pair of Quick-Play Spell cards!" The dark green-haired girl continued, taking and slotting two cards into her Duel Disk. "Magical Revitalization and Emergency Provisions!"

The two mentioned Spell cards flipped face-up and revealed themselves.

"What?!" exclaimed Airknight Parshath.

"I first use the effect of Emergency Provisions to send Magical Revitalization to the graveyard." declared Emily, gaining life points (LP: 5000). "And now the effect of my Magical Revitalization card can take place!"

The face-up Magical Revitalization started glowing... before fading away and leaving behind the Maha Vailo monster card instead.

"This, because a level 4 or lower spellcaster-type monster was sent to the graveyard by the effect of a Spell/Trap card this turn, allows me to summon my fallen monster and place it in attack mode."

"Don't forget that your monster's effect is rendered completely null since you've summoned it by the use of your Spell card." reminded Airknight Parshath.

"At least it'll be less damage I take."

Maha Vailo reappeared in a battle ready position (Level: 4/ATK: 1550).

"Or will it?" questioned Airknight Parshath suddenly.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily, sounding confused.

"Facedown card, open!" The Court of Darkness member announced. "Continuous Trap - Sacred Arrow!"

His set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"During each of our end phases, we both receive 400 points of damage for each one of our monsters destroyed during our turns."

"400 life points?!" thought Emily bitterly, but then watched as another face-up Spell card materialized face-up on her opponentt's side of the field. "Is that-?"

"It is indeed..." confirmed Airknight Parshath. "Attribute Bomb! By quipping it to Darklord Zerato, and declaring the name of an elemental attribute, you will take 1000 points of damage whenever you control a monster with the declared attribute and it is destroyed by battle!"

Emily scowled. "I knew it! This is what you've planned to do to me, isn't it?"

"That's right." Airknight Parshath nodded, smiling darkly. "That means you will take additional damage for all of your destroyed light monsters! ...like Maha Vailo."

Darklord Zerato was awaiting the command to strike.

"Attack and destroy Maha Vailo now!"

Darklord Zerato obeyed, punching Maha Vailo and shattering him into pieces of glass.

"Your monster has met its end!" declared Airknight Parshath.

Emily grimaced as she took large damage (LP: 3750), but it wasn't over yet...

"And now for the use of Attribute Bomb!"

Emily then took even more damage (LP: 2750). From there, a facedown card materialized behind Darklord Zerato.

"Now I set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Airknight Parshath. "And now, because I had used Darklord Zerato's effect earlier in my turn, it is destroyed at the end phase."

With that said, Darklord Zerato vanished in a blue streak.

"However... it's time for Sacred Arrow to open fire on both of us!"

Two giant arrows were fired from the sky, striking both duelists in their chests. While Airknight Parshath didn't feel very much pain (LP: 3200 - 2800), Emily gave a cry of agony from being attacked (LP: 1550).

"It won't be long now..." grinned Airknight Parshath. "Soon I will have you sent back to the Castle of Dark Illusions..."

Emily stopped clutching her wounded chest to try and draw a card.

"Yeah? Well that isn't going to happen." The dark green-haired girl grunted.

(new scene...)

Nathaniel had finally arrived back home to the Sanctuary in the Sky after his mission to take Thomas/Diablon down seemed to have succeeded.

"The deed is done." he said quietly. "But at what cost?"

The black-haired young man was feeling nothing but overwhelming shame and guilt for killing Thomas, and despairing his friends for knocking him off the cliff.

"Nathaniel, you did what you thought was right." said the voice of Wingweaver.

Nathaniel looked over towards the source of the lovely voice; it truly was Wingweaver.

"But... Mistress Wingweaver...!" Nathaniel began to object. "I-!"

"No, Nathaniel..." echoed the voice of Guardian Eatos, just as the black-haired young man began to glow all white. "She is right..."

The light left Nathaniel and formed back into Guardian Eatos.

"Mother!" protested Nathaniel. "You and I-!"

"I know." Guardian Eatos achknowledged. "But there was no other choice."

"But what about the spell?" asked Nathaniel. "It was supposed to extract the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' once he had lost without killing Thomas."

"His anger, hatred, and despair seemed to have been too great and countered it." Wingweaver figured. "When Dark Magician Girl got trapped inside the Crystal Seal, Thomas likely gave into his darkest and most selfish of desires."

"The boy's friends have branded me as a murderer because of this." added Nathaniel, closing his eyes with remorse. "And, to be frank, they're right."

Guardian Eatos felt sorry. "My son..."

"I shouldn't have attacked." continued Nathaniel, still beating on himself. "I'm no better than Diablon or any of the other members of the Court of Darkness." It was then he remembered something... "And what of Emily?"

"She's in the middle of a duel." answered Wingweaver.

"With who?"

Wingweaver closed her eyes, fighting hard to hold back tears, still remembering his betrayal of the holy shrine years ago...

"Airknight Parshath." The angelic-like monster whispered in a heartbroken tone.

Guardian Eatos's eyes widened. "The one who betrayed us?"

"Yes... him..."

"Where are they now?" asked Nathaniel. "The girl will need assistance."

"We can't reach her." said Wingweaver. "Parshath sealed himself with Emily inside the forest of flowers, and no one can get in or out without there being a winner to the duel."

"That's not fair!" Nathaniel objected angrily. "We have to at least try to save her!"

"No!" interrupted Guardian Eatos. "Emily has to face him on her own. It's the only way she'll be able to conquer her inner darkness."

"But... what if she fails?" asked Nathaniel once more, growing very distressed.

"She won't fail. I just know it." Wingweaver interrupted. "Also..."

"Also what?" cut in Guardian Eatos.

"I... I want Emily to save Parshath."

"Save Parshath?" asked Guardian Eatos. "Why would you want her to save him after everything he did?"

The angelic-like monster never answered; she instead turned and proceeded back into the shrine. Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos both looked to each other, and quickly followed their leader.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, Emily was finally beginning her turn.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Emily Sterling (LP: 1550)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (2): Fairy's Defender and Angelic Gift

* * *

The dark green-haired girl's drawn card was the Angelic Gift Spell card. Quickly, she cast a quick glance to her opponent while deep in her thoughts.

"Parshath's got me in a box." Emily thought to herself. "Everytime a monster of mine is destroyed, I take 400 points of damage. But thankfully, his move has also left him wide open for a direct attack."

Airknight Parshath kept a neutral look on his face, watching as his opponent held out he drawn card.

"I activate Angelic Gift!" announced Emily. "I draw two cards from my deck for every fairy-type monster I banish from the graveyard!"

As she said that, two monster cards slipped out of her graveyard before fading away into oblivion.

"So I banish Condemned Maiden and Mage of Fairies to draw four cards!"

Emily's hand now contained Fairy's Defender, Wingweaver, Graceful Tear, Mystical Shine Ball, and Fairy Archer. After a moment of thinking, she took the last card on the right and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Fairy Archer, come forth!" exclaimed the dark green-haired girl.

The fairy-type monster wielding a bow and arrow appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1400).

"Your life points are wide open!" continued Emily, pointing forth. "Direct attack, now!"

Fairy Archer obeyed, forming an arrow of light and firing it at Airknight Parshath. Unfortunately, the Court of Darkness merely smiled at the arrow coming for him.

"Oh, please!" he scoffed. "You'll have to do way better than that!" From there... "I play Darklord Descent!"

His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"By paying half of my life points-" explained Airknight Parshath, taking a life point hit (LP: 1400). "-I can special summon two Darklord monsters from my graveyard in defense mode with the same level as one monster on your field."

"Which ones?" Emily thought to herself, watching as her opponent's graveyard started glowing all purple.

Only one card appeared before the dark green-haired girl.

"Come forth - Darklord Ukoback!" called Airknight Parshath.

Appearing to the field was what looked like a child with red and black wings, and chains wrapped around him (Level: 3/DEF: 1000).

"He maybe weak-" Airknight Parshath pointed out. "-but he has an effect like most of my other monsters."

"What kind of effect?" quizzed Emily.

"When Ukoback is summoned-" The Court of Darkness member explained, drawing and discarding a card to the graveyard. "-I can send a Darklord monster from my deck to the graveyard."

"Again with discarding monsters! Why are you doing that?"

"To summon something more powerful later on." answered Airknight Parshath snidely. "Now for your attack to continue!"

Fairy Archer's attack was changed to target Darklord Ukoback. The arrow pierced the monster and caused it to fizzle away into nothingness.

"Darklord Ukoback has been defeated!" declared Emily, clenching her fist confidently.

"Indeed." agreed Airknight Parshath. "But I wouldn't be celebrating so soon, if I were you."

Emily frowned, but said nothing. Whatever her opponent had planned, it sounded pretty effective! ...again, whatever the plan was.

(elsewhere...)

Down somewhere the canyon (the one leading to the Sanctuary in the Sky), a thick fog and suddenly gathered, and all was quiet... or was it?

"This must lead to the place." came a familiar voice (male).

Emerging from the fog...was Gozaburo Gresley.

"All we have to do...is scale this mountain."

And it looked like the evil man wasn't alone... there were a large number of shining red eyes coming from the thick fog. It would seem Gozaburo Gresley had gathered his proper army to invade the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Now-" announced Gozaburo declared, grinning wickedly. "-we go up!"

With that, the army of monsters began to approach and scale the cliff. This was not a good sign for Emily's new allies at the Sanctuary in the Sky; for they weren't even aware of an attack being directed at them.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	54. The Angel Trapped in Darkness (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Outside the Sanctuary in the Sky, all was quiet... Too quiet. One Blade Knight was alone and patrolling the shrine's grounds, but he was feeling bored.

"Sheesh!" muttered the Blade Knight. "I'm so bored! I wish something exciting would happen right about now!"

Unknowingly, he would soon regret his statement. All of a sudden, someone snuck up on him from behind...

*THRUST*

The poor Blade Knight collapsed as a pool of blood formed from the knife sticking in his upper back. The culprit was soon shown to be...

"Have a good night." whispered Gozaburo Gresley, laughing quietly and darkly.

With no other foe standing in the way, the evil man then turned to look back to his army of darkness.

"Go now, my creatures of the dark, and tear this filthy place apart! ' _I_ ' will go and search for our missing ally."

The evil monsters did as they were told, and began to wreck havoc.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, the duel between Emily and Airknight Parshath continued to get fierce as the former narrowed her eyes.

"Whatever you're planning right now-" The dark green-haired girl said boldly, just before pointing forth at her opponent. "-I won't allow it to take place!"

Airknight Parshath chuckled. "So you say... Let me ask you something, Emily, why don't you just give up now, and come back with me to the Castle of Dark Illusions where you can be used for our experiments?"

"Why should I? The Court of Darkness is evil! All you care about is hurting others to get what you want!"

"You wish to be with Thomas, do you not?" questioned the centaur-like monster. "What if I were to tell you there was a way to bring him back?"

Emily became surprised. "Bring him back?"

"Yes." said Airknight Parshath. "The ever-growing darkness in your heart will serve as part of the tools necessary to revive the dead."

Emily briefly looked down at her chest before looking back up at her opponent. Even then, she stayed absolutely silent on the matter and allowed her opponent to continue speaking...

"That way-" The Court of Darkness member went on. "-it will be put to a good use."

Just before Emily could speak up once more, there was a bright light coming from inside Airknight Parshath's armor. Frowning, he took out the crystal ball, saw what was going on, and gave a deadly smile.

"It would appear that your friends in the Sanctuary in the Sky are in trouble." he commented. "My comrades are beginning their attack."

"What?!" screamed Emily, growing alarmed.

"Yes... Would you like to see them?"

Emily remained silent, scowling angrily at Airknight Parshath, who kept his smile and took the silence as a ' ** _yes_** '. From there, the Court of Darkness member held out his crystal ball and showed what was going on...

* * *

 **Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 3**

* * *

At the Sanctuary in the Sky, it was absolute carnage! Evil Duel Monsters were busy attacking and destroying the whole peaceful shrine while killing many innocent humans and Duel Monsters. It was like Vampire Lord had told them to destroy the building and take no prisoners!

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere inside the main temple, Gozaburo and a number of Summoned Skulls were making their way to the containment center with their ally Darklord Zerato. Along the way, they met some opposition...

"Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the prisoner!" bellowed a Blade Knight to his squad.

They were determined to keep Darklord Zerato contained at all cost. Gozaburo, however, merely grinned evilly.

"Lightning Strike."

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from the sky above, electrocuting and destroying them.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one containment field, Darklord Zerato was asleep on the bed when a shake-up jolted him awake.

"Huh? What?" The monster mumbled groggily. He sat up. "What's going on?"

The trapped monster looked over out to the window to see what the fuss was about.

"What?!"

He could see his comrades from the Court of Darkness causing chaos among the whole Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Are those-?" Darklord Zerato started to say, but never finished.

"Darklord Zerato-" interrupted a voice (male). "-we have come for you."

The evil monster looked back and saw, to his surprise, Gozaburo Gresley and a number of Summoned Skulls.

"You!" gasped Darklord Zerato. "You're-!"

"A friend of yours." finished Gozaburo. "Here to release you so that we may finally get rid of ' _her_ '."

"You mean that girl who defeated me?"

Gozaburo shook his head. "No... Wingweaver."

"Wingweaver?" blinked Darklord Zerato. He then realized something about what the evil man meant by getting rid of Wingweaver. "Ah, yes... if we kill Wingweaver, then this whole shrine will immediately surrender to you!"

"Yes, that's right." laughed Gozaburo in agreement.

"Well then... Get me out of here then!"

Nodding, Gozaburo took a card out of his pocket. It was a Blast with Chain Trap card!

"Stand back." The evil man warned.

Darklord Zerato stood back from the door. All of a sudden, an explosion erupted from the card.

(elsewhere...)

Down in another hallway of the shrine, Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos were both on the run when the noise of an explosion rang in their ears.

"That explosion-!" began Nathaniel.

"It came from the dungeons!" cried Guardian Eatos. "Someone is trying to break Darklord Zerato free!"

"We must stop them at once, Mother!"

Before too long, three Gil Garths stood in the pair's path. Immediately, Guardian Eatos summoned her Celestal Sword and readied it.

"Stand down or die!" she declared.

The Gil Garths merely lunged forth to attack. Guardian Eatos could only raise her glowing sword up and charge it with light and power.

" **Forbidden Gospel**!"

She then slammed her blade down, sending a wave of energy towards the trio of Gil Garth. The wave struck and vaporized the monsters in a matter of seconds.

(elsewhere...)

Airknight Parshath was still holding onto the glowing crystal ball. Even worse, it was still showing images at the attack going on.

"Huh, I never expected my comrades to lay siege to my old home." The Court of Darkness member remarked in a uncaring tone, before looking over to his opponent. "Rather ironic, wouldn't you say?"

Emily's body shook violently, and she clenched her fist in anger. Seeing the destruction and deaths of many friendly Duel Monsters spirits further angered and tainted her dark heart.

"How could you?" hissed Emily. "That was your original home. They took you in, they treated you as one of their own, THEY ALSO SAVED YOU FROM DEATH! And this is how you thank them?! You are completely unforgivable!"

Before long, the dark green-haired girl collapsed to her knees in pain. The darkness in her heart was growing at an alarming pace, and this was something she could NOT let happen—lest she loses herself completely.

"N-No!" Emily cried out in pain. "I won't...give in to the darkness!" Struggling, she took two cards from her hand and slotted then slowly into the Duel Disk. "I set...two cards!"

Two facedown cards materialized. As it was the end phase, Sacred Arrow activated and fired an arrow into the chest of Airknight Parshath! ...although he didn't flinch, yell, or do/say anything about it (LP: 1000). Instead, he...smirked confidently.

"It's almost time..." thought Airknight Parshath. "All I need is a few more moments..." Finally, he drew his card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Airknight Parshath (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

"And now for the effect of Darklord Marie in my graveyard!"

A dark glow came from Airknight Parshath's graveyard as his life points increased (LP: 1200). From there, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up.

"Now I activate Card of Sanctity!" announced Airknight Parshath, drawing six cards from his deck. "Thanks to this, we draw from our decks until we hold six cards." He then motioned his left hand forth. "So now... draw your cards if you can!"

Emily, still clutching her chest from the pain and darkness she was feeling in her heart, managed to slowly draw four cards. Airknight Parshath's hand now contained Darknight Parshath, Darklord Contact, DNA Transplant, Misfortune, Draining Shield, and Shadow Spell.

"And now, I will continue to make sure you accept your darkness." said the Court of Darkness member smugly, taking and holding out a special Spell card called Darklord Contact. "Darklord Contact!"

The Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"With this, I can special summon one Darklord monster from my graveyard to the field! So, I want you to meet this monster - Darklord Superbia!"

Appearing to the field was a large jar-shaped monster with claws and red wings (Level: 8/ATK: 2900). Just then, yet another Darklord monster (this one being called Darklord Ixchel) appeared and joined its fellow archtype (Level: 10/ATK: 2500).

"Using the effect of Darklord Superbia-" continued Airknight Parshath. "-I can revive one Darklord monster from the graveyard and place it in attack mode! ...like Darklord Ixchel here."

Emily, still wincing, was curious to know what her opponent had planned. She was about to find out now... as her opponent suddenly took a 1000 life point hit (LP: 200).

"Now I play the effect of Darklord Ixchel! By spending 1000 life points, I target one Darklord-related Spell or Trap card from my graveyard, apply its effect, and then shuffle that target into the deck!"

A card slipped out of Airknight Parshath's graveyard, and he told hold and held it out.

"And I've chosen Banishment of the Darklords!" announced the Court of Darkness member. "This lets me add one Darklord monster from my deck to my hand."

Emily watched as a card slipped from her opponent's deck, and he added it into his hand. From there, thanks to Darklord Darklord Ixchel's effect, Banishment of the Darklords was added to Airknight Parshath's deck.

"What is he going to do now?" Emily thought to herself. "Is there something big about to come out?"

Whatever it was, she had to be ready. Airknight Parshath soon took and readied a card from his hand.

"It's time!" The Court of Darkness member announced. "I offer Darklord Superbia as a tribute to summon my most noteworthy monster!"

The mentioned Darklord monster disappeared in a streak of darkness. All of a sudden, the body of a centaur-like monster was shown in a surge of purple fog.

"That monster..." whispered Emily.

"I call forth Darknight Parshath!"

The fog faded away... and revealed a familiar monster, but colored differently. It also looked far more dangerous (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1400).

"Darknight Parshath...!" Emily mumbled. "Could this be what I've been sensing about him at the start of our duel?"

"Behold my mightiest creature!" declared Airknight Parshath. "It will be the key to my victory, and your turn towards joining the dark side."

Emily suddenly began to have a thought about something before speaking up...

"It was you." The dark green-haired girl frowned. "You put that Dark Angel card in my Deck, didn't you?"

"Heh, whatever do you mean by that?"

"Until I came to this world-" scowled Emily, pointing at her opponent accusingly. "-the Dark Angel monster card wasn't in my deck. It was only during my duel with Fallen Angel of Roses that I came across it. Once I did, it made my darkness go completely out of control!"

"Did it?" asked Airknight Parshath ominously.

"Huh? What are you-?"

"Did it make your darkness go out of control?" asked Airknight Parshath. He ended asking his next question with an evil smile on his face... "...or was it all you?"

Emily froze when she was asked that question. Did the Dark Angel card really make her do what she did to Fallen Angel of Roses, or was it really all her?

"Was it really all me?" The dark green-haired girl thought only to herself. "Am... am I really a monster?"

(elsewhere...)

Back at the Sanctuary in the Sky, Darklord Zerato was by himself and running down a hallway. He was currently seeking out Wingweaver. That way, he could assassinate the still wounded angelic-like monster so that the morale of the monsters at the shrine would falter and result in them surrendering to the Court of Darkness.

"And then, once Wingweaver is gone, the darkness will reign forever!" Darklord Zerato cackled to himself. "For Lord Diablon!"

Eventually, the doors to one room smashed apart. Darklord Zerato found himself inside the main praying room.

"Wingweaver! Come on out and fight me! I know you're in here somewhere."

After what seemed like forever, Wingweaver emerged from behind a large pillar.

"I am here." The angelic-like monster said in a calm, collected tone. "And I see you have escaped your cell."

"Got that right." confirmed Darklord Zerato. "I had my fellow comrades break me out, and now I can put you out of commission!"

"What makes you think you'll even defeat me?"

"I have the powers of darkness on my side." Darklord Zerato bragged. "You, on the other hand, are still weak from our last ordeal."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Emily was gazing long and hard at Darklord Zerato when, suddenly, Wingweaver took a step forth, making the dark green-haired girl look up in surprise.

"Wingweaver...?"

"You must leave here at once." The angelic-like monster interrupted. "We've done all we could to help you. Now you need to continue with your journey."

"No, I can't!" Emily shook her head. "I won't abandon my friends here!"

Darklord Zerato was getting annoyed with the constant interruptions to his plans. He turned...and saw a baby Winged Kuriboh trying to get away from the chaos and destruction going on.

"What's a guy got to do to get something done right around here?" he said to himself. The evil fairy then smirked. "Perhaps something like this!"

He raised his sword and prepared to throw it. Guardian Eatos was the first to notice this action.

"What are you doing?!"

"Target practice!" cackled Darklord Zerato. And he threw the sword towards the baby Winged Kuriboh.

"Look out!" exclaimed Emily, running to the rescue.

The sword soared through the air towards the baby Winged Kuriboh, who got incredibly frightened and froze in place. Emily ran as fast as she could to try and rescue the baby from being skewered in half, but it was clear she would never make it in time.

*SLASH*

Emily froze as a look of great shock slowly melted onto her face.

"No..."

The Winged Kuriboh had its eyes closed at first while bracing for the impact, but soon opened them and saw it was unhurt... but when it looked up ahead, it wished it hadn't opened its eyes... Wingweaver had managed to get in the path of the sword just in time...and was impaled in the lower back (with the sword tip slightly sticking out of her bloodied stomach).

"Wingweaver!" cried Emily.

Wingweaver was shivering, spluttering, and coughing in great pain before finally closing her eyes and collapsing onto the ground. Emily, Kuribon, Guardian Eatos, and Nathaniel all approached the critically wounded angelic monster.

"Mistress Wingweaver! Mistress Wingweaver!" pleaded Nathaniel, shaking Wingweaver gently.

Guardian Eatos carefully remove the blade out of Wingweaver's lower back and turned her body over. She was bleeding heavily from both the back and the stomach.

"She's still alive, but is gravely injured and losing blood really fast." said Guardian Eatos urgently. "We have to get her medical attention at once!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"What makes you think that you can protect yourself this time?" asked Darklord Zerato. "With the wound still affecting your overall skill, you cannot stop me!"

Wingweaver frowned. "Then watch me."

Darklord Zerato said nothing. He just readied himself to attack as Wingweaver raised her hands into air.

"Luminious Light Ra-!"

Just before she could complete the attack, Darklord Zerato went and tackled his enemy onto the ground. Wingweaver was completely pinned down by the dark fairy-like monster.

"You're too slow!" laughed Darklord Zerato. "Apparently, your wound has made you much slower than normal!"

"You're nothing but a puppet to the darkness." insisted Wingweaver. "But your powers are wasted with it. You could be so much more."

Darklord Zerato grew quite infuriated. "You will never convince me to betray Lord Diablon!"

"The Court of Darkness always betray one another." Wingweaver went on. "Turn back before it's too late!"

"Be silent!"

With that said, Darklord Zerato punched Wingweaver in the stomach (where the wound was), causing the angelic-like monster to cry out in pain before coughing up some blood.

"This will finish you!" hissed Darklord Zerato, readying to punch Wingweaver in her wounded spot once more. "Good night, sweet angel!"

"Hold it right there!"

Darklord Zerato's smile turned into a scowl as he looked over his shoulder. Standing at the blown down doors...was Guardian Eatos.

"You...!" growled the dark fairy-like monster.

"Let her go right now, you traitor!" shouted Guardian Eatos.

"Traitor?" scoffed Darklord Zerato, standing back up. "Hardly..."

"You abandoned us and turned to the darkness for your own selfish intentions!"

"And you think you're innocent, as well?" asked Darklord Zerato dismissively. "I heard that you forced your own son to murder an innocent child."

Guardian Eatos seethed. "Why, you...!"

"Face it, Eatos..." went on Darklord Zerato. "You're just as cruel and selfish as I am! The same can be for your son, too."

"Leave my son out of this!" demanded Guardian Eatos fiercely. "He only did what was needed to be done."

The dark fairy-like monster snorted. "Why? Just to satisfy your blood lust?"

Crying out in rage, Guardian Eatos charged forth with her sword and...fatally impaled Darklord Zerato in the chest. The dark fairy-like monster coughed, spluttered, and shivered as blood trickled down the blade, but he managed a smile despite being about to die.

"So... you do have it in you...after all."

Using what strength he had left, Darklord Zerato pulled himself further along the sword he was impaled on towards Guardian Eatos. Once he was close enough, the wounded dark fairy-like monster placed his hands on the female Guardian monster's shoulders and smiled wickedly in her face.

"Even the purest of beings...have darkness in them." he said slowly-but menacingly. "Your son...will soon go down...that path..."

Finally, with a dying gurgle, Darklord Zerato's eyes closed and he died. Within seconds, the dark fairy-like monster turned to light and vanished. Despite still breathing hard from her fit of rage before killing her enemy, in addition to hearing his final words, Guardian Eatos never said anything throughout the whole scene.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, the duel was still going on... and it was still Airknight Parshath's turn.

"For every dark monster in my graveyard-" explained Airknight Parshath. "-my new monster gains 100 attack points."

"So that's why you've been sending monster cards to the graveyard before now." said Emily, now realizing her opponent's strategy. "So you can power up your monster once the time came!"

Darknight Parshath grew stronger (ATK: 1900 - 2600). It was then Airknight Parshath entered the battle phase...

"Darknight Parshath, attack!"

Darknight Parshath obeyed and charged towards Fairy Archer when, suddenly, she disappeared before the dark centaur-like monster's sword could strike.

"Huh?!" gasped Airknight Parshath. "Where did your monster-?!"

He then noticed one of Emily's facedown cards had revealed itself.

"A Trap card!?"

"You're right." nodded Emily. "Fairy's Defender! ...when you declare an attack on a level 4 or lower monster I command, I can return the monster to my hand and special summon one fairy-type monster in its place!" She then held up a card without revealing what it was. "And this is the fairy-type monster I summon in Fairy Archer's place..." The dark green-haired girl turned the card over. "Wingweaver!"

Within seconds, the six-winged angel appeared to the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2750).

"This is the very monster you have betrayed years ago!" continued Emily. "NOW you will pay for your misdeeds!"

Suddenly, Airknight Parshath...started to laugh loud and long.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"Alright, I'll tell you... Did you really think that I would be afraid of that monster?" asked Airknight Parshath, holding up a card. "I was expecting you to play it! ...because it will be a part of your downfall!"

Emily scowled. "I don't believe you!"

"Suit yourself." shrugged Airknight Parshath. "But mark my words; whether you do so willingly or not, you will embrace the darkness!"

"NEVER!" screamed Emily. "I HATE the darkness!"

Just then, a Spell card called Misfortune materialized face-up on Airknight Parshath's side of the field.

"You WILL accept it." The Court of Darkness member insisted, with two fingers braced near a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "But first, I play Misfortune."

"No... Not Misfortune! I now take life point damage equal to half of my monster's original attack!"

"That's right!" confirmed Airknight Parshath. "Now say goodbye to 1375 life points!"

The face-up Spell card fired a powerful blast at poor Emily, striking and causing her to scream as massive damage was inflicted (LP: 175). She then collapsed to a knee while breathing hard.

"The darkness..." The dark green-haired girl mumbled. "I can feel it...getting much stronger!"

On cue, three facedown cards materialized behind Darknight Parshath.

"I place three cards facedown and end my turn. Are you ready to surrender?"

Still breathing hard, Emily looked up at her opponent as she weakly drew her card.

"N-Never!" The dark green-haired girl spat.

Airknight Parshath sighed unhappily. This girl was so stubborn...

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Emily Sterling (LP: 175)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (7): Mystical Shine Ball, Nitwit Outwit, Miraculous Descent, Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Fairy Archer, and Wings of Misdirection

* * *

Emily was looking at her seven card-hand.

"With only 175 life points left, I can't afford to make any mistake... or else it'll cost me everything."

Her hand contained Mystical Shine Ball, Nitwit Outwit, Miraculous Descent, Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Fairy Archer, and Wings of Misdirection. Finally, Fairy Archer returned to the field in attack position (Level: 3/ATK: 1400).

"I summon back Fairy Archer!" declared Emily. "And I activate its effect!"

Fairy Archer readied to fire an arrow of light.

"For each face up light monster I control, I can infliction 400 points of damage to you!" The dark green-haired girl then pointed at her opponent. "With only 200 life points left, you will be defeated once the attack starts!"

Fairy Archer opened fire. The arrow got closer and closer and closer... before finally fizzling out, much to Emily's shock.

"My attack! It...stopped?"

It was then she heard Airknight Parshath laughing ominously. Finally, the Court of Darkness member looked up with an extremely evil smile on his face.

"Well done, Emily Sterling..." he remarked in a very dark and sarcastic tone. "You have finally fallen into the ultimate trap I've set for you."

Emily grew more horrified. "W-What?!"

One of Airknight Parshath's facedown cards had revealed itself. This one was...

"Continuous Trap - DNA Transplant!"

"NO!" winced Emily. "Not that card!"

"Yes!" laughed Airknight Parshath. "This is the one card I need to make sure that you fall into darkness! What it does is it allows me to choose an elemental attribute—light, fire, the likes—and, so long as this Trap card remains face-up, all monsters on the field are treated as that type!" His smile grew eviler. "And the attribute I will choose...is the dark attribute."

The Trap card glowed in a dark aura as its effect activated.

"Now... Wingweaver, Fairy Archer... become one with darkness!"

Within seconds, Emily's monsters were affected by the DNA Transplant. Their wings and colorful hair had turned black, and their skin had become grey. Emily could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"M-My...monsters!" The dark green-haired girl stuttered in fear. "They're... they're..."

"They're much more powerful now." finished Airknight Parshath. "That is the gift of darkness." He then corrected himself. "Actually, my mistake, Fairy Archer is much weaker now that its effect has been rendered useless!"

"Useless?"

"With no light attribute monsters, Fairy Archer's effect cannot be activated!" The centaur-like monster pointed out (LP: 200). "That means I'm safe from your attempt to defeat me!"

Emily never said a word back. She was starting to hear familiar voices in her head from a very long time ago... the voices belonging to Gordon and James when they bullied her.

" _You? Tell on us? Did you hear that, Gordon_?" - (Young James)

" _You were right. She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale_." - (Young Gordon)

" _Oh yes... No likes a tattletale...like you_." - (Young James)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Emily was now THIS close to finally breaking and falling into darkness. But the question is... what will be the straw that breaks the camel's back? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	55. The Angel Trapped in Darkness (4)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some nudity, brief language (including the series' only use of the F-word), some gropping on a female character (by a male character), some near rape, and even attempted suicide (as a result, the chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Emily could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"M-My...monsters!" The dark green-haired girl stuttered in fear. "They're... they're..."

"They're much more powerful now." finished Airknight Parshath. "That is the gift of darkness." He then corrected himself. "Actually, my mistake, Fairy Archer is much weaker now that its effect has been rendered useless!"

"Useless?"

"With no light attribute monsters, Fairy Archer's effect cannot be activated!" The centaur-like monster pointed out (LP: 200). "That means I'm safe from your attempt to defeat me!"

Emily never said a word back. She was starting to hear familiar voices in her head from a very long time ago... the voices belonging to Gordon and James when they bullied her.

" _You? Tell on us? Did you hear that, Gordon_?" - (Young James)

" _You were right. She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale_." - (Young Gordon)

" _Oh yes... No likes a tattletale...like you_." - (Young James)

" _Goody-goody tattletale_...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Poor Emily collapsed to her knees once more. The bad memories of her past were returning once more to haunt her, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Make it stop!" Emily cried to herself. "Make it all STOP!"

Airknight Parshath, however, knew that his opponent wasn't completely broken just yet. He needed a special way to make it happen. But how? Unknown to him, that way would soon come...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the praying chamber, Wingweaver slowly managed to get to her feet. She had seen her best friend's murder of Darklord Zerato, and was a little surprised to see Guardian Eatos looking upset over doing the deed.

"Guardian Eatos..." The angelic-like monster whispered. "Are you-?"

"Why... why did I do that?" whispered Guardian Eatos in shame. "I... I killed him."

Still very weak from the beating she took, Wingweaver limped over and laid a hand onto her friend's should.

"You did what was necessary."

"I'm a monster..." Poor Guardian Eatos went on. "Now I know how Nathaniel feels..."

Just then...

"Did someone mention a Nathaniel?" snickered a familiar voice (male).

The two female Duel Monsters spirits turned around...and gasped at what they saw.

"NO!"

It was Gozaburo Gresley, and with him was...a captured Nathaniel.

"You know, it's never a good idea to leave your son in the middle of a war." said Gozaburo in a sadistic tone, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "You never know what could happen to him."

"Nathaniel!" cried Guardian Eatos.

"Who are you?!" demanded Wingweaver in a hostile tone.

Gozaburo chuckled. "My name is of no concern. However, you will do me a favor and surrender this whole palace to me! ...or else, this boy will meet an untiming end."

To prove a point, he cocked and motioned a gun to the black-haired young man's face, ready to open fire if needed.

"Your choice."

"Let them kill me, Mother!" cried Nathaniel. "For the good of you and everyone here at the temple, I would rather die than let this shrine fall to darkness! Besides, this way, I will atone for my crime."

But Guardian Eatos did not want to let her adopted son die. If she did, then her one promise to Wingweaver would be broken, and she would never forgive herself.

"I..."

"Well?!" shouted Gozaburo, quickly losing patience. "What is your choice? Surrender and let the boy live? ...or allow him to be killed...?"

At last, Guardian Eatos spoke... "Alright, you win! I'll stand down."

With that said, she dropped her Celestial Sword onto the ground. Wingweaver, because she was still very weak from her wound and beating, was left with no other alternative but to stand down also.

"I'll stand down, too." The angelic-like monster added.

"Smart choice." grinned Gozaburo. He then pushed his prisoner forth. "Here, you can have him back."

Nathaniel nearly fell onto his face, but managed to remain on his feet. Guardian Eatos and Wingweaver both ran over to the black-haired young man.

"Nathaniel!" exclaimed Guardian Eatos, hugging her adopted son tightly. "My son... thank heaven you're safe."

"Mother... I'm sorry." said Nathaniel sadly. "I had tried to fight the enemy off, but I got overpowered."

"All that matters is that you did your best." Wingweaver reassured. She then scowled and gazed back at Gozaburo. "Alright... we've surrendered. What now?"

"Hmm..." mused Gozaburo. "That's a good question... and I have an answer for it!" He aimed his gun up at Nathaniel. "You know something? I never actually said he'd be released...alive."

(elsewhere...)

In the middle of the hallway...

 ***BANG!***

(elsewhere...)

Gozaburo was smiling in a twisted and insane way, and his gun was smoking from the shot. Wingweaver could only whisper something in paralyzing shock...

"No..."

A certain someone couldn't either...

"MMMMOOOOTTTTHHHHEEEERRRR!" screamed the voice...of Nathaniel.

Yes... Guardian Eatos had been shot fatally in her heart. Originally, the shot was meant for the black-haired boy, but Guardian Eatos quickly got in the way and took it for her adopted son. She was now lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Mother! Mother!" panicked Nathaniel, kneeling down and holding his adopted Mother in his arms. "Speak to me! Please, speak to me!"

Guardian Eatos, slowly dying, managed to open her eyes.

"Mother..." whispered Nathaniel, struggling not to cry. "Why did you do that?"

"You're my...son." said Guardian Eatos slowly. "And...I want to see...that you are kept...safe."

"Guardian Eatos..." whispered Wingweaver in a heartbroken tone.

"Mother, you can't leave me!" begged Nathaniel, tears finally coming down his eyes. "I've already lost my parents... I don't want you to go, too!"

"Even in death... I will always be with you."

With the last of her strength, Guardian Eatos braced her hand onto her adopted son's chest and started glowing all white, making him glow white also.

"Good...bye... Nathaniel..." whispered the female Guardian-like monster.

With that said, her eyes closed, her body went limb, and she then faded to particles of light and vanished. Nathaniel, absolutely devastated by the loss of his adopted Mother, stood back up and turned to face Gozaburo as rage burned in his blood.

"You scum!" he seethed, unaware that someone was sneaking up on him. "I'll-!"

Before the black-haired young man could finish, someone bobbed him in the back of the head. Nathaniel then fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Nathaniel!" cried Wingweaver, before someone else bashed her in the back of the head.

The angelic-like monster blacked out and collapsed onto the ground, as well. Gozaburo smiled as he saw that two Vorse Raiders were shown to have done the deeds of knocking the opposition out.

"You'll thank me for that later, boy." insisted Gozaburo, leering down at the defeated Nathaniel. "With that pathetic Guardian Eatos now dead as a door-nail, your true potential can now be unleashed." He then turned to the Vorse Raiders. "Grab him and let's go."

One of the Vorse Raiders obeyed the command, lifting and carrying the unconscious black-haired young man over its shoulder.

"Let's get out of here... We've done our job!"

(elsewhere...)

Before long, as the army of darkness retreated with their new prisoner, The Sanctuary in the Sky was left in complete ruins. Many humans and monsters were either dead or wounded, and the statues and holy shrines were also badly damaged. What's worse, when a certain dark green-haired girl found out about the attack...

* * *

 **Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 4**

* * *

Back in the forest of flowers, both Airknight Parshath and Emily had witnessed the events through the crystal ball.

"So, you've gotten what you need?" asked Airknight Parshath to the crystal ball.

The crystal ball was showing an image of Gozaburo, and he was smiling in a truly evil way.

"The Sanctuary in the Sky has surrendered." The evil man confirmed eagerly. "And we have the boy Nathaniel. We're taking him back to the castle to perform experiments on him."

Airknight Parshath nodded. "Great! I'll return once I have the girl."

The crystal ball dimmed. Emily, meanwhile, as she collapsed to her knees, could only stare on in disbelief and sorrow as tears leaked from her eyes over what had happened to her new friends at The Sanctuary in the Sky. The one place she briefly found herself at peace... The many friends she successfully made there... It was possible that they were all dead, and there wasn't anything she could do about it now...

"How could you... How could you do such a horrible thing?!"

Airknight Parshath raised his head. "Hm? I'm sorry, you'll have to speak more loudly than, please."

That sickening taunt had done it... Emily had finally reached her absolute breaking point, and she wouldn't take it any longer... The dark green-haired girl slowly rose to her feet. She turned around sharply, and her tears and sadness had been replaced with a dark expression full of nothing but fury, hatred, and pure malice towards the fallen angel that was her opponent! ...that, and her eyes were flashing crimson red from the dark influence inside her heart.

" **PARSHATH**!" Emily screamed in rage, with a dark aura now beginning to surround and burn around her body.

The power of the teenage girl's shout was strong enough to release a shockwave and actually push Airknight Parshath back slightly. The Court of Darkness member, however, merely chuckled lightly without any sort of care, despite being pushed back. Witnessing the seige on The Sanctuary of the Sky, the destructions of the whole palace, and the deaths of so many innocent monsters—particularly Guardian Eatos—and the capture of Nathaniel, had successfully allowed Emily to fully embrace and unleash all of the darkness within her heart! ...and it would soon lead to her downfall.

"Prepare yourself, you son-of-a-bitch! Thanks to Darklord Ixchel's effect, you've dug your own grave!" thundered the usually friendly dark green-haired girl. Her voice and tone had both become unbelievably dark, menacing, and venomous, thus perfectly replicating her expression. It was as if any trace of Emily's true self had been eliminated upon witnessing the battle and deaths at The Sanctuary in the Sky. "My Wingweaver's attack points are 2750, your Darklord Ixchel has 2500 attack points, while you only have 200 Life Points left! One single attack from my monster, and you're through!"

Airknight Parshath briefly flinched as he realized that Emily was right. One attack would end the duel, and possibly his life. With Emily so immersed in her darkness and hatred for Airknight Parshath, she would gladly attempt to murder him without any resistance or hesitation.

"Wingweaver - annihilate Darklord Ixchel, and kill this **fucking** bastard for good!" cried Emily, having used a VERY strong swear word in her sentence (shockingly). The now dark attribute Wingweaver, meanwhile, obeyed and began to prepare her attack that would end the duel with Emily's victory. "With this coming assault, you will pay for your actions, AND ROT IN HELL FOR THIS BETRAYAL OF YOUR KIND!"

Crying out in nothing but fury, Wingweaver finally unleashed her attack, striking Darklord Ixchel with an orb of darkness and creating a large explosion that clouded Airknight Parshath's field. Emily, breathing hard from her fit of dark rage, watched as the black smoke began to spread over to her side of the field.

"Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos... you've both been avenged... The one who betrayed you is finally dead..."

Then, Emily flinched, as from the smoke she heard a sinister chuckling that turned into equally sinister laughter... The smoke soon cleared away and revealed that Airknight Parshath was still alive.

"What?!" Emily flinched, taking a step back out of reflex. "You-?!"

"Oh please... Did you honestly think you could actually defeat me like this?" The Court of Darkness member asked in a taunting tone. "Your reckless action led you into this trap."

He motioned to one of his activated facedown cards. This one was shown to be...

"Draining Shield!"

Emily, as her red-eyes widened, gave a gasp of shock.

"As you know-" continued Airknight Parshath, gaining life points (LP: 2950). "-this Trap card negates your attack and raises my life points by the current attack power of your attacking monster... Like, for instance, Wingweaver... She has 2750 attack points, and that means I gain that much life points and get my score set to 2950."

"Goddammit!" cursed Emily, feeling enraged that her final attack had failed to defeat her opponent.

Unfortunately, Airknight Parshath wasn't through just yet...

"And now, I shall put your Wingweaver out of further use!" he continued, just before motioning his right hand towards his second set card. "Facedown card, open! Continuous Trap - Shadow Spell!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Suddenly, Wingweaver found herself bound by many chains, weakening her attack strength by a fair bit (ATK: 2750 - 2050).

"Wingweaver!" cried Emily, just before directing her anger towards her opponent once more. "What have you done to her?!"

"As I've mentioned in activating it, Shadow Spell is a Continuous Trap card." explained Airknight Parshath. "So long as it remains face-up on my field, your monster becomes constricted and unable to attack or defend itself. In addition, it receives a 700 attack point deduction while being trapped." He then chuckled cruelly. "Your own ace monster has become a victim of your dark lust for revenge, Emily!"

Emily growled in annoyance as she took and readied two cards from her hand.

"Your smart-mouth will be the end of you yet." The dark green-haired girl hissed, slotting the cards into her Duel Disk. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Two facedown cards materialized behind the trapped Wingweaver.

"So now, make your move, Parshath!"

"With pleasure." nodded Airknight Parshath, drawing his next card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Airknight Parshath (LP: 2950)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (2): Darklord Ukoback and Graceful Charity

* * *

His drawn card was the Graceful Charity Spell card. The Court of Darkness member, due to it being the standby phase, then opened his arms in welcome...

"Since we're on my standby phase, Darklord Marie's effect will again activate!" Airknight Parshath reminded.

With that said, the centaur-like monster's life points increased yet again (LP: 3150), much to Emily's further anger and frustration.

"And now... to continue your downfall!"

He selected from his hand (which contained Darklord Ukoback and Graceful Charity) the card on the right and held it out.

"I will first activate Graceful Charity!" announced Airknight Parshath. "This Spell Card lets me draw three cards from my deck, so long as I discard two cards from my hand afterward."

He drew three cards (Spiritualism, Darklord Amdusc, and Darklord Nasten) from his deck before choosing which ones to discard. One was a Spell card, and the other two were monster cards. Presently, Airknight Parshath discarded the two monster cards.

"I'll send these two cards to the graveyard!" declared the Court of Darkness member, showing his opponent the two cards. "Darklord Amdusc and Darklord Nasten! With them added to my graveyard, Darknight Parshath gains 200 more attack points!"

Darknight Parshath grew stronger (ATK: 2600 - 2800). Scowling, Emily held her left hand to one of her set cards...

"Facedown card, open!" she cried, ust as the set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Graceful Tear! By giving you exactly one card from my hand, I'll gain 2000 life points!"

Airknight Parshath nodded. "By all means."

Emily glowed in an aura of light as her life points increased (LP: 2175). She then looked at her last card before hurling it like a shuriken to her opponent, who caught and looked at it.

"Miraculous Descent..." mused Airknight Parshath. He then smirked at his darkness-induced opponent. "I see no use for it. Actually, your facedown card disturbs me a little bit... so I think I'd better deal with it before I attack you."

Emily only glared at the Court of Darkness member fiercely. Her flashing red-eyes made her look pretty frightening for such a beautiful-looking girl.

"I activate the Spell card Spiritualism!" announced Airknight Parshath, holding his next card out. "Now one Spell/Trap card on your side of the field is returned to your hand!"

One of Emily's only remaining facedown cards was, much to her shock, returned to to her hand.

"How does it feel?" asked the Court of Darkness member. "How does it feel that you've finally embaced the darkness?"

Emily said nothing. She could feel her darkness and rage continuing to build up to boiling levels.

"No matter what-" continued Airknight Parshath. "-you cannot escape it once you have embraced and unleashed it!"

"Shut up!" screamed Emily, as the dark aura around her burned more fiercely and powerfully.

Seeing as he wasn't going to get anywhere else, Airknight Parshath entered his battle phase...

"Darklord Ixchel-" he commanded. "-take down Fairy Archer, now!"

Darklord Ixchel obeyed, lunging forward towards the defenseless Fairy Archer.

"There's nothing I can do to save my monster!" thought Emily. She then remembered something... "It's like I can't seem to do anything right..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside Sodor Middle School, Young Emily was at her locker again, when suddenly it slammed shut on her.

"Huh?"

It was Young Gordon who did the deed, and Young James was standing beside him.

"What did you do that for?" Young Emily asked in surprise...but got nervous when she saw that the taller boy was smirking deviously. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"Lookie what we have here, James." said Young Gordon.

"Yeah..." agreed Young James, also smirking. "Someone who doesn't appreciate someone as handsome as me..."

"And someone who dares to interrupt my time when I was busy listening to music."

Young Emily was annoyed. "Oh, you two are still upset about-"

Suddenly, Young Gordon roughly shoved the young dark green-haired girl until her back smashed into the locker. Young Emily wasn't hurt, but she was feeling scared right now. But what really made her upset...was where she was touched for the shove (her chest, that is).

"D-Did you just touch my...?" she began, getting red in the face.

"Keep quiet!" threatened Young James, cutting off what the girl was about to say. "Because of what you said to both of us, Gordon and I don't like you."

"W-Well...I-I don't like you either." retorted Young Emily, trying to remain brave...but her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Now leave me alone or I'll report you both to the principal."

This only caused Young Gordon and Young James to burst out laughing.

"You? Tell on us?" chortled Young James. "Did you hear that, Gordon?"

"You were right." laughed Young Gordon. "She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale."

"T-Tattletale?" Young Emily spluttered.

"Oh yes..." The young red-haired boy confirmed. "No likes a tattletale...like you."

With that said, Young James went and shoved Young Emily back into the lockers (touching her clothed chest in doing so) as he and his older friend both walked off laughing, unaware of what they would eventually be responsible for. Feeling humiliated, threatened, violated, and hurt, Young Emily finally started to cry as she ran down the hallway towards one of the girls' bathrooms.

(new scene...)

Later after school, the door to the Sterling residence had opened... and a glum-looking Young Emily walked into the house.

"Emily!" called the young dark green-haired girl's Mother from the living room. "How was school today?"

Young Emily only grew sadder from being asked that question. She really wanted to talk to her parents about her being bullied... but was far too afraid to tell anyone about it. With that thought on hand...

"It... it was a good day!" lied Young Emily. She then walked towards the kitchen sink to get herself a glass of water. "It was a good day..."

Mrs. Sterling soon walked into the kitchen. The woman was smiling bright and cheerfully.

"I'm so glad to hear that." commented Mrs. Sterling pleasantly. "Glad to see you're enjoying yourself."

Oh, if only she really knew...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Why did I have to be too afraid to tell her?" asked Emily to herself.

Darklord Ixchel soon struck and destroyed Fairy Archer.

"Fairy Archer has been destroyed!" declared Airknight Parshath.

Emily barely noticed the damage she took (LP: 1075).

"Now then... Once I have taken down Wingweaver, you will have no chance of beating me!"

Darknight Parshath readied his sword, ready to end everything...

"Take Wingweaver down!" commanded Airknight Parshath.

Darknight Parshath obeyed, charging towards Wingweaver. Emily, too full of regret, darkness, and anger to notice the attack, was about to lose everything she had worked so hard to obtain—had it not been for a voice...

" _ **Emily! You must hurry and stop the attack**_...!"

Emily suddenly snapped out and looked around in surprise.

"Huh?" The dark green-haired girl blinked. "What?"

Darknight Parshath got closer and closer...

"Trap card, open!" shouted Emily, just as her remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Nitwit Outwit!"

Airknight Parshath frowned. "Nitwit Outwit?"

"By discarding a monster card-" explained Emily, readying a card from her hand. "-one monster on the field loses attack points by the attack of the discarded monster."

On cue, a monster card called Mystical Shine Ball materialized face-up briefly before fading away. Darknight Parshath's attack lowered by 500 points (ATK: 2800 - 2300).

"The monster I've sent to the graveyard is Mystical Shine Ball." Emily continued. "Its attack stat is 500, meaning Darknight Parshath's attack of 2800 is lowered to 2300."

Darknight Parshath sliced Wingweaver clean-in-two with his sword, causing her to fade away in particles of darkness... Emily also took more battle damage (LP: 825).

"It wasn't enough." Airknight Parshath pointed out. "And now, my monster's effect will activate! Whenever Darknight Parshath inflicts battle damage to you, I am able to banish one dark attribute monster from my graveyard to draw one card from the deck."

A card slid from his graveyard as the Court of Darkness member drew a card. Darknight Parshath's attack stat went down (ATK: 2300 - 2200). On cue, a facedown card materialized.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Airknight Parshath. He then smiled widely. "And now... Sacred Arrow's effect activates! I didn't lose any monsters at any time this turn, but you lost two of 'em..."

"No...!" thought Emily, looking towards the face-up Sacred Arrow Trap card.

Two large arrows shot from the card, striking Emily. Time seemed to freeze all-around her for some reason... The reason because she remembered one converstation she had with Thomas years ago...

" _You alright, Emily_?" - (Young Thomas)

" _I'm fine. Now go and make that bottom half! The snowman won't build itself, you know_." - (Young Emily)

" _There's no reason to be so bossy. I'm just concerned with this new attitude of your's. Lately you've been bossing the others around and getting into trouble for it. Why are you acting like this, anyway_?" - (Young Thomas)

" _I said I'm fine_!" - (Young Emily)

" _Rubbish! Please, Emily, just tell me what's_ -" - (Young Thomas)

" _I SAID I'M FINE, YOU LITTLE TWIT_!" - (Young Emily)

Time then resumed normal, and Emily collapsed to a knee as she took 800 more points of damage (LP: 25).

"Now do you see?" asked Airknight Parshath. "You have no chance of defeating me. Your darkness has blinded your senses, and your anger has clouded your better judgement."

Emily, her eyes still flashing all red, only glared silently and hatefully at her opponent.

"Why don't you just surrender? The sooner you do so, the sooner I can return you to the Castle of Dark Illusions."

Getting back to her feet, the dark green-haired girl only looked to the ceiling and gave another scream of rage as the dark aura around her grew bigger and bigger.

"There's nothing you can do to stop this, Emily Sterling." continued Airknight Parshath. "The darkness is stronger than you will ever be. Stop resisting and accept it!"

Emily only drew her next card silently and fiercely.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Emily Sterling (LP: 25)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (4): Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Wings of Misdirection, and Cards from the Sky

* * *

The card was a Spell card called Cards from the Sky.

"Cards of the Sky..." Emily thought to herself.

Currently, her hand contained Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Wings of Misdirection, and the added Cards from the Sky.

"There has to be a way... There has to be a way to stop the darkess... Maybe it's in my deck somewhere?"

On cue, the Cards from the Sky Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Cards from the Sky!" announced Emily, as a card slipped out of her graveyard before fading away into oblivion. "By banishing one light attribute fairy-type monster from the graveyard, I am able to draw two cards from my deck."

Airknight Parshath, watching as the dark green-haired girl draw two cards, raised an eyebrow at his opponent's persistence to keep going. Emily, meanwhile, saw she had drawn two monster cards (Hanewata and Consecrated Light); one of which was just what she needed.

"I summon Consecrated Light in defense mode!"

A small yellow ball of light with a face appeared to the field (Level: 1/DEF: 0).

"Consecrated Light?" frowned Airknight Parshath.

"This monster prevents either of us from summoning dark attribute monsters." explained Emily. "Not only that, but it can't be destroyed by dark monsters either, and I take no battle damage." In her thoughts... "With this out, I can buy myself some time until I can figure a way out of my mess."

Unfortunately...

"We can't summon dark attribute monsters thanks to that thing?" scoffed Airknight Parshath. "Sorry, but that simply won't do."

"What?!" cried Emily.

"I play a Trap card!" announced the Court of Darkness member, just as his last set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Darklord Rebellion!"

All of a sudden, Consecrated Light was destroyed.

"My Consecrated Light was destroyed!" gasped Emily. "B-But how?"

"By sending one Darklord from my hand to the graveyard-" explained Airknight Parshath, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "-I can destroy one card on the field! ...like your Consecrated Light."

Emily shut her eyes tightly. That monster was the only thing left that could help her find a way out of this situation. With it now destroyed, there was no hope left to try for a miracle in surviving.

"And, seeing as your monster was destroyed-" Airknight Parshath went on. "-you'll know what happens once your turn ends..."

Emily didn't say a word back. She knew exactly what would happen at the end phase. But at this point, the dark green-haired girl didn't care about the duel anymore. All she wanted was for the pain and suffering to end...

"Tommy..."

"Thomas is gone!" exclaimed Airknight Parshath harshly. "He's never coming back! And even if he found you now, would he like of what he saw you as?"

Emily still said nothing, but inside her mind...

(elsewhere...)

Inside a world of darkness, Emily felt cold, lonely, and very depressed. She had given into the darkness during the duel, and it had cost her big time... It possibly even cost her the whole duel.

"This is all my fault." Emily said to herself quietly, shivering. "I had given into my anger, despair, and darkness, and now look what has happened... If I hadn't been such a coward as a child, perhaps things would have turned out better. Oh, Thomas, I'm so sorry..."

"Emily... there's still hope..." echoed a new voice (female).

Standing up in surprise, Emily started looking around the world of darkness for the source of the voice.

"That voice..." she thought. "What could it-?"

Suddenly, Emily saw a young woman walking towards her. Although she couldn't see who it was at first, as the new arrival got closer and closer, Emily's eyes widened with shock at who it was.

"It...can't be possible!"

This young woman...looked like an older version of Emily! ...only she was dressed in a beautiful emerald green gown, and had long, brunette-colored hair.

"Who... who are you?" asked Emily in bewilderment.

The Emily look-alike smiled grimly. "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you my name yet."

Emily was surprised by the young woman's voice. It sounded so much different than her own voice, and even had a slight Scottish accent to it.

"What I can tell you-" The brunette-haired young woman continued. "-is that your Thomas is still alive."

"He is?!" gasped Emily, completely shocked to have been told this spec of info. "How do you know?"

"Again, I cannot tell you... But what I can tell you, is that your Thomas is currently fighting his darkness."

Emily was growing more and more shocked. "His darkness? Then, please, you MUST take me to him!"

"Are you sure?" asked the brunette-haired young woman, sounding very hesitate. "Because if you do see him, you might never be the same again."

"Please, show me!" begged Emily. "I need him right now!"

Frowning, the young woman complied and made her hands glow all white. Emily covered her eyes as the whole area was covered by the blinding light.

(new location...)

When Emily opened her eyes, she noticed that she was still in the world of darkness. This time, however, she was not alone...

"Thomas?"

Nearby, lying on the ground, with a scar on the left side of his face, was none other than...

"Thomas!" exclaimed Emily, running over to the body. "Thomas, wake up! It's me, Emily!"

Slowly, Thomas began to open his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Thomas?" whispered Emily. "Are you okay?"

The blue-haired boy sat up, and looked towards Emily. Then, to the dark green-haired girl's surprise, Thomas spoke...in a completely different voice.

"There is no Thomas... There is only the ' ** _Evil One_** ' Diablon!"

All of a sudden, 'Thomas' started clutching his chest like he was having a heart attack. What's more, a dark aura began to form all around him.

"Tommy?!" Emily cried out. "What's happening to you?!"

Thomas never answered the question; his dark aura exploded, blowing streams of darkness around himself. The force of the darkness caused the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle around his neck to fly off and head towards Emily, who watched in absolute horror as the Millennium Item hit the stone floor and shattered into its many pieces. The very puzzle that Thomas and Emily reassembled together, with their own hands was back to it's original disassembled state. Unfortunately for the dark green-haired girl, things got even more terrifying as Thomas let out a deep ferocious roar! ...and it finally happened...

He began to transform into a monstrous form resembling a mixture between a human and a demon. His body turned grey and became bulkier, with spikes protruding from his shoulders, arms, and ankles, ripping his jacket, sleeveless shirt to shreds due to the enlarged muscle mass and the large pair of black demonic wings now sprouting from his back, leaving him in nothing but his belt and jeans which were now tattered at the cuffs. His face became even veinier and his ears were replaced by wing-like appendages. His hair became black in color and his shoes were also torn as his feet expanded and became spiked as well. His pupils became slits and his irises continued to glow a luminous crimson. Finally there was a severe long scar that ran straight down from the left side of his face; from the center of his forehead, down straight through his left eye and running down his veined cheek to the bottom of his top lip. Just a few inches under his eye, the scar ran horizontally across the top of his cheek, about the width of his eye, giving the scar a cross-like look.

As the darkness surrounding Thomas died down, Emily gasped in horror with tears in her eyes as she witnessed her friend's transform into the demonic monster right before her very eyes.

"T-Thomas...?!" The dark green-haired girl spluttered, as her voice began cracking with emotion. "What's happened to you?!"

The demonic Thomas let out a spine-chilling chuckle as the darkness surrounding him died down.

"Thomas? That's right... the boy whose heart of anger and darkness has become the food for my eventual revival."

Emily blinked through her tears. "Revival?"

Then, the dark green-haired girl came the horrifying realization that what Wingweaver had told her was true. The demonic figure smirked sadistically as he realized by the growing expression of fear on Emily's face what she was thinking.

"Is it beginning to sink in yet? I am the devil they call ' ** _The Evil One_** '! ...although, I must confess, ' ** _The Evil One_** ' is a severely lackluster title for the supreme ruler of darkness, wouldn't you say so, Emily, my dear? My true name is Diablon..." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' chuckled sinisterly. "And I have so much to thank you for."

Emily, though clearly shocked, remained quiet as Diablon began to explain...

"The source of Thomas's anger and darkness, and the reason they are so powerful, and hence why my influence over him is so strong, is...you. All because of his deep, unadulterated love for you... Love so strong and pure that he is willing to risk his life and suffer any form of pain for you, no matter how dangerous it is all to protect his beloved angel from darkness and death. However, such devotion to you has caused Thomas to become dependent on your safety and state of being... From there, should anything happen to you, that alone is fatal to him. Emily, you aren't even aware of how crucial you are for containing Thomas' emotions."

"W-What?" spluttered Emily.

"From the moment you were captured, the seal that locked Thomas's darkness away in his heart was finally broken." explained Diablon. "Emily... that seal was you! But thanks to my humble servant, Witty Phantom, the moment any harm came upon you, Thomas lost control of that darkness, and once you were sent to this world, there was nothing Thomas could do to stop the darkness from spreading, allowing me to take refuge and begin my revival in his heart and soak in the limitless anger and rage."

All of a sudden, the darkness within Thomas's heart began to draw itself towards and engulf the ' ** _Evil One_** '.

"In so little time, I have almost returned to my full strength. Without you, Thomas's spirit grows dimmer every single second as the light of his soul diminishes further and further. As he's desperately been searching for his beloved, he has killed many souls and fallen deeper under my influence."

"Stop! Please, stop!" Emily begged, her face was stained with tears and her heart was ever so close to breaking.

But Diablon didn't stop. "And to think all this time, I had previously thought love was merely a delusion... But it would seem the undying love you both share for each other is the very thing that will allow me to continue what I once started, this time with Thomas and I as one complete being!"

Poor Emily could no longer take anymore of what was happening. Her mind flashed back to the words of Fallen Angel of Roses and Airknight Parshath. Everything they had said, everything they had tortured her with about her being the reason for Thomas, the boy she loved more than anything else, the one person who wanted to pull her back from darkness into the light, his own descent into darkness, the prospect she tried to deny and caused her to sink back into her own darkness... All of it was the terrible truth. Emily fell to her knees, and at the moment broke down completely.

"Tommy... it's all my fault... Because of me, you've... you've turned into a demon... All because you loved me with all your heart...!"

At last, the poor dark green-haired girl's heart finally shattered into pieces.

"THOMAS!" Emily screamed in the black-filled area. "I'm sorry! **I'M SO SORRY**!"

She laid there crying her eyes and broken heart out.

"Do not cry, my dear." soothed the voice of Diablon.

Emily looked up to see Diablon kneeling in front of her. Then, to her great surprise, the demonic version of Thomas began to run one of his hands through her hair. His touch sent a spine shivering sensation through the broken girl's body, more so when he started caressing the left of her face with his other hand.

"You do not have to say farewell to your beloved. In a matter of time, Thomas and I shall become one being and together we shall rule this world as I once did...as its Supreme King. However, I think you need to know something important..." His hand then began to run down Emily's tear-stained face, along the side of her neck. "Every King must have their Queen, and I need to see if you are Queen material..."

Emily immediately blushed and gasped as the male demon started slowly moving his hand down the teenage girl's chest until he pressed his palm down over her heart, which also happened to be directly over her...breast. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' even started gripping and squeezing it roughly and sexually.

"I'd say puberty has been inordinately kind to you."

The dark green-haired girl felt extremely uncomfortable and violated right now, even wanting to say something about it... Unfortunately, Emily was unable to say anything due to feeling so afraid right now. It got especially frightening when the demonic figure suddenly leaned his head back and moaned sensually and licked his lips.

"I can feel it... the darkness within your heart. Oh, so much darkness." sighed the ' ** _Evil One_** ' emotionlessly. "Such vast darkness that only a young woman like you deserves to be the Queen of the Supreme King should have." He then leered his prey carefully. "But I do wonder what is truly underneath your layers...?"

"What?!" exclaimed Emily, watching what Diablon was about to do. "No! Stop!"

It was too late! The ' ** _Evil One'_** quickly raised his glowing hand upward... and a glowing Emily, with a pained shriek, felt her clothes being forcefully ripped from her own body. Within seconds, the 16-year old dark green-haired girl was now standing before the male demon while completely in the nude (Emily's breasts were fully exposed, along with her groin, butt, etc..), and she was far too scared to try and do anything to cover herself up.

"Yesssss..." whispered Diablon, looking at the poor teenage girl's exposed—and well-developed—body with dirty glee. "Puberty has graced you very well, indeed... Such beauty you've been keeping hidden from the eyes of everyone else around you... I like that very much—you will make a wonderful Queen, indeed..."

Emily, already feeling deeply frightened, exposed, and more violated, grew even more scared and uncomfortable when the ' ** _Evil One_** ' brought himself closer to her face, his demonic eyes piercing through her.

"You long to stand by Thomas's side for all eternity, don't you? Then let all of the darkness in your heart go free, and together, with your combined power, and the three Sacred Beasts at your command, you and Thomas can both destroy all that stands in your way and rule over this world and the human for the rest of time, with nothing but the power of darkness, and, of course, your love—or should I say 'our _love_ '—my Queen."

And then, the Diablon pulled Emily's head closer, and...forcefully kissed the naked dark green-haired girl on the lips! Feeling terrified out of her mind right about now, Emily shrieked against the demon's hard and rough lips—but then felt a sharp pain in her heart that quickly spread to her head, causing her open her eyes sharply... But instead of her normal green eyes, they were the same demonic, crimson colored eyes as Diablon had. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' pulled out of the kiss and stood back up and smirked sadistically. His kiss had unleashed the darkness in Emily's heart and now it was beginning to envelop her in a thick aura. Emily unleashed a piercing cry of agony as she clutched her chest in a vain attempt to hold the darkness back.

"Do not fight it, my love." Diablon advised softly. "Let the darkness flow through you, embrace the power and blossom into your true beauty - as my new angel of darkness."

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" wailed Emily helplessly. "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"

The poor, broken, naked Emily could only continue to scream in agonizing pain as the darkness within continued to further consume her heart. Now clutching the sides of her head, she brought it down to her knees due to being unable to do anything to stop the excruciating pain from spreading even further. It looked like it was the end of her life and such.

"T-T-Thomas... my l-l-love... p-p-please...forgive me for...this..." The dark green-haired girl whispered, as a single tear fell from her now demonic eyes. "Good...bye... Tommy..."

However, just before Emily could be completely engulfed by the darkness, something startling began to happen... All of a sudden, shown dangling from Emily's neck, and then shown in front of her own eyes, was the heart-shaped locket Thomas had given her for her Birthday.

"T-This is...!" She grasped the locket in one of her hands and opened it, revealing the picture of her and Thomas when they were both younger... "M-My...Birthday present..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Around the table inside the dining room of the Sterling residence was Thomas, Edward, Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Molly, and Rosie.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!" cheered much of the gang.

"Sixteenth, that is!" added James.

At the head of the table was the Birthday girl herself... Emily Sterling, now 16-years old.

"Thanks, everyone." Emily smiled, just after blowing out her candles.

Thomas, meanwhile, was blushing almost crimson red as he nervously stood up and approached the dark green-haired girl with something behind his back.

"Um... Emily?"

Emily looked to the blue-haired boy. "Yes, Thomas?"

Thomas was shuffling his feet a bit bashfully as he struggled to find the right words.

"I, err, got this for you." he finally said, taking a small box from behind his back.

Curiously, Emily took hold of the box, unwrapped it, opened it up, and gasped.

"Oh, Thomas..."

Inside the box were two things; a Spell card called Swing of Memories, and a heart-shaped locket.

"Happy Birthday, Emily." said Thomas.

Emily curiously held the card up. "What is this card, Thomas?"

"It's called Swing of Memories." explained Thomas. "I found two of them in a booster pack, and I thought you would like one of them."

Emily had another curious look on her face. Thomas immediately cleared his throat and decided to explain something about that card... Not its effect... but something about it.

"This card actually represents the precious memories we've shared together." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "From we first met, and especially after you were saved from yourself."

"I...remember..." Emily muttered, recalling those good times.

Thomas smiled. "I've never forgotten those special times... and I bet you haven't either."

Emily smiled as she embraced Thomas in a hug.

"It's wonderful, Thomas." The dark green-haired girl said happily. "Thank you so much."

Thomas remained silent as he blushed harder than ever before.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Thomas's present..." whispered Emily. "I... I also remember the picture... It was taken by my parents shortly after Thomas stopped me from commiting suicide..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Young Thomas frantically searched the whole playground, but there was no sign of Young Emily anywhere. This was because she had a pretty big headstart in getting away from the school as the argument intensified.

"Where is she?"

(elsewhere...)

Young Emily, meanwhile, was sitting along and unwanted at the benches of the race track.

"I'm hated... no one here likes me anymore... They think I'm a horrid person... A monster." she weeped softly. It was then the young dark green-haired girl noticed some glass from a broken beer bottle lying around on the ground. "Huh? A broken glass bottle?"

Young Emily got up and carefully picked up a large shard of glass without cutting herself. It was then she started to remember the whole entire converstation Young Percy, Young Edward, Young Henry, Young Toby, and everyone else were having echoing about in her head...

" _Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over_!" - (Young Oliver)

" _She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here_." - (Young Molly)

" _She was so nice... now she is just a big bully_." - (Young Percy)

" _I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done_." - (Young Duck)

" _She's a muckle nuisance_!" - (Young Donald)

" _Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her_!" - (Young Douglas)

" _Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways_." - (Young Toby)

" _No, she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER_!" - (Young Thomas)

" _Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone_!" - (Young Edward)

For the longest of time, while doing some serious thinking, Young Emily looked at the razor sharp shard of glass in her hand before going and bracing it over her right wrist. Perhaps if the young dark green-haired girl used the piece of glass to slit herself enough, then she would be dead from the eventual loss of so much blood, and then perhaps the others (all of the other kids, her own parents, and the other adults) would be much happier... Especially Young Thomas, who Young Emily regretted hurting the most...

"Goodbye, cruel world..." Young Emily whimpered to herself, shutting her eyes tightly.

Suddenly, just before the poor young dark green-haired girl could start doing the terrible deed...

"STOP!"

Surprised by the loud voice, Young Emily dropped the large shard of glass—which then fell and broke into several dozen pieces. Young Thomas had arrived just in time to stop his friend from trying to kill herself.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The young blue-haired boy demanded.

Young Emily, finally coming to a haunting conclusion over what she tried to do to herself (suicide), collapsed onto her knees and had a complete breakdown.

"Everybody hates me, Thomas!" screamed Young Emily, as more and more tears flowed down her face at an astonishing rate. "Nobody at the school—my friends, even the teachers—wants me around anymore! They were right about me being a bullying monster! So, I've decided to put an end to my own life so that I would never bother any of them again!"

Seeing his troubled friend crying and looking so broken almost caused Young Thomas to breakdown into tears, too. Thankfully, he was able to keep himself together enough to speak up.

"Emily..." The young blue-haired boy spoke up at last. "What's going on? Why did you change? I just want to help you..."

"I don't deserve your help, Thomas... Everyone else was right about me; I'm nothing but a bully, a nuisance, a horrid person, a monster..."

"No, you're not!" protested Young Thomas. "You're not a monster! I never thought you were ever one, Emily. I've always felt as though something was upsetting you to no end." He then gave his broken friend a kind—yet stern—look. " Please, you have to tell me what it is, Emily, I really can't stand to see you suffering like this."

Young Emily looked into the younger boy's eyes. In them, she could see kindness and honesty. At last...

"It's time you learned the truth, Thomas."

And, with that said, the young dark green-haired girl finally told her friend all about Gordon and James's bullying, leaving not one bit of a detail out.

"Emily...!" gasped Young Thomas, just when his friend had finally finished. He was beyond shocked over all that had happened... "Why did you let them bully you so much? Why didn't you tell anyone about this when it started?"

"Because..." Young Emily sniffled sadly. "Because I was terrified... and I had a nightmare where if I did tell someone... I would be forever labeled as a goody-goody tattletale... And you guys would hate me for that..."

Young Thomas held Young Emily close. "Emily-" he began softly. "-reporting a bully does not make you a tattletale at all. It's called doing the right thing. What made you think we would call you a goodie goodie tattletale?"

"Gordon and James both said so."

"Bah." snorted Young Thomas. "That's just something bullies say to keep their victims quiet so they can get away with their misdeeds. We would never think of you as a tattletale. As I said before, Emily, I would always try to help you. But by keeping your troubles a secret, I was worried that you didn't trust me."

Young Emily felt terrible. "I guess you must hate me for it..."

"I would never hate you, Emily." denied Young Thomas. He then narrowed his eyes and turned to leave. "The only people I hate right now, are Gordon and James for making your life so miserable for no good reason... But don't you worry, I'm going to make sure they pay for this!"

"No!"

Young Thomas was surprised by Young Emily's outburst, and turned back around to face her.

"Why not? They must pay for it!" The young blue-haired boy protested.

"Two wrongs don't make a right!" argued Young Emily. "Even though they were mean to me first, being mean to them back won't make it any better. It would make you look like a bully, as well!"

Young Thomas then remembered what he had said, and felt bad for thinking of using violence as the answer.

"You're right. I guess we should go and do the RIGHT thing."

"T-Tell the principal?" asked Young Emily hopefully.

"Yes." smiled Young Thomas, holding out his hand. "Now, come on... We'll go tell him, together."

The young dark green-haired girl, after taking a moment to calm herself back down, finally managed to smile slightly and accepted the hand. And thus, the two kids returned to the school to do something Young Emily should have done a long time ago.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Even when all hope seemed lost to me-" Emily mumbled to herself quietly. "-Thomas never gave up hope on me... He still saw me as a good person." She closed her eyes and released one last teardrop. "I won't give up... The darkness has no control over me!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, Emily, who was fully clothed once more, opened her eyes (which had returned to normal) fiercely. In addition, the dark aura around her body slowly died down until it was no more.

"W-What's happening?!" gasped Airknight Parshath.

Emily never said a word, but a confident smile soon crept onto her face. Yup, Emily had done it! Her darkness...was destroyed.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	56. The Angel Trapped in Darkness (5)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the forest of flowers, Emily opened her eyes (which had returned to normal) fiercely. In addition, the dark aura around her body slowly died down until it was no more.

"W-What's happening?!" gasped Airknight Parshath.

Emily never said a word, but a confident smile soon crept onto her face. Yup, Emily had done it! Her darkness...was destroyed. The Court of Darkness member could not believe what he was seeing...

"I-Impossible!" exclaimed Airknight Parsath. "Y-Your darkness...! It's... it's... it's gone! ...but how?"

"You forced me to gaze inside my heart." explained Emily slowly. "Thinking that I would find only darkness. But you were wrong!"

"Then you had gazed into the wrong place!"

"Look, believe what you wish, but I know the truth. My heart is filled with the light of friendship. And no magic, darkness, or anger can take that away. No matter how strong it is." Emily retorted, continuing to give her passionate speech. "So... thank you, Parshath. You've reminded me that my friends are always with me! And we're going to win this fight, and take you down, together!"

Taking two cards from her hand, the dark green-haired girl slotted them both into her Duel Disk. On cue, two facedown cards materialized!

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Airknight Parshath scowled. His plan to make Emily embrace her darkness had failed. And now, her darkness was completely gone. So even if he were to capture her, what use would the Court of Darkness have for someone with no darkness in their hearts? This turn-around enraged Airknight Parshath something fierce, and it might have had something to do with his ace monster (Darknight Parshath) being present on his side of the field.

"Damn you...!" The Court of Darkness member seethed in anger. "If you won't come with me willingly..." He pointed towards his opponent fiercely. "Then I will make absolute sure to take you with me... piece-by-piece!"

At that point, Sacred Arrow began to activate.

"Now that we're at the end phase, Sacred Arrow's effect activates! FINISH EMILY OFF, NOW!"

A bunch of large arrows shot forward to Emily, but the dark green-haired girl wasn't afraid of the arrows coming straight for her.

"I activate from my hand the effect of Hanewata!" she cried, discading a card from her and to the graveyard. "By discarding it, I can protect myself from any effect damage you try and deal to me!"

An orange version of Watapon materialized onto Emily's side of the field. The poor thing was hit and destroyed by the arrows.

"I'm safe." said Emily proudly (LP: 25).

Airknight Parshath was shaking with anger. It was almost as if his own darkness was getting out of control...

"Curse you..." he hissed. Finally, the Court of Darkness member lost it... "I WILL KILL YOU!"

From there, an aura of darkness began to form all-around the infuriated centaur-like monster. Emily was outright shocked over what she was seeing...

"What?!" The dark green-haired girl winced. "Why are you... you..."

"You will pay for rejecting the darkness!" shouted Airknight Parshath. "Mark my words!"

Emily only stood in her dueling position without fear.

* * *

 **Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 5**

* * *

All was quiet for the next minute, but then...

"It's my turn!" announced Airknight Parshath, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Airknight Parshath (LP: 3150)  
 **Deck** : 22  
 **Current Hand** (3): Miraculous Descent, Darklord Ukoback, and Darklord Trade(!)

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Darklord Trade.

"Once more, Darklord Marie will grant me 200 life points!"

Airknight Parshath's life points went up (LP: 3350). Right around then...

"Facedown card, open!" shouted Emily, as one of her two set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Celestial Transformation! By activating this Quick-Play Spell card, I can special summon one fairy-type monster from my hand to the field with half of its attack strength."

"Don't forget-" warned Airknight Parshath. "-your monster will also be destroyed at the end phase."

On cue, Kuribon materialized in particles of light (Level: 1/ATK: 150).

"I summon Kuribon in attack mode!" announced Emily.

"Heh... watch as I play a Spell card; Darklord Trade." declared Airknight Parshath, shuffling the Darklord Ixchel monster card off of the monster field slot on the Duel Disk and into his deck. "By returning one Darklord monster from my field to the deck, I can draw another card."

Darklord Ixchel turned to a ball of darkness and vanished into Airknight Parshath's deck, allowing the Court of Darkness member to draw another card. Just then, much to the dark green-haired girl's surprise, the sky started to darken with storm clouds... That had to mean something bad was about to happen, and Emily needed to be ready for it...

"This is the end for you, Emily Sterling..." declared Airknight Parshath, holding up a card in his right hand. "I activate my final card - Meteor of Destruction!"

"What?!" gasped Emily.

"Yes! At the cost of 500 life points-" explained the Court of Darkness member, taking a life point hit (LP: 2850). "-I can inflict 1000 points of damage to your life points!"

From the clouds was a falling meteor! ...and it was aimed straight for Emily...!

"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Airknight Parshath. "It's game over for you, Emily!"

It looked as though things were truly over for Emily. But just before the Meteor could strike the defenseless duelist...

"I'm not beaten yet." muttered Emily quietly.

"Huh?"

And so came...

"I activate my final Trap card!" announced Emily, as her last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Wings of Misdirection!"

The activated Trap card started to glow all white.

"What's going on?" demanded Airknight Parshath.

Before anything more could be said, Meteor of Destruction's attack was caught before it could hit and finish Emily off.

"Hmm... Because I control one monster and no other Spell and Trap cards, my activated Trap card has saved me from defeat." said Emily. "First, it increases the attack of my Kuribon by 800 points."

Kuribon grew stronger (ATK: 150 - 950).

"But that isn't all it does."

Airknight Parshath took a step back from shock. "W-What?!"

"The effects and activation of all your cards on the field are negated until the end phase of the turn!" added Emily.

Before long, Meteor of Destruction fizzled out. Darknight Parshath also lost significant attack points (ATK: 2300 - 1400).

"Grrr...! You little-!" seethed Airknight Parshath. "My Spell card may have failed to defeat you, but my attacks will definitely do so!"

Darknight Parshath got ready to attack.

"Darknight Parshath!" commanded Airknight Parshath. "Destroy Kuribon!"

Darknight Parshath obeyed the command and charged forth towards the defenseless female Kuriboh.

"You're finished! Your darkness may have been destroyed, but now you will feel the wrath of my OWN dark!"

"I don't think so!" exclaimed Emily ."I activate Kuribon's special ability!"

Darknight Parshath slashed Kuribon with his sword, splitting the poor monster in two before...it turned into particles of light?

"What the hell?!" gasped Airknight Parshath. "Your monster-?!"

"When Kuribon is attacked-" explained Emily (LP: 25). "-she returns to my hand instead, and I take no battle damage... Although, as a penalty for making this move, you gain life points equal to your monster's current attack points."

Airknight Parshath never said a word about this (LP: 4250). He then scoffed at his opponent's vain attempt to stop herself from losing.

"Your attempts to stop yourself from losing is nothing but a failure." sighed Airknight Parshath. "Sure, you've managed to stop Sacred Arrow from activating, but all it did was give me more life points and leave only one card left in your hand."

As the Court of Darkness spoke on, the dark aura around him was growing stronger than ever before. Emily could see this, and actually felt pity for him...

"The darkness is poisoning your mind." she thought. "As much as I hate you for all that you've done to me, I can't help but feel that monster has been damaging your own heart."

"On my next turn-" continued Airknight Parshath. "-you'll be finished!"

"Oh no, I won't!" insisted Emily, drawing a card. "I will defeat you and free you from the darkness!"

"Free me? Heh! I guess the pressure must be getting to you."

Emily said nothing to that and only looked at her card.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Emily Sterling (LP: 25)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (2): Kuribon and Pot of Greed

* * *

Her drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card. This was her last chance to turn things around... Otherwise, she would lose the duel and be captured for use by the Court of Darkness.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" announced Emily, holding her card out. "This allows me to draw two more cards."

Airknight Parshath folded is arms and snorted—yet said nothing. From there, Emily braced two fingers onto her deck.

"This is my last chance." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "Wingweaver... Guardian Eatos... Kuribon... Thomas... please grant me your power..."

With that said, she performed a Destiny Draw! ...but it was unlike any Destiny Draw she or anyone else had ever performed...! It... it...

"S-Such power...!" gasped Airknight Parshath.

Emily opened her eyes and looked at her newly drawn cards to see...her prayers had been answered. First, she added the two cards to her hand and took another.

"Alright, I summon Kuribon back to the field!" began Emily, placing her card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "Welcome back, my friend!"

Kuribon returned to the field (Level: 1/ATK: 300). On cue, the Swing of Memories Spell card materialized face-up.

"Swing of Memories?" blinked Airknight Parshath. "Why play that card? You know the normal monster you summon with that will be destroyed at the end phase."

"It's all the time I'll need." insisted Emily. "So now... welcome back, Wingweaver!"

A swing appeared to the field, swaying casually until, slowly-but surely, the spirit of Wingweaver began to appear sitting on it.

"Wingweaver..." mumbled Airknight Parshath, but then something about the newly summoned monster disturbed him. "Huh?"

Wingweaver had a heartbroken look on her face. It was as if...this Wingweaver was deeply upset that Airknight Parshath had betrayed her and everyone at the Sanctuary in the Sky.

"Your Wingweaver...is looking sad..."

"Yes, she is." agreeded Emily. "And it's your own fault. She took you in and saved you from death. She and everyone else at the Sanctuary in the Sky treated you like family... But then you had to betray her and everyone else there for power and darkness."

On cue, the Heavenly Light - Type B Ritual Spell card materialized face-up.

"And now, I'll activate Heavenly Light - Type B!"

"Oh no!" cried Airknight Parshath. "Not that card!"

"Oh yes!" said Emily, drawing and discarding five cards. "With this, I send five light attribute monsters from my deck to the graveyard."

Airknight Parshath knew what was coming next...

"With the payment offered, I can now ritual summon from my hand, deck, or graveyard the true angel of this land; Serapheem!"

The cloudly sky slow-but surely started to break away, while Emily performed a summon chant...

" ** _Angel of the highest order, she who guards the Sanctuary in the Sky, I summon you to smite the wicked from this land_**!"

A familiar monster started to lower from the brightened sky.

" ** _RITUAL SUMMON_**!" shouted Emily, raising her right hand into the sky. " ** _Arise from the heavens - Serapheem_**!"

Continuing to lower onto the field was the more powerful version of Wingweaver (Level: 12/ATK: 2900).

"Sera-pheem..." whispered Airknight Parshath.

"And-" continued Emily, just as a card slipped out of her graveyard before fading into oblivion. "-I'll activate one more effect of the Wings of Misdirection in my graveyard!"

"Another effect?!"

"By banishing it from my graveyard-" explained Emily. "-and two additional cards on my side of the field, I can raise Serapheem's attack points by 800, and negate the activation and effects of all your cards on the field!"

Airknight Parshath got a look of pure horror on his face, but said absolutely nothing.

"That's right! Your DNA Transplant has just been rendered USELESS! Now all of my monster's attributes return to how they originally were... beings of light!"

Wingweaver and Kuribon both turned into balls of light and joined Wings of Misdirection in being banished. From the brighten sky, rays of light soon shined down to strike the field of all of Airknight Parshath's cards. DNA Transplant was hit and rendered useless, and Darknight Parshath got hit by a ray of light and had his effect nullified (ATK: 2300 - 1400). What's more, Serapheem got stronger as well (ATK: 2900 - 3700).

"And now for Serapheem's special ability!" Emily went on still. "She gains 600 points for every light monster in my graveyard. The five monsters I discarded for the use of my Ritual Spell card also count for the effect!"

Nine cards emerged from the dark green-haired girl's graveyard, and she took hold and held them up.

"I possess nine light attribute monsters, and that means one thing... 600 times 9 equals 5400 extra attack points!"

Serapheem's body glowed all gold as her strength went up to extremely high levels (ATK: 3700 - 9100).

"9-9100 attack points?!" winced Airknight Parshath. "This... this can't be happening!"

"Oh, but it is!" insisted Emily. Finally, she entered the battle phase... "Serapheem, destroy Darknight Parshath and cleanse Parshath of the darkness from his heart!"

Serapheem closed her eyes and raised her hands into the sky to gather power.

"As of now, there isn't anything you can do to stop our attack!"

Airknight Parshath could not believe it. He was about to lose to the one he was meant to capture!

"I-Impossible...!" The Court of Darrkness member murmured. "I... I have been...defeated?"

" **HOLY RAYS OF THE GODDESS**!" roared Emily.

With that command given, rays of light shot down from the heavens, striking Darknight Parshath. The dark being cried out in agony as he melted away as a sign of destruction. The rest of Airknight Parshath's cards were also shown being destroyed as well for dramatic effect.

"NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!" screamed Airknight Parshath, just as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Emily Sterling wins!**

* * *

Airknight Parshath, as the light overwhelmed him, thought he was about to die. Just then, he saw a familiar face floating before him...

"W-Wingweaver?"

It was not Wingweaver... it was Serapheem.

"Your fall into darkness was your eventual downfall." said the goddess-like monster. "However, you're not to blame for it."

Airknight Parshath was silent.

"It was Diablon who caused this." continued Serapheem. "He has lied to you, and manipulated you into opening your heart to the darkness."

Still, Airknight Parshath said nothing.

"However, as of now, your heart shall be purified of the dark, Guardian Parshath!"

With that said, Serapheem held out her hands and made them glow. Airknight Parshath felt something being pulled out from him and thus began screaming in agonizing pain.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, the light show soon ended...with Airknight Parshath standing still... just before finally collapsing. Emily, breathing hard, had fallen to a knee from the intensity of the duel.

"I've...done it..." she coughed and panted. "My darkness... It's finally gone."

Before too long, Airknight Parshath could be heard moaning.

"Rgh..."

Slowly, he began to stand. Emily stood nearby and watched it happen.

"Parshath..." The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. Just then... "Huh?"

She noticed a nearby tree...had turned to stone!

"What's going on now?"

On cue, more and more plant life around the area was turning to stone!

"The whole forest is turning to stone!" thought Emily. "I have to get out of here!"

Fortunately, some of the vines blocking her way had fallen, allowing Emily to slip out. Unfortunately, it was right then she realized she had left Airknight Parshath behind to die!

"Parshath is still back there!"

Without watching where she was going, Emily soon tripped over a turned-to-stone flower and fell down. While trying to get back up, the dark green-haired girl fell back down and saw she had badly scraped her knee.

"Ugh... my knee...!" Emily winced in pain.

More and more plants and such were turning to stone. If Emily didn't get herself out of the forest of flowers, she would suffer the same fate.

"I have to get out of here!" cried Emily, slowly getting back to her feet. But suddenly collapsed once more in pain. "Ngh... no!"

Just then, before it was too late...

"I'll save you!" came a familiar voice (male), picking up the injured girl.

"Parshath?" gasped Emily in surprise.

Yes, it was Airknight Parshath. With a mad dash, the reformed centaur-like monster helped Emily escape from the forest of flowers.

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the forest of flowers was completely petrified. Airknight Parshath was breathing hard from the run, while Emily, now sitting on a rock while nursing her knee, was looking up at her former enemy.

"Parshath... you've saved my life."

"It was the least I could do." said Airknight Parshath coolly. "After all, you saved me from myself."

Emily looked back towards the ground. "And here you wanted to kill me earlier..."

Airknight Parshath sighed in shame. He knew that his opponent would not forgive him so easily.

"It was the darkness clouding my mind." The centaur-like monster said. "I know you must hate me for all that I've done, but also know that you have every right to be mad at me."

Emily said nothing in response.

"I was blinded by the idea of avenging the deaths of my two closest friends-" went on Airknight Parshath "-which caused Diablon to manipulate and turn me towards the side of darkness."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Airknight Parshath was meeting with a shadowed Diablon and his loyal minions; the Court of Darkness.

"Besides..." spoke one of the Duel Monsters (Vampire Lord). "By joining forces with the Court of Darkness, you can achieve many great things."

"Really?" asked Airknight Parshath, looking at the Court of Darkness member. "L-Like what?"

"The chance to learn how to revive the dead." said Diablon, still shadowed.

Airknight Parshath was shocked. "Revive...the dead?"

"Indeed. Then, you could bring your two closest friends back to you."

The centaur-like monster didn't know what to do. Diablon, sensing the monster's doubts, decided to try something else...

"If you don't trust my words, then try searching your deepest of desires." he suggested.

And so, Airknight Parshath did. He searched in his mind for his deepest desires.  
-Bring his friends back from the dead.  
-Make the killers of his friends pay.

"I..."

"Yes?" Diablon pressed on.

"I will join you." said Airknight Parshath quietly.

"Wonderful!" praised another of the monsters (Darkbishop Archfiend). "We all knew you had it in you."

"But!" interrupted another member of the band of monsters (The Earl of Demise). "First, we want to make certain you'll serve Lord Diablon well."

"Make certain?" blinked Airknight Parshath.

"Yes." agreed another of the monsters (Vampire Lady), ending her sentence with a hiss. "Will you accept allowing the darkness into your heart?"

"It'll grant you limitless power!" added one of the last monsters (Witty Phantom). "Just like we all have."

"Limitless power?" asked Airknight Parshath. "But aren't I powerful enough?"

"Our decks were designed to be unbeatable." said Diablon, taking a deck of Duel Monsters card out of his pocket. "If you do not believe us, then allow one of us to show you."

"In a duel." finished Vampire Lord, holding up his own deck.

Airknight Parshath, curious as to whether or not it was true, took out his own deck.

"Fine... which of you will be my opponent?"

"How about...me?" Diablon offered, as a creepy smile appeared on his face.

Airknight Parshath nodded. "Very well..."

The two duelists walked over and handed each other their respective decks to shuffle. Once they were done, Airknight Parshath flt something about his opponent's cards.

"It feels as though something powerful lurks inside." he thought to himself. "But what could it be?"

Once everything was ready...

"DUEL!" Diablon and Airknight Parshath both exclaimed at once (LP: 4000) x2.

(new scene...)

The duel soon shifted to much later on, with Diablon now commanding three extremely powerful monsters. They were shown to be...

"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, the time has finally come..." commanded Diablon. "Attack Airknight Parshath directly, and end the duel!"

The three Sacred Beasts obeyed, striking down Airknight Parshath. The centaur-like monster screamed in pain as the rest of his life points dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Diablon wins!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away rather quickly.

"Hmm..." mused Diablon thoughtfully. "Your deck isn't powerful enough."

Airknight Parshath, still weakened from the duel, slowly returned to his feet.

"What? What do you mean by that?"

Diablon never answered; he instead snapped his fingers and Vampire Lord stepped forth.

"Your deck is filled with far too much light." explained Vampire Lord, taking a deck out of his coat pocket. "If you're ever to become more powerful, you will need to embrace the darkness."

He handed Airknight Parshath the deck.

"I think this should be suitable for someone like you."

Airknight Parshath looked through his new deck. Before long one of the cards he stopped at started glowing all black/puple-like.

"What!?" gasped the centaur-like monster, just before he fell to his front knees while feeling something in his chest. "What's-?!"

"The darkness is accepting you." grinned Diablon. "Welcome to the Court of Darkness, Airknight Parshath!"

Airknight Parshath screamed in agonizing pain as the newly unlocked darkness within him continued to consume his heart. Clutching his head, he brought it down to his torso due to being unable to do anything to stop the excruciating pain.

(new scene...)

Wingweaver, watching from a balcony outside her bed chambers, could only watch in horror as The Sanctuary in the Sky burned all-around her. The war had commenced, and Airknight Parshath was leading an attack on the once beautiful shrine.

"Parshath..." she whispered, as tears fell from her eyes. "Why would you do this to us? I... I... I loved you..."

(elsewhere...)

Down in the middle of a garden, various evil monsters were tearing the place apart or killing various humans and friendly monsters. Airknight Parshath, showing no remorse or regret in his actions, continued to laugh wickedly at the destruction.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, as Airknight Parshath closed his eyes with shame.

"I still can't believe I abandoned all of my friends for the sake of power and revenge." he mourned. "And I also betrayed my one, true love..."

"HUH?!" gawked Emily. "Did you say ' _love_ '?"

"Yes." confirmed Airknight Parshath. "Wingweaver... As I continued to train to become a Guardian of the shrine, we started to spend lots of time together... And eventually, we fell in-love."

"Parshath..." whispered Emily. She then looked very sad. "I know what betraying your loved ones from falling into darkness feels like..."

"You do?" asked Airknight Parshath, looking towards his former enemy.

"Yes..." confirmed Emily. "Six years ago, back when I was only 10-years old and a new student at Sodor Middle School, I was a victim of relentless bullying by two of my current friends. But instead of doing the right thing and telling someone about it, I made the big mistake of changing my personality, attempting to toughen up so that those two guys would finally leave me alone. But, in the process, I ended up becoming a bully myself, treating all of my friends like dirt and driving nearly all of them away from me. They said that I was a monster with no hope for redemption. The only one who didn't lose faith in me was Thomas. He gave me the courage to reveal my troubles to the principal. If it hadn't been for him, chances are I would have eventually committed suicide."

"That's..." Airknight Parshath whispered, feeling more and more terrible. "That's awful..."

"And now, those painful memories of my past have resurfaced... The Court of Darkness is currently hunting me down, because of the traces of darkness I once had inside my heart."

"Yes... and I nearly did you in during our duel..." sighed Airknight Parshath. "At this point, however, your darkness is now gone forever. Unfortunately... even if my own darkness is now gone, I know my old home will never forgive me for my actions..."

"Now, hold on!" interrupted Emily, managing to stand up, walk over, and touch her former enemy's arm in a kind gesture. "Just because you've performed countless evil actions before, doesn't mean you can't make up for your sins!"

"What do you mean I can ' _make up for my sins_ '?"

"I was able to make up for what I had done in the past." Emily pointed out. "If my friends forgave me for what I had done as a bully, I'm sure your friends will forgive you, too..." She then finished her sentence with this... "I also think Wingweaver will forgive you... Especially her."

The dark green-haired girl then closed her eyes as a flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside the principal's office within Sodor Middle School, Mr. Arkwright was busy typing away on his computer before giving a heavy sigh. Just now, he had gotten a message from one of the teachers that Young Thomas and Young Emily both had not showed up for class.

"Where could those two be...?"

Just then, a knock on the door to the office came.

"Enter." said Mr. Arkwright simply, not looking up from his work.

The door opened and revealed the secretary, and she kepy a professional look on her face.

"Sir, two students are here to see you." The secretary reported.

Mr. Arkwright sighed unhappily. "Alright, send them inside, please."

With that said, Young Thomas and Young Emily, much to the principal's surprise, both came into the office.

"Thomas? Emily?" gasped Mr. Arkwright. He then became very stern sounding. "Where have you two been? It's almost 10:00 am, now!"

"We're so sorry for missing first period." apologized Young Thomas, before looking to his troubled friend. "But..."

"I have something to confess." finished Young Emily. "Something I should have done a long time ago..."

"Go on..." nodded Mr. Arkwright. "I'm listening."

And so, Young Emily finally told Mr. Arkwright all about Young Gordon and Young James's bullying. When she finished, the principal was shocked beyond words over all the cruel things that had been done and said to the young dark green-haired girl.

"Why didn't you come and tell me as soon as you could?"

"Because I was too scared." quivered Young Emily. "I... I..."

Mr. Arkwright raise a hand and silenced the young dark green-haired girl. From there, he went over to the microphone, picked it up, and said a few words...

"Attention, students... Could I please see Gordon and James in my office this instant? Thank you..."

Minutes later, the door to the office opened and Young Gordon and Young James both walked inside.

"Is there anything wrong, sir?" asked Young James, not realizing what was coming.

"Did we forget our-" Young Gordon began, but stopped speaking when he froze in fear over something up ahead. "Oh no..."

Standing next to Mr. Arkwright were both Young Thomas and Young Emily. All three of them looked very cross, indeed...

"Well?" The principal asked slowly.

Knowing that they were in very deep trouble, Young James pointed to his best friend to pin the blame on him.

"' _HE_ ' did it!"

"James Hughes and Gordon Gresley!" boomed Mr. Arkwright. "I am absolutely disgusted with the both of you!"

"But... but..." protested Young Gordon.

"If there is one thing I will never, EVER tolerate in THIS school, it's bullying. What did you hope to achieve by making Emily's life so miserable?"

"B-But we... we..." The two young boys spluttered.

"You both will now confess to your misdeeds to the whole school." continued Mr. Arkwright angrily. "In addition to that, you will ALSO personally apologize to Emily! Once that's done, you will come back here so I can decide your punishments. Am I clear?!"

"Y-Y-Yes, sir." whimpered Young James and Young Gordon both at once. They were cowering before the usually kind principal.

"You two jerks almost drove me to suicide!" hissed Young Emily.

"If she succeeded in killing herself-" put in Young Thomas. "-I would... I would...!"

He was so upset that he couldn't even finish his sentence, although Young Emily did manage to console him slightly.

"I will be informing your parents about what you have done, as well." added Mr. Arkwright. "And I can guarantee that they will not be happy with you once they hear of your misdeeds that occured for over two years." He then picked up the microphone again. "But first..."

And thus, he made the announcement...

(new scene...)

Later on inside the auditorium... As soon as they were given the ' _go ahead_ ' by Mr. Arkwright, Young Gordon and Young James both stepped forward towards the edge of the stage and spoke to the silent audience.

"These words are for Emily Sterling." began Young Gordon. "Emily... James and I would like to say that we are really sorry for everything we've said and done to you ever since you first came to this Middle School."

"It was wrong of us to do." put in Young James. "VERY wrong."

"Then why ever did you both bully Emily in the first place?" demanded Mr. Arkwright.

"We..." Young James tried to speak. "We did it all because of silly reasons."

"VERY silly reasons, sir." added Young Gordon shamefully.

"This is most unacceptable." said the principal absolutely furiously. "You, Gordon and James, both know full well that bullying is not tolerated at this school, but this... THIS is just inexcusable! Do you realize AT ALL that your constant teasing and harrassing of Emily here nearly caused her to commit suicide?"

"No." replied Young Gordon, looking down to the ground. "And if we knew what would happen, we never would have started."

The audience remained absolutely silent as Mr. Arkwright continued to speak to both boys, but there was hints of glum and anger coming from many of the students. The ones who were the most angry with Young Gordon and Young James, however, were both Young Thomas and Young Emily.

"What they did was unforgivable!" shouted Young Thomas.

"Not only did I nearly lose all of my friends-" added Young Emily. "-but it made think of going and ending my own life! They should be expelled for everything they've said and done to-"

Mr. Arkwright merely raised a hand quietly, and the two kids settled down... but they still remained absolutely incensed.

"We'll do anything we can to make up for this." went on Young James. "I don't care how long it takes for us to do so, but we WILL make up for our misdeeds towards you, Emily."

"That is a serious promise." Young Gordon added.

Finally, Mr. Arkwright dismissed the two boys from the stage and spoke to the audience...

"Now, let that be a lesson for all of you." The principal said sternly. "None of you should ever be afraid to come speak to me if something or someone is troubling you. It's my job to ensure that peace is kept around this school. If it's being disrupted, then the ones behind it will not go unpunished!"

With that said, the students were dismissed to go back to class. Only Thomas, Emily, and several of their friends remained behind.

"Emily..." began Young Percy. "I just want to say... we're all so sorry."

"We should have been more understanding to you." added Young Toby.

"Agreed." agreed Young Henry. "If we had known the truth sooner, we wouldn't have turned turn against you; thinking you were an irredeemable monster."

"Thank goodness Thomas was able to reach out and help you." finished Young Edward, before adding a rather grim... "Before it was too late."

"Thank you, everyone." said Young Emily quietly. While she was very happy to have her friends back, the young dark green-haired couldn't help but feel ashamed for not telling anyone of her problems as soon as possible. "I should have just told you all sooner, but I was too afraid it would only make things worse."

Young Toby raised an eyebrow. "Then that's why you became a bully yourself...?"

"Yes. But I never actually intended to become a bully. I only want to act tougher so Gordon and James would leave me alone."

"But they didn't, and out of your own anger and despair..." began Young Edward.

"...I took it out on all of you." Young Emily finished, starting to cry. "I'm so sorry!"

Young Thomas, finding his heart hurting to see his friend cry like that, held the young dark green-haired girl close to him.

"Shhh." he comforted, stroking Emily's head. "It's alright now. Everything's going to be alright."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and tears were streaming down Emily's face.

"Even then..." she went on. "Trying to commit suicide was one of the absolute worst things I ever tried to do as a young girl."

"Emily..." whispered Airknight Parshath, feeling more and more sorry for his new ally.

"It was one of the worst memories I ever had." continued Emily, still struggling not to cry. "And now, because of the Court of Darkness, I was forced to relive it once more."

"Emily, I'm so sorry..." Airknight Parshath said softly. "I... I didn't know..."

"And now, you do know about it, Parshath..."

The reformed centaur-like monster had never felt so ashamed with himself in his life. But now comes the question... Where will his new-found life lead him to? That is a question where the answer will be unveiled! ...later on.


	57. From Safety to Danger

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

"We should be nearing the bottom!" called the voice of Percy. "Just a few more stories to go..."

Currently, Percy and the others were still making their way down the canyon. It had now been two hours since Thomas was defeated by Nathaniel and thrown off the edge of the cliff. If the gang could hurry to the blue-haired boy's location down in the canyon before he faded away, maybe they could try and save him.

"I sure hope so." groaned Gordon. "My feet are killing me!"

"So are mine." put in James.

"No use complaining about it, now." said Rosie. "We've come too far to turn back."

And nothing more was said... for now, anyway.

(elsewhere...)

Another hour later, Percy and the others finally reached the bottom of the canyon.

"We've made it!" sighed Mavis, completely out of breath.

"Now let's get to Thomas!" added Henry.

But when the group of friends finally reached the spot Thomas had landed, all they found was streaks of blood splattered around the rocks... and no body lying about.

"No..." whispered Percy.

"He's...gone..." gasped Molly.

Maiden of the Aqua was the most devastated of all...

"He can't..." The blue-haired female monster started to cry.

Everyone else said nothing and merely bowed their heads in grief to pay their respects to their lost friend, and it was clear by now that it was their own fault it happened.

"Oh, why did we have to choose the mission over finding Emily?!" mourned Percy.

"Because we thought...Emily could take care of herself..." came from Rosie.

"Huh!" James huffed sadly. "Our uncaring attitudes lead to this happening..."

Nothing more was said. Pretty soon, Edward opened his eyes and saw something on the ground that surprised him...

"Look, footprints!"

He was right. It was a set of footprints leading away from the spot towards a village in the distance.

"You're right, Edward!" gasped Rosie. "And they lead that way!"

Gordon started to realize something. "You don't think...?"

"Somebody must have found Thomas and took him to get medical help!" cried Toby. "He might still be alive!"

"Only one way to find out!" said James, taking off down the road.

"James, wait!" called Edward, but was too late. "After him, you guys!"

"Hold on, Thomas..." thought Percy, beginning to follow. "We're almost to you..."

Everyone else hoped that they weren't too late to save their friend...

* * *

 **Title: From Safety to Danger**

* * *

Back outside the now petrified forest of flowers; it had gotten dark outside, and the reformed Airknight Parshath had built a nice campfire. He and Emily had both been very quiet for the last hour ever since they had finished talking about their past actions.

"So... what are you going to do, now?" asked Emily, after what seemed like forever.

Airknight Parshath sighed. "I have no where else to go... I've betrayed my fellow Guardians for the Court of Darkness. If I show up at The Sanctuary in the Sky, they will likely try to capture and imprison me for all of my unforgiving actions."

"Maybe they won't." said Emily wisely. "I mean, everyone deserves a second chance. I'm sure Wingweaver would be more than willing to listen to you."

"You... you really think so?"

The dark green-haired girl smiled. "I do believe."

Airknight Parshath, after taking a moment to think it over, smiled back at his new ally.

"Thank you, Emily, for everything. You've saved me from the darkness, and even managed to conquer your own darkness in the process."

"It's no problem." insisted Emily. "I bet you would have done the same for me if I were in your shoes."

"My shoes?" asked Airknight Parshath, blinking in confusion. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Oh, it's just an expression."

The centaur-like monster merely blinked for a new moments before turning to leave. It would seem it was time for him to begin his journey back to his old home to try and make amends with his old family.

"I must go, now." said Airknight Parshath. "But I promise that this won't be the last you'll see of me."

Emily nodded. "Have a safe journey... and may the attribute of light keep you safe."

From there, Airknight Parshath left the dark green-haired girl behind to try and return to The Sanctuary in the Sky. Emily continued to wave goodbye until her new ally was out of sight.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Percy and the others; they were still making their way to the village down the road when Stanley suddenly collapsed to his knees.

"AUGH!" The gray-haired boy screamed, clutching his upper torso. "The pain...!"

"Take it easy, Stanley." soothed Rosie, helping her boyfriend out. "You still haven't fully recovered from your incident with that Gladiator Beast."

"I know..."

"There it is!" called the voice of Edward.

The two teenagers looked up. Up ahead, Percy, James, and Edward were each looking towards a busy village.

"That must be where Thomas is!" exclaimed Percy. "I just know it!"

"Then let's not waste anymore time!" suggested Henry, catching up. "Come on!"

The gang raced towards the village, while Stanley and Rosie both moved a little more slowly.

"Hang in there, Thomas." said Stanley tiredly.

"We're almost there..." added Rosie.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the village, there were no Duel Monsters spirits—only humans.

"Look at all of the humans." commented Toby.

"Hopefully they can help us." added Mavis.

"Excuse me." said Edward, getting a villager's attention. "We're looking for a young blue-haired boy, looking like he may have been greatly injured. Have you seen him?"

The villager blinked. "Boy? Blue hair?"

"Yes, he's our friend."

"I saw a boy fitting that description being brought in." answered the villager. "Poor fellow looked as though he was at death's door."

"Where is he, now?" asked Henry.

The villager pointed to the nearby building. "I think he was brought to the clinic."

"Oh, thank heaven!" cried Maiden of the Aqua, running towards the building in question. "We must get to him, now!"

"Thank you for your help." bowed Percy, just before following Maiden of the Aqua.

With that said, the rest of the gang followed.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the clinic, all was quiet... At least until the doors were slammed open by a desperate looking James.

"Thomas!" The red-haired boy called out. "Where are you?!"

No answer... Well, maybe except a ton of people staring at the person who had barged into the clinic like he was crazy or something.

"Can I help you?" asked a nurse at the reception.

"Has a young blue-haired boy been checked in here by any chance?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

The nurse pondered. "Hmm... a boy with blue hair..."

"Well?!" demanded James impatiently. "Is there?"

"James, manners!" scolded Molly. She then looked to the kind nurse. "Sorry about James, he can get a bit impatient at times."

Finally...

"Oh yes, I remember!" cried the nurse suddenly. "He was brought in an hour ago. He's in the first room on your left."

"Oh, thank you." bowed Edward, before looking to the others. "Come on, let's go and see our friend."

The nurse lead the group of friends down a hallway to the room they were told of.

"Right this way." said the nurse, opening the door. "Go on inside."

The gang stepped inside, and there, lying on a bed unconscious while being tended to, was Thomas...

"Thomas..." whispered Mavis.

The lead doctor finally noticed the company. "Oh, hello there. Do you know this poor boy?"

"Yes." confirmed Rosie. "He's our friend."

"Oh, I see."

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Percy hopefully.

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you at the moment." sighed the doctor. "This boy has suffer such severe injuries that I'm not certain he can be saved."

"W-What?!" spluttered Molly.

"Not...be saved?" added Henry.

"Please tell me that was a sick joke!" finished Gordon.

"I wish I could." said the doctor unhappily. "We've done all we could do, but it seems that the boy has lost the will to live." He then started to stand up. "You may see for yourselves."

The doctor then stood aside, and revealed that Thomas...was in such a horrible state. The left side of his face was completely bandaged and bloodied—as was his upper torso. His clothing was still mangled, his remaining eye was closed, and he wasn't even breathing.

"Oh, Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua in a heartbroken tone.

"He looks so... so..." Gordon tried to find the right words, but was unable to.

"I wouldn't finish your sentence right now, Gordon." suggested Edward.

"Yeah, you're right."

"He just HAS to pull through!" protested Percy, trying to hold his tears back. "We need him! Thomas, please wake up!"

Alas, Thomas would not awaken... Soon enough, the doctor turned and noticed that, to his concern, someone from the group was clutching his sides in pain.

"Are you, alright, son?"

"No." winced Stanley, holding back his pain. "I...got into a bit of a nasty accident."

And he told the doctor about his and Thomas's duel against Gladiator Beast Spartacus.

"So, you actually faced off against the feared Gladiator Beast Spartacus and lived to tell the tale?" asked the amazed doctor.

"Pretty much, yeah—if barely."

"I just can't believe that he was revived." continued the doctor, expressing disbelief. "We had all hoped he would have stayed gone forever."

"Well, I think it's safe to say thanks to Thomas he'll be stay gone this time." said James.

"Any idea what happened to this boy that caused him to become this way?" asked the doctor.

"It was our fault." sighed Gordon in shame. "You see, we were sent here from another world to defeat the Court of Darkness. And a dear friend of ours had been kidnapped by them and Thomas wanted nothing more than to rescue her. But we tried to talk him out of it..."

"Why?"

"Our main priority was to stop the Court of Darkness and reach the capital city of this world." explained Percy. "However, after Thomas defeated Gladiator Beast Spartacus, he received a frightening message from a member of the Court of Darkness."

"Apparently-" continued Edward. "-this member was threatening to do terrible things to our friend if she was to be recaptured. Thomas tried to convince us to come to her aid, but we chose to carry on to the capital city because of how important doing so was."

"Nothing is more important than protecting those you care for." said the doctor sternly. "I can't believe you were willing to risk letting your friend be captured and tortured by the Court of Darkness like that. It's because of your focus on the mission and your ignorant pride that this poor boy is in the condition he's in now. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

"But you don't understand." protested Mavis. "We were only doing what was best for Emily to become a stronger person."

"Emily? Is that your friend's name?"

"Yes it is." confirmed Toby.

"We thought that she could learn to take care of herself so that she wouldn't have to be a damsel-in-distress anymore." added Henry.

"To make things worse-" Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "-Thomas here has a piece of an old evil in his heart."

"An old evil?" blinked the doctor.

"The ' _ **Evil One**_ '." confirmed Maiden of the Aqua. "He has managed to find a way to put a piece of himself inside of Thomas. And it has been growing more and more powerful ever since."

"He is also known as ' _Diablon_ '." added Percy. "He seems to possess Thomas whenever he becomes truly angry, but this time around he... he..."

The green-haired boy couldn't bring himself to say anymore, so James decided to finish the sentence.

"Thomas had transformed into a demon that looked exactly like Diablon!"

"Afterwards, when he returned to normal-" finished Stanley, still in pain. "-he threw the duel he was in and tried to kill himself."

...well, it would have ended there had James not decided to something add to that...

"He ' _tried_ ' to throw the duel." The red-haired boy pointed out. "But he returned to that demon form and continued the duel to the bitter end!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" interrupted the doctor. "What duel?"

"Some bastard named Nathaniel challenged Thomas to a game of Duel Monsters." explained Gordon, with his tone become incredibly bitter sounding upon mentioning Nathaniel's very name. "Because of the demon form he changed into, we think that this Nathaniel must have done something to really make Thomas angry."

While everyone else was talking to the doctor, Mavis walked over to the nearby Duel Disk on the table. As the blonde-haired girl took out and cycled through the deck, she spotted a card that didn't belong there.

"Hey, wait a second! This card doesn't belong to Thomas!"

This caught everyone else's attention.

"What card?" asked Percy.

Quickly, Mavis threw the card in question to Edward, who took hold of it and looked at it before realizing something about it...

"I've never seen a card quite like this before..." The intelligent blue-haired boy murmured.

"Where do you think it came from?" asked Rosie, trying to get a look at the card in question.

The shown card was The Field of Dark Graves... and it was the exact same card that, combined with Thomas's anger and darkness, that resulted in Diablon finally managing to claim the blue-haired boy's body during the fated duel! ...not that anyone knew this yet.

"I don't trust it." said Toby, taking the card. "Nathaniel must have gave Thomas that card during their duel. We'd better destroy it now before too long."

"Already on it!" cut in James, taking hold of the card from the brown-haired boy. "Say goodbye, creepy card!"

The red-haired boy took the card in both hands and tore it in two.

"There we go!"

"That's a relief." sighed Rosie. She then noticed Stanley was growing worse in pain. "Oh no, Stanley!"

Hastily, the pink-haired girl managed to remove her boyfriend's shirt and see that the bandages around the gray-haired boy's upper chest were becoming soaked with blood.

"It would seem you got here just in time." said the doctor, washing his hands. "Set him on the other bed next to Thomas."

Rosie helped Stanley to the nearby bed. Once the gray-haired boy was lying down, the doctor approached with a nurse following behind.

"Thank you for your help, little missy." smiled the nurse. "But we can handle it from here."

"No." refused Rosie. "If it's alright, I want to be by Stanley's side... maybe I can help?"

"She's really attached to him." explained Toby.

"A little tooooo attached." muttered James to himself.

"Shut it!" hissed Gordon, elbowing his red-haired friend in his side.

"Very well." said the doctor, after a few seconds of silence. "You can stay and give the boy some comfort."

Rosie smiled. "Thank you."

One of the Nurses turned to speak to Percy and everyone else.

"Could you all please go wait in the waiting room? This could get somewhat messy..."

With that, the rest of the group left for the waiting room. While waiting in the waiting room, they all couldn't help but think back to Thomas's duel with Nathaniel.

"Thomas..." whispered Percy.

"Why did that creep have to even attack him?" asked James.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was the moment where the final attack had begun...

"Guardian Eatos!" Nathaniel called to the monster version of his adopted Mother. "Destroy Diablon's monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising and slashing a great light from her sword with a great yell. A devastating wave of energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field and destroyed both Catapult Turtle and Kuribabylon. With that said, the blast finally struck Thomas, overwhelming and causing him to scream in pain and dread as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0). The light show was so powerful that some of the audience members had to cover their eyes... although the rest of them couldn't help but still watch on in horror.

"Thomas lost the duel!" came from Molly.

"THOMAS!" screamed Percy, James, and Rosie in shock.

But worst was to come... The force of Guardian Eatos's attack slowly began to push Thomas back some, before finally it happened... Thomas was sent flying off the edge of the cliff and soon fell down to his supposed death.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Maybe if we had found him sooner-" said Molly sadly. "-we could have prevented the duel."

"Thomas had such a headstart that I highly doubt it." sighed Mavis.

"And now he could probably die-" finished Henry. "-and there's nothing we can do about it."

James cursed. "Well, I hope that whatever happened to that Nathaniel after he walked away, he eventually gets his just desserts!"

Speaking of the blue-haired boy's assassin...

(elsewhere...)

Inside a room within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Nathaniel was strapped onto a table and wincing over something... As it turned out, he was wearing a helmet of some sort with it being connected with tubes, and said tubes sending strange liquids into the poor black-haired young man's head. Outside the room, Gozaburo Gresley, watching the torture through a glass window, was pleased.

"Once you were a Guardian of Light..." The evil man commented to himself. "And now, you will be reborn as a follower of darkness!"

With that said, he turned the power of the machine to the limit. Inside the room, Nathaniel was no longer groaning or wincing... Oh no, he was now SCREAMING from the stronger dosage of liquid being injected into his brain and resulting shock torture every few seconds. Gozaburo merely smiled cruelly at the pain and suffering this young man was being forced through.

"Keep it going." he ordered to the nearby monsters. "Make it last until he accepts the darkness."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village clinic, Gordon suddenly felt his stomach growling.

"I wonder if this place has anywhere to grab a bite to eat?" The tall, blue-haired boy said aloud.

"Don't we still have a few provisions left?" asked Henry.

"I think we left them behind when we made our way down the canyon to Thomas." reminded Molly.

"Meaning we need to find a place to eat." James pointed out.

"Why don't some of us go look for food while the rest stay here?" suggested Mavis. "That way, if Thomas wakes up..."

"I'm all for that!" interrupted Gordon, standing up.

"Me too!" agreed James, also standing up. "What about you, Henry?"

"I think I'll stay here." The tall, green-haired boy declined.

James shrugged. "Suit yourself." He then turned his attention to Percy. "How about you, Percy?"

The green-haired boy was about to decline when his stomach growled.

"Count me in." Percy accepted at last.

It was agreed that Gordon, James, Percy, and Mavis would all head out to get some food for everyone, while Maiden of the Aqua, Molly, Toby, Henry, and Edward would all stay behind to wait if Thomas would ever wake up.

"We'll be back soon." said Gordon.

"Call if anything happens while you're out." came from Molly.

Mavis held up her cellphone. "You got it."

"Be careful out there." warned Maiden of the Aqua.

"What's the worst that could happen in a peaceful village like this?" scoffed James.

"Do you really want to tempt fate after everything that's happened?" asked Gordon, elbowing his red-haired friend's side to shut his big mouth up.

"Alright! Alright!"

From there, James, Gordon, Percy, and Mavis left the clinic.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the village, and in the swamp-like area, all was quiet... almost too quiet. Just then, there was a hissing sound like a snake.

"I'm ssssssssso hungry! I mussssssst find food...!"

A large, snake-like creature (Cobraman Sakuzy) was searching for food in his home. It was clear that it had been days since his last meal, and was getting desperate in finding something worth eating.

"The tassssste of human flessssssh..." growled Cobraman Sakuzy. "I musssssst find a human to sssssssnack on!"

(elsewhere...)

Meanwhile, James's group was looking through town for a place to get food.

"Hmm..." mused Gordon. "Where would be a great place to get food?"

Mavis sighed and pointed to nearby. "How about that store over there?"

She was gesturing to a nearby 'grocery' store. Percy, not caring where they get te food, shrugged.

"Works for me."

With that, the four entered the shop. However, sooner or later, there would be trouble brewing. Why, you ask? Oh, because Cobraman Sakuzy was peeking from a nearby bush at the humans.

"Fressssssssh flesssssssh!"

He snickered to himself before...

*BONK!*

Cobraman Sakuzy collapsed onto the ground with a bump on the noggin'. It turned out one villager had accidentally swung and clobbered the snake-like monster with a metal shovel without knowing what he hit.

"Darned thing." muttered the male villager, walking away.

Cobraman Sakuzy rubbed his head, grumbling to himself in a strange language. He was gonna get his meal or die trying! ...without the dying part.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the store, it didn't take long for Gordon nor James to start picking out the food from the shelves.

"Got big appetites." chuckled Gordon. "Need plenty of nourishment."

"Got that right." agreed James, taking food off the shelves and loading them into carts. "Bread, peanut butter, cheese, juice..."

"Save some food for the rest of the town, you two." scolded Mavis.

Gordon facepalmed. "Yes, Mother...!" he muttered in a sarcastic tone, putting some of the food back.

Before long, they brought their goods to the register.

"Fifty pounds of gold." grunted the cashier.

Mavis nodded and paid with some of the coins she was given by the Amazoness Sage before leaving the Village of Amazons.

"Have a good day."

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the four teenagers left the store with the food. Gordon was grumpy over being told what to do by the 2-years younger Mavis.

"She's only two years younger than I am." he complained. "Mavis isn't my Mother, you know!"

"Well, you have to admit-" said Percy. "-she sorta serves like a Mother to our group."

Gordon snorted. "Really?"

"She helps to keep us from doing anything stupid." explained James. "Much as I don't like it either, I can't help but respect Mavis greatly for it."

"I wouldn't know what to do if Mavis didn't join us on this journey." agreed Percy.

As the four teenagers walked down the street, Cobraman Sakuzy had slithered into yet another bush. He had overheard the little discussion and got an devious idea on who would be his potential meal.

"It would ssssssseem the female keepssssss order among them." Cobraman Sakuzy said to himself. "Perhapssssss ssssssssshe would make a wonderful sssssssnack!"

All the snake-like monster needed, now, was a plan to kidnap the blonde-haired girl.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one office at the clinic, Stanley's eyes soon opened. He saw that the bandages around her upper torso had been changed to clean ones.

"Am I...?"

"Easy, lad." said the doctor slowly. "You'll feel sore for the next few days, but your injuries will heal."

"Where are the others?" asked Stanley.

"According to Maiden of the Aqua-" said Rosie. "-James, Gordon, Percy, and Mavis all went into town to get some food for all of us."

"While everyone else is in the waiting room." added the nurse.

Stanley nodded. "And...Thomas?"

"No change, I'm afraid." sighed the doctor. "We're doing everything we can, but it's really all up to the boy himself, now."

"Oh..."

"All we can do is wait." Rosie pointed out, clutching the gray-haired boy's hand. "I know it won't be easy, but that's all we're able to do."

"I feel so useless, right now." sighed Stanley. "I mean my friend is in a coma, and there's nothing we can do to help him."

"I feel helpless, too..."

Rosie put a comforting hand over Stanley's. The gray-haired boy looked to his girlfriend.

"Rosie..."

"Yes, Stanley?" asked the pink-haired girl.

"I'm scared." Stanley whispered, as his eyes again burned and formed tears. "I'm scared for what's been happening to us, and scared for what might happen down the road for each and every one of us. What if this whole mission ends up for nothing and we all die?"

Rosie only responsed by wrapping her arms around the gray-haired boy and held him close to her as he started to cry. Watching the scene, the doctor and nurses decided to leave the two teenagers alone for the next little while.

(elsewhere...)

In the waiting room, Henry, Molly, Toby, Edward, and Maiden of the Aqua were all still waiting for their friends to return. Just then, the entrance door opened...

"Huh?"

...and inside came Gordon, James, and Percy with some of the food.

"We're back." announced James. "And we have food!"

"Where's Mavis?" asked Toby. "Wasn't she with you?"

"She said she wanted to stop at one more store before coming back." explained Percy. "She won't be long at all."

"Thomas wake up yet?" asked Gordon.

Henry sighed. "In the words of a famous pony... Eenope."

Percy, James, and Gordon were each dismayed.

"Thomas..." whispered Percy.

Suddenly, they heard a high pitched scream coming from outside.

"What was that?!" cried Molly.

"That sounded like Mavis!" gasped Toby. "She must be in trouble!"

Jumping from his seat, the brown-haired boy raced out of the building.

"Hey, wait for us!" called Gordon, leaving his bags of food at the waiting seats.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, in the middle of the streets, there was a mass-spread panic going on with most of the villagers. What was the cause? Oh, Cobraman Sakuzy showing himself to all of the village, as well as holding onto Mavis as a hostage, might have something to do with it.

"Let me go!" The blonde-haired girl demanded, just as Cobraman Sakuzy managed to grab hold of her Duel Disk. "W-What are you doing?!"

"Jusssssst doing a little grocery ssssssshopping." snickered Cobraman Sakuzy, removing the device from his victim's arm. "You have no idea how sssssstarved I am, right now."

While still holding onto Mavis tightly, the snake-like monster tossed the Duel Disk aside to ensure the blonde-haired girl could not try to summon a monster to protect herself.

"Now, off to the ssssssswamp we go!"

Before too long, Toby and the others managed to arrive just in time...to witness Cobraman Sakuzy escaping from the village with his ' _lunch_ '.

"Wait!" called Toby, but was too late. "No, Mavis!"

"We have to go after them!" cried James. "Come on!"

Unfortunately, the people running around in a panic made going after their new enemy very hard to do...

(elsewhere...)

With that distraction, Cobraman Sakuzy was able to escape, with Mavis in tow, back to his swamp home.

"Home sweet home." chortled the snake-like monster.

Mavis sniffed the air and nearly barfed. "Yuck! You live in a dump like this?!"

"Ssssssnakes thrive well in placesssss like thisssss." hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. "It may be grosssssssss to you, but it'ssssssss home to me!"

"You'll never get away with this!" insisted Mavis. "Sooner or later, my friends will come and rescue me!"

"That'ssss what I'm hoping for." retorted the snake-like monster. "Insssstead of a sssssnack, I can treat mysssssself to an all-you-can-eat buffet!"

"A buffet?!"

"Yesssssss, a buffet!" confirmed Cobraman Sakuzy, now smiling. He then started licking Mavis's face with his tongue, but immediately started spitting to get rid of the taste. "BLECH! Too fresssssssh tasssssting! You need to get nice and rotten tassssssting before I can eat you..."

Mavis shuddered. She didn't like the sound of this. Without her Duel Disk, the poor blonde-haired girl had no way to protect herself or try to escape.

"Oh, Toby... everyone... where are you?"

(elsewhere...)

The answer is easy; Toby and everyone else had all arrived outside the swamp.

"Oh man... A swamp?" groaned James.

"It had to be a swamp." whined Gordon. "We all know how stinky a swamp can be...!"

"Never mind complaining!" snapped Toby. "We have to find Mavis now, before that snake monster eats her whole."

"Toby is right." agreed Percy. "Let's move it!"

"Hang on, Mavis..." thought Maiden of the Aqua. "We're coming!"

Can Percy and the others reach their friend before she gets eaten by Cobraman Sakuzy? The answer is... actually, I shan't say anything more about it, or else I'd sssssssspoil—sorry, spoil—the next chapter!


	58. A Snake in the Grass (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the steaming, stinky swamp; Percy and most of the others were slowly making their way through the place to find Mavis... who had been kidnapped by a snake-like monster named Cobraman Sakuzy. Sadly, there were a few teens who were complaining about the swamp right now...

"Yuck!" winced Gordon. "This place is so smelly!"

"Smells worse than the showers in gym class." added James. "And the showers are stinky enough as it is!"

"Never mind the smells back at school!" argued Toby. "We have to find Mavis now!"

"Yeah, yeah... We know..."

"Who knows what that snake is gonna do to her if we don't find them quick." came from Percy.

"We made the mistake of risking Emily's life while she's being hunted down by the Court of Darkness." added Edward. "We're not going to make that mistake again. Once we find Mavis and wake Thomas up from his coma, we'll search for Emily."

Just then, there was a hissing noise.

"Umm... guys?" gulped Henry. "Do you hear something?"

"It sounds like hissing." said James. "That snake must be close."

Gordon, however, looked up ahead and gave a loud, startled yell.

"It's a snake, alright... But it's NOT who we were looking for!"

Everyone else turned, and slithering before them were a large number of Venom Boas, Venom Snakes, and Venom Serpents.

"Eep!" squeaked Percy.

"Not good!" exclaimed Edward.

"I think Mavis's kidnapper was expecting us!" added Henry.

"Well let's fight 'em off!" declared James, activating his Duel Disk. "Now, who wants a piece of me?!"

Three Venom Serpents lunged forth.

"James, get out of the way!" called Gordon.

But James didn't move; he merely drew a card from his deck and held it up.

"Elemental HERO Neos, come forth and attack!"

The mighty Ultraman-like Elemental HERO appeared to the field and fought back, destroying the snakes one-by-one.

"Save some for me, James!" insisted Percy, draw and holding up three monster cards. "Alligator's Sword, Little-Winguard, and Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

The three mentioned monsters materialized and engaged the snake monsters in battle.

"Way to go, guys!" cheered Toby.

Unfortunately, the moment of triumph didn't last for long... Why? Oh, because more and more snakes were coming and soon overwhelmed the monsters.

"There's too many of them!" cried Molly.

"We have to make a run for it!" added Henry.

With no other option, the heroes ran from the snakes. Unfortunately, the evil reptiles were not about to give up chasing down their prey. Before long, the snakes had cornered the gang near a large muddy river.

"We're trapped!" cried Percy.

Just then, before the snakes could finish their targets off, a voice stopped them...

"Ssssssstop, my loveliesssss! You've done ssssssssuperbly."

The snakes stopped their assault and broke away to allow their master through.

"Huh?" blinked Gordon.

From there, Cobraman Sakuzy showed himself to the group of teenagers from the Island of Sodor.

"Welcome to my ssssssswamp home!" greeted Cobraman Sakuzy, hissing the word 'swamp'.

The gang could only watch on in horror.

* * *

 **Title: A Snake in the Grass, Part 1**

* * *

Back inside the clinic, Stanley and Rosie were currently both alone in the room. Well, not technically alone since Thomas was still there too, but he was still in his coma.

"Are you gonna be okay, Stanley?" asked Rosie, who spent the last hour comforting the gray-haired boy.

"I think so." sighed Stanley. "But we should both stay here and wait for Thomas to wake up."

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Agreed. Not to mention you're still pretty weak from your injuries."

"I just hope the others can save Mavis from being snake food..."

(elsewhere...)

Back within the swamp, the situation was not too good for our heroes. Percy and the other's recent rescue attempt had ended in failure and resulted in their capture. Currently, they were all in another part of the swamp and tied to stakes along with a cetain blonde-haired girl.

"Well, that went well..." muttered Gordon sarcastically.

"I knew you guys would come to rescue me." said Mavis. She then frowned. "But I wasn't expecting you to also be captured."

"But where's James?" questioned Molly. "He was captured along with us..."

"What if that snake monster's already eaten him?" shivered Henry.

The black-haired girl was very upset. "Oh no... James!"

"No, I think that snake has something else in mind for him." interrupted Edward.

The intelligent blue-haired boy was right... James was the only one who hadn't been tied up. He was instead facing Cobraman Sakuzy on what appeared to be a makeshift dueling platform.

"What do you want with me?!" demanded James.

"Ssssssss! You're my meal, of course!" hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. "But you're not ripe enough to eat yet, so I need to MAKE you ripe enough to eat!"

The red-haired boy was puzzled. "Ripe enough? What does that mean?"

Cobraman Sakuzy answered by making a Duel Disk appear on his arm. Instantly, James knew what that monster was talking about...

"I knew it..."

"We will duel!" confirmed Cobraman Sakuzy. "The girl I captured didn't have her deck with her, and so I couldn't make her ripe enough to eat."

"So, you'll face me instead..." finished James.

"Yessss." said Cobraman Sakuzy, slotting his deck into the Duel Disk. "If you win, you're free to go. But if I win, you will be my meal!"

Back with the rest of the captured gang...

"So James has to win this duel for us to be home free?" asked Gordon. "And if he loses, we're all snake food?"

"Sure looks like it." nodded Edward grimly.

"But knowing who we're up against-" said Toby. "-I have a feeling he won't hold up his end of the bargain if he loses."

"What makes you say that?" quizzed Mavis.

"Remember Thomas's duel against Diesel months ago? Even though he lost, he had no intention of setting you free and tried to possibly kill you just so we couldn't have you."

"Be ssssssilent!" shouted Cobraman Sakuzy. "I don't know who thissssss Diesel isssss, but I often keep true to my word to my victims."

"Oh really?" frowned James, not sounding very convinced.

"Oh yesssss... But my victims never won againssssst me, sssssso I'm not worried at all about losssssssing."

"First time for everything, I guess." The red-haired boy grinned, slotting his shuffled deck into the Duel Disk. "Now get your game on!"

"I ssssssssso hope you're ready to losssssssse!" commented Cobraman Sakuzy, drawing five cards (LP: 4000). "My sssssssnake friendsssssss are ready to beat you!"

James stood his ground as he drew his own hand without saying another word (LP: 4000).

"There they go..." whispered Edward.

"Our one spec of hope for leaving alive..." added Percy.

"Please don't mess up, James!" Gordon said under his breath.

Back on the make-shift platforms, the duel had begun...

"I'll take the first turn!" announced James, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Elemental HERO Sparkman, Elemental HERO Bladedge, Bubble Rod, Elemental HERO Neos, Necro Shot, and Elemental HERO Clayman

* * *

"Alright, here we go..."

The red-haired boy's hand contained Elemental HERO Sparkman, Elemental HERO Bladedge, Bubble Rod, Elemental HERO Neos, Necro Shot, and the added Elemental HERO Clayman.

"Not the best opener, but I can make do with it." thought James, taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defense mode!"

The large rock-like hero appeared to the field, kneeling in defense mode (Level: 4/DEF: 2000).

"That's all for me for now." finished James. "You're up, snake-man!"

"Oh yesssss..." snickered Cobraman Sakuzy, drawing his card. "Prepare to feel the sting of poison!"

James raised an eyebrow. "Sting of poison?"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and ?

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Venom Serpent materialized face-up.

"Yessssss, poison!" confirmed Cobraman Sakuzy. "To ssssstart it off, I'll ssssssummon Venom Snake in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a large green snake with two heads (Level: 3/ATK: 1200).

"A snake..." whispered James. He then regained his confident facade. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my Clayman has 2000 defense points. Your snake cannot do any harm to my monster!"

"Don't be ssssssso sure." interrupted Cobraman Sakuzy. "I'll just activate the effect of my monster insssssstead."

On cue, Venom Snake lunged forth and bit Elemental HERO Clayman's arm, causing the monster to grimace as the bite mark turned a shade of purple.

"Clayman!" cried James. "What did you do?"

The snake-like monster chuckled. "My monssssster hasssssss left a nasssssty mark on your Elemental HERO Clayman. In exchange for not attacking, Venom Snake hasssss left behind a Venom Counter."

"Venom Counter?"

Back with the captured gang...

"What's a Venom Counter?" asked Percy.

"I don't know." Toby answered. "But I think we're gonna find out soon."

Two facedown cards materialized behind Venom Snake.

"Next I'll place two cardssssss facedown and activate the Field Ssssspell card Venom Swamp!" continued Cobraman Sakuzy, taking and holding out another card. "Thissssssss will change the whole duel about!"

On cue, the whole arena changed into a rather poisonous swamp-like area.

"Venom Swamp..." whispered James, feeling very uneasy about the Field Spell card. "Already I don't like it."

"Thisssss powerful and dangeroussssss field weakenssss your monster's attack by 500 pointssssss for each Venom Counter on it." explained Cobraman Sakuzy. "But there issssss more to it."

Elemental HERO Clayman's attack points dropped as it began to look very sickly (ATK: 800 - 300).

"If your monsssster's attack pointssssss are reduced to zero by thissssss card's effect, then the monsssster will be dessssssssstroyed!"

"No way!" complained James.

Cobraman Sakuzy laughed. "In addition, at the end phassssse, another Venom Counter will be added to all non-Venom monsssssssterssssssss on the field."

A second Venom Counter shot from the swamp and bit Elemental HERO Clayman.

"Like ssssssssso..."

Clayman's attack points took another drop (ATK: 300 - 0). Because its attack points were now at zero in total, it collapsed and sunk into the poisoned water.

"Clayman!" cried James.

"Ssssssssoon, you will become ripe enough to eat!" smirked Cobraman Sakuzy. "I am going to enjoy thisssssss very much."

James scowled. "You sure are one evil, egg-sucking, son-of-a-snake, you know that?"

"James, it's best not to antagonize him!" protested Gordon. "You want him to kill us all?!"

"Your friend hasssssss a point." agreed the snake-like monster. "Now, it'ssssssss your turn!"

James didn't say anything and merely looked his hand, which contained Elemental HERO Sparkman, Elemental HERO Bladedge, Bubble Rod, Elemental HERO Neos, and Necro Shot.

"His monster is very weak right now." he thought. "Elemental HERO Sparkman is more than powerful enough to beat it... However, I need to win quickly, so I need a card to help me do that."

Finally, the red-haired boy drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (6): Elemental HERO Sparkman, Elemental HERO Bladedge, Bubble Rod, Elemental HERO Neos, Necro Shot, and Polymerization

* * *

His drawn card was the Polymerization Spell card; just what James needed!

"Yes!"

Cobraman Sakuzy raised an eyebrow. "What are you ssssssssso happy about?"

"Well, I've just drawn a card that will give me a huge advantage over you." declared James, slotting his drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. On cue, the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up. "And it's one of my favorites! ...I activate the Spell card Polymerization!"

Elemental HERO Sparkman and Elemental HERO Bladedge both briefly appeared before fusing together.

"With this card, I fuse Elemental HERO Sparkman with Elemental HERO Bladedge together to form a new, more powerful hero... Meet the Elemental HERO Plasma Vice!"

Appearing to the field was a new monster with Sparkman's Suit, Bladedge's Armor, and two large gold gauntlets (Level: 8/ATK: 2600).

"Sweet new monster!" called out Gordon.

"James has got this in the bag!" cheered Henry.

"It's time for battle!" announced James, motioning his right hand forth. "Elemental HERO Plasma Vice, take down that Venom Serpent with Plasma Pulsation!"

Plasma Vice obeyed, firing a blast of lightning at Venom Snake, striking and destroying it.

"Your serpent has been beaten!"

Cobraman Sakuzy scowled (LP: 2400), but he wasn't licked just yet.

"Thisssss isn't over yet!" The snake-like monster hissed, just as one of his two set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate Snake Whistle!"

"Snake Whistle?" blinked James, just before remembering something about it... "Since I've destroyed a reptile-type monster you control, you can special summon a level 4 or lower reptile-type monster from your deck to the field!"

"Exactly." confirmed Cobraman Sakuzy, holding up the card taken from his deck. "Come forth - Venom Serpent!"

Rising from the Venom Swamp was a large, black snake with orange stripes (Level: 3/ATK: 1200).

"And I'm not finissssssshed yet!"

On cue, Cobraman Sakuzy's final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Now I'll activate Damage = Reptile!" The snake-like monster declared. "Thisssss here isssss a Continuous Trap card!"

"Since Cobraman Sakuzy took battle damage-" explained Edward to the rest of the gang. "-now he can summon a reptile-type monster from his deck with an attack equal to or less than the damage he took."

"He took 1600 points of damage just now!" gasped Henry.

"That meanssss I can summon a monster with 1600 or lessssss attack pointssss." said Cobraman Sakuzy, taking yet another card from his deck and readying it. "Sssssssay hello to Venom Boa!"

A huge bluish Boa Constrictor with three eyes and a second head for the tail rose from the Swamp (Level: 5/ATK: 1600).

"Nice going there, James!" congratuated Toby sarcastically. "Why didn't you just destroy his Venom Snake with Plasma Vice's ability instead of attacking it?"

"Well, I was considering that..." said James sheepishly. "But I changed my mind when I thought that attacking head on was more fun and adventurous."

No one else was amused by that statement.

"Oh, the indignity..." whimpered Gordon.

With nothing else to do, James was forced to enter his end phase.

"And now that it'sssss the end of your turn-" grinned Cobraman Sakuzy. "-you know what that meansssss!"

Yup, another Venom Counter shot from the swamp and bit Elemental HERO Plasma Vice and weakened it (ATK: 2800 - 2300).

"Venom Swamp will add another Venom Counter to my monster." groaned James. "Did I get that right?"

"Correct." grinned Cobraman Sakuzy in confirmation. "At thissss point, you ssssshould just ssssssurrender."

"After the duel has just started? Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

"Tsk, tsk, ssssssso sssssssstubborn." sighed the snake-like monster, drawing a card. "But it'ssssss your choice."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and ?

* * *

"Now watch as my snakes activate their effects!"

Venom Serpent and Venom Boa both leapt towards Plasma Vice and bitten into him.

"Venom Serpent addsssss one Venom Counter, and Venom Boa addsssss two Venom Counters to your monssssster!" laughed Cobraman Sakuzy. "That will ressssssult in a 1500 attack point reduction!"

Plasma Vice's attack points dropped by a drastic amount (ATK: 2300 - 800).

"Crap!" wailed James.

Suddenly, the two snake-like monsters sunk into the poisonous water. That meant one thing was about to happen...

"And now-" boomed Cobraman Sakuzy dramatically "-I sssssacrifice both of my sssssnakes in order to call forth their ruler! Arissssse - Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes!"

The swamp began to swirl and bubble as though something powerful was rising from the depths.

"There's a word I'd like to say right now, but it's far too vulgar." muttered Gordon nervously.

At long last, the swirling stopped as standing before them was a huge snake-like monster dressed in snake-based armor (Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Guys..." began Percy.

"Yes, Percy?" acknowledged Molly.

"I think I really hate snakes now!"

"Amend to that, little Percy." agreed Gordon. "Amend to that."

"For every reptile-type monsssster in my graveyard-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy. "-the great Snake King gainsssss 500 attack pointsssss!"

"You have three reptiles in the graveyard!" gasped James.

"That makesssss 1500 attack points!"

Vennominon grew stronger from the boost (ATK: 0 - 1500).

"Now, Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes-" commanded Cobraman Sakuzy. "-attack and take down Elemental HERO Plasma Vice!"

"This won't be good..." thought James nervously.

Vennominon charged up and breathed a powerful poisonous breath, which struck Plasma Vice and destroyed him. James grunted as he took damage (LP: 3300), but then seemed to gag from the fumes of the toxic breath attack spreading around his side of the field.

"Those fumes... they're so toxic." The red-haired boy grimaced.

"Had enough yet?" taunted the snake-like monster, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "My ssssssnakes will make you VERY delicious if you sssssssurrender now."

James only growled in response.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the mountains, all was surprisingly quiet... However, someone was currently there doing some thinking...

"Why did I help him?"

It was Knight of Dark Dragon... He was seated on a rock and looking out into the rather beautiful distance. It turned out it was him who found and brought Thomas to that village.

"The blue-haired boy is a friend to that Red-Eyes Black Dragon user..." Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself. "I don't know why I took pity on him and brought him to that village..."

Perhaps it was mere instinct that led him to aid Thomas in his critical condition. Maybe the Dragon Knight felt leaving Thomas to die in his condition would have been too cruel despite any of his past actions. As one of the most feared mercenaries in the Duel Monsters spirit world, he had an image to keep up! ...especially after being defeated by the user of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"What's wrong with me?" Knight of Dark Dragon asked himself. "Why do I feel like I'm losing my touch?"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

During his duel with Spencer, Knight of Dark Dragon held up a copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon along with a monster card called Meteor Dragon.

"I will fuse my Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon!" he declared. Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon both appeared before flying into a hole in the sky. "Combine your powers together now!"

The fusion began as Knight of Dark Dragon began a summon chant.

" ** _Dragon with scales pitch as night and eyes with fire of potential, become one with the dragon born from a living meteor and let your power blaze! Fusion Summon! Appear before us - Meteor Black Dragon_**!"

A powerful explosion ensured as a huge, purple and red dragon slowly flew towards the ground.

"One of my ultimate beauties..." whispered Knight of Dark Dragon. "Impressive, is it not?"

Meteor Black Dragon gave a monstrous roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000).

"When I called my Meteor Black Dragon-" narrated Knight of Dark Dragon. "-I thought I had the duel won! ...but that young man didn't give up."

The Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up.

"Prepare to face the force of all three of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons as one!" thundered Spencer dramatically. "I activate my own copy of Polymerization and fuse the three dragons together!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons briefly appeared before soaring into the sky and fusing together. Spencer then began a summon chant of his own.

" ** _Legendary dragons with Eyes of Blue, become one and unleash your true power on those who stand in your way! Fusion Summon! Arise at once - Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon_**!"

Flying gracefully down from the sky was the supreme, three-headed form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 12/ATK: 4500/DEF: 3800). Knight of Dark Dragon couldn't believe that there was a fusion form for the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon..."

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" began Spencer. "Unleash your final attack on my opponent! End this duel!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon obeyed and started charging another three-way blast from its mouths.

" **NEUTRON BLAST**!"

The blast was finally fired at Knight of Dark Dragon, overwhelming and causing him to scream as the last of his life points finally dropped all the way to zero (LP: 0).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I never was the same after losing to that Spencer guy." Knight of Dark Dragon murmured. "I... I must reclaim my pride as a mercenary somehow!"

How was he gonna do that? At this point, we don't know for sure.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the swamp, it was James's turn.

"I can't quit now." he thought. "I have no desire to become snake food."

Finally, the red-haired boy drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : James Hughes (LP: 3300)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (4): Bubble Rod, Elemental HERO Neos, Necro Shot, and Elemental HERO Bubbleman

* * *

His drawn card was the monster card Elemental HERO Bubbleman.

"Alright." began James, placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!"

The familiar aquatic Elemental HERO materialized on the field with a battle cry (Level: 4/ATK: 800).

"An 800 attack point monster?" questioned Cobraman Sakuzy. "Why summon someone like him? He's too weak to attack!"

"That can change." said James, drawing two cards. "Because I've no other cards on my side of the field, I can draw an extra two cards from my deck."

He added the two cards to his hand before taking one of the other cards and holding it out to show his opponent.

"I'll now boost Bubbleman's strength with Bubble Rod!"

A rod appeared in Elemental HERO Bubbleman's hand, making him much stronger (ATK: 800 - 1600).

"I could attack now, but I don't want to take anymore risks with that Field Spell card." continued James, taking and holding out another card. "R - Righteous Justice! This, since I control an Elemental HERO monster, will destroy a Spell or Trap card on your side of the field!"

The Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself before shooting an energized 'R' at, and striking, Venom Swamp, clouding Cobraman Sakuzy's field in a thick surge of smoke.

"Yes!" cried Edward. "Now James's monsters won't be weakened by those Venom Counters!"

"Go, James!" cheered Molly.

But, to everyone else's shock, when the smoke finally cleared, Cobraman Sakuzy's Field Spell card...was still standing!

"What?!" winced James. "Your Venom Swamp is still standing?!"

Cobraman Sakuzy chuckled darkly. "Jussssst look over here..."

As the smoke cleared, a face-up Trap card could be seen and activating. It as called...

"Snake Deity's Command?!"

"By disssssssscarding one Venom monsssssster in my hand-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "-my Trap card automatically negatesssss and destroys your Ssssspell card!"

On cue, Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes got stronger thanks to another Venom monster (Venom Snake) entering the graveyard (ATK: 1500 - 2000).

"How pathetic!" scoffed Cobraman Sakuzy. "You had a clear sssssshot at attacking and wiping out my only monsssssster, but by making a play like that, you've made Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes even sssssstronger!"

James sighed as he merely took and slotted a card into his Duel Disk, thus causing a facedown card to materialize.

"I set one card and end my turn."

Once again, the effect of Venom Swamp activated. Elemental HERO Bubbleman was hit by more of the poison and grew weaker as a result of the Venom Counter affecting him (ATK: 1600 - 1100).

"This is very bad." said Percy unhappily.

"James has been making many misplays throughout the duel." put in Henry.

"This isn't like him." added Mavis.

"What is wrong with him?" asked Molly worriedly.

No one had an answer for the black-haired girl's question. Unless James managed to get his act together soon, it was clear he wasn't gonna last much longer in this duel.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	59. A Snake in the Grass (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the swamp, James and Cobraman Sakuzy were bot still engaged in a duel to determine the freedom of Percy and the others. Unfortunately, it was not in the red-haired boy's favor so far.

"Dang..." thought James (LP: 3300). "Elemental HERO Bubbleman has been weakened!"

"Sssssssss! Thisssss will be all over ssssssoon!" hissed Cobraman Sakuzy, drawing a card and taking his turn. "Watch thisssssss!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and ?

* * *

"Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes, attack and desssssstroy Elemental HERO Bubbleman!"

Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes obeyed, striking Elemental HERO Bubbleman with another poisonous breath and destroying him.

"There goes another one of James's monsters!" exclaimed Gordon.

"But it's not all bad news." cut in Edward. "Thanks to Bubble Rod's remaining effect, James can draw one additional card from his deck."

Over with James...

"I activate the remaining effect of Bubble Rod!" he announced, drawing a card (LP: 2400). "When it is sent to the graveyard, I draw one card from my deck."

"Sssssso what?" asked Cobraman Sakuzy dismissively. "You have lossssssst your remaining monssssster and took more damage to your life pointssssss."

"I know that. But since you've attacked, it also means I can play this Trap card!"

The snake-like monster's eyes widened. "Trap card?!"

James's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"A Hero Emerges!" declared James. "Now you are to select a random card in my hand. If you appen to pick a Spell or Trap card, it is sent to the graveyard and you're home free for the remainder of the turn." He held his current hand out. "But select a monster card, and I can special summon it to the field."

Cobraman Sakuzy hissed quietly. He was not gonna let his meal get ahead of him.

"Very well." said the snake-like monster, pointing forth. "I'll choossssssse the card in the middle!"

"Good choice." grinned James, readying the chosen card. "For me, that is." He showed the selected card. "Say hello to my ace monster; Elemental HERO Neos!"

On cue, the Ultraman-like Elemental HERO appeared in a burst of rainbow-like light (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"Elemental HERO Neos?!" cried Cobraman Sakuzy. "Not him!"

"Oh, whatssssss the matter?" teased James, mimicking his opponent's hissing manner. "Not happy that I ssssssummoned my ace monsssssster?"

"Way to go, James!" cheered Percy. "Now he has a chance!"

Regardless, it was now Cobraman Sakuzy's end phase, and that meant one thing...

"Venom Swamp will now add a Venom Counter to your ssssso-called ace monsssster!" declared the snake-like monster. "This will lower Elemental HERO Neos'sssssss attack pointssssss by 500!"

A Venom Counter dove from the poisonous swamp and bit Neos on the arm (ATK: 2500 - 2000).

"I'm not worried." smirked James, drawing a card. "With what I have planned, the poisonous swamp's deadly power won't matter much to me."

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : James Hughes (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (3): Necro Shot, Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, and HEX

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called HEX. Very quickly, the red-haired boy took and placed another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Let's take it to 'em, Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!"

Appearing was the dolphin-like Neo-Spacian (Level: 3/ATK: 600).

"Next I'll give him an upgrade." said James, holding out another card. "I play the Spell card NEX! This allows me to evolve Aqua Dolphin into something I'd like to call Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin!"

In a glow of light, Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin evolved into a much stronger looking form (Level: 4/ATK: 900).

"Looks like he's called in the ' _Marines_ '." joked Gordon.

"Gordon, that joke is old." groaned Percy.

"And now-" continued James, raising his right hand upward. "-I will perform a contact fusion sequence on my two monsters!"

Elemental HERO Neos and Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin both leapt into the rainbow-like sky as James performed a brief summon chant...

" ** _Hero of another word, learn the ways of the sea and become one with its strongest native! CONTACT FUSION! Make a splash - Elemental HERO Marine Neos!_** "

Striking from the sky was a pillar of water (pure, clean, fresh water). Once it died down, there stood Elemental HERO Neos wearing bits of dark aquatic armor like from Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin (Level: 8/ATK: 2800).

* * *

 **Title: A Snake in the Grass, Part 2**

* * *

Standing in the spot where the water pillar died down from was Elemental HERO Neos wearing bits of dark aquatic armor like from Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin (Level: 8/ATK: 2800).

"Sweet new monster." called Henry.

"And it won't return to the extra deck at the end phase." added Edward. "Plus, it's effect will send one card in Cobraman Sakuzy's hand to the graveyard."

Back within the poisonous swamp, James pointed forth to one card in Cobraman Sakuzy's hand.

"So say goodbye to that one!"

"Heh... congratuationsssssss." said Cobraman Sakuzy sarcastically, showing the card in question. "You desssssstroyed Venom Snake." He discarded his monster card. "With another reptile-type monsssssster in my graveyard, Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes gains 500 more attack points!"

Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes grew stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"That won't be enough!" interrupted James. "Marine Neos, attack with Hyper Rapid Storm!"

Elemental HERO Marine Neos obeyed, firing a powerful water blast at Vennominon, striking and seemingly destroying him.

"There goes your most powerful monster!"

Cobraman Sakuzy smirked (LP: 2100). "Is it gone?"

"Huh?" James raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Suddenly, the toxic swamp began to bubble.

"By banisssssshing one reptile-type monster from my graveyard-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy. "-my king can return from the dead!"

Slowly—but surely—Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes rose from the swamp (Level: 8/ATK: 2000).

"So long as I banish reptile-type monsters from my graveyard should Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes be destroyed, you cannot defeat him!"

"Even if you do that-" interrupted James. "-your monster would get weaker and weaker until there are no more reptile-type monsters to remove."

"I am well aware of that." said Cobraman Sakuzy. "But I can sssssstill find other wayssssss of replenssssishing my graveyard."

At James's end phase, Venom Swamp began to bubble once more.

"Ssssssince your turn isssssss at an end, Venom Swamp will add one Venom Counter to your monsssssster!"

Marine Neos grunted as a Venom Counter bit him on the neck (ATK: 2800 - 2300).

"Grrr... I can't let this keep up." thought James bitterly. He then spoke aloud... "Well? It's your turn now!"

Cobraman Sakuzy grinned deviously as he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2100)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Venom Shot

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Venom Shot. Cobraman Sakuzy's evil smile grew wider and crueler upon seeing the card.

"Yesssssss... I will now show you the more deadly parts of this swamp..."

James gasped, watching as the Venom Shot Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Venom Shot!" declared the snake-like monster. "Assssss I control a face up Venom monsssssssster, I can sssssend one reptile-type monsssssster from my deck to the graveyard. In return, your monster gains not one, but two Venom Countersssss."

Two Venom Counters appeared from the bubbling toxic water and bit into Elemental HERO Marine Neos's neck (ATK: 2300 - 1300).

"Bust my Buttons!" cried Percy. "That makes Marine Neos weak enough to be destroyed!"

"Correct!" confirmed Cobraman Sakuzy. "Vennominon, desssssssstroy my opponent'ssssssss Marine Neos!"

Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes, having become even stronger, obeyed and breathed another poisonous breath attack. Elemental HERO Marine Neos couldn't withstand the attack and shattered into pieces of glass.

"Marine Neos!" called James, just before gagging from the toxic fumes (LP: 1200).

"James lost another powerful monster!" wailed Percy.

"If he doesn't figure something out-" came from Maiden of the Aqua, who had been rather silent for the last while. "-he'll be defeated!"

"And we'll be snake chow!" added Henry.

Upon recovering, James weakly drew a card.

"This duel isn't over yet!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : James Hughes (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): Necro Shot and Card Trooper

* * *

His drawn card was the Card Trooper monster card.

"Even with the power boost-" James thought to himself. "-it'll be no match against that monster. Not only that, but at the end of the turn it'll be destroyed by the effect of Venom Swamp."

With no other choice, he placed the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Card Trooper, attack mode!"

The small robot appeared (Level: 3/ATK: 400). James then drew and prepared to send three cards from his deck to the graveyard.

"I play Card Trooper's effect!" The red-haired boy announced, having sent the three cards to the graveyard (the cards being Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Wildheart, and Necro Gardna).

"You'll ssssssend three cardssssss from the top of your deck to the graveyard." cut in Cobraman Sakuzy. "From there, Card Trooper will gain 500 attack pointsssss until the end phasssssse."

He was right... Card Trooper gained 1500 attack points from using its effect (ATK: 400 - 1900).

"A wassssteful move if you assssk me." The snake-like monster sneered.

James ignored that comment. "I end my turn."

Since it was the end of the turn, Card Tropper lost its power boost (ATK: 1900 - 400). To make matters worse, a Venom Counter drained it of even more attack points (ATK: 400 - 0).

"With your monssssssster's attack pointssssss reduced to zero-" said Cobraman Sakuzy, motioning his right hand forth and into a fist. "-Card Trooper isssssss desssssstroyed!"

The little robot sunk into the swamp and exploded massively.

"Now for Card Trooper's other ability!" declared James, drawing a card. "When its destroyed, I can draw another card!"

Cobraman Sakuzy raised an eyebrow. "That'ssssss it? You've wasssssted that turn to ssssssssummon a monsssssster and get it dessssssssstroyed jussssst to draw a card? Well, it'ssssss your funeral... and my meal!"

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the village clinic, all was very quiet in the waiting room.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the room Thomas, Stanley, and Rosie were each present in... While Stanley and Rosie were both busy bonding with each other, Thomas still remained in his coma.

(new location...)

Inside a world of darkness, Thomas remained lying down and in the coma. In his mind, however...

"Thomas..." came a voice (female).

The blue-haired boy's eyes did not open, nor did he answer back... Suddenly, a familiar figure began to appear from the darkness.

"Thomas..." The figure repeated, still sounding as calm and soft as before.

Thomas still did not open his eyes. Instead, a voice echoed through out... and not even from the blue-haired boy's own mouth.

"Emily? Emily is that you?"

"Yes..." said the figure, with her voice sounding much different to the dark green-haired girl's usual voice.

"What are you doing here?" asked Thomas's voice.

The figure remained silent to the question.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the swamp...

"I think we're snake food." muttered Gordon in a defeated tone.

"We can't lose hope." insisted Maiden of the Aqua.

"Why shouldn't we?" asked Mavis unhappily. "James keeps screwing up his moves every time he comes close to making a big advantage."

"The use of Card Trooper might have been the first step to retaking control."

"Unless James screws it up." came from Henry. "When he summoned Plasma Vice, he chose to attack instead of using his monster's ability. Had he done so, he could have dealt even more damage, thus making the duel closer to being over. And instead of activating R - Righteous Justice, he could have attacked with Bubbleman first. That way he'd at least weaken that snake king. Every time James had a chance to make a good move, he did something different to lessen his odds."

"I can feel it..." interrupted Maiden of the Aqua, closing her eyes. "James did the right thing by using Card Trooper."

While the others spoke, Cobraman Sakuzy drew a card and took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2100)  
 **Deck** : 47  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and ?

* * *

"It'ssssss all over for you!" exclaimed the snake-like monster. "Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes, attack directly!"

Vennominon obeyed, beginning to let lose a cloud of poisonous gas.

"I activate Necro Gardna's special ability!" cried James, as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "By banishing it from my graveyard, I can negate your attack!"

"What?!"

True to James's word, the spirit of the white-haired warrior in red armor appeared and blocked the attack.

"So that's what you meant." Toby said to Maiden of the Aqua.

"Yes." nodded Maiden of the Aqua. "When James used Card Trooper's effect to increase its attack points for the turn, one of the cards he drew and discarded must have been Necro Gardna."

"Talk about being resourceful." commented Percy.

Cobraman Sakuzy scowled as he slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"You're sssssssafe for now." he growled with a hiss. "I ssssset thissssss card and end my turn!"

"It's my go!" announced James, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : James Hughes (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (3): Necro Shot, ?, and Miracle Fusion

* * *

On cue, the Miracle Fusion Spell card materialized face-up.

"Get ready, you son-of-a-snake! I now play one of my favorite Spell cards; Miracle Fusion!"

"Miracle Fusion?" repeated Cobraman Sakuzy.

"This allows me to perform a fusion summon by banishing Elemental HEROES from either my graveyard or field." explained James as two cards slipped out of his graveyard. "So I'll fuse Elemental HEROES Wildheart and Bladedge together!"

The two mentioned monsters briefly materialized onto the field before combining together.

"I bring you Elemental HERO Wildedge!"

Appearing to the field was Wildheart now decked out with some of Bladedge's armor (Level: 8/ATK: 2600).

"Another sweet monster!" proclaimed Henry.

"Elemental HERO Wildedge-" commanded James. "-take down Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes here and now!"

Wildedge obeyed, slicing Vennominon in two with his large sword. The defeated snake-like monster sunk into the toxic swamp.

"That wassssssss a good hit." commented Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2000).

"Forgive me if I don't return the compliment." retorted James. In his mind, however... "Alright, this is the perfect setup! Once he revives his monster again, Wildedge's effect will activate and allow it to attack again... I can defeat this guy here and now!"

But to his surprise, this move didn't come. Why? Oh, just read on...

"I'm not ssssstupid." hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. "I know about your monssssster'ssssss ssssssspecial ability."

"Say what?!" winced James. "You do?"

"You were planning to finissssssh me with an endlesssss loop." said the snake-like monster. "But my facedown card won't let that happen!"

The set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Rise of the Sacred Deity!"

The poisonous swamp began to bubble even more fiercely than when Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes first appeared.

"When my king of sssssswamps issssss dessssssstroyed-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy, taking and placing a new card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can sssssspecial sssssssummon in in hisssssss place a much more powerful creature of the sssssswamp. Ssssssso now, ssssssay hello to my deck'sssssssss true ace - Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes!"

"Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes?!" exclaimed the captured audience.

The whole swamp exploded in a great burst. Within seconds, standing before both James and Elemental HERO Wildedge was probably the hugest snake-like monster anyone from the group had ever seen in their whole life. The bottom half was of a large snake while the top half was that of a curvy female, although her arms were replaced by snakes (Level: 10/ATK: 0).

"My new monsssssster gainsssssss 500 attack pointssssss for every reptile-type monsssssster ssssssslithering around in my graveyard." explained Cobraman Sakuzy, looking to his graveyard. "I currently have sssssssix lurking around..."

"That gives your monster 3000 attack points!" wailed James.

True to those words, the female snake creature grew very strong (ATK: 0 - 3000).

"Well, this sucks..." groaned Gordon.

"Just when James finally gets an advantage-" added Toby. "-THIS has to happen."

"I end my turn." grumbled James.

As before, another Venom Counter was added. This dropped Elemental HERO Wildedge's attack by 500 points (ATK: 2600 - 2100).

"Poor James." sighed Molly sadly.

"Can he even win now?" came from Percy.

"Probably not." answered Toby with a moan. "And who knows what else that Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes can do."

They were about to find out soon enough...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the world of darkness, the mysterious female figure could be seen leering over the coma-induced Thomas's body. It would seem that she was still talking to the boy.

"I have come to see how you were doing." The female figure said calmly.

"I've been trying desperately to rescue you." echoed Thomas's voice. "But my friends wouldn't let me. They wanted to put your life at risk for their own intentions."

"Put me in danger? Why would they do that?"

"They wanted to carry on to the capital city." said Thomas's voice. "I tried to convince them that you were more important, but they wouldn't listen."

The figure remained silent from hearing that statement. It was then she realized that it was the reason Thomas became overpowered by his darkness.

"Thomas... they did what they did because it was important." The mysterious female figure finally pointed out.

"But to me-" objected Thomas's voice "-rescuing you was MORE important than that. Ever since you were brought back from your bossy phase, I vowed I would always try to protect you. But now, you're in danger and I've failed."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside the ruined Coliseum, Thomas had just begun his ' _The Reason You Suck_ ' Speech...

"There are far more important problems to worry about right now!" bellowed Thomas, reaching his rage breaking point. "Emily has escaped from the Castle of Dark Illusions and is being hunted down by a member of the Court of Darkness! She's in more danger than she ever was before! Why can't any of you just realize how serious this is and how much this means to me?!"

The dark aura was beginning to appear around him once again. Neither James nor anyone else dared to even speak up as their friend continued his fiery speech...

"Every since she went back to being her old, caring, selfless self after those two long, hard years of being bullied by James and Gordon, I've made a solemn vow that I would always do whatever it took to protect Emily from any and all harm, no matter how hard or painful it was, even if I had to die if it meant she was safe and sound. Emily's in grave danger now because I failed to protect her! It's my fault she was captured!"

Thomas's anger was reaching an alarming pitch; his eyes had temporarily flashed the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' crimson red. The blue-haired boy clenched his injured hands into a fist, causing them to bleed more than ever before, but he didn't care whatsoever.

"Emily is the sole reason why I live." Thomas ranted on further. "I can never live without her! So that's why I will stop at nothing to get her back from the darkness! You can all worry about Stanley for all I damn well care, but I only came to this world for one reason only; and that is to save the most important person in my life from losing herself to the darkness once more! And I swear... if any of you guys try to stand in my way of rescuing her, then I won't hesitate to take you down just as I did to everyone else I've taken down in this godforsaken world!"

With that said, Thomas walked past his friends (shoving both Gordon and James away in the process) and began to leave the Coliseum.

"T-Thomas, you can't be-" Percy began to speak and reach out to stop his best friend, but that was a big mistake on his part.

Without any kind of warning, Thomas suddenly turned around and punched the green-haired boy hard in the face, knocking him onto the ground right near Edward and Molly, who, along with the rest of the gang, were staring on in a mixture of shock and fright. The blue-haired boy only glared coldly at his so-called friends before storming out of the arena. He was determined to rescue Emily before she could be tortured or worse.

"Some friends you all turned out to be." The blue-haired boy thought bitterly to himself.

Before long, Thomas had left his friends behind.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I'm a terrible person." sighed Thomas's voice at last. "And to make matters worse, I eventually betrayed my own expectations and did something I regret."

A flasback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas's hand contained Hand Control, Dark Magician, Sangan, Black Luster Ritual, Black Magic Ritual, and The Field of Dark Graves.

"It's pointless to resist, Thomas." remarked Nathaniel, drawing five cards.

Thomas's anger was reaching its limit, but then gripped his chest as he felt pain and darkness coming from it. Looking back at his hand, the blue-haired boy had nothing else that could help him out.

"I'm out of options." he said to himself. "This is the only card that can help free Dark Magician Girl. But... No. I won't use it!"

At last, Thomas looked back up to Nathaniel.

"I think I have finally discovered your true intentions, Nathaniel."

"Hmm?" Nathaniel raised on eyebrow.

"You're not fighting AGAINST the Court of Darkness." Thomas accused. "You're fighting FOR them! That's why you've done nothing but antagonize me and slander my ancestor's name throughout this whole duel! You're been deliberately making me angry because you want to make my darkness stronger so that Diablon will take full control over me! You're trying to aid in his revival to destroy the world! You're not a True Duelist or a Guardian. You're a fool and traitor to your kind!"

Nathaniel scowled at this accusation.

"And me activating The Field of Dark Graves was part of your plan to make me embrace the darkness." continued Thomas. "Well, I won't give you the pleasure! If I can't find any other way to free my Dark Magician Girl, then I would rather surrender the duel peacefully."

Although she couldn't move, Dark Magician Girl was pleased that Thomas was resisting the darkness of the wicked card.

"Let this be a warning to anyone who serves the Court of Darkness." declared Thomas, just as he began to bring his palm to his deck. "I will never embrace the darkness! Not now, not ever!"

"Oh yes, you will!" snarled a voice in Thomas's head (male).

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy's hand froze just inches before he could touch his deck.

"What's going on?" asked Thomas. "M-My hand..."

"If you won't use that card to win the duel for us-" The voice continued. "-then I will do it myself!"

Thomas clutched his hand to his face. "N-No... I c-can't...!"

"Oh really? Then search your deepest thoughts, and locate the darkest and most desirable things you want out of 'em!"

And searching, Thomas did... Those dark and desirable thoughts were as followed:  
-Win the duel  
-Free Dark Magician Girl from Crystal Seal  
-Find and rescue Emily

"Dark Magician Girl... Emily..." The blue-haired boy winced hard, trying to resist.

The trapped Dark Magician Girl became worried for her master/friend. Suddenly, once the thoughts and desires he wanted had become too much for him to try and handle, Thomas screamed in pain as a dark aura took over his body, shrouding him from sight.

"Huh?" Nathaniel looked up in shock.

Thomas (possessed), once he had recovered, readied to play his card. It was an all-too familiar one, too.

"Now, I activate - The Field of Dark Graves!" Thomas (possessed) announced at once.

Nathaniel only looked on silently and grimly. Thomas (possessed) soon slotted the card inside the Field Spell zone on his Duel Disk as it started to spark.

"It is..." mumbled the possessed blue-haired boy, which was also all he could say.

Suddenly, the dark aura around him thickened and much more powerful than ever before, causing him to scream in intense agony while emulating a massive shadow over the whole field. Nathaniel had been shielding himself and looking away from the powerful burst of dark energy. Soon, he recovered and looked on ahead to whoever was standing in the nearby purple smoke.

"So-" The black-haired young man grunted. "-we meet at long last..."

As the smoke began to fade, standing there was what looked almost like Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, no shirt, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. It was 'him'! It was the ' ** _Evil One_** '! It was...

"...Diablon."

The ' _new_ ' Thomas said nothing, but there was a grim look of anger on his face.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"But that's not even the worst part." continued Thomas's voice. "What's worse is that while blinded by darkness and anger... I betrayed my monsters."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas (having become Diablon) and Nathaniel were both still in the middle of their duel...

"You think you have me beat?" asked Diablon harshly. "All because you have handicapped one of my monsters and taken out all other options I had from my hand? That's where you're wrong! I'll still win the duel and kill you!"

With that said, he drew a card. The drawn card was the Mirror Force Trap card. With a snort of disgust, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' looked towards his Dark Magician.

"Because Dark Magician is now worthless to me-" Diablon commented in a rather cruel tone. "-I will offer him as a tribute for the effect of Catapult Turtle!"

Dark Magician gave a shocked gasp at being called worthless, but leaped into the air and landed on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"Open fire!"

Dark Magician was fired, turning into a ball of light and striking Nathaniel, causing him to yell in pain (LP: 800).

"One more attack-" proclaimed Diablon. "-and I'll have you down." He then looked towards Dark Magician Girl. "Best of all; with Dark Magician now in my graveyard, he powers up Dark Magician Girl's attack points by 300."

Dark Magician Girl's attack rose as the ' ** _Evil One_** ' had pointed out (ATK: 2500 - 2800).

(new scene...)

Later on, Diablon was about to do it again...

"I will now offer the equally useless Dark Magician Girl to finish you off!"

Hearing this made Dark Magician Girl very upset. Despite being possessed by the darkness of The Field of Dark Graves, even she still had some signs of herself. The female spellcastery-type monster hoped that the Thomas deep within could somehow break free and stop this madness before it was too late to turn back. Alas...

"Go on!" demanded Diablon, not giving a rat's behind on what his monster was feeling, right now.

With tears in her eyes, Dark Magician Girl was forced to obey the command; leaping up, landing, and readying herself on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"And now..." grinned Diablon wickedly, beginning to point forth. "Eat this, Guardian Nathaniel!"

On cue, Dark Magician Girl was launched off of Catapult Turtle's launcher and turned into a ball of light. It soon slammed into Nathaniel and sent him flying until he crashed into a tree and destroyed it... although he didn't flinch nor shout in pain from being hit by it (LP: 100).

(new scene...)

Later further, Guardian Eatos was pointing her sword at Diablon's Duel Disk.

"The special effect of Guardian Eatos... It allows her to remove monster cards from your graveyard one-by-one until she reaches a Spell or Trap card." explained Nathaniel. "Those monsters' attack points are then added to Eatos's overall attack points, while the monsters themselves are removed from play!"

Diablon was shocked. "WHAT?! Removed from play?!"

One card slipped out of the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' graveyard, and it also was the first monster card to appear. The monster in question was Dark Magician Girl, and she looked positively heartbroken with Thomas.

"Why...?" The female spellcaster-type monster asked mentally.

"Dark Magician Girl...!" cried Diablon in pain.

"Next up is your other ace." said the voice of Nathaniel, just as another card flew out of the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' graveyard.

Appearing was an upset-looking Dark Magician.

"How could you?" The purple-haired, male spellcaster asked mentally.

"Dark Magician...!" winced Diablon.

From there, three more monster cards materialized...and revealed the following monsters; Big Shield Gardna, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, and Berfomet.

"You have the power of every one of my fallen monsters." growled Diablon.

"It's your own fault for doing it, Diablon." retorted Nathaniel hotly. "You did this to them when you selfishly sacrificed them just so you could win against me! And Thomas Billinton, this message is directly for you... I want you to think long and hard - you've allowed your most dark and selfish desires to consume you, and this is the consequences of your actions! Now gaze into the eyes of your fallen monsters!"

Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. He actually felt very scared as to what he had done to try and win the duel, but unfortunately...

"Don't stare at me... Don't stare at me with those eyes, you fools!" exclaimed Diablon angrily.

Unfortunately, Thomas had also managed to gain part of himself back... and found that Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at ' ** _him_** ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. Thomas had never felt so ashamed and scared in his life, and was now convinced that his own monsters hated him for giving into his darkest and most selfish desires that resulted in Diablon finally claiming complete control of the body.

"Please...forgive me for what I've done to you!" begged Thomas sadly.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"Gladiator Beast Spartacus said I would one day betray them-" said Thomas's voice in a truly ashamed tone. "-and I ended up doing so. There's no excuse for my actions. Nathaniel was right all along about me; I am a cruel, selfish monster with no respect for my cards. They would be much happier without me... No, EVERYONE would be better off if I never existed."

Although the blue-haired boy's eyes were still closed, tears were still leaking from them. Man, this really is a heartbreaking scene, right?

(elsewhere...)

Back in the swamp, Cobraman Sakuzy had drawn his card and begun his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 2000)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (1): ?

* * *

"It'sssssss time for you to feel the fury of my Deity of Poisonous Snakes!" The snake-like monster declared, entering the battle phase. "Attack and desssssstroy Elemental HERO Wildedge!"

Vennominaga obeyed, striking Wildedge down with her snake-like arms.

"No!" cried James (LP: 300). "Wildedge!"

"But that isssssssn't all!" continued Cobraman Sakuzy. "Now you will feel the toxic effectssssssss of my monssssster'sssssss venom!"

Before James could respond, he screamed out in pain as he was struck (or rather bitten) on the arm by one of the snake arms.

"James!" cried Molly.

James collapsed to his knees, and saw that the bite marks had turned purple.

"W-What the...hell?!"

"When Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes deals battle damage to you for the first time-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy. "-she gains a special Counter I like to call a Hyper-Venom Counter at the end phase. All I need is to wait two more turns, and, when she gains three Hyper-Venom Counters, I will win the duel automatically!"

"Another 'Instant Win' tactic!" exclaimed Edward.

"And because the monsters and their damage is real in this world-" added Toby. "-James will die if he loses!"

"This must have been what that snake meant by 'becoming ripe'." came from Mavis.

"It'ssssss your move." grinned Cobraman Sakuzy. "And remember; you have a few more turns to live."

James cursed loudly, but drew his card as told to do.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : James Hughes (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (3): Necro Shot, Elemental HERO Necroshade, and Fusion Recovery

* * *

The red-haired boy's hand contained Necro Shot, Elemental HERO Necroshade, and the added Fusion Recovery. He was currently thinking about his situation right now...

"If I can't find a way to win before three Hyper-Venom Counters appear-" James said to himself. "-not only will I lose automatically, but I'll die, and my friends will be snake food." He looked over to Cobraman Sakuzy. "Heh! Like I would every lose to someone like you!"

James slotted his drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I play Fusion Recovery!" The red-haired boy announced, taking two cards from his graveyard and adding them to his hand. "It allows me to add one fusion material monster and Polymerization card I used earlier to my hand."

Cobraman Sakuzy scoffed. "Another fussssssion ssssssummon, I wager?"

On cue, the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up.

"This time-" said James "-I'll fuse my returned Elemental HERO Sparkman with the Elemental HERO Necroshade already in my hand!"

The two Elemental HEROES appeared briefly to the field before disappearing in a swirl.

"I call forth... Elemental HERO Darkbright!"

"Darkbright?" blinked Mavis.

Appearing to the field was an Elemental HERO deck out in black and gold armor with a red visor over his face (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000). Immediately, this was followed by a Spell card called Necro Shot appearing face-up.

"With my new monster present-" continued James, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "-I'll equip Darkbright with Necro Shot!"

"Necro Shot?" blinked Cobraman Sakuzy.

A bat-like weapon attached itself to Darkbright's wrist.

"By equipping it to a dark attribute monster-" explained James "-I can banish a monster from your graveyard during the main phase. But if it's used three times, it's destroyed."

Elemental HERO Darkbright readied the weapon and aimed for Cobraman Sakuzy's graveyard.

"Fire!"

The weapon shot a beam into Cobraman Sakuzy's graveyard, causing three monster cards to slide out from it and fade away into oblivion.

"And without those three reptile-type monsters-" said James cleverly. "-your Snake Deity loses a total of 1500 attack points!"

Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes became weaker (ATK: 3000 - 1500). In addition, Necro Shot was destroyed because its effect was used three times.

"And because my Necro Shot was destroyed-" added James, drawing and sending a card to the graveyard. "-I have to send a dark attribute monster from my deck to the graveyard."

The monster card in question was Neo-Spacian Dark Panther.

"And, since I haven't actually attacked yet-" The red-haired boy continued some more, just before motioning his right hand towards the enemy monster. "-I think I'll Elemental HERO Darkbright attack Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes now!"

Darkbright obeyed, charging at the large beast and striking it down seemingly.

"Unfortunately for you-" Cobraman Sakuzy began (LP: 1500). "-my ultimate monster shares one such effect as my last monster."

Within seconds, the giant snake woman reappeared (ATK: 0 - 1000).

"While I took battle damage like before-" continued the snake-like monster. "-I banissssssshed a reptile-type monssssssster from the graveyard to revive Vennominaga once more! While it isssssss weaker than before, I have more waysssssss to power it up asssssss before!"

"Well, when Darkbright attacks-" said James, switching the card on his Duel Disk sideways. "-he switches to defense mode."

Elemental HERO Darkbright went into a kneeling position.

"My turn has ended!"

On cue, the face-up Venom Swamp card started to glow. That meant one thing...

"Venom Swamp will add another Venom Counter to your monsssssster!" declared Cobraman Sakuzy.

A Venom Counter latched onto Darkbright, making it weaker than ever before (ATK: 2000 - 1500).

"Crap..." moaned James.

It was then Cobraman Sakuzy's turn. Because it of that, he drew a card from his deck.

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Cobraman Sakuzy (LP: 1500)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Snake Rain

* * *

The snake-like monster's drawn card was a Spell card called Snake Rain.

"I sssssshall now boosssst my monster's strength further." he slithered, holding out the drawn card. "I play Snake Rain!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Thissss allowsssss me to sssssssend a total of four reptile-type monsssssterssss to my graveyard." explained Cobraman Sakuzy, drawing and discarding four cards to the graveyard. "Thissssss will power Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes' attack by 2000 points!"

Almost immediately, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes was fed four snake-like monsters (eating them whole), much to the audience's disgust.

"Oh, gross!" cried Molly, looking away.

"If I weren't tied up right now-" gagged Gordon. "I'd be running for a bathroom to throw up."

Once she had a full stomach, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes let out a shriek as she regained her lost attack points from earlier (ATK: 1000 - 3000). From there, it was time for the battle phase...

"Devour Elemental HERO Darkbright!" commanded Cobraman Sakuzy.

Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes obeyed; grabbing Elemental HERO Darkbright's body, lifted him up, and prepared for a feast when...

"I activate Darkbright's final effect!" cried James. "If my monster is destroyed, your snake monster will be joining him!"

Weakly, Darkbright grabbed hold of Vennominaga's snake arms and shot bolts of dark lightning into her and causing a massive explosion to cloud the field (or swamp).

"Your monster has been blasted into nothing!" boasted James.

But when the smoke settled, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes was shown to be...still standing!

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" groaned James. "Why's your monster still on the field?!"

"Asssssss if you didn't know..." chuckled Cobraman Sakuzy. "Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes cannot be destroyed by Spells, Traps, or monster effects."

"DAMMIT!"

Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes soon ate Elemental HERO Darkbright whole. Thankfully, Darkbright was in defense mode, so James was spared from more life point damage.

"And sssssssince we're at the end phasssssse, another Hyper-Venom Counter will be added to Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes!" continued Cobraman Sakuzy, who then smirked very darkly. "Like ssssssso..."

To show exactly what he meant, the snake-like monster had Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes use her snake arms to bite James again...

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" screamed Molly in agony. It was torture for her to see James suffer so much. "PLEASE, STOP!"

Both snake arms were removed from James, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Two Hyper-Venom Countersssss have been added..." hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. "All that'ssssss needed issssss one more..."

Poor James was feeling very weak. He didn't know if he could go on any longer...

"I..."

"With one final Hyper-Venom Counter-" continued the snake-like monster, making a hissing sound. "-you will be ripe enough to eat... Now, go and make your final move!"

James slowly stood back up. The bite marks had turned a nasty shade of green, and that meant it was getting very bad.

"I...won't be defeated...right here!" The red-haired boy mumbled into a louder tone. "No way will I...lose!"

With that, he slowly reached for his deck and got ready to draw. This was gonna be his last chance to turn things around and win the duel.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the world of darkness...

"Do you honestly think everyone would be better off if you never existed?" asked the mysterious figure calmly.

"Yes." confirmed Thomas's voice. "My friends are out there possibly in danger and you're out on your own, my cards are angry with me, and I can't blame them for it. As I can't even forgive myself, I don't expect anyone to forgive me, either."

A flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Guardian Eatos's effect was being used to power her attack up.

"The darkness in your heart has finally allowed Guardian Eatos to reach her full potential." said Nathaniel in a rather cold tone, before directing his attention to the banished monsters. "Now be absorbed into the Celestial Sword!"

The spirits circled around Diablon before being absorbed into the sword, causing Guardian Eatos to grow unbelievably strong (ATK: 2800 - 10000).

"10000 attack points?!" gasped Diablon. Suddenly, he felt something fighting for control of the body. "AUGH!"

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' fell to his knees and yelled in pain. When he rose once again, his appearance had changed once again... His hair was blue again, his skin tone normal, but his head looking to the ground. Then, to Nathaniel's surprise, the blue-haired boy began to slowly walk backwards towards the cliff.

"What are you doing?" asked Nathaniel in shock.

Even Guardian Eatos was surprised by this. The boy raised his face up to show he was back to Thomas. His blue eyes were also red with tears and filled with nothing but despair, shame, and pain.

"I want to die." The poor blue-haired boy answered in a truly heartbroken tone. "I have committed an unforgivable crime, and I must pay the price for it. If you truly wish to save your world from darkness and Diablon, Nathaniel, then start by killing me so that I can never hurt anyone again. Please, attack me right now..."

Percy and the gang was beyond shocked. Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos were both equally horrified by the demand.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I'm too dangerous to be around anyone." insisted Thomas's voice. "Before I die, I hope my friends will be able to give my cards to a duelist who will properly understand them better than I ever could."

Finally, the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed who she was; it was the same young woman (who resembles Emily, BTW) with long, brunette-colored hair.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the swamp, James, struggling to stay on his feet, was ready to draw what could be his final card.

"I have...to make...this move...count." he said to himself, trying to stay awake. The red-haired boy then glared at his opponent. "It's not over...until the...last card...is played!"

Finally, James drew and slashed a wave of color from the deck (Destiny Draw).

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : James Hughes (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (1): Fifth Hope

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Fifth Hope. With nothing left in his hand, would it be enough to help him? Hopefully it would be...

"I activate the Spell card Fifth Hope!" declared James, holding out the glowing card as a hologram of the Spell card materialized. "This allows me to return up to five Elemental HERO monster cards from my graveyard to the deck, shuffle it, and draw three cards."

On cue five monster cards emerged from the graveyard one at a time. They were as following; Elemental HERO Clayman, Elemental HERO Avian, Elemental HERO Wildedge , Elemental HERO Bubbleman, and Elemental HERO Sparkman. Once the deck was shuffled, James drew three cards and saw they were Elemental HERO Neos (monster card), Contact (Spell card), and Cocoon Party (Spell card).

"This is where it ends." James continued, holding out one of the drawn cards. "To start things off, I play Cocoon Party!"

"Cocoon Party?" quizzed Gordon. "What does that do, Edward?"

"For every Neo-Spacian in James's graveyard-" explained Edward. "-James can summon a Chrysalis monster from his deck."

Gordon was dismayed. "And, as we all know, Chrysalis monsters happen to be very weak..."

"Time to say hello to both Chrysalis Mole and Chrysalis Larva!" announced James, placing two cards onto separate monster field slots on his Duel Disk.

Appearing onto the field were two infant like monsters in cocoon-like shells. One was a young mole (Level: 2/ATK: 700), the other was a larva (Level:2/ATK: 300).

"James, you had better have a plan for using those two monsters..." mumbled Percy. "Otherwise, this will be goodbye..."

Fortunately, James wasn't finished just yet...

"Now it's time for my little ones to grow up." The red-haired boy continued, holding out his next card. "I activate Contact!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Thanks to this, I can send my two Chrysalis monsters to the graveyard and special summon a Neo-Spacian monster from my deck to the field in their place!"

Chrysalis Mole and Chrysalis Larva both faded away in blue streaks as two new monsters began to appear in their place.

"Come forth - Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab!" called James, readying two cards.

One monster was the mole with the drill collar (Level: 3/ATK: 900), the other, was the black armored scarab (Level: 3/ATK: 500). From there, James's graveyard started glowing all white.

"Your graveyard..." Cobrama Sakuzy pointed out. "What'ssssss going on with it?"

"Necroshade's Special Ability." explained James. "Once while he's in the graveyard, I can summon an Elemental HERO from my hand without a tribute. So welcome back, Elemental HERO Neos!"

The Ultraman-like Elemental HERO rejoined the battle (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"With these three monsters out, you know what that means!"

Cobraman Sakuzy scowled. "Another contact fusion..."

"That's right!" confirmed James, knowing he was about to win with this one play. "I merge Neos with Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab!"

The three monsters leapt into the sky and combined into a very familiar monster...

" **Elemental HERO Magma Neos**!"

That's right... The mighty Magma Neos has come to the rescue (Level: 9/ATK: 3000)!

"For every card on the field, no matter who owns 'em, Elemental HERO Magma Neos receives 400 extra attack points!" explained James. "You have quite a number of 'em, I can see..."

Indeed James was right. For Cobraman Sakuzy had Vennominaga, Venom Swamp, and Damage = Reptile, while James just had Magma Neos. That lead to a grand total of 1600 extra attack points (ATK: 3000 - 4600).

"This issssssn't possssssible!" screamed Cobraman Sakuzy. "Me, lossssssse to my own meal?"

James didn't say anything back at first. Elemental HERO Magma Neos, meanwhile, took to the sky and charged up an attack.

"Magma Neos!" James finally called out. "Fry that Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes with Meteor Meltdown!"

Elemental HERO Magma Neos obeyed and finally threw the giant ball of fire down onto the poisonous swamp, causing a massive explosion to ensure and surrounding the field with a thick cloud of smoke. Vennominaga let out a shriek as she was incinerated by the blast of fire. Combraman Sakuzy, meanwhile, screamed in shock and agony as his remaining life points dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!**

* * *

When the smoke cleared, Cobraman Sakuzy was gone. James, meanwhile, was still standing... barely. Breathing hard, but still standing.

"I... I did it." wheezed James.

With what strength he had left, he untied Molly from her stake.

"You guys are...now free..."

Finally, James collapsed.

"James!" cried Molly.

Well, it would seem that James may have won his duel against a poisonous snake... but he still took quite the beating in the process. Will he live through the pain and reach his goal? That is a mystery for another time, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the medical clinic room where Stanley, Rosie, and Thomas each were at the time. The former two were still talking at the moment...

"I hope Thomas wakes up soon." said Stanley.

"So do I." agreed Rosie. "He just can't die."

Back over with the coma-induced blue-haired boy...

"Hmm... ugh..."

Those grunts were heard by Rosie. "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" asked Stanley in concern.

"I-I thought I heard grunts or something..." The pink-haired girl whispered.

Suddenly...

"What...happened?" came a weak voice (male).

To the sheer surprise and delight of the two teenagers in the room, Thomas Billinton...managed to finally open his eye weakly.


	60. The Scars of Shame

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in the world of darkness, Thomas (still in his coma) was lying on the ground while the mysterious figure continued to try an talk to him.

"I'm too dangerous to be around anyone." insisted Thomas's voice. "Before I die, I hope my friends will be able to give my cards to a duelist who will properly understand them better than I ever could."

Finally, the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed who she was; it was the same young woman (who resembles Emily, BTW) with long, brunette-colored hair.

"I won't let you give up and die, Thomas." she said. "You have the right to live!"

"Why should I?" asked Thomas's voice in pure sadness. "I've been nothing but a violent sociopath since I came here."

"No, you're NOT a violent sociopath! I know the real you is still in there."

"How?" echoed Thomas's voice.

The brunette-haired young woman continued... "Your monsters, after Nathaniel had used Guardian Eatos's effect, were not gazing at _you_ in hatred. They were gazing entirely at Diablon."

"They... they were?" asked Thomas's voice.

"It was HIS fault this happened." The young woman continued. "You tried to stop the madness and end the duel peacefully by atoning for what had occurred, but he wouldn't allow it."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In his duel with Nathaniel, Thomas had learned the horrible truth.

"You ARE Diablon, Thomas Billinton!" shouted Nathaniel accusingly. "Deep down, you know that!"

"No!" Thomas exclaimed, dropping to his knees. "NO! What have I done?! I... I really am a monster!"

And he began to cry out of shame and remorse. Tears dripped onto the ground as the blue-haired boy's broken sobs echoed.

"I've betrayed my monsters... It's just as Gladiator Beast Spartacus said I would do eventually!"

Over with the rest of the gang, they looked very sad for their poor friend.

"Poor Thomas..." whimpered Molly.

"He looks so broken..." added Rosie.

"My love..." thought Maiden of the Aqua to only herself.

Back over with Thomas, he, still feeling devastated, had then noticed the very card he had drawn. It was a very rare Spell called Soul Charge, and this was its effect; _**'Special Summon any number of monsters from your Graveyard. Then, you must pay 500 Life Points for each monster Summoned by this effect. Those monsters cannot attack during this turn**_.' The blue-haired boy knew that if he did go and play that card, he would lose (he had only 600 life points left). But at this point, after all he had done, Thomas no longer cared about winning the duel, and now only wanted to make things right.

"This is the only way I can end the duel peacefully and atone for my actions." Thomas said to himself quietly.

With that said, Thomas began to reach for the Soul Charge Spell card. He was just about to select and activate it when...

"Oh no, you don't!" came a voice in Thomas's head. "Not this time!"

Thomas looked to the sky and gave a scream of pain. When he lowered his head back down, facial scars, and appearance of Diablon had returned once more. But the eyes... Oh, they were the worst of all. They were no longer shown to be the crimson red that symbolized both rage and hatred... Instead, they were now a terrifying luminous golden yellow that symbolized pure madness.

"This body is all mine now!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' insisted, standing back up. "...and I already have a play in mind."

Instead of taking and playing the Soul Charge Spell card, Diablon took the Mirror Force Trap card and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I end the turn by setting one card facedown!"

A facedown card materialized behind Catapult Turtle. On cue, the Swords of Revealing Light began to fade away.

"Well now-" remarked Diablon, looking around at the disappearing swords. "-it would seem your swords have finally faded away."

Nathaniel scowled, but said nothing.

"You're going to lose next turn, Guardian Nathaniel!" continued the ' ** _Evil One_** ', still smirking evilly. "Next turn, I will have successfully drawn another monster card, which then I will summon and offer as a tribute for Catapult Turtle's effect, which will deplete the last of your life points!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I...remember, now..." echoed Thomas's voice. It then became saddened once again. "But what's wrong with me?"

The brunette-haired young woman raise an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Why didn't I fight off Diablon's control better?" asked Thomas's voice, still sounding all depressed and such. "Why couldn't I have kept him back?"

The young woman didn't answer the question. Instead, she smiled kindly, walked closer to the blue-haired boy, knelt down to Thomas's level, and did something that was completely out of the blue. What was it? Oh, that is an easy question to answer... The Emily-look alike went and...kissed the blue-haired boy on the lips. The kiss seemed to break the dark realm and fill it with endless amounts of light.

* * *

 **Title: The Scars of Shame**

* * *

Back inside the medical clinic room where Stanley, Rosie, and Thomas each were at the time. The former two were still talking at the moment...

"I hope Thomas wakes up soon." said Stanley.

"So do I." agreed Rosie. "He just can't die."

Back over with the coma-induced blue-haired boy...

"Hmm... ugh..."

Those grunts were heard by Rosie. "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" asked Stanley in concern.

"I-I thought I heard grunts or something..." The pink-haired girl whispered.

Suddenly...

"What...happened?" came a weak voice (male).

To the sheer surprise and delight of the two teenagers in the room, Thomas Billinton...managed to finally open his eye weakly.

"Thomas is awake!" cried Rosie.

(elsewhere...)

At the front desk, Percy, an unconscious James, and the rest of the gang had finally made it back after that nasty encounter with Cobraman Sakuzy.

"We're gonna need some help here!" Percy called.

"Our friend here was in a very dangerous duel!" came from Gordon. "He won, but he's badly hurt!"

The nurse stood up and gasped at how hurt the unconscious James looked.

"Good gracious!" she cried, and turned to speak to the arriving lead doctor. "Doctor, we have another one for you!"

"Bring him in!"

(elsewhere...)

Down the hallway, James was being wheeled to a room. The gang was about to follow when...

"Thomas, you're awake!" echoed Rosie's voice.

"Thomas is awake?" asked Molly.

"Can it be?" came from Henry.

"Molly-" said Maiden of the Aqua to the black-haired girl. "-stay with James. The rest of us will check up on Thomas."

Molly nodded and followed the nurses and doctor. Percy and everyone else went in another direction to the room their other friends were currently in.

(elsewhere...)

The door to Stanley and Thomas's room soon burst open and revealed Percy, Edward, and Maiden of the Aqua.

"Is Thomas finally awake?" asked Percy.

Rosie and Stanley, both now standing up and near Thomas's bed, turned around and saw that the rest of their friends had arrived.

"Everyone!" gasped Stanley. "You're back!"

"And safe." cut in Mavis. "Now, is Thomas awake?"

Rosie stood aside. "See for yourselves..."

The remains of the group came in closer to see Thomas's eye open.

"Thomas?" whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"...guys?" mumbled Thomas. "Am I...in Hell?"

"You're in a hospital." said Edward. "You've suffered a very nasty injury after your duel with Nathaniel, and somebody brought you here to be tended to."

Soon enough, Thomas sat up and rubbed the back of his head. Surprisingly, the back of his head wasn't hurting.

"Someone...found me?"

"Yes." answered Toby. "You could have died from that fall."

"A death I would have gladly accepted..." retorted Thomas, sounding depressed and ashamed. "What I had done was unforgivable..."

"It wasn't your fault, Thomas." soothed Maiden of the Aqua, reaching over and touching the blue-haired boy's arm gently. "It was Diablon who sacrificed your monsters like that, not you."

"What's more..." Thomas went on. "I completely rejected all of you..."

"We know why you did." said Edward calmly.

"I should have not allowed my darkness and rage overwhelm me... You all have every right to be furious with me..."

"We're not angry with you." insisted Rosie. "We understand how you felt."

"I honestly never meant to lash out at you." apologized Thomas. "I just wanted Emily back. And when you chose to continue the mission over rescuing her, it was like you were willing to put her life at risk."

"Thomas, take it easy..." advised Toby.

"We know how much Emily means to you, and we should have listened." added Henry.

"Then why didn't you? Why did you choose the mission over finding Emily when she was in danger?"

Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "Because we need to know how the " _ **Evil One**_ ' is lingering inside your heart."

"That, and we thought Emily would be strong enough to take care of herself until we got the answers we needed." added Mavis.

Thomas was about to reply back when the side of his face started to become itchy.

"Why's my face so itchy..." he grimaced. "Could someone remove the bandages, please?"

Just then, a nurse walked into the room and kindly offered to remove the bandages from the blue-haired boy's face.

"Thank you, ma'am..."

Before long, the bandage around Thomas's face was gone. Everyone was speechless, and a bit horrified, at what they were seeing.

"Good Lord..." whispered Rosie.

"My God..." came from Edward.

"That's a nasty one..." added Gordon.

"What?" asked Thomas, not realizing the truth. "What's the matter?"

"Where's the mirror?" asked the nurse.

Maiden of the Aqua uneasily handed Thomas a mirror, and the blue-haired boy took a good long look at himself. Unfortunately, he quickly began to regret it...

"Wha-?"

Out of a mixture of horror, anger, and sadness, Thomas threw the mirror onto the ground, breaking it into shards of glass.

"What has happened to me?" came Thomas's broken voice.

As Thomas was feeling seriously upset at the moment, nobody, not even Gordon, bothered to make a crack about ' _seven years bad luck from breaking a mirror_ '. Thomas now had a long scar running down the side of his face (also near the eye), and there was also a scar across his chest. Those were likely gotten from the fall Thomas had endured after being defeated by Nathaniel in that duel. Because of the quicker healing powers of the Duel Monsters spirit world, they've both healed slightly into more of a pinkish/white line. Even then, both scars were still pretty noticable and serious.

"Oh, Thomas..." whispered Rosie sadly.

"I guess I this is my punishment for letting my darkness get the better of me..." said Thomas quietly. He was starting to break down into tears from what happened to himself. "I... I..." From there, the blue-haired boy started to cry. "I'm a freak..."

Nobody said a word about Thomas's new appearance. All they could feel was pity, care, and hope for their friend.

(elsewhere...)

Inside another room, James's eyes slowly started to open...

"James!" cried Molly, seeing that her boyfriend was waking up. "He's awake!"

"Molly?" asked James weakly. "Is that you?"

The nurses and lead doctor all approached the patient.

"The bite marks are gone from your arm." explained the nurse. "We also found no traces of poison in your blood."

James sighed in relief. "Man, that's a relief..."

"And another thing... Thomas has finally awoken." Molly pointed out.

"Really?!" cried James, sitting up complete in surprise and relief.

James may seem alright right now, but unknowing to him, and anyone else for that matter, the poisons from Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes attack were still lingering in James's blood. Sooner or later, the poisons would kill him. When, you ask, will the unavoidable fate happen to the red-haired boy? That is something I cannot tell you...

(elsewhere...)

Inside Thomas's room, the devastated blue-haired boy was still weeping over his new appearance.

"How am I going to explain this scar to anyone back home?" Thomas asked in a depressed state. "Nobody will ever believe me that I got them from this world..."

Again, nobody else in the room had an answer... Just then, the door opened and James and Molly both raced inside.

"Hey, I've heard that Thomas is... HOLY $*#%! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

The strong swear from James indicated that the red-haired boy was completely shocked with seeing the scar on Thomas's face. Although much calmer, Molly actually didn't look any better than her boyfriend did.

"Thomas..." The black-haired girl whispered. "What... how...?"

"The fall must have really scraped him up." commented Henry.

"And I deserved it, too..." Thomas wept. "After everything I've done in a short period of time..."

"You have to quit blaming yourself, Thomas." said James. "We're just as guilty for this as you feel. If we'd been more considerate and agreed to help you find Emily, none of this would have happened."

"James, you don't understand!" snapped Gordon.

"Understand what?! What's there to understand? We screwed up, and Thomas got hurt because of it!"

"There's more to it than that!" put in Edward.

"What else could there be?" hissed James. "We are all equally to-"

"He has a demon growing in his heart!" shouted Percy. "A pure, evil, demon!"

James was immediately silenced from the shock he was feeling from being told that.

"It was that same demon that took complete control over him during his duel with Nathaniel." added Toby. "The same demon that made Thomas lose control over his anger with us."

"And by complete control, I mean I...actually became him." added Thomas bitterly, having calmed down somewhat.

"But how?" asked James, sounding more confused than ever before. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Not only that-" The blue-haired boy continued. "-but I've been having memories I've never seen or had shown to me recently..."

"Memories?"

"Visions of what happened here in the past." answered Thomas. "I... I can't explain it exactly, but they're like I was actually...there."

Nobody said a word.

"I wish I knew why this was happening..."

Again, nothing was said by anybody. Soon, Thomas began to feel very tired.

"We should let the boy rest now." advised the nurse. "He's been through enough as it is."

"Once you're feeling better, Thomas-" said Edward. "-we'll go search for Emily."

Thomas sighed. "No."

"Huh?"

"We need to get to the Duel Monsters capital city." continued Thomas. "I have to learn what this is all about."

"But what about Emily?" asked Percy. "Don't you want to rescue her?"

"I do, but Emily is strong enough to take care of herself. For years, I was constantly coming to her aid. But because of how overprotective I was of her, I never gave her the space to show her true strength and prove she's able to take care of herself should we be unavailable."

"Thomas..." whispered Molly.

"Nathaniel was right about one thing..." Thomas continued. "I was so determined to always be there for Emily, that I hadn't thought that she could be able to protect herself. Now, I want to prove I trust her."

"First things first, you need your rest." insisted the nurse, walking over and tucking the blue-haired boy into bed. "When your strength returns to you, then you can leave."

"Yes, ma'am." yawned Thomas, started to fall asleep.

"As for the rest of you-" The nurse added, turning to the rest of the gang. "-the Inn is open if any of you need some rest."

"We'd really like that." smiled Mavis.

With that said, the group of friends (minus Thomas) left the room.

(elsewhere...)

Images of the events that had occured were being shown on a Crystal Ball. Who did this Crystal Ball belong to? Why, our old friend Chaos Sorcerer, of course!

"This isn't the end..." The spellcaster-like monster mumbled. "If we cannot being Lord Diablon back the old fashioned-way, then I can at least be sure to bring him to the castle by force!"

Something tells me Chaos Sorcerer is up to something big, but what could it be?

(elsewhere...)

Thomas lay in his bed, resting. He was still thinking about his encounter with what he believed to be Emily in his mind.

"Emily... I don't understand... H-How did you know so much about what has been going on? Could it be that you're really...an angel?"

Despite sleeping, Thomas had to smile as a dream sequence ensured.

* * *

 **DREAM SEQUENCE**

In this dream, Thomas was looking upward into the sky.

"Wow..."

The sky was clear and the sun was shining peacefully down. Soon, descending from the heavens was Emily...as a beautiful angel.

"Thomas..." echoed Emily's soft, feminine voice.

Once she was close enough, Emily took Thomas in an embrace, and they moved in for a kiss.

 **END DREAM SEQUENCE**

* * *

The dream ended, and Thomas awoke with a start. This was probably the first good dream he had in what seemed like for weeks, and the blue-haired boy couldn't be feeling any happier about it.

"That was such a wonderful dream." he said quietly. "Perhaps things are going to look up for me after all we've been through."

Sadly, Thomas was still feeling very weak from his injuries, and so decided to go back to sleep.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the dining room of the Inn, Percy and the others were busy talking about the day events...

"Man, what a day." said Gordon.

"Hopefully a hot meal oughta help us." agreed James.

"And hopefully nothing else will go wrong for us." added Percy.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door slamming open, and followed by...

"And what makes you say that?" asked a familiar voice (male).

The group turned to the door and grew distressed at who it was...

"What? No love for Chaos Sorcerer?" joked the evil monster. "I had travelled a long distance to see all of you, you know!"

Yup, it was Chaos Sorcerer...

"Because I have a challenge for your friend!"

(elsewhere...)

"A duel?!" demanded a suprised Thomas.

"I'm afraid so." said Maiden of the Aqua.

Everyone had returned to the clinic to tell Thomas about Chaos Sorcerer's challenge. Thomas, still very weak, was not in very much shape to play Duel Monsters.

"And if I refuse it?" frowned the blue-haired boy.

"We'd best not think about it." warned Stanley, remembering a very scary scene from the coliseum. "You remember what he and Gladiator Beast Spartacus did to Sarina."

"From what we were told-" added Toby. "-Sarina was killed when Gladiator Beast Spartacus was revived."

Thomas didn't say anything back, and merely cast a glance at his Duel Disk sitting on a nearby table. After thinking it over for what seemed like forever...

"I... I have no other choice..."

"Thomas?" gawked Rosie.

The blue-haired boy weakly got out of bed and limped over to the table to grab his Duel Disk and put it on.

"I have to do this... I have to!"

"But you're not well!" protested Percy. "Let one of us fight in your place!"

"You heard Chaos Sorcerer's words." argued Edward. "If Thomas does not duel him, he will destroy this village!"

Once Thomas was ready, he carefully limped out of his room.

"Should we follow him?" asked Molly.

"He may need support." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out.

"Duh!" snarked James.

(elsewhere...)

Ten minutes after leaving the clinic, Thomas slowly made it to town's square, where Chaos Sorcerer was waiting.

"What took you so long?" The spellcaster-like monster asked rudely. "You should have been here nine minutes ago!" He then smirked. "Oh, and what's that I see? Battle scars from your defeat, I see..."

"It's none of your business!" snapped Thomas. "Why do you think it's necessary to threaten innocent lives just to get to me?"

He suddenly collapsed onto a knee. Chaos Sorcerer gave a snort of amusement from witnessing it.

"Defeating you will be easier than I thought." he smirked. "At this point, I don't see a duel serving much point when I can just capture you right now."

Despite being down, Thomas was not out. To prove his point, the blue-haired boy weakly activated his Duel Disk and tried to get into a dueling stance.

"Let's duel!" The blue-haired boy declared.

Chaos Sorcerer sighed. "So be it..."

With that said, the spellcaster-like monster activated his own Duel Disk and drew his opening hand (LP: 4000).

"Come at me!" Chaos Sorcerer dared.

"You're on!" exclaimed Thomas, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000).

Just as the duel began, Percy and everyone else showed up in the town square to watch.

"There they go." commented James.

"Good luck, Thomas!" called Edward.

Back in the duel field, Chaos Sorcerer drew a card.

"The first turn will go to me!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Chaos Scepter Blast, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Restructer Revolution, Fiend Comedian, Defense Draw, and Chaos Necromancer(!)

* * *

His hand contained Chaos Scepter Blast, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Restructer Revolution, Fiend Comedian, Defense Draw, and the added Chaos Necromancer. He then cast a glance to his weakened opponent, who was still breathing hard and struggling to stand.

"I've got this duel in the bag." grinned the evil spellcaster-like monster. "The boy can't even stand properly. All I have to do is deal enough damage to him, and I can win without even defeating him."

On cue, three facedown cards materialized.

"I set these three cards-" began Chaos Sorcerer, just before placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "Next I'll summon a monster known as Chaos Necromancer in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a fiendish puppeteer (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Chaos Necromancer?" blinked Thomas. "That's a really weak monster."

"He'll be useful at one point." insisted Chaos Sorcerer, holding out one more card. "Now watch as I play the Spell card Restructer Revolution!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This allows me to inflict 200 points of damage to my opponent for every card in his, or her, hand." explained Chaos Sorcerer. "And right now, you have five cards in your hand. That makes a total of 1000 points of damage!"

"What?!" winced Thomas.

Chaos Sorcerer laughed. "Restructer Revolution, attack now!"

A large blast fired from the card, striking Thomas, causing him to scream in agony (LP: 3000). In his weakened condition, the damage felt much worse.

"My turn has ended!" finished Chaos Sorcerer. "1000 points of damage dealt on the first turn... who woulda funk?"

"I-It's my turn." groaned Thomas, drawing his card.

"That blow really did a number on Thomas." commented Stanley.

"He'd better be careful." agreed Toby.

And so begins Thomas's turn...

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dark Magician, Excalibur, Prevent and Draw, Knight's Title, Monster Reborn, and Graceful Charity

* * *

Despite breathing hard, Thomas was glad to have drawn a decent starting hand.

"This is...good..." he thought. His hand contained Dark Magician, Excalibur, Prevent and Draw, Knight's Title, Monster Reborn, and Graceful Charity. "But I need...a bit of a...boost..."

With that thought on hand, Thomas took and held out a card from his hand.

"I activate the Spell card Graceful Charity." The blue-haired boy announced. "This allows me to draw three cards from the deck and discard two cards to the graveyard."

"By all means." nodded Chaos Sorcerer.

Thomas nodded back and drew his three cards (Electromagnetic Turtle, De-Fusion, and Mystical Space Typhoon) and thought carefully on what to discard. Once he was ready, the blue-haired boy discarded Electromagnetic Turtle and Dark Magician both to the graveyard.

"Alright, get ready to face something you've never faced before!"

"Then show me what it is." dared Chaos Sorcerer.

"Gladly." accepted Thomas, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. On cue, the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up. "First I play Monster Reborn to revive one of the monsters I discarded from Graceful Charity." The Dark Magician card slipped out of the graveyard. "My Dark Magician!"

The purple-haired, male spellcaster appeared in a burst of light (Level: 7/ATK: 2500).

"And now, I will evolve him!" continued Thomas, picking up a second card.

"Into the Dark Eradicator Warlock, I presume?" asked Chaos Sorcerer dismissively.

"No." The blue-haired boy denied. "Into something much more powerful and pure of heart than a being of pure evil." To prove a point, he showed what the card was. "I activate the Spell card Knight's Title!"

"K-Knight's Title?!"

The mentioned Spell card materialize face-up.

"This Spell card allows my Dark Magician to take hold of a new level of strength." explained Thomas, before directing his attention to his ace monster. "Dark Magician, by the right of the Knight's Title, I evolve thee!"

Dark Magician's clothing started getting surrounded by magic. Before long, the magician-like clothing had turned into armor, and the scepter became a sword instead.

"Dark Magician Knight!"

The newly evolved monster stood before Chaos Sorcerer and posed with his sword while giving a mighty yell (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"My new monster's effect will now activate." continued Thomas. "I can target one card on your side of the field and destroy it! ...like Chaos Necromancer..."

Dark Magician Knight readied his weapon.

"Sword of Dark Magic Attack!"

The mighty spellcaster-like knight obeyed and slashed through Chaos Necromancer, destroying him in an instant. On cue, the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon!" Thomas went on, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Say goodbye to one of your set cards!"

A large typhoon swept across the field, destroying one of Chaos Sorcerer's facedown cards. Unfortunately, the one destroyed was...

"Well done." said Chaos Sorcerer sarcastically. All of a sudden, a large magical scepter materialized on the field. "The Spell card you destroyed was Chaos Scepter Blast!"

Thomas weakly scowled. Although he never saw the card, he had heard of it once before.

"When this card is destroyed while facedown-" explained Chaos Sorcerer, holding up a card he had drawn from his deck. "-I can automatically special summon either Magician of Black Chaos or Dark Magician of Chaos from the deck in attack mode!"

On cue, the Dark Magician of Chaos appeared and posed for battle (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600).

"I choose Dark Magician of Chaos!"

Just then, one of the two remaining facedown cards controlled by Chaos Sorcerer flipped up and revealed itself. The one to be revealed was...

"And, to continue with my strategy-" continued Chaos Sorcerer. "-I'll play this Trap card... Fiend Comedian!"

"A tricky card." frowned Edward. "Chaos Sorcerer gets to flip a coin and make a guess on what it will land on. If he calls it right, all of the cards in Thomas' graveyard will be banished. But if he calls it wrong, Chaos Sorcerer will have to send a number of cards from his deck to the graveyard equal to the number of cards in Thomas's graveyard."

"I don't see the point of it." shrugged Henry.

"He must have something planned with it." said Maiden of the Aqua.

Meanwhile, Chaos Sorcerer took out and flipped a coin into the air.

"I call heads!"

The coin landed and revealed to be...

"Oh, rats!" sighed Chaos Sorcerer (this was actually what he was expecting). "It was tails!"

"Ha! You snooze, you lose!" called James tauntingly.

Chaos Sorcerer just sent six cards from his deck to the graveyard (because Thomas had six cards in his own graveyard at the time). Back with Thomas, he took and slotted yet another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"It's time to give Dark Magician Knight a new weapon!" announced the blue-haired boy. "I equip the powerful Excalibur Spell card to my monster!"

Dark Magician Knight was giving a very powerful sword, making him more powerful than ever before (ATK: 2500 - 5000).

"This doubles my knight's attack points." explained Thomas. "But if I draw one single card, then the sword will be destroyed. However, I'm required to skip my draw phases for the time being."

Dark Magician Knight leaped into the sky with Excalibur and readied to try and strike down Dark Magician of Chaos.

"Attack!"

"Hm hm hm... I don't think so." chuckled Chaos Sorcerer, just as his final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I play Defense Draw!"

Dark Magician Knight sliced and destroyed Dark Magician of Chaos. Unfortunately, Chaos Sorcerer took no battle damage (LP: 4000).

"This Trap card protects me from any battle damage this turn-" explained Chaos Sorcerer, drawing a card from his deck. "-and lets me draw another card."

Thomas collapsed to a knee once more. "I won't...give up." he grimaced, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized.

"Now... give me your best shot!"

"Gladly." accepted Chaos Sorcerer, drawing his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (2): Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" announced the evil spellcaster-type monster. "This allows me to draw two cards."

Once the two cards were added to his hand, two monster cards slipped out of the graveyard.

"I will now banish one light attribute monster and one dark attribute monster from my graveyard..."

An image of Chaos Necromancer and a monster called Chaos Command Magician briefly appeared before both monsters faded away in blue streaks.

"Arise from the ashes of the fallen." chanted Chaos Sorcerer "And let your might reign supreme... Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End!"

"Not that!" cried Thomas, managing to get back to his feet.

In an explosion of fire appeared the mighty bone dragon of chaos (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"I've learned from my mistakes from playing this card last time." said Chaos Sorcerer, taking and holding out another card. "To start, I'll play Primal Seed!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"As Chaos Emperor Dragon is out-" explained Chaos Sorcerer, adding two cards to his hand. "-I can add two of my banished cards back to the hand."

All of a sudden, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End began charging a blast of fire.

"And now for my dragon's special ability!" declared Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 3000). "By giving up 1000 life points, I can destroy it along with every other card on the field and in our hands. Then you'll lose 300 life points for each one!"

"Not good!" cried Edward.

With that said, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End fired its blast of fire.

"Now, before Chaos Emperor Dragon takes down our cards, I'll play this Quick-Play Spell card..." declared Chaos Sorcerer. "Tachyon Refresh! This will banish my only monster and spare it from being destroyed by its own effect!"

"And will return to the field afterwards..." finished Thomas.

"How right you are. So now... say goodbye!"

Just as the blast was about to hit Thomas's field...

"Reveal Trap card!" shouted Thomas, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Prevent and Draw!"

"Prevent and Draw?" questioned Chaos Sorcerer.

"This Trap card cuts the effect damage I take in half." explained Thomas. "Then I can draw another card."

"So be it." acknowledged Chaos Sorcerer. "But can you even survive the attack?"

At last, the blast of fire struck Thomas, causing a massive explosion to cover the whole field. Dark Magician Knight cried out in agony before shattering into pieces of glass. Unfortunately...

"AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

"Thomas!" cried out the blue-haired boy's friends.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" cackled Chaos Sorcerer. "In your current state, you will NEVER survive this attack!"

At long last, the flames died down. From the fading smoke, Thomas was shown to still be standing, but barely.

"I..." mumbled the blue-haired boy weakly. "I...draw..."

Unfortunately, the flame attack from Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End was simply too much for him to take at the time, and he fell to the ground in pain.

"NOOO!" shrieked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I knew it!" cackled Chaos Sorcerer, think he had won. "The boy is too weak to carry on. So, it would seem I have won by default."

"Heh! Not if _I_ have anything to say about it!" called out a familiar voice (male).

Chaos Sorcerer's look of triumph turned into one of confusion.

"Huh?"

Needless to say, the rest of the gang was just as surprised by who had spoken up.

"That voice..." whispered James.

"Could it be...?" asked Henry.

The voice belonged to a certain silver-haired boy, who had just arrived in the village to witness the attack of Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End taking place. Needless to say, he didn't look very impressed with the play the opposition had done.

"Well, I can see I've arrived just in time for a big party."

It was Spencer Gresley.


	61. Arrival of a Rival

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening within the village center, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End had charged and fired off a blast of fire.

"Now, before Chaos Emperor Dragon takes down our cards, I'll play this Quick-Play Spell card..." declared Chaos Sorcerer. "Tachyon Refresh! This will banish my only monster and spare it from being destroyed by its own effect!"

"And will return to the field afterwards..." finished Thomas.

"How right you are. So now... say goodbye!"

Just as the blast was about to hit Thomas's field...

"Reveal Trap card!" shouted Thomas, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Prevent and Draw!"

"Prevent and Draw?" questioned Chaos Sorcerer.

"This Trap card cuts the effect damage I take in half." explained Thomas. "Then I can draw another card."

"So be it." acknowledged Chaos Sorcerer. "But can you even survive the attack?"

At last, the blast of fire struck Thomas, causing a massive explosion to cover the whole field. Dark Magician Knight cried out in agony before shattering into pieces of glass. Unfortunately...

"AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

"Thomas!" cried out the blue-haired boy's friends.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" cackled Chaos Sorcerer. "In your current state, you will NEVER survive this attack!"

At long last, the flames died down. From the fading smoke, Thomas was shown to still be standing, but barely.

"I..." mumbled the blue-haired boy weakly. "I...draw..."

Unfortunately, the flame attack from Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End was simply too much for him to take at the time, and he fell to the ground in pain.

"NOOO!" shrieked Maiden of the Aqua.

"I knew it!" cackled Chaos Sorcerer, think he had won. "The boy is too weak to carry on. So, it would seem I have won by default."

"Heh! Not if _I_ have anything to say about it!" called out a familiar voice (male).

Chaos Sorcerer's look of triumph turned into one of confusion.

"Huh?"

Needless to say, the rest of the gang was just as surprised by who had spoken up.

"That voice..." whispered James.

"Could it be...?" asked Henry.

The voice belonged to a certain silver-haired boy, who had just arrived in the village to witness the attack of Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End taking place. Needless to say, he didn't look very impressed with the play the opposition had done.

"Well, I can see I've arrived just in time for a big party."

It was Spencer Gresley.

* * *

 **Title: Arrival of a Rival**

* * *

Nobody in the group had ever expected to see him show up in the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"It's Spencer..." whispered Percy.

"How'd he get here...?" came from an equally surprised Gordon.

Spencer soon walked over to the fallen Thomas, who managed to retain some form of conscious to see that his friend/rival had shown up.

"Spencer..." The blue-haired boy whispered. "You... you've come..."

Spencer scoffed. "How pathetic." he remarked. "I know you're far better than this; you should be able to stand against the Chaos Emperor Dragon. Heck, you were able to withstand the power of The Winged Dragon of Ra's Egyptian God Phoenix attack, you should be able to survive a pitiful Cemetery of Fire attack."

"Heh... guess it must be because I've been through so much." Thomas chuckled rather weakly. "Even then, there's always a...way...to...survive an-"

At that point, his new injuries, combined with the ones he had sustained from that earlier fall, caused Thomas to drop unconscious once more. Percy and the others rushed over to see their fallen friend.

"Thomas!" cried Edward, cradling his younger friend in his arms. "Hang in there!"

"Ha!" laughed the voice of Chaos Sorcerer. "I always knew that he wouldn't survive against my might!"

Spencer cast a glance at the spellcaster-like monster. "And what makes you say that?"

"Because I've learned from my mistakes when I last used Chaos Emperor Dragon! When I used it the wrong way, it resulted in my defeat. This time, I had added a few cards with which allowed me to retain it should I use its effect once!"

"Oh really? Then why not try your luck against me? I'll finish the duel in Billinton's spot!" Spencer offered.

"Huh! Why should I?" demanded Chaos Sorceror. "My goal is to capture the boy for the Court of Darkness! I have no time to waste with small fry like _you_!"

That insult suddenly caused Spencer to laugh, much to Chaos Sorcerer's confusion and frustration.

"W-What are you laughing at?!"

"I know the real reason why you won't accept my offer." The silver-haired boy said coolly. "It's because you're nothing but a coward. You know you could never stand a chance against someone like me unless they weren't in the best of conditions. That's why you challenged Billinton even though he wasn't feeling well."

Chaos Sorcerer seethed. "You dare to mock me?!" he demanded.

"Who's mocking you? I'm only telling you the truth!"

"I am NOT a coward!" snapped Chaos Sorcerer in a fit of rage.

"Then prove it!" challenged Spencer, activating his Duel Disk.

"Alright, I will! Just remember you have 2250 life points remaining, and I have Chaos Emperor Dragon still ready to attack directly!"

Spencer wasn't worried. "Heh! I can easily win with that handicap."

The rest of the group watched as the new arrival drew his opening hand.

"Here's hoping that Spencer can back those words up." Henry whispered to Gordon.

"Big time." agreed the tall, blue-haired boy. "Otherwise..."

"No need to tell me twice."

Back in the duel field...

"First I use the second effect of Billinton's Prevent and Draw!" declared Spencer, drawing a card. "This allows me to draw one card from my deck."

His drawn card was shown to be the Maiden with Eyes of Blue monster card.

"You have no other monsters!" exclaimed Chaos Sorcerer. "Which means you're open for an attack!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End charged another blast of fire.

"Attack my opponent directly and end the duel!"

The blast of fire was unleashed. But before it could hit Spencer, a Quick-Play Spell card (Rival Arrival) materialized face-up.

"One of the cards I had in my starting hand was Rival Arrival." said Spencer, smirking pridefully. "I bet this sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Chaos Sorcerer growled. That was one of the cards Emily had used against him.

"This allows me to normal summon one monster from my hand to the field during the battle phase."

On cue, the Maiden with Eyes of Blue monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue in attack mode!" announced Spencer, having placed the mentioned card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Appearing onto the field was the silver-haired maiden (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Weak!" snapped Chaos Sorcerer. "Attack the Maiden with Eyes of Blue, my Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

"Oh, he just made a bad move." chuckled James, speaking about Chaos Sorcerer.

Before Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End could have a chance to attack, Maiden with Eyes of Blue began to glow in a powerful aura of light.

"Your monster! What is happening?!" cried Chaos Sorcerer.

"Her special ability is activating, that's what!" declared Spencer, thrusting his right hand out. "When Maiden with Eyes of Blue is attacked or targeted for a card effect, she can change her battle position and allow me to call forth from the deck one copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End unleashed its powerful flame attack, but Maiden with Eyes of Blue's glowing body repelled the fire before the glow left the female monster and sent her spirit high into the sky.

"With your attack negated-" continued Spencer, drawing and holding up a shining card. "-I now special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Within a burst of light, the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared before everyone with an almighty roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"NOW I have an equal chance of stopping your Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

Chaos Sorcerer scowled. He was THIS close to winning, and now his new opponent had manage to turn things around and call out a monster with 3000 attack points.

"I... I end my turn!" The spellcaster-like monster growled.

"Well, if that's the case... It's my turn!" announced Spencer, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 2250)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (6): Sword of Soul, Paladin of White Dragon, Interdimensional Matter Transporter, Cloning, White Dragon Ritual, and Burst Stream of Destruction

* * *

His drawn card, which brought a smirk to his face, was Burst Stream of Destruction.

"Hmph! This will be easy, indeed." thought Spencer, looking to his hand. It contained Sword of Soul, Paladin of White Dragon, Interdimensional Matter Transporter, Cloning, White Dragon Ritual, and the added Burst Stream of Destruction. "Get ready to lose your Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

Chaos Sorcerer frowned—but waited to see what his new opponent would do. On cue, Spencer took and held out the Burst Stream of Destruction Spell card.

"Burst Stream of Destruction! Now all of your monsters are destroyed since I control a Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon charged a blast and fired, wiping out Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End in an instant.

"Don't forget your Blue-Eyes is prohibited from attacking this turn!" reminded Chaos Sorcerer.

"Oh, I know that." agreed Spencer, just as the White Dragon Ritual Spell card materialized face-up. "I'll instead play this - White Dragon Ritual!"

"White Dragon Ritual?"

"Using this Ritual Spell card-" The silver-haired boy explained, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "-I shall sacrifice the Sword of Soul monster from my hand in order to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon!"

The knight riding the white dragon appeared beside the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200).

"My Blue-Eyes may not be able to attack this turn, but Paladin of White Dragon still can!"

Chaos Sorcerer watched helplessly as Paladin of White Dragon got ready to attack.

"Attack Chaos Sorcerer with Ionic Spear Burst!" commanded Spencer.

Paladin of White Dragon obeyed, riding forth and striking Chaos Sorcerer in the chest. The spellcaster-like monster stumbled back and sneered as heavy damage was sustained to life points (LP: 1100).

"You...!" he hissed angrily.

Sadly, Spencer wasn't finished just yet...

"And now I activate my monster's special ability." he continued. "By sacrificing it, I can call forth another Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field!"

Paladin of White Dragon faded away in a blue streak. Before long, a second Blue-Eyes White Dragon joined the first one in roaring.

"Two Blue-Eyes...!" exclaimed Percy. "Spencer has this duel in the bag!"

A facedown card materialized behind the two dragons.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown card." said Spencer. "Think you have what it takes to beat me and my Blue-Eyes White Dragons?"

The two Blue-Eyes White Dragons gave another loud roar in agreement.

"Or do you care to surrender and spare yourself of the pain and humiliation you'll be receiving next turn?"

Chaos Sorcerer scowled. Just when he thought he had this duel in the bag...

"NEVER!" The spellcaster-like monster thundered, drawing a card. "Chaos Emperor Dragon will rise again!"

"Suit yourself." sighed Spencer.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Burial Magic

* * *

Chaos Sorcerer had drawn a Spell card called Card of Burial Magic.

"This duel isn't over." he said aloud. "What I will play first will start the revival of the Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

"What?!" gasped Spencer.

On cue, the Card of Burial Magic card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card of Burial Magic! By banishing three useless Spell cards from my graveyard, I am able to draw two cards from my deck."

Ejecting and fading away from Chaos Sorceror's graveyard were Monster Reborn, Chaos Scepter Blast, and Restructer Revolution. With that offering met, the spellcaster-like monster was able to draw two cards. From there, another Spell card (Infernal Transaction) materialized face-up.

"Next I play Infernal Transaction." continued Chaos Sorcerer. "This special summons one monster from your graveyard to the field and is put under your control!"

All of a sudden, a card slipped out of Thomas's graveyard.

"Huh?!" yelped Rosie.

Suddenly, Dark Magician materialized onto the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"The Dark Magician?!" winced Spencer. "Why would you give me that monster?"

"Because by doing so-" said Chaos Sorcerer, taking and adding a card from the graveyard to his hand. "-I can add one Spell card from the graveyard to my hand."

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card rematerialized face-up.

"And I shall now use it!" The spellcaster-like monster continued, drawing two additional cards. "Pot of Greed!"

Spencer scowled. "Whatever you're planning to do, I doubt it will work."

"We'll see."

And see, we shall...

(elsewhere...)

Back on the Island of Sodor, things were rather quiet and such for a summer day in Knapford city.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a clubhouse of sort, Diesel was shown to be sulking.

"This stinks!" he complained. "There's nothing to do!"

"You said it, Diesel." agreed the voice of Dennis. The Smelter Teen then showed himself and joined in on the sulking. "Where's the action? Where's the excitement? Where's the-?"

"Okay! I get the picture..."

"There has to be something we can do to cure this boredom." grumbled Dennis.

Diesel said nothing and continued to sulk. Finally, an idea came into his devious little head...

"Why don't we try getting revenge on Thomas and Percy for defeating us in the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament?"

"Good idea!" cried Dennis, agreeing to the idea. "It's because of them that we ended up getting humiliated at the hands of Mr. Crawford."

That settled that... The two Smelter Teens were gonna find and get payback on both Thomas and Percy! ...that is, if Diesel and Dennis could even find them...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the village square, Percy and the others were still watching the duel between Spencer and Chaos Sorcerer.

"I don't see how Chaos Sorcerer claims that Chaos Emperor Dragon will return." said Henry.

"Me neither." shrugged Gordon.

"Must be delusional on his part." snickered James.

"He might have something up his sleeve." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out. "He refreshed a portion of his hand to try and draw something helpful."

Her theory proved right; Chaos Sorcerer held out the Monster Reincarnation Spell card as his next play.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Reincarnation!" he declared. "By discarding one card, I can add one graveyard back to my hand."

After a card was discarded to the graveyard, another card slipped out. It was shown to be...

"Now I have Chaos Emperor Dragon back!"

"So you do..." grumbled Spencer.

On, the Chaos Sanctuary Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I now play Chaos Sanctuary!" announced Chaos Sorcerer. "Now, so long as this Continuous Spell card remains face-up, once per turn, I may send one monster from my deck to the graveyard. Whenever I do so, I can go and special summon from my hand, ignoring the summoning conditions, one monster from the ' _Chaos_ ' archtype."

He sent one card from the top of his deck to te graveyard, and then placed his last card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon back to the field!"

In an explosion of fire, the demonic bone-like dragon reappeared with a roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Great..." Spencer growled. "Just what I need right now..."

"And now-" continued Chaos Sorcerer, as the graveyard on his Duel Disk began glowing all white. "-it's time for me to introduce one of my ace monsters to you!"

A monster card called Chaos Doppelganger(!) materialized face-up.

"I activate the first effect of Chaos Doppelganger! Whenever I special summon a 'Chaos' monster successfully while Chaos Doppelganger is resting in the graveyard, I can special summon my monster from my graveyard and place it in attack mode!"

Everyone in the audience gave a collective gasp at what they were seeing.

"Not that card!" grimaced Maiden of the Aqua.

On cue, a recolored version of Chaos Sorcerer appeared onto the field (Level: 1/ATK: ?/DEF: ?).

"Chaos Doppelganger..." muttered Spencer. "I know of that monster... One of its effects prevents all other monsters from the 'Chaos' archtype from being destroyed in battle or being sent to the graveyard by card effects."

"That's not all-" Chaos Sorcerer went on. "-Chaos Doppelganger also has this effect... Its attack and defense both become equal to the attack and defense of one other 'Chaos' monster on the field!"

"That can't be good." mumbled Percy.

"And the Chaos monster is..." began the spellcaster-like monster, pausing before finally pointing at Caos Emperor Dragon dramatically. "Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

Chaos Doppelganger suddenly morphed himself into an exact copy of Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End (ATK: 0 - 3000/DEF: 0 - 2500). From there, Chaos Sorcerer's life points took a 1000 point hit (LP: 100).

"And now for my dragon's special ability!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End charged a blast of fire in its mouth, but Spencer was quick on the draw...

"Facedown card, open!" he shouted, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Interdimensional Matter Transporter!"

A large machine materialized out of the Quick-Play Spell card and proceeded to unleash a colourful beam, striking one Blue-Eyes White Dragon and teleporting it away from the field.

"This allows me to banish one of my monsters for the remainder of this turn, saving it from your monster's effect!"

"It makes no difference!" shouted Chaos Sorcerer. "Attack with Cemetery of Fire!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End unleashed a powerful blast of fire.

"You think I'm a coward who only faces duelists weakened by injuries?! I'll show you that I'm NO joke!"

The blast finally struck Spencer's field, destroying every single remaining card standing, reducing his hand to zero cards, and also reducing his life points to dangerously low levels (LP: 450). Regardless of what happened just now, the silver-haired boy wasn't worried at all...

"Are you done yet?" he asked dismissively, just as the flames died down. "That seemed like a waste of time, if you ask me."

"With your field empty-" laughed Chaos Sorcerer. "-you're left defenseless for my attack!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End charged up another powerful blast of fire. For some reason, Spencer only looked up at the dragon and said nothing, and did nothing, at all...

"ATTACK!"

The blast of fire was unleashed. It got closer, and closer, and closer, and Spencer still didn't do anything about it... It looked like it was all over for the silver-haired boy...

"SPENCER!" screamed Percy and the rest of the group.

"You're through!" roared Chaos Sorcerer. "Take your loss and death like a man!"

The blast of fire was getting closer and closer. Finally, Spencer...gave a small smirk.

"I think not." he whispered triumphantly.

Suddenly, a barrier of electricity blocked the attack before stunning Chaos Sorcerer's monsters.

"WHAT?!" screamed Chaos Sorcerer.

"Rumble my legs!" came from a shocked Rosie.

"That's-!" Stanley began to say, but stopped at the last second.

The blast of fire soon died down before it could roast Spencer alive... The silver-haired boy then began to laugh in triumph.

"What's happened?!" demanded a shocked Chaos Sorcerer. "How did my attack get stopped before reaching you?!"

Before an answer could be given, another card slipped out of Thomas's graveyard. Suddenly, it soared over and Spencer caught hold of the card and showed Chaos Sorcerer exactly what it was.

"One of the cards in Billinton's graveyard was Electromagnetic Turtle." explained Spencer. "By banishing it from the graveyard, I was able to negate your attack and end the battle phase."

"But I don't understand! How did you know that boy had sent that card to the graveyard when you weren't here at the time?!"

"Because Billinton told me of it." answered Spencer.

"But he's out cold!" protested Chaos Sorcerer.

"You don't know him as well as I do. While we may be rivals, we have a special connection that extends back to 3000 years ago. We know each other's tactics well enough to make a guess at one point."

"Whoa..." muttered Percy.

Gordon was rather impressed. "Well, waddya know?"

"It makes little to no difference to me!" argued Chaos Sorcerer, steamed from failing to defeat his opponent that turn. "Now make your final move!"

On cue, the machine returned Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field before shattering into pieces of glass.

"You have one Blue-Eyes White Dragon and are facing two monsters with 3000 attack points. What hope do you have of stopping either of them?"

Spencer merely drew a card without a care in the world.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 450)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (1): Versago the Destroyer

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Versago the Destroyer materialized face-up.

"I summon Versago the Destroyer in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a legless fiend with a dark body wrapped with green wraps, and two purple arms and wings (Level: 3/DEF: 900).

"It maybe weak-" said Spencer. "-but are you aware of its special ability?"

Chaos Sorcerer snorted. "Like I even care... but go ahead and explain, away."

"If I were to perform a fusion summon, I could use Versago the Destroyer as a substitute for one of the fusion materials."

Versago the Destroyer began merging with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"And-" continued Spencer. "-what I'm about to summon does not require the use of Polymerization!"

"What?!" gasped Chaos Sorcerer.

The fusion soon came to an end...

"I fusion summon Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!"

Appearing onto the field was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon with two heads (Level: 10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"Wow... That's a new one." commented James, awestruck by the new monster.

Back in the duel field, Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon gave a mighty roar.

"Your monster has 3000 attack points, as well!" argued Chaos Sorcerer. "It cannot take down any of my monsters!"

"We'll see about that." Spencer grinned broadly. "Attack Chaos Emperor Dragon, Blue-Eyes!"

Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon obeyed as the two heads began to charge a blast of White Lightning apiece.

"TWIN LIGHTNING ATTACK!"

The blasts were fired at Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End.

"Why bother?" groaned Chaos Sorcerer boredly. "Chaos Emperor Dragon will survive, while your dragon will be destroyed."

"My dragon has a few special abilities." explained Spencer. "When it fails to destroy a monster in battle, that monster is banished. Not only that, Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon also cannot be destroyed by battle!"

"Banished?!"

"Yes, banished!" The silver-haired boy confirmed. "Your Chaos Doppelganger may prevent your other Chaos monsters from being destroyed by battle and other card effects, but it didn't say anything about being removed from the game!"

The blast struck Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, causing it to fade away.

"M-My Chaos Emperor Dragon!" wailed Chaos Sorcerer. He then looked to his remaining monster with fear. "And without another Chaos monster being present, Chaos Doppelganger's overall power returns to default! ...which is..."

"Zero!" finished Spencer.

As expected, Chaos Doppleganger's attack was drained (ATK: 3000 - 0/DEF: 2500 - 0).

"And now for my dragon's final ability!" continued Spencer. "Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon can make up to two attacks on your monsters each turn!"

Chaos Sorcerer was frightened. "TWO ATTACKS, you say?!"

"Yes! Two attacks!"

The mighty two-headed Blue-Eyes White Dragon then began charging another blast.

" **Twin Lightning Attack**!" commanded Spencer (LP: 450).

"Stop!" cried Chaos Sorcerer (LP: 100).

But it was too late. The attack was finaly fired, vaporizing Chaos Doppelganger within seconds.

"GGGGGGGWWWWWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

When the smoke faded away, Chaos Sorcerer was shown to be gone. This time, however, he was hopefully gone for good (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Spencer Gresley wins!**

* * *

"Yeah! And don't ever come back, ya jerk!" yelled James.

With that said, and the duel over, the holograms faded.

"Thank heaven that's over." sighed Maiden of the Aqua.

Spencer turned around to face the gang. "So, you're all here, too?"

"Yes, that's right." confirmed Edward.

"How'd you get here?" asked Toby.

"Let's just say I have my reasons." answered Spencer. He then looked down at the unconscious Thomas. "So, what happened to Billinton here?" He then got a rather cruel smirk on his face as he then said this... "And what's with the face decoration?"

"That's not funny!" snapped Maiden of the Aqua, getting really angry with Spencer's cruel joke. "You don't know anything!"

"Relax, I was only kidding." replied the silver-haired boy defensively. He then looked serious. "So, what's the big story, anyway?"

"Earlier, Thomas was challenged to a duel by some guy named Nathaniel." explained Stanley.

"Unfortunately, Thomas got beaten badly!" exclaimed James, just before covering his mouth in fear. "Oops!"

That's too bad, for the silver-haired boy had overheard that statement...

"Billinton...lost a duel?" whispered Spencer.

"Nice going, James!" hissed Henry. "Now Spencer's gonna kill us all!"

"Many times Spencer has said that only he is the one who is allowed to defeat Thomas!" added Gordon. "Now, because someone did it before him, we're going to have to brace ourselves for the pain!"

Suddenly, to Gordon, James, and Henry's surprise...

"So, Billinton finally lost one..."

James eased up. "Huh?"

Gordon and Henry were both just as surprised by that surprisingly calm statement from the silver-haired boy.

"You're...not mad about it?" squeaked Henry.

"Please, just because 'veI heard Billinton finally lost a duel and his Duel King title to someone else, it doesn't mean I should throw a temper tantrum over it." scoffed Spencer. "Besides, it was the better duelist who won... and it also shows that even Thomas Billinton isn't invincible like all of those other heroes are."

"There's more to it than that." said Percy, looking very upset. "Thomas could have won, but he deliberately let himself lose."

"Deliberately lose?"

The group informed Spencer of everything that had gone on during Thomas's duel with Nathaniel.

"And Thomas felt so terrible for what had happened-" finished Maiden of the Aqua. "-that he actually WANTED to die."

"To aton for his actions." added Rosie.

Spencer, feeling very surprised right now, was still trying to comprehend the idea of Thomas wanting to commit suicide.

"He did what I tried to do in our duel in San Francisco..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

On the rooftop of Discord's mansion, Thomas and Spencer were both in the middle of a rematch.

"Thomas..." Spencer began, referring to the blue-haired boy by his first name.

"Huh?"

"This cannot be the end for me." The silver-haired boy said quietly.

Slowly, Spencer began to walk backwards until he was at the very edge of the roof.

"What's he doing?" asked James.

"If I lose to you again, Billinton-" continued Spencer slowly. "-then I'll lose my company and my parents... And to be frank, I would rather die than see that happen. So...the moment you declare an attack on your next turn and my life points hit zero, I will jump from the roof and fall to my death."

No one liked the sound of that at all.

"You jerk!" roared Gordon. "That's a real smooth bluff!"

"Yeah!" agreed Percy. "Come down from there, and play fairly!"

"But what if it isn't a bluff?" Toby asked seriously. "What if Spencer really is willing to commit suicide if he loses?"

"Looks like we'll soon find out." answered Edward.

Back in the duel field...

"Spencer, please get down from there!" Thomas pleaded. "I know you have to save your parents, but there has to be another way!"

"Perhaps, but to me, this duel is very important." Spencer replied. "I can stand up here all day if I have to. But if you're wise, you'll forfeit the match to me."

"But I...can't do that."

"Neither is losing my Mother and Father!" argued Spencer. He looked back to Thomas. "So go ahead if you've got the guts, Billinton! Use your cards to take my life!"

Upon saying that, he made a throat cutting gesture with his thumb. Thomas looked extremely conflicted with himself. Do he dare attack Spencer and win the duel? Or pass and let Spencer defeat him? It was just...too much for him.

"I..."

He stated seeing images of Sailor John and his pirates.

"I..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself.

Sailor John, Commander Laura, and Commander Sledge were laughing maniacally as they succeeded in their dark goals. Thomas scowled intensely at the thought, feeling nothing but anger and hate for them. But that wasn't the worst bit, there was a sharp spark of unknown power deep within the blue-haired boy's heart.

"I mustn't...lose...! I can't lose!"

His hatred of Sailor John and the pirates seemed to sparked something inside of the blue-haired boy... Something really powerful and...dark... Percy was the first to notice the change in Thomas's expression.

"Take a look at Thomas."

"What's going on?" worried Henry. "Something's wrong with Thomas... You don't think he's going to do it, do you?"

"But if he does-" Toby protested loudly. "-Spencer will..."

Back with Thomas... He was shaking with such anger that some traces of a dark aura started to form around him.

"DRAW!" The blue-haired boy screamed out, drawing a card.

The Timouth Teens all sounded scared at how angry and fierce their blue-haired friend sounded. But what really scared them was how Thomas had a small but still noticable aura of darkness burning around him along with a look of pure fury on his face. It was almost like he was a completely different person, now.

"I'll never lose!" Thomas roared in rage. "Not now, not ever! Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Spencer directly and win me the duel!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian obeyed, charging at the defenseless Spencer. In the audiece, Emily couldn't take it anymore.

"Thomas, no!" she cried, running up to her friend.

"Emily, no!" James exclaimed.

No one else tried to stop the dark green-haired girl.

"Stop this, Thomas!" Emily shrieked with terror. "This isn't like you...!"

Thomas didn't seem to listen, while his look of rage remained. By now, everything seemed to run in slow motion. Spencer stood on the edge waiting defiantly and emotionless for his impending fate as Obnoxious Celtic Guardian came closer.

"Please come back to us!" Emily continued, running forth still. "Come back to me, my love!"

Thomas's face softened when he heard Emily's voice, which seemed to sound different and even spoke with a Scottish accent rather than an American accent. To his surprise, only Thomas seemed to think it was different than Emily's usual voice—or something like that.

"What...?"

"Please stop your attack!" The dark green-haired girl pleaded some more. "Return to who you really are!"

With the dark aura fading away to the sound of Emily's angelic-like voice, Thomas finally came to a horrifying realization over what he had done.

"She's right... this isn't me!" Thomas collapsed onto his knees and let out a huge scream. "STOP!"

Hearing his master, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian stopped where he was and lowered his sword to the ground. Thomas was too shocked over what he had almost went and done. Watching what had happened, Spencer smiled in satisfaction as he drew a card.

"Couldn't do it, huh?" he said quietly, before giving the command. "White Lightning attack!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired a blast of white electrical energy at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. The monster survived the attack due to his effect, but Thomas's life points didn't (LP: 0). With the duel now his, Spencer jumped off of the edge and back to safety. He now had ten star coins, meaning that he was ready to go and challenge Discord. Thomas, meanwhile, was now crying over what he had went and almost did. His tears dripped onto the concrete of the roof, and his sobs echoed throughout the whole rooftop.

"What's wrong with me?" he sobbed. "I almost killed Spencer just so I could win... Was there... was there another presence inside of me wanting me to kill him?"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"He's been through so much." said Edward sadly. "He really wants Emily back."

"Which is why I came to find you all." Spencer pointed out.

"Wait... You did?" blinked Toby.

"Yes." nodded Spencer. "I figured you would need my assistance in rescuing Emily. Plus, I've made a promise to someone that I would take the Court of Darkness down."

Then, to Percy and everyone else's surprise, an image of Maiden with Eyes of Blue appeared beside the silver-haired boy.

"Greetings, everyone." greeted Maiden with Eyes of Blue politely.

"You have a second monster spirit!" gasped James. He felt jealous... "Oh, why don't I have a Duel Monsters spirit guide?! Why do you, Thomas, and Emily each have to be so damn special?!"

"Hush up, James." scolded Molly.

The red-haired boy whimpered unhappily while everyone else (except for Spencer and an unconscious Thomas) shared a laugh. Yup, things were gonna be much easier with Spencer now traveling with the party.

(elsewhere...)

Back in Knapford City, Diesel and Dennis were both still searching high and low for the Tidmouth Teens, but for some reason they were nowhere to be found.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Burger World, the two Smelter Teens were both seated at a table and taking a brief lunch break before resuming their search.

"Where are they?!" complained Dennis. "It's like they disappeared or something."

"If they were going to another tournament-" said Diesel. "-word would have surely spread."

"But Battle City wasn't long ago."

The devious black-haired boy nodded in agreement. "I know, but it's the only theory we've got."

"Wish we knew where they were." said Dennis.

Suddenly...

"I believe I can tell you..." echoed a voice (male).

Diesel and Dennis both sat up and looked around. All of a sudden, it was like time all around them had frozen. All of the people inside the building weren't moving at all...

"W-What's going on?" asked Diesel, becoming uneasy. "Are we hallucinating?"

"I can assure you both that this is no hallucination." answered the voice (male).

Dennis shivered. "W-Who ever you are! J-Just show yourself!"

"As you command..."

A figure slowly stepped forward from the shadows.

"GAAAHHH!" screamed the two Smelter Teens, hugging each other. "VAMPIRE!"

That's right, it was Vampire Lord of the Court of Darkness... What were his reasons for visiting the Island of Sodor? Well, let's find out! ...next time.


	62. Revenge of the Smelters (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside Burger World, Diesel and Dennis were both seated at a table and taking a brief lunch break before resuming their search for Thomas and the rest of the Tidmouth Teens.

"Where are they?!" complained Dennis. "It's like they disappeared or something."

"If they were going to another tournament-" said Diesel. "-word would have surely spread."

"But Battle City wasn't long ago."

The devious black-haired boy nodded in agreement. "I know, but it's the only theory we've got."

"Wish we knew where they were." grumbled Dennis.

Suddenly...

"I believe I can tell you..." echoed a voice (male).

Diesel and Dennis both sat up and looked around. All of a sudden, it was like time all around them had frozen. All of the people inside the building weren't moving at all...

"W-What's going on?" asked Diesel, becoming uneasy. "Are we hallucinating?"

"I can assure you both that this is no hallucination." answered the voice (male).

Dennis shivered. "W-Who ever you are! J-Just show yourself!"

"As you command..."

A figure slowly stepped forward from the shadows.

"GAAAHHH!" screamed the two Smelter Teens, hugging each other. "VAMPIRE!"

That's right, it was Vampire Lord of the Court of Darkness... What were his reasons for visiting the Island of Sodor? Well, let's find out!

"Do not be afraid." said Vampire Lord calmly. "Call me a friend." He then smiled wickedly. "A friend who has a gift for you both."

Diesel and Dennis both eased up. "A gift?"

"But, of course..."

With a snap of his fingers, Vampire Lord created two cards and held them out.

"My gift to you." he said in a surprisingly polite way.

Diesel and Dennis both took and looked at the cards in surprise.

"The Field of Dark Graves?" quizzed the latter.

"When played, they will make you almost impossible to beat." Vampire Lord pointed out.

"Is there some sort of catch?" asked Diesel suspiciously.

"Just one little thing." answered the Court of Darkness member. "I would also like to show you two something else."

"Something else?" repeated Dennis. "What could it be?"

Just then, a portal appeared before them.

"Just...go through there." said Vampire Lord. "I will meet you both on the other side."

With that said, the Court of Darkness member faded away into darkness.

"I don't have a good feeling about this, Diesel." remarked Dennis. "What if it's a trap?"

"Trap, shmap." scoffed Diesel. "I say we take this chance!"

Dennis was alarmed. "But-!"

"This could be our chance to get revenge on Thomas and Percy!"

Dennis was still rather skeptical, but he did want his revenge. So, Dennis caved in and agreed to going in. Diesel was very pleased that his friend accepted the risk.

"Let's go, partner!" The devious black-haired boy announced.

With that said, the two Smelter Teens finally stepped through the portal. What waited for them on the otherside? Nobody knew for certain...

* * *

 **Title: Revenge of the Smelters, Part 1**

* * *

Diesel and Dennis, both unconscious, soon managed to awaken to find themselves in a castle of a sort.

"Grease and oil!" mumbled Diesel.

"Where are we?" added Dennis. "Are we in a castle?"

"Yes, you are." confirmed the voice of Vampire Lord.

The two confused Smelter Teens looked over and Vampire Lord and the rest of the Court of Darkness (no Airknight Parshath) standing nearby.

"Welcome." greeted Vampire Lady, ending her sentence with a sinister giggle and hiss.

"More Duel Monsters?" asked Dennis.

"We're the Court of Darkness." said Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Court of Darkness." blinked Diesel. He then grinned. "Cool nickname."

"So are you guys actually living Duel Monsters?" asked Dennis. "Or are these just costumes?"

"Costumes?!" exclaimed Earl of Demise. "Are you daft, kid?!"

"Calm yourself, Earl of Demise." interrupted Vampire Lord, before looking back at Dennis. "Do you remember the Dark Magician Girl?"

"That's one of Thomas's monsters." nodded Diesel. He then grinned like a pervert. "Funny enough, she came to an event held at the school before summer began."

"But it was likely a cosplayer." Dennis added to that.

"She was the real thing." interrupted Vampire Lord.

"She was actually real?" asked Diesel.

"As real as you can breath." answered Vampire Lady. "The world you two are in now is the Duel Monsters spirit world; a special land for Duel Monsters."

Diesel sweatdropped. "Duel Monsters... real? What planet was I born from?"

"We brought you both here because we have a favor to ask." spoke up Darkbishop Archfiend. "Duel and defeat Thomas Billinton and Percy Avonside."

"However-" added Vampire Lord. "-once you've done that, you must bring Thomas Billinton to us."

"Wait, what?" Dennis blinked once more.

"Thomas and Percy are both here?" added Diesel.

"Yes." nodded Vampire Lady. "They are trying to stop our plans of world domination."

Looks like this could take a while to explain. Let's go see how Thomas and everyone else is doing, shall we?

(elsewhere...)

It had been a few days since Chaos Sorcerer met his end at the hands of Spencer, and the silver-haired boy join the party. Thomas was currently sleeping in a room at the Inn and trying to recover some more.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Inn's kitchen, Edward and Maiden of the Aqua both were filling Spencer in on the darkness in Thomas's heart...

"So there's a demon inside of Billinton?" asked Spencer.

"At this point, it's starting to become clear as crystal." answered Edward.

"When we chose not to search for Emily, it made Thomas blind with rage and briefly turn against us."

"What's more, there's this card we found hidden within Thomas's deck." added Maiden of the Aqua. "It's called The Field of Dark Graves, and it-"

"The Field of Dark Graves?!" gasped Spencer, interrupting the blue-haired female monster very quickly. "I know of that card!"

Just then, Percy, James, and Molly each arrived.

"Judging from the yelling-" commented James. "-I'd say someone learned something bad."

"You've seen The Field of Dark Graves before?" asked Edward.

"Yes, and I know who created it." answered Spencer. "It was my Grandfather, Gozaburo..."

"Gozaburo Gresley?" asked James. "But didn't you say he killed himself?"

Spencer frowned. "He's alive... When he commited suicide, his hate for my parents and family was so great that his spirit lives to this day."

"So now we have another nut-job to deal with..." groaned Percy.

"Which is why we must get to the Duel Monsters capital city as soon as possible." came a familiar voice (male).

Maiden of the Aqua was surprised. "Thomas?"

The blue-haired boy was awake again. This time, he was feeling MUCH better.

"Thomas!" gasped Edward.

"Nice of you to finally be awake, Sleeping Beauty." joked James.

Thomas chuckled at the joke. "My scars my be permenant, but I'm feeling so much better now."

"So shall we carry on?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"Yes." said Thomas. "But, I have something else to say... Once we finally get the answers we're looking for, yet we fail to save Emily from being killed by the Court of Darkness... I will kill myself and join her in the afterlife."

"No, you will NOT!" cut in Spencer.

"Spencer..."

"You think that by losing Emily you have no right to live?" The silver-haired boy snapped. "That's a load of rubbish! She wouldn't want you to throw your life away just because of that! She would want you to live for the both of you."

Thomas remained absolutely silent.

"And before you say anything else, let me tell you I know how losing a loved one feels!"

Thomas was shocked, and so was everyone else.

"I was summoned to this world to find someone..." continued Spencer. "Her name was Kisara... I can't explain why, but I felt like I knew her in some way. She was being held captive by my Grandfather, and I dueled him to rescue her."

"Did you win?" asked Edward.

"Obviously. But when I about to free Kisara..." Spencer closed his eyes, feeling the pain in his heart. "Gozaburo...shot and killed her!"

The group gasped.

"I couldn't save her! Gozaburo Gresley, such a monster of a human being, went and needlessly killed her! I... I couldn't do anything about..."

It was then Maiden with Eyes of Blue reappeared and kindly continued to speak for the despairing silver-haired boy.

"Although Kisara is dead-" she said to the others. "-her spirit lives on within me."

Thomas walked closer. "So, that's how you've joined Spencer..."

"Yes." nodded Maiden with Eyes of Blue. "Even if anything happens to Emily, she will always be with you."

Thomas just shook his head in denial. "I want to believe that, but I just can't. I won't lie to myself. Once someone you care for dies, they are gone forever. It's a fact and philosophy that I have taught myself to remember ever since I was a child."

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua. She was getting worried for her friend's way of thinking.

Before too long, the blue-haired boy turned to face the exit of the Inn.

"We'd better get going." said Thomas at last, making his way to the door. "The longer we waste time, the closer the Court of Darkness will get to reviving that demon."

Yup, the party had to get going now.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions...

"So let me get this straight..." Diesel was saying. "You guys are a group of Duel Monsters that wants to revive your fallen leader in an attempt to conquer not just this world, but Earth as well?"

"Yes, but not in a way you think." answered Vampire Lord.

"Our leader has promised a new world full of riches and likes." added Earl of Demise. "Those who serve him will be rewarded immensely."

"So, if you two were to join us-" added Vampire Lady. "-the same rewards would even be in store for you."

Diesel and Dennis began to think about.

"We could become Duel Kings!" whispered Dennis.

"And get the respect we truly deserve!" agreed Diesel. "These cards we got will make us nearly invincible!"

As the two spoke, the Court of Darkness members smiled deviously to themselves. At last, the two Smelters Teens turned around and spoke up.

"You know what? Sure, we'll join you guys!" Diesel accepted almost immediately.

"We'll crush both Thomas and Percy, just like you want us to do." added Dennis.

"Excellent." grinned Vampire Lord. "And remember; Thomas Billinton must be brought to us."

"Leave that to me." offered Diesel. "He's all mine."

"What about Percy and the others?" asked Dennis.

"They'll be of no threat to us without Thomas to protect them." replied Vampire Lord. "But take down Percy at once."

Dennis chuckled. "It would be my pleasure..."

Yikes! This will be a problem for our heroes...

(elsewhere...)

Now that they were back on the road, Thomas and the others arrived at what looked like a train station of some sort.

"Looks like we'll have some transportation." commented Henry. "Good. I've been tired of walking so much."

"Hopefully, the train won't be very expensive." put in Toby.

Before long, the train pulled into the station.

"Ah... Right on time." thought Percy.

The group approached the ticket office.

"Is this train bound for the capital city?" asked Toby.

"You're in luck, it is." answered the person inside the office. "How many getting on?"

"Around thirteen." said Edward.

(elsewhere...)

Once the tickets were purchased, everyone climbed aboard the train and went to their seats.

"This will hopefully get us there faster." remarked Percy. "All we need now are snacks and entertainment to last the long trip."

Within seconds, the train started to move.

"Aaaaaand, we're off." commented James, leaning back in his seat to relax. "For once, we can enjoy something without being bothered by any minions of the Court of Darkness."

While everyone else began chatting, Thomas quietly and solemnly looked out the window.

"Emily..." he thought to himself. "I know you're out there somewhere, and I know you can take care of yourself... But how can you possibly love someone with a demon in his heart?"

Maiden of the Aqua noticed Thomas and tried to get his attention.

"Thomas?" The blue-haired female monster asked. "Are you okay?"

Thomas said nothing.

"You're thinking about Emily, aren't you?"

Thomas still said nothing.

"Thomas, please try to relax." continued Maiden of the Aqua. "I know you'll find her. I know you'll be able to rescue her."

Yet again, Thomas said nothing. Maiden of the Aqua was becoming increasingly worried, but soon got an idea to try and cheer the blue-haired boy up.

"Would you like to have a practice duel?" she offered.

Finally, Thomas started to stand up...

"Thomas?"

...and he suddenly left the car.

"Hey, where's Thomas going?" questioned Mavis.

"I think he needs some alone time, right now." Toby pointed out. "It's best we leave him be."

"Oh, Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua sadly.

(elsewhere...)

Standing alone in hallway, Thomas was looking out the window. He was still having bad memories of his duel with Nathaniel...

"Diablon... I have a piece of himself inside my heart... I had allowed my anger and darkness to both get the best of me in that duel with Nathaniel..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas and Nathaniel were in the middle of their duel, but the former was about to surrender.

"Let this be a warning to anyone who serves the Court of Darkness." declared Thomas, just as he began to bring his palm to his deck. "I will never embrace the darkness! Not now, not ever!"

"Oh yes, you will!" snarled a voice in Thomas's head (male).

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy's hand froze just inches before he could touch his deck.

"What's going on?" asked Thomas. "M-My hand..."

"If you won't use that card to win the duel for us-" The voice continued. "-then I will do it myself!"

Thomas clutched his hand to his face. "N-No... I c-can't...!"

"Oh really? Then search your deepest thoughts, and locate the darkest and most desirable things you want out of 'em!"

And searching, Thomas did... Those dark and desirable thoughts were as followed:  
-Win the duel  
-Free Dark Magician Girl from Crystal Seal  
-Find and rescue Emily

"Dark Magician Girl... Emily..." The blue-haired boy winced hard, trying to resist.

Dark Magician Girl became worried for her master/friend. She wished she could just break out of Crystal Seal and help him. Suddenly, once the thoughts and desires he wanted had become too much for him to try and handle, Thomas screamed in pain as a dark aura took over his body, shrouding him from sight.

"Huh?" Nathaniel looked up in shock.

Thomas (possessed), upon recovering, immediately readied his card. It was an all-too familiar one, too.

"Now, I activate - The Field of Dark Graves!" Thomas (possessed) announced at once.

Nathaniel only looked on silently and grimly as Thomas (possessed) slotted the card inside the Field Spell zone on his Duel Disk as it started to spark.

"It is..." mumbled the possessed blue-haired boy, which was also all he could say.

Suddenly, the dark aura around him thickened and much more powerful than ever before, causing him to scream in intense agony while emulating a massive shadow over the whole field. Nathaniel had been shielding himself and looking away from the powerful burst of dark energy. Soon, he recovered and looked on ahead to whoever was standing in the nearby purple smoke.

"So-" The black-haired young man grunted. "-we meet at long last..."

As the smoke began to fade, standing there was what looked almost like Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, no shirt, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. It was 'him'! It was the ' _ **Evil One**_ '! It was...

"...Diablon."

The ' _new_ ' Thomas said nothing, but there was a grim look of anger on his face.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"Why did I have to listen to that demon?" Thomas asked himself. "I should have been stronger than that... I should have fought off his influence!"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas (having become Diablon) and Nathaniel were both still in the middle of their duel...

"Here is where it ends for you, fool." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' said, drawing a card. "I will now put an end to this charade!"

Nathaniel calmly watched what his opponent was going to do. Diablon motioned his left hand towards Dark Magician Girl and said those very words...

"I will now offer the equally useless Dark Magician Girl to finish you off!"

Hearing this made Dark Magician Girl very upset. Despite being possessed by the darkness of The Field of Dark Graves, even she still had some signs of herself. The female spellcaster-type monster was hoping that the Thomas deep within could somehow break free and stop this madness before it was too late to turn back. Alas...

"Go on!" demanded Diablon, not giving a rat's behind on what his monster was feeling right now.

With tears in her eyes, Dark Magician Girl was forced to obey the command; leaping up, landing, and readying herself on the back of Catapult Turtle.

"And now..." grinned Diablon wickedly, beginning to point forth. "Eat this, Guardian Nathaniel!"

On cue, Dark Magician Girl was launched off of Catapult Turtle's launcher and turned into a ball of light. It eventually slammed into Nathaniel and sent him flying until he crashed into a tree and destroyed it... although he didn't flinch nor shout in pain from being hit by it (LP: 100).

(new scene...)

Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at the ' ** _Evil One_** ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. He actually felt very scared as to what he had done to try and win the duel, but unfortunately...

"Don't stare at me... Don't stare at me with those eyes, you fools!" exclaimed Diablon angrily.

Unfortunately, Thomas had also managed to gain part of himself back... and found that Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Berformet, Big Shield Gardna, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl were all gazing at ' _ **him**_ ' with looks of great anger and feelings of betrayal. Thomas had never felt so ashamed and scared in his life, and was now convinced that his own monsters hated him for giving into his darkest and most selfish desires that resulted in Diablon finally claiming complete control of the body.

"Please...forgive me for what I've done to you!" begged Thomas sadly.

(new scene...)

Later on, the boy raised his face up to show he was back to Thomas. His blue eyes were also red with tears and filled with nothing but despair, shame, and pain.

"I want to die." The poor blue-haired boy answered in a truly heartbroken tone. "I have committed an unforgivable crime, and I must pay the price for it. If you truly wish to save your world from darkness and Diablon, Nathaniel, then start by killing me so that I can never hurt anyone again. Please, attack me right now..."

Percy and the gang was beyond shocked. Nathaniel and Guardian Eatos were both equally horrified by the demand. Just then...

"No!" A voice inside Thomas's head cried out in rage. "I won't allow it to end this way!"

Suddenly, Thomas gripped his head and yelled in agony once more. He eventually opened one eye, revealing it to be crimson red. It would seem Diablon was trying to regain control of the body!

"We will NOT lose this duel!" snapped the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Do you hear me? DO YOU?!"

"No! I don't care about winning anymore!" argued Thomas, wincing. He then turned his attention over to Nathaniel in pure desperation. "Hurry and deliver the attack, now! I don't know how much longer I can hold him off!"

The black-haired young man didn't have to be told twice. He didn't like what he was about to do, because it almost seemed like murder... but Nathaniel also knew full well that there was no other choice in the matter right now. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' had to be struck down here and now before he could spread his evil all around this world. Finally, the command came...

"Guardian Eatos!" Nathaniel called to the monster version of his adopted Mother. "Destroy Diablon's monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising and slashing a great light from her sword with a great yell. A devastating wave of energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field.

"You fool!" snarled the voice of Diablon, with one of Thomas's eyes shut as the other was crimson red, watching as Catapult Turtle got destroyed. "If you don't use that Trap card and save yourself, we'll both die!"

He then shut his eye and opened the other one, which was blue.

"I don't care if I die from this attack, ' ** _Evil One_** '!" Thomas exclaimed, just as Kuribabylon was destroyed. "If I have to die, then I'll make sure to take you down with MEEEEE!"

With that said, the blast finally struck Thomas, overwhelming and causing him to scream in pain and dread as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0). But worst was to come... The force of Guardian Eatos's attack slowly began to push Thomas back some, before finally it happened... Thomas was sent flying off the edge of the cliff and soon fell down.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas, still filled with grief and guilt, slammed his fist onto the wall.

"DAMMIT!" he screamed in frustration. "Why did this have to happen?! Why am I so weak?!"

Very soon, Thomas slumped onto the ground like he was about to fall unconscious.

"Everyone, I'm... I'm..."

Just then...

"Hey! There's nobody in the snack car!" called the voice of Percy.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the snack car, Percy, James, and Gordon were looking around. No other humans, not even friendly Duel Monsters spirits, were present.

"That's odd." said Gordon. "Where could everyone else be?"

"There's also no food in the stands!" came James's voice. The red-haired boy was behind the counter searching for food to no luck. "Not even peanuts!"

"I think something's up." commented Percy. "Let's go find the others and let 'em know."

With that, the trio left the room.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas was still seated on the ground in a depressed state when he suddenly looked up and saw Percy, James, and Gordon each exiting the snack room and running down the hallway.

"Percy, James, Gordon?" The blue-haired boy whispered, standing back up.

He followed the trio back to the car where the others were relaxing.

(elsewhere...)

The door to the front car opened and revealed Spencer.

"Hmm..."

He then saw, to his shock, that nobody was driving the train. It was as if the train was driving by itself!

"What's going on?!" Spencer demanded aloud.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the car with Maiden of the Aqua and everyone else, Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon, and Spencer all had returned to give the bad news.

"So, we're the only ones aboard?" asked Mavis.

"It would seem that way." said Percy.

"Let's search the other cars a bit more." suggested Thomas. "There has to be a rational explaination for what's going on."

"Leave that to me." offered Percy. "Gordon, Henry, you both in?"

Henry nodded. "I am."

"So am I." added Gordon.

With that said, the trio set out to explore the train some more.

(elsewhere...)

Inside one hallway, Percy peeked from one corner to see if there was anyone in the next bend.

"Anything?" asked Henry quietly.

"Nope." answered Percy. "Come on!"

The trio emerged and walked down the hallway leading to the next car.

"Wait." exclaimed Gordon suddenly. "Do think I hear something."

"What? What is it?" demanded Henry. "Is it a voice?"

The tall, blue-haired boy nodded. "It's coming from the next car."

They opened the door which lead to the next car. Immediately, they saw someone very familiar.

"Hey, you!" called Percy.

Suddenly, the person made a dash down the hallway of the car.

"That's our guy!" bellowed Gordon. "Let's get him!"

The trio gave chase, wondering if the stranger was friend or foe. After searching three extra cars, they reached the last one.

"He has no place to hide now." sneered Percy, about to open the door.

But when the green-haired boy opened the door... he saw nobody at the end of the hallway.

"Huh? Where'd that guy go?"

Percy, Gordon, and Henry each walked deeper into the car.

"I have a bad feeling about this." whispered Henry.

His theory proved right... All of a sudden...

 ***SLAM!***

The door the previous car was shut tight!

"H-Hey!" yelped Percy, running to the door and trying to open it. "It's locked!"

Gordon cursed. "We've been tricked!"

"Let us out!" cried Henry.

The mysterious person, however, was too far away to hear the trapped teenagers. With sharp enough ears, you could hear him laughing at what he was doing.

(elsewhere...)

Soon enough, the mysterious person reached the end of the third car on the train. He took a remote control and prepared to press a button.

"Time to get some alone time..."

(elsewhere...)

Outside, all was quiet as the train moved along the tracks. Suddenly, the coupling between the train became undone.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the last car...

"Hey, I think we're slowing down to a stop." announced Percy.

Then he looked out one of the front windows and could see the rest of the train racing off.

"GAH! We've been uncoupled!"

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the main car, Thomas suddenly looked up with a start.

"What is it, Thomas?" asked Molly quickly. "Are you-?"

The blue-haired boy never answered. Instead, a look of anger appeared on his face as he stood up and started to leave.

"Billinton, wait!" called Spencer to no avail.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas left the passenger car and began climbing to the roof.

"Someone working for the Court of Darkness is here..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "I just know it!"

As soon as he reached the rooftop...

"Good morning." oozed a familiar voice (male).

It was Diesel, and there was a very smug smile on his face.

"What are you doing here, Diesel?!" demanded Thomas. He had a feeling this was the dark force at work.

"I want a rematch." said Diesel, activating his Duel Disk.

"But how did you even get to the Duel Monsters spirit world?!"

"Thomas!" called the voice of James. "What's happening up there?!"

Thomas looked back. James, Spencer, and everyone else was climbing to the rooftop of the speeding train.

"Oh ho! Looks like I've have an audience to see me crush Thomas." giggled Diesel deviously. "This is so perfect!"

"Who is that boy Thomas is facing against?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"That's Diesel Horwich." explained Toby. "One of the biggest bullies on the Island of Sodor. He's not only a bully, he's also a manipulative liar."

"Which is why everyone calls him ' _Devious_ ' Diesel as a nickname." added James.

"But I'm not alone." oiled Diesel, not losing his smirk. "By now, a good friend of mine has done exactly what I told him to do..."

(elsewhere...)

Inside the hallway of the last car, it had finally slowed to a stop.

"We've stopped..." sighed Henry.

"That's good, but I still wish I knew what was going on." said Percy.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, the door to the car opened and the three teenage boys jumped out.

"How are we supposed to reach the others?" asked Gordon. "They're probably miles ahead of us by now..."

"Nobody leaves before Percy faces me." interrupted a voice (male). "If you do, there will be some deadly consequences..."

Percy, Henry, and Gordon each looked to one of the remaining cars. The mysterious person soon showed himself and activated his Duel Disk. It was none other than...

"DENNIS?!"

(elsewhere...)

Back atop the speeding train, Diesel was still boasting...

"At long last... Dennis and I will finally have our revenge!" The devious black-haired boy proclaimed.

"Revenge?!" snarled Thomas.

"Yes, revenge!" snapped Diesel. "Revenge against you and Percy for humiliating us for the last time!"

With that said, he activated his Duel Disk and drew his opening hand before taking one of the cards.

"And I think this card will do the trick."

His Field Spell zone opened as he placed the card inside it.

"The Field of Dark Graves!" announced Diesel.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the deserted area with the remaining cars, Percy activated his Duel Disk upon seeing Dennis.

"What's going on, Dennis? What are you even doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" snickered Dennis. "I'm here to get some payback for you defeating me months ago and taking my Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"You didn't deserve Red-Eyes!" protested Percy. "Besides, it was your idea to wager it. You never even cared for it at all!"

Dennis drew his opening hand. "Of course I cared for him! He was my ace monster, after all." He then held out a very familiar card. "And with this card, I'll have you beaten so fast it won't even be funny!"

An all-too familiar Field Spell card materialized face-up and activated.

"The Field of Dark Graves!"

Suddenly, the scenery began to change.

(elsewhere...)

Back atop the speedin train, the scenery had already begun to change. Unfortunately, this also included...

"Darkness..." mumbled Diesel, feeling rather energized. "Oh, sweet, beautiful darkness..."

With a loud scream, a powerful blast of wind was unleashed. Thomas and the others managed to keep their footing, but Rosie soon lost hers and was sent flying back.

"NO!" screamed Stanley, running after the pink-haired girl.

Crying out, Rosie soon managed to grab hold of the roof of the second car and keep herself from flying off the train. Soon, the darkness around Diesel ceased, and the devious black-haired boy's eyes shined all red as he smirked evilly at Thomas, who had drawn his opening hand.

"This will be so much fun..."

Thomas just scowled.

(elsewhere...)

Back with the deserted cars, Dennis, with his eyes shining all red, readied two cards in his right hand.

"Let the games begin." he grinned, placing the two cards onto seperate monster field slots on his Duel Disk. "I'll truly begin this duel by special summoning two copies of Gilasaurus in attack mode!"

Two large dinosaurs materialized with loud roars (Level: 3/ATK: 1400).

"I remember those two boneheads." muttered Percy.

But Dennis wasn't finished yet. "Next I'll summon another dinosaur friend of mine... Meet Kaitoptera!"

A large pterodactyl appeared to the field with a screech (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"Now for my new Field Spell card's ability!" continued Dennis. "All of my monsters become dark attribute ones and receive 500 attack points!"

All three monsters suddenly gained really ticked off looks on their faces as their overall attack points went up (ATK: 1400 - 1900). A facedown card materialized behind them soon after.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown card." Dennis finished. "Let's see you try and deal with that."

Percy, knowing the full power of The Field of Dark Graves, felt rather nervous about taking his turn. Alas...

"Alright, Dennis, watch this!"

The green-haired by drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Scapegoat, Rocket Warrior, Panther Warrior, Metalmorph, Celebration of Creation, and Star Blaster

* * *

On cue, the Panther Warrior monster card materialized face-up.

"I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" announced Percy.

The beast warrior-type puma monster appeared and readied himself for combat (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600). Percy's hand currently contain Scapegoat, Rocket Warrior, Metalmorph, an unknown Trap card, and an unknown Spell card.

"Panther Warrior cannot attack without a monster being tributed." The green-haired boy thought to himself, taking one of the cards in his hand. "And I can't take a risk in attacking just yet, anyway."

A facedown card materialized (Scapegoat).

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the speeding train...

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment." grinned Diesel. "Soon, I will be the Duel King!"

Over with James and the others...

"Where did Diesel even get a card like that?" asked Toby.

Nobody seemed to answer. Back in the duel field...

"To start off your downfall-" continued Diesel, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. He then followed by slotting two additional cards into Spell/Trap slots. "-I summon Pheromone Wasp in attack mode and set two cards facedown!"

Appearing to the field was a large green wasp, who immediately gained a power boost thanks to The Field of Dark Graves (Level: 3/ATK: 800 - 1300).

"With my monster now stronger, I'll end my turn there."

Thomas frowned. "I have to win this duel fast." he thought, just before speaking aloud and drawing a card. "It's my turn, Diesel!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Gaia the Fierce Knight, Curse of Dragon, Natural Selection, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Berkserker Soul, and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior

* * *

On cue, the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian monster card materialized face-up.

"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian - come forth and prepare for battle!"

Appearing to the field was the mighty Elf Swordsman (Level: 4/ATK: 1400).

"Attack the Pheromone Wasp!" called Thomas, not thinking straight.

"No, Thomas!" called Edward, but was too late.

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian lunged forth with his sword, but then...

"I'm afraid you've just dug yourself a deep hole!" laughed Diesel, just as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "I play Mimesis! This allows me to send Pheromone Wasp back to my and replace it with another insect of my choice!"

On cue, Pheromone Wasp faded away... and out came a familiar worm-like monster (Level: 3/ATK: 800 - 1300).

"Parasite Caterpillar!"

"Oh, not that thing again!" grumbled James.

Thanks to Mimesis, Parasite Caterpillar became the new target of attack. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian sliced the weak monster apart.

"Heh heh heh... poor choice of play, Thomas." snickered Diesel (LP: 3900). "I bet you remember what will happen now, eh?"

The Caterpillar shot a venomous bite at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian.

"It now becomes useless. And in a few turns, you will lose your monster and receive Poison Butterfly from me!"

The devious black-haired boy cackled with laughter. Thomas, meanwhile, was forced to end his turn.

"I end my turn..." he sighed unhappily.

"And just in time for mine!" Diesel stated gleefully, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Diesel Horwich (LP: 3900)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (3): Pheromone Wasp, Insect Barrier, and Insect Queen

* * *

"Now watch as I summon Pheromone Wasp back onto the field!"

The green wasp reappeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 800 - 1300).

"With your monster infected and unable to do anything, I can attack you directly!" declared Diesel. "Attack Thomas now, my wonderful wasp!"

Pheromone Wasp obeyed, striking Thomas in the chest with its stinger, causing the blue-haired boy to grunt—yet still remain standing (LP: 2700).

"And now my wasp's effect activates!" continued Diesel, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "When it inflicts life point damage to you from a direct attack, I can special summon one insect-type monster from my deck to the field! ...although it would not be able to attack for the turn."

On cue, the Leghul monster card materialized face-up.

"Leghul, come forth and get ready for your meal!"

The large worm-like insect appeared to the field (Level: 1/ATK: 300 - 800).

"Finally-" Diesel went on, slotting his final card into his Duel Disk. "-I will activate Insect Barrier!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"So long as this remains face-up, you cannot attack me with any insects under your control!"

Thomas scowled defiantly, but didn't respond back.

"That means Poison Butterfly will be completely useless to you!" Diesel continued to egg on the blue-haired boy further. "Looks like I will be taking your Duel King title soon enough!"

The devious black-haired boy laughed maniacally as Thomas and the rest of the audience glared on. It was official; the rematches between enemies have finally begun...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	63. Revenge of the Smelters (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up on the speeding train, Thomas was already in a bad situation. In case you're all wondering, these were the current stands:  
-Thomas (LP: 2700) was left with only an infected Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, who had three turns remaining until it became Poison Butterfly.  
-Diesel (LP: 3900) controlled Leghul (Level: 1/ATK: 800/DEF: 350) and Pheromone Wasp (Level: 3/ATK: 1300/DEF: 800) in attack position, the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card face-up, the Insect Barrier Continuous Spell card face-up, and one set card.

"Damn..." thought Thomas in frustration. "Diesel's already got an advantage over me."

Even then, he wasn't going to give up just like that. After what seemed like forever, Thomas drew a card and began his next turn.

"It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2700)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (6): Gaia The Fierce Knight, Curse of Dragon, Natural Selection, Berserker Soul, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, and Polymerization  
 **Parasite Caterpillar** : 2 Turns

* * *

On cue, the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up.

"Thanks to my draw, I'll activate Polymerization!" announced Thomas. "Using it, I'll fuse Curse of Dragon with Gaia The Fierce Knight!"

The yellowish dragon and the knight both briefly appeared before being fused together as Thomas began to make a quick summon chant.

" ** _Great knight of valor, take up thy lance and join together with the dragon that wields the wicked flames! Fusion Summon! Take flight - Gaia the Dragon Champion!_** "

The fusion between the two monsters finished, and revealed Gaia riding Curse of Dragon like a steed (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100).

"Eek! Not Gaia the Dragon Champion!" wailed Diesel, obviously sounding sarcastic.

Which was something that Thomas didn't know about. "How right you are... Attack Leghul with Double Dragon Lance!"

Gaia the Dragon Champion obeyed, charging through the sky towards the far weaker Leghul... But suddenly...

"Activate facedown card!"

Thomas winced from hearing that one line. That meant his opponent had something big planned...

"I play DNA Surgery!" announced Diesel, just as his remaining set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Now, thanks to this Continuous Trap card, I can choose whichever type I wish. From there, as long as my Trap card stays face-up, all face-up monsters become that one type!"

Something creepy began to happen to Gaia the Dragon Champion... It was as if he was growing insect-like pieces from his body.

"And guess which type I chose." snickered Diesel. After a moment of silence... "Don't know? I'll tell you then... It's the ' _insect_ ' type!"

Thanks to the Insect Barrier Spell card's effect, Gaia the Dragon Champion's attack ended in complete failure.

"Your attack has stopped in its tracks!"

Thomas cursed in response.

* * *

 **Title: Revenge of the Smelters, Part 2**

* * *

Back in the area with the now deserted cars, Percy was engaging Dennis in a duel, and was so far at a pretty big disadvantage.  
-Percy (LP: 4000) controlled Panther Warrior (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600) in attack position, along with one set card.  
-Dennis (LP: 4000) controlled Kaitoptera (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000) and two Gilasaurus (Level: 3/ATK: 1900/DEF: 400) in attack position, the The Field of Dark Graves Continuous Spell card, and one set card.

"This time, you cannot win against me!" boasted Dennis, drawing a card. "This time, I'll be the winner!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Dennis (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (2): Giant Rex and Polymerization

* * *

His drawn card was the Polymerization Spell card. Smirking more widely and menacingly, Dennis looked back up to his opponent.

"And this here is the part where I make my winning move!" he cackled, holding out the card. "I activate the Spell card Polymerization!"

All of a sudden, Kaitoptera began to fuse with one of the two Gilasaurus.

"Meet Horned Saurus!"

A huge winged dinosaur descended to the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"Next I'll summon Giant Rex in attack mode." added Dennis, placing his last card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "You're dinosaur chow, Percy!"

A large orange scaled dinosaur (basically a Spinosaurus) appeared to join Dennis's ranks (Level: 4/ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"This...is not good..." Percy muttered to himself.

"Percy's a sitting duck!" cried Henry.

"You bet your britches he is!" laughed Dennis. "Horned Saurus, attack my opponent directly!"

Horned Saurus obeyed, diving towards Percy and striking him, causing the boy to yell in pain (LP: 1500).

"But I had a monster!" The green-haired boy objected upon recovering. "You shouldn't have been able to attack me directly!"

"That is true." acknowledged Dennis. "But Horned Saurus's effect allows it to attack the opponent directly on the turn it was fusion summoned."

"What?!"

"So unfair..." groaned Gordon.

From there, Giant Rex charged forth towards Panther Warrior.

"Giant Rex, attack Panther Warrior!" commanded Dennis.

Giant Rex obeyed, charging and tearing Panther Warrior to shreds. Percy, seeing how violent and gory the attack was, felt his stomach contents churn slightly (LP: 1000).

"With your life points wide open-" grinned Dennis. "-I can finish you now! Attack Percy at once, Gilasaurus!"

"If Percy doesn't do something, he'll lose!" cried Henry.

Gilasaurus pounced, ready to turn Percy into its meal.

"I activate Scapegoat!" announced Percy suddenly.

On cue, the green-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself, creating four little sheep tokens. Regardless, Gilasaurus ate one of the tokens up.

"Oh well..." shrugged Dennis. "This duel wouldn't be nearly as fun if I defeated you so soon."

"I've beaten you before, Dennis-" declared Percy. "-and I'll do it again."

"Fat chance! So long as I have The Field of Dark Graves in play, I'm unbeatable!"

Percy only growled in response.

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the speeding train, the audience was growing very concerned with their speed level.

"Spencer, since you know so much about trains like this-" said Toby. "-what's our current speed level?"

"Around 100 miles an hour." Spencer answered. "Fortunately, so long as we don't build up too much more speed, the train shouldn't derail."

"Even then, Thomas needs to win this duel." reminded James, before looking back at the duel field. "Because need I remind you just who his opponent is?"

Diesel was laughing some more. "I can't believe you fell for my false distress!"

Thomas scowled even more. He was determined to not let Diesel win.

"Anyone who dares work for the Court of Darkness is an enemy of mine." The blue-haired boy growled.

"Court of Darkness?" smirked Diesel. "What Court of Darkness? I'm doing all of this on my own account."

"Don't lie to us about that!" shouted Mavis. "If you're not working for the Court of Darkness, then how did you get here and get a hold of such a dangerous card?!"

Diesel's smirk turned quite perverted. "Well, well... If it isn't my old flame..." he acknowledged. "How's that bruise?"

"It's healed by now." scowled Mavis, not looking pleased. "No thanks to you and your flunkies."

"That's not the ' _bruise_ ' I'm talking about."

Mavis's face turned beet red from there. It would seem Diesel was really talking about the time when he purposely placed his hand on, and squeezed rather hard, her breast in San Francisco before he, Arry, and Bert threatened Toby and kidnapped her (Mavis). The sight of his former girlfriend's reaction to being reminded of that incident caused Diesel to snicker even moreso...

"You know, you look really cute while blushing like that." The devious black-haired boy teased in a perverted-way.

" **ENOUGH**!" shouted Thomas angrily. "Diesel, it's your turn now!"

"Hmph... as you wish." sighed Diesel, drawing a card. "But it's your funeral."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Diesel Horwich (LP: 3900)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (2): Insect Queen and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards from my deck!"

The devious black-haired boy drew his two cards, one of which was an unknown monster card, and a Spell card called Cell Division.

"Time to kick things up a notch." grinned Diesel, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell card Cell Division!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Cell Division?" blinked Thomas.

"Edward, what does that card do?" asked Molly curiously.

"It allows Diesel to summon a Cell Division Token with the original level, attack, and defense of one insect-type monster he has on his side of the field." explained Edward.

"How right, you are!" confirmed Diesel. He then motioned his right hand to Leghul. "I'll use Cell Division to morph one Leghul into two!"

With that, Leghul began to separate into another monster (Level: 1/ATK: 300 - 800).

"Now I will sacrifice my token and Pheromone Wasp to tribute summon my most powerful of insects—Insect Queen!"

The two insect-type monsters vanished in streaks of blue as the mighty Insect Queen, with an angry hiss, appeared in their place (Level: 7/ATK: 2200 - 2700).

"I thought Percy won that card from you in Battle City!" protested Toby.

"Oh, please! Did you really think that was my only copy?" taunted Diesel, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "I wanted to take extra precautions in case I were to somehow lose this beautiful creature." He then began to affectionately rub Insect Queen's rump, causing her to let out some sort of purr (surprisingly). "That's a good Insect Queen..."

"Ugh! That's so disturbing..." muttered Mavis, looking away in complete disgust.

"Now then-" continued Diesel, getting back to the duel. "-my new monster receives 200 attack points for every insect-type monster either player has on the field, including herself!"

As there were four (which included herself) on the field Insect Queen's attack rose by 800 points (ATK: 2700 - 3500). Diesel then entered the battle phase...

"First up to attack will be Leghul!"

The smaller insect monster bypassed Gaia the Dragon Champion and struck Thomas, causing him to grunt (LP: 1900).

"And now it's my Insect Queen's turn!" said Diesel, jumping into the air and landing on Insect Queen's back. "But in order for her to attack, I have to tribute another monster."

Insect Queen immediately ate up Leghul, causing her to grow slightly weaker (ATK: 3500 - 3300).

"Destroy Gaia the Dragon Champion with Queen's Toxic Breath!"

Insect Queen obeyed the command, letting out a blast of toxic breath, which hit and disintegrated Thomas's monster in seconds.

"Gaia!" cried Thomas (LP: 1200).

"And-" continued Diesel. "-when my Insect Queen destroys a monster, she lays an egg."

True to Diesel's word, an egg slithered out of Insect Queen's bottem, much to the disgust of the audience (although Spencer fared much better with the sight).

"With that egg, my Insect Queen's power bonus can remain intact!"

"That thing will just keep getting more and more tokens." said Toby. "Unless Thomas can find a way to counter it, he might not stand a chance."

"Why is Thomas playing so poorly?" questioned James. "He's usually way better than this!"

"Something must still be bothering him." answered Maiden of the Aqua.

It was because Thomas was struggling with himself to keep in control of his body and not let Diablon take control once more. No matter what happened, the blue-haired boy needed to make sure he didn't give into his anger and darkness.

(elsewhere...)

"You're getting your butt kicked, Percy!" called Gordon.

Back in the area with the deserted cars, Percy and Dennis were both still in the middle of their duel, and it was not looking so good for the former.

"He sure is!" snickered Dennis. "My dinosaur friends are gonna stomp all over him!"

"Not if me or my cards have anything to say about it!" retorted Percy, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Rocket Warrior, Metalmorph, Celebration of Creation, Star Blaster, and Magical Arm Shield

* * *

Two facedown cards, followed by the Rocket Warrior monster card (appearing sideways), materialized.

"I set two cards facedown and summon Rocket Warrior in defense mode!"

The rocket armored monster appeared kneeling in defense mode (Level: 4/DEF: 1300).

"That's all for my turn." concluded Percy.

Dennis laughed and drew a card. "Looks like it's lights out for your monsters!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Dennis (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (1): Chain of the Underworld

* * *

"Oh, my dinosaurs... it's time for your meal! Horned Saurus, attack Percy's Rocket Warrior!"

Horned Saurus took to the skies, but then...

"I play Magical Arm Shield!" cried Percy, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Now I can take one of your monsters and have you target it instead!"

"I don't think so!" laughed Dennis, as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Counter Trap - Jurassic Heart!"

Magical Arm Shield fizzled out and shattered into pieces of glass.

"What just happened?" cried Percy.

"Jurassic Heart activates when you use a Trap card on a dinosaur-type monster." explained Dennis. "Now your Trap card is negated and destroyed!"

Horned Saurus charged and struck Rocket Warrior, knocking him onto the ground and shattering the monster into pieces of glass.

"Your turn, Giant Rex!"

Giant Rex gobbled up one of the sheep tokens.

"Go on, Gilasaurus!" called Dennis to his last monster. "It's lamb tonight!"

Gilasaurus went and feasted on another poor sheep token. Now there was only one left sheep token left standing.

"Wa ha ha ha ha!" The lazy gray-haired boy chortled. "I'm about to win!"

With that said, he slid the last card in his hand into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk, causing a facedown card to materialize.

"I set this facedown and end my turn!"

"I can't give up, not after getting this far." said Percy to himself. He looked to his deck. "Could there be something in my deck that can help me?"

The green-haired boy drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (3): Celebration of Creation, Star Blaster, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon

* * *

His drawn card was the Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card.

"Alright!" said Percy happily to himself. "The Red-Eyes Black Dragon, the card I won from Dennis!" He then spoke aloud. "It's time for me to kick things up a notch."

On cue, the Star Blaster Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Star Blaster!" The green-haired boy announced, as his last sheep token faded away in a blue streak. "By offering a monster on my side of the field, I roll a die."

"What for?" quizzed Dennis.

"I can special summon a monster with a level of the tributed monster combined with my die result." explained Percy, just as he gave the command to his Spell card... "Now then... Go, dice roll!"

A part demon—part angel appeared from the card and tossed a piece of dice into the air.

"Come on..." thought Percy.

At last, the die landed, rolled, and stopped on...

"A six!"

With that said, Percy selected and placed his next card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"One plus six equals seven!" announced the green-haired boy. "I can special summon a level 7 monster from my hand to the field, and this is the one I choose...!"

On cue, much to everyone else's surprise, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared in a burst of dark light with a mighty roar (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)

"Look familiar, Dennis?"

Dennis was angry. "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon! The very card you took from me after you won that duel in San Francisco!"

"You were the one who wagered it." reminded Percy. "Besides, you never even cared for it enough to form a proper bond with it. You saw it as a powerful card and nothing more. But to me, Red-Eyes is my friend!"

On cue, the green-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. It was...

"Next I'll reveal my Metalmorph Trap card!" continued Percy. "This equips a metal coating to my monster and turn it into a Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon was suddenly coated in a metallic armor, making it stronger (ATK: 2400 - 2700).

"You know what the best part is?" Percy went on. "When Red-Eyes now battles a monster during my battle phase, it receives an attack increase based on half of your own monster's current attack points during damage calculation!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon charged up an attack.

"Attacked Horned Saurus with Flash Flare Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon happily obeyed the command, firing a blast at Dennis's first monster.

"Since Horned Saurus has 2500 attack points, Red-Eyes receives half of that total amount of attack points!" Percy pointed out. "Making Red-Eyes's attack 3950 for this battle!"

Horned Saurus was struck by the blast of fire as a massive explosion clouded Dennis's side of the field.

"Horned Saurus has become extinct!"

Dennis seethed as he took massive damage (LP: 2550). Percy then slotted a card into his Duel Disk, causing a facedown card to materialized behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Now I set one card and end my turn!" finished Percy. "Ha! Not so tough, now! Are you?"

"Way to go, Percy!" cheered Gordon and Henry.

"How dare you!" bellowed Dennis's voice.

"Huh?"

The gray-haired boy was very angry by now. Especially since Percy was using what used to be HIS Red-Eyes Black Dragon against him.

"You've humiliated me for the last time!" he screamed. "And using my stolen Red-Eyes Black Dragon against me is like adding salt to my wound!"

"I didn't steal anything!" protested Percy. "You're the one who bet it in our duel! I won fair and square! All you ever did to get so far is by cheating and deception!"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Dennis (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (1): Tyrant Dragon

* * *

Gilasaurus and Giant Rex both faded away in blue streaks.

"It's time I put you out of your misery!" spat Dennis fiercely. "I sacrifice Gilasaurus and Giant Rex to summon a dragon of my own!"

"Tri-Horned Dragon?" asked Percy.

"No, this is an even more powerful dragon!"

A blaze of fire soon erupted where the two dinosaur-type monsters were stationed before being tributed. Henry, Gordon, and Percy each looked up at the pillar of fire in awe and fear.

"I summon Tyrant Dragon!" announced Dennis.

When the flames died down, standing before them was a huge, fierce dragon with scales the shade of a fiery orange (Level: 8/ATK: 2900 - 3400). Cackling in what could be triumph, Dennis jumped into the air, landing on the dragon's back.

"Oh man..." groaned Gordon, looking scared of the new monster. "I think I just wet myself."

"Amen to that, Gordon." agreed Henry, looking just as scared. "Amen to that..."

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the speeding train, Diesel was still riding his Insect Queen and taunting his opponent.

"How does it feel knowing that you're about to lose, Thomas?" he laughed.

"I'm not gonna lose." growled Thomas.

"Yeah!" agreed Stanley. "Bullies like you never win!"

"Oh, but what if there was a someone worse than a bully?"

That statement caught the gray-haired boy off-guard.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Stanley.

"I've heard there's someone far worse than me." explained Diesel. "And that someone happens to be..." He then pointed to his opponent. "...you, Thomas!"

"What?!" grimaced Thomas.

"Yes, you!" nodded Diesel. "I've been hearing rumors about you, about how you sold your own friends out just for power! The same power that I now possess and will use to get my revenge on you."

"He never sold us out!" snapped James.

"No... he's right." interrupted Thomas, looking upset and ashamed. "I did do all of that. Remember? I abandoned all of you before I met up with Nathaniel..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Over from one of the many doorways leading into the arena, Percy and the others arrived in time to find Thomas standing in a nearby corner while breathing hard.

"Thomas!" called James. "How's Stanley doing?"

Thomas never answered.

"Thomas, what's wrong?" asked Percy softly.

Rather than calm down from the chilling message he got from a member of the Court of Darkness, Thomas started shaking violently and became angry once more.

"Those monsters are planning to recapture Emily and torture her!" The blue-haired boy shouted desperately. "We have to find her now before they do!"

"Uh... what?" blinked Gordon. "I thought the Court of Darkness only wants her darkness?"

"I can't let this happen to her!" said Thomas, completely ignoring his older friend. He then turned to face the rest of his friends. "We have to find Emily NOW!"

"But, Thomas...!" protested Rosie, walking over to her blue-haired friend and taking him by his hands. "Stanley's hurt! And you're... oh my gosh! Your hands!"

Thomas's hands had become badly scratched and bloodied after punching the crystal ball into pieces of glass, but that was the last thing he cared about.

"Never mind my hands!" retorted Thomas, pushing Rosie aside and beginning to leave. "We have to find Emily now before the Court of Darkness does! That means we have to postpone our trip to the capital city."

"Thomas, just what is the matter with you?!" demanded Mavis. "Why are you acting like this?"

Thomas glared at the blonde-haired girl. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even care that your friend is hurt! And you're willing to throw off our quest!"

"Wouldn't you do the same if Toby had been kidnapped?" Thomas spat spitefully.

Mavis, feeling hurt from being asked that question, immediately backed off.

"Thomas, listen up!" began James, now becoming rather angry. "Throughout this whole journey you've slowly grown either depressed or more and more reckless and bitter. Not even caring that a good friend of yours got badly hurt just now!"

"There are far more important problems to worry about right now!" bellowed Thomas, reaching his rage breaking point. "Emily has escaped from the Castle of Dark Illusions and is being hunted down by a member of the Court of Darkness! She's in more danger than she ever was before! Why can't any of you just realize how serious this is and how much this means to me?!"

The dark aura was beginning to appear around him once again. Neither James nor anyone else dared to even speak up as their friend continued his fiery speech...

"Every since she went back to being her old, caring, selfless self after those two long, hard years of being bullied by James and Gordon, I've made a solemn vow that I would always do whatever it took to protect Emily from any and all harm, no matter how hard or painful it was, even if I had to die if it meant she was safe and sound. Emily's in grave danger now because I failed to protect her! It's my fault she was captured!"

Thomas's anger was reaching an alarming pitch; his eyes had temporarily flashed the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' crimson red. The blue-haired boy clenched his injured hands into a fist, causing them to bleed more than ever before, but he didn't care whatsoever.

"Emily is the sole reason why I live." Thomas ranted on further. "I can never live without her! So that's why I will stop at nothing to get her back from the darkness! You can all worry about Stanley for all I damn well care, but I only came to this world for one reason only; and that is to save the most important person in my life from losing herself to the darkness once more! And I swear... if any of you guys try to stand in my way of rescuing her, then I won't hesitate to take you down just as I did to everyone else I've taken down in this godforsaken world!"

With that said, Thomas walked past his friends (shoving both Gordon and James away in the process) and began to leave the Coliseum.

"T-Thomas, you can't be-" Percy began to speak and reach out to stop his best friend, but that was a big mistake on his part.

Without any kind of warning, Thomas suddenly turned around and punched the green-haired boy hard in the face, knocking him onto the ground right near Edward and Molly, who, along with the rest of the gang, were staring on in a mixture of shock and fright. The blue-haired boy only glared coldly at his so-called friends before storming out of the arena. He was determined to rescue Emily before she could be tortured or worse.

"Some friends you all turned out to be." The blue-haired boy thought bitterly to himself.

Before long, Thomas had left his friends behind.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"As for the power-" continued Thomas. "-I ended up giving into my personal demons and played The Field of Dark Graves..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In his duel with Nathaniel, Thomas's anger was reaching its limit, but then gripped his chest as he felt pain and darkness coming from it. Looking back at his hand, the blue-haired boy had nothing else that could help him out.

"I'm out of options." he said to himself. "This is the only card that can help free Dark Magician Girl. But... No. I won't use it!"

At last, Thomas looked back up to Nathaniel.

"I think I have finally discovered your true intentions, Nathaniel."

"Hmm?" Nathaniel raised on eyebrow.

"You're not fighting AGAINST the Court of Darkness." Thomas accused. "You're fighting FOR them! That's why you've done nothing but antagonize me and slander my ancestor's name throughout this whole duel! You're been deliberately making me angry because you want to make my darkness stronger so that Diablon will take full control over me! You're trying to aid in his revival to destroy the world! You're not a True Duelist or a Guardian. You're a fool and traitor to your kind!"

Nathaniel scowled at this accusation.

"And me activating The Field of Dark Graves was part of your plan to make me embrace the darkness." continued Thomas. "Well, I won't give you the pleasure! If I can't find any other way to free my Dark Magician Girl, then I would rather surrender the duel peacefully."

Although she couldn't move, Dark Magician Girl was pleased that Thomas was resisting the darkness of the wicked card.

"Let this be a warning to anyone who serves the Court of Darkness." declared Thomas, just as he began to bring his palm to his deck. "I will never embrace the darkness! Not now, not ever!"

"Oh yes, you will!" snarled a voice in Thomas's head (male).

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy's hand froze just inches before he could touch his deck.

"What's going on?" asked Thomas. "M-My hand..."

"If you won't use that card to win the duel for us-" The voice continued. "-then I will do it myself!"

Thomas clutched his hand to his face. "N-No... I c-can't...!"

"Oh really? Then search your deepest thoughts, and locate the darkest and most desirable things you want out of 'em!"

And searching, Thomas did... Those dark and desirable thoughts were as followed:  
-Win the duel  
-Free Dark Magician Girl from Crystal Seal  
-Find and rescue Emily

"Dark Magician Girl... Emily..." The blue-haired boy winced hard, trying to resist. Dark Magician Girl became worried for her master/friend. She wished she could break out of her seal and help him. Suddenly, once the thoughts and desires he wanted had become too much for him to try and handle, Thomas screamed in pain as a dark aura took over his body, shrouding him from sight.

"Huh?" Nathaniel looked up in shock.

Thomas (possessed), upon recovering, immediately readied his card. It was an all-too familiar one, too.

"Now I activate... The Field of Dark Graves!" Thomas (possessed) announced at once.

Nathaniel only looked on silently and grimly as Thomas (possessed) slotted the card inside the Field Spell zone on his Duel Disk as it started to spark.

"It is..." mumbled the possessed blue-haired boy, which was also all he could say.

Suddenly, the dark aura around him thickened and much more powerful than ever before, causing him to scream in intense agony while emulating a massive shadow over the whole field. Nathaniel had been shielding himself and looking away from the powerful burst of dark energy. Soon, he recovered and looked on ahead to whoever was standing in the nearby purple smoke.

"So-" The black-haired young man grunted. "-we meet at long last..."

As the smoke began to fade, standing there was what looked almost like Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, no shirt, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. It was 'him'! It was the ' ** _Evil One_** '! It was...

"...Diablon."

The ' _new_ ' Thomas said nothing, but there was a grim look of anger on his face.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"That wasn't your fault!" protested Edward. "You weren't yourself at the time! It was that demon in your heart that caused it!"

"Even then..." Thomas was about to say, but got cut off by a certain devious black-haired boy.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it now has been two turns since my caterpillar has infected your monster." he reminded. "In one more turn, it will evolve into Poison Butterfly, and your fate will be seal but good!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian had now become a cocoon.

"Now make your move!" ordered Diesel.

Thomas reluctantly drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (6): Natural Selection, Berserker Soul, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, and Kuriboh  
 **Parasite Caterpillar** : 1 Turn

* * *

With nothing all that helpful in his hand, Thomas placed his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

"Kuriboh, defense mode!"

The brown, furry, loveable Kuriboh appeared while speaking in his ' _Kuriboh_ ' language (Level: 1/DEF: 200).

"How pathetic!" snorted Diesel, watching as his opponent slotted a card into his Duel Disk. "I was expecting so much more from the so-called Duel King."

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Thomas.

"If that's the best you can do-" The devious black-haired boy taunted, drawing a card. "-then this duel will soon be all mine!" He then gestured to his Insect Queen. "And because Kuriboh is now an insect-type monster, my Insect Queen gains 200 more attack points!"

Insect Queen angrily hissed as she grew even stronger (ATK: 3300 - 3500).

"You can't defeat me, Thomas Billinton!" proclaimed Diesel. "I, Diesel Horwich, am completely invincible! Prepare for your final, and complete, defeat!"

* * *

 **To be Continued!**

* * *

The next chapter is gonna be a heck of a doozy. There is one part of the chapter you will want to read while listening to the music track ' **Fang of Critias** '.


	64. Revenge of the Smelters (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up on the speeding train going to who knows where, the situation wasn't looking so good for Thomas (LP: 1200) and his friends.

"Looks like this train will be stopping at a new location soon enough..." joked Diesel (LP: 3900). "And that place is what I call loserville! Population; you!"

With his turn now beginning, the devious black-haired boy drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Diesel Horwich (LP: 3900)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (2): Armored Centipede and Infestation

* * *

Just then...

"Trap card, open!" announced Thomas, as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Natural Selection!"

Suddenly, a second Insect Queen appeared and began to attack Diesel's Insect Queen.

"What? What's going on?!" gasped Diesel, who suddenly got thrown off his monster. "WAAAAH!"

The real Insect Queen was then destroyed by the fake Insect Queen.

"What did you do to my Insect Queen?!" Diesel demanded, getting back to his feet with a look of shock on his face.

"Natural Selection can only be activated on the opponent's turn... it destroys your Insect Queen and special summons a Selection Token with identical stats to your monster." explained Thomas, before grinning in a cheeky way. "Sorry, Diesel, but your so-called ' _Queen_ ' has been dethroned."

Diesel was not pleased. "Now, you've done it! How dare you destroy my Queen?!"

"Not like it matters." Thomas retorted. "Your best monster has been defeated."

Angrily, Diesel placed a new card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Okay, that's enough playing!" shouted the devious black-haired boy. "Time for my egg to hatch into a brand new monster!"

Suddenly, the Insect Token egg began to hatch. Withing seconds, a huge centipede burst out of it.

"By offering my Insect Token, I summon a new insect to join my ranks... Meet the Armored Centipede!"

The new monster let loose a screech (Level: 5/ATK: 1600 - 2100/DEF: 1600). All of a sudden, Armored Centipede lunged forth and bit both of its pincers into poor Kuriboh, crushing and destroying the weak monster within seconds.

"Now, my Armored Centipede's effect activates." continued Diesel. "Each insect-type monster that Armored Centipede destroys, increases its attack points by 500!" He then pointed forth. "And thanks to the continuous effect of my DNA Surgery, your Kuriboh counted as an insect-type monster!"

The devious black-haired boy gave a cackling laugh as Armored Centipede grew more powerful (ATK: 2100 - 2600). He then took the last card from his hand and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Now, I'll set this and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized on the field (namely behind Armored Centipede). All of a sudden, the copy of Insect Queen weakly shuddered for a moment before shattering into pieces of glass.

"My Selection Token!" cried Thomas. "What's happened to it?!"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten the effects of your own card?" taunted Diesel. "Your token only lasts for one whole turn - MY turn."

Thomas cursed in frustration.

* * *

 **Title: Revenge of the Smelters, Part 3**

* * *

Back in the deserted cars area, the duel between Dennis and Percy was still on...

"Two dragons..." breathed Henry.

"Both are very powerful ones." added Gordon. "But unfortunately, Dennis's dragon is the far stronger one..."

Over in the duel field, Tyrant Dragon (ATK: 3400) and a Metalmorph-equipped Red-Eyes Black Dragon (ATK: 2700) both roared at each other out of pure hatred.

"Your Red-Eyes is done for!" cried Dennis (LP: 2550).

Percy was sweating nervously in response (LP: 1000). Finally, the battle phase began...

"Tyrant Dragon, take down Red-Eyes and make it pay for betraying me!"

Tyrant Dragon obeyed, charging and firing a powerful blast of fire at Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Red-Eyes Black Dragon, still equipped with Metalmorph, fired off a Flash Flare Blast in response to try and fight back against the far stronger dragon, but it did no good. Why? Because Red-Eyes Black Dragon wasn't the one being commanded to attack, the Metalmorph Trap card couldn't be used to boost its strength. As a result, it did nothing to help out.

"Your attack is useless against Tyrant Dragon!" laughed Dennis. "Dragon Flame Blast, now!"

The blast from Tyrant Dragon eventually overwhelmed the empowered Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroying the monster in a huge explosion.

"Red-Eyes!" cried Percy, shielding himself from the blast (LP: 300).

"Oh, don't go thinking Red-Eyes is dead just yet." mocked Dennis, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "I'm far from finished with punishing it... And so, I'll give it back to you with this!"

On cue, the lazy gray-haired boy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Chain of the Underworld!"

A large chain shot into the ground, pulling Red-Eyes Black Dragon back to the surface.

"You've brought Red-Eyes back to me?" blinked Percy. He then frowned in suspicion. "Why?"

"Chain of the Underworld revives your monster and puts it into attack mode." explained Dennis. "However, it also drains 700 of its attack points."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon grew much weaker (ATK: 2400 - 1700).

"But what was the point of it?" demanded Percy once more. "There's gotta be more to it than that!"

"Don't you get it? The point is now Tyrant Dragon's special ability activates!" Dennis went on. "If there's a monster on my opponent's field after attacking during a battle phase, it can attack yet again!"

"What?!"

"If Percy loses his monster again, he'll be defeated!" realized Henry.

"He's done for!" wailed Gordon. "And that means so are we!"

Back in the duel field...

"Tyrant Dragon..." commanded Dennis. "...end this duel!"

Tyrant Dragon unleashed another blast of fire. Just when it looked like it was all over for Percy...

"The duel isn't over yet!" shouted Percy. "I activate my set Trap card!"

"You idiot! Trap cards don't affect Tyrant Dragon!" Dennis barked out.

"Heh! Whoever said I was targeting your monster?" The green-haired boy interrupted. "I'm actually targeting your turn... I activate Celebration of Creation!"

The mentioned Trap card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"When a monster has been special summoned by the effect of a Spell or Trap card-" explained Percy. "-it automatically becomes the end phase!"

Tyrant Dragon immediately stopped its attack before it was charged up.

"No fair, no fair, no fair!" whined Dennis, beating on the back of his monster in a tantrum. "I was so close to winning here and now..."

"Also-" continued Percy, drawing a card. "-there's also the other effect of your Chains of the Underworld... It makes me draw one card from my deck."

"Whatever! You won't be so lucky come my next turn... So, go ahead, and make your final move."

With the audience...

"Percy's got one last chance to turn this duel around." Henry said worriedly.

"And with a weakened Red-Eyes Black Dragon, he had better make it count." agreed Gordon.

Back in the duel field, Percy reached for his deck and finally drew a card, performing a Destiny Draw in the process.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Percy Avonside (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (2): Pot of Greed and Gearfried the Iron Knight

* * *

His drawn card was, to his relief, the Gearfried the Iron Knight monster card.

"This is where the duel ends, Dennis." Percy grinned, holding out his drawn card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

On cue, the all-familiar iron warrior appeared and readied himself for combat (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"What?! Why summon him?" gawked Dennis. "He has far less attack points than my Tyrant Dragon!"

Percy then slotted his next card into the Duel Disk. "You'll find out... once I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards from my deck."

The green-haired boy powerfully drew his two cards, looked at them, and then looked back towards Dennis.

"Time to teach you a thing or two, Dennis." he said, and started to tell a story. "Every card in Duel Monsters has a story behind it, and this one happens to be one of my favorite tales."

"What are you, Mother Goose?" snarked Dennis.

"Long ago-" began Percy, ignoring his rival as images of a warrior from long ago were shown. "-there was a warrior who's power was so great, that merely holding a weapon resulted in the wide-scale devastation of the entire battlefield. Fearful of his own might, he sealed himself in a suit of iron armor to limit his power."

Gearfried the Iron Knight once against posed for battle.

"He became known as Gearfried the Iron Knight." The green-haired boy continued, just before slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "And now, it's time for this legendary warrior to be reborn!"

A Spell card called Release Restraint flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Release Restraint! Now, Gearfried, show everyone your true form!"

Gearfried the Iron Knight's armor began to crack.

"What's happening to your monster?!" exclaimed Dennis, becoming worried.

"He's coming out of his shell, that's what." Percy pointed out, grinning broadly.

In a burst of light, Gearfried the Iron Knight's armor shattered completely, and the silhouette of a brand new monster appeared.

"Say hello to his true form - Gearfried the Swordmaster!"

The new monster was shown to be a muscular, human male with wavy, black hair, who was also wearing warrior's clothing (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2200).

"2600 attack points? That's it?!" scoffed Dennis, recovering from being worried. "My Tyrant Dragon has 3400 attack points. You can't win with THAT weak monster you've worked so hard to summon!"

Percy responded by holding out his final card and smirking in triumph. Dennis immediately recoiled upon seeing what the card was...

"That, on the other hand, will help you..."

What was the card? We'll find out soon enough...

(elsewhere...)

Back on the speeding train, it was starting to gain more speed. This alarmed Spencer, who knew much about this kind of train...

"If this train doesn't slow down soon-" he thought to himself. "-it's going to derail and kill us all!" The silver-haired boy soon called out to Thomas. "Billinton, you have to hurry and win!"

Thomas looked back at his friend/rival, but didn't say a word.

"If we don't get off this train soon before it picks up too much speed, it'll derail!"

That statement alarmed everyone atop the speeding train! ...well, maybe except for Diesel.

"Take your turn, Thomas." he demanded. "The sooner you get through with it, the sooner I can defeat you!"

Thomas scowled at the devious black-haired boy's harsh words. Without saying anything, the blue-haired boy finally drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (3): Berkserker Soul, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, and Buster Blader  
 **Parasite Caterpillar** : Now!

* * *

Just then...

"The time has finally come!" cackled Diesel. "Three turns have now passed since Parasite Caterpillar's effect activated, and that means one thing... Poison Butterfly, arise!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was destroyed as the cocoon hatched. Once more, Poison Butterfly was summoned to Thomas's side of the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2700/DEF: 1800).

"And thanks to Insect Barrier-" The devious black-haired boy continued. "-you cannot even attack with it!"

Thomas merely looked to his drawn card. Sadly, it was shown to be the Buster Blader monster card...

"Even if I were able to summon Buster Blader-" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "-DNA Surgery would make him an insect, too." With a sigh, he spoke aloud. "I pass this turn."

"Music to my ears!" teased Diesel, drawing a card. "Oh, Poison Butterfly...? Will you drain 500 life points from Thomas, please?"

A mist of poison was sprayed from Poison Butterfly's wings as it made Thomas wince and cough, much to Diesel's dark amusement.

"500 life points have been depleted from you!"

The blue-haired boy took damage (LP: 700). Back on the other end of the train...

"If Thomas can't win against Diesel, then it'll be all over." Rosie said to the rest of the gang. "Not only for him, but for all of us."

"He has to pull through!" cried Stanley. "But is there even a way for Thomas to fight back?"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Diesel Horwich (LP: 3900)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (1): Return of the Bug Queen(!)

* * *

A facedown card materialized beside the other one.

"I'll end my turn with one more facedown card." said Diesel. He then grinned to himself. "I will win, Thomas!"

The card he had set the turn before was a Trap card known as Infestation. Basically, it would go and drain 100 attack points from every monster on the field and then subtract the total amount from both players' life points. And, to make matters even worse, the other facedown card Diesel had set was also a Trap card called Return of the Bug Queen. Even if Thomas did manage to find a way to destroy Poison Butterfly, then Diesel could simply use the Trap card to revive his fallen Insect Queen and inflict direct damage to Thomas equal to her base attack points.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the deserted cars area...

"That's right, Dennis-" smirked Percy, still holding his card out. "This bad boy is going to be the end of you!"

Dennis scowled. "I can't believe you have a card that rare and powerful in your deck, Percy!"

Over with Gordon and Henry...

"Umm... is anyone gonna tell us what this is all about?" questioned Gordon.

"Or are we gonna be kept in suspense?" added Henry.

Back in the duel field, Percy responsed by slotting the card into his Duel Disk. On cue, a Spell card called Ultimate Fusion(!) materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Ultimate Fusion!" announced Percy. "Here's how it works... I must control at least one appropriate fusion material monster on my side of the field, like Red-Eyes here. From there, I must send both the fusion material monster and Ultimate Fusion card to the graveyard. From there, I can special summon one fusion monster that uses that material monster from the extra deck while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

"And other cards and effects cannot negate something like this..." muttered Dennis bitterly, guessing what else the card did.

"That's right! So now, the monster I shall use for the fusion will be my trusty Red-Eyes..."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon roared as it began to combine with the face-up Ultimate Fusion Spell card. Once the fusion ended, in Red-Eyes Black Dragon's place...was a black sword.

"I give you the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword!"

The blade then came into Gearfried the Swordmaster's possession.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword?" whispered Dennis. "I've never seen such a weapon before!"

"This new weapon acts like an Equip Spell card, raising Gearfried the Swordmaster's attack power by 1000 points, plus an additional 500 points for every dragon-type monster on the field." explained Percy.

The new weapon made Gearfried the Swordmaster grow even more powerful (ATK: 2600 - 4100), much to Dennis's shock.

"N-No!" The lazy gray-haired boy wailed in a panic. "My monster's now weaker than yours!"

"Not that will matter..." cut in the voice of Percy, making Dennis wince even moreso. The green-haired boy had another thing to say about his new monster... "When Gearfried the Swordmaster gets equipped with an Equip Spell card or monster, his effect will activate and destroy every monster you possess on the field!"

"AUGH, NO!"

Gearfried the Swordmaster raised his weapon and, with a mighty cry, sent forth a very powerful shockwave that sliced Tyrant Dragon in half and destroying it.

"My dragon!" cried Dennis, falling to the ground. "It's been destroyed!"

"And I still have yet to declare an attack, too." reminded Percy.

Knowing that the green-haired boy was right, Dennis began panicking very hard around here.

"Wait, Percy, don't do it, please!"

Dennis had every right to panic like this. As the monsters in this world were real, so was the damage that they caused. If the lazy gray-haired boy were to be struck by the sheer force of both Gearfried the Swordmaster and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, it would be possible he would not survive. Percy didn't want to even attack, but he had no other choice...

"Sorry, Dennis, but this is something I have to do." The green-haired boy said with heavy regret. "Gearfried... Dark Mega Slash, now!"

Gearfried the Swordmaster reluctantly obeyed, charging forth and slashing Dennis with his blade.

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!" Dennis screamed in agony (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Percy Avonside wins!**

* * *

A massive light show ensured, which caused Percy, Henry, and Gordon to each cover their eyes. When the light faded away, the holograms were gone—and so was Dennis.

"Dennis..." whispered Percy with a teardrop falling in his eye. He could not believe that he had just murdered someone (namely a human being). "Forgive me..."

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the speeding train, it was now Thomas's turn.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (4): Berkserker Soul, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, Buster Blader, and Breaker the Magical Warrior

* * *

"Just give it up!" sighed Diesel. "We all know you're gonna lose soon enough."

"I'll never give up until I save Emily with my own hands!" He placed his drawn card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "For my turn, I'll summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a spellcaster-like monster dressed in red and yellow trimmed armor, wielding a green sword and a shield (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000).

"When normal summoned, he automatically receives a Spell Counter." explained Thomas. "This will increase his overall attack points by 300!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior grew stronger (ATK: 1600 - 1900). From there...

"Stop right there, Thomas... I play a Trap card!" Diesel suddenly announced, as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Infestation!" He then frowned. "Here's how it works... All of the monsters on the field are drained of 100 attack points."

Breaker the Magical Warrior (ATK: 1900 - 1800), Poison Butterfly (ATK: 2700 - 2600), and Armored Centipede (ATK: 2600 - 2500) each grew weaker.

"Then the attack points lost are added up and taken out of our life points!" added Diesel (LP: 3800). "I've lost 100 life points, but you will lose 200 life points!"

Thomas was left looking very concerned (LP: 500).

"Thomas only has 500 life points left!" said Molly, looking shocked. "If he can't find a way to win before the end phase, he'll lose."

Back in the duel field, Diesel was busy laughing and gloating...

"Just end your turn, now..." The devious black-haired boy pressured. "There isn't anything you can do to beat me!"

"This duel is not over yet!" snapped Thomas.

Diesel chuckled deviously. "It might as well be. Poison Butterfly will drain the last of your life points the moment you end your turn."

Thomas was about to retort in response... had the devious black-haired boy actually stopped there.

"However, since you look SO pitiful at the moment, I would like to share a secret with you."

"Secret?" The blue-haired boy blinked. "What kind of secret are you talking about?"

"From what I've heard, Emily has been kidnapped, correct?" asked Diesel, smirking. "Well, in addition to that, her soul had also been sealed inside a card."

Over with James, Spencer, and everyone else...

"Her soul was trapped in a card?" Spencer thought to himself. "But how could that have happened?"

Back over with Thomas...

"Where is it?!" The blue-haired boy shouted angrily. "Tell me!"

"Don't get anxious, now!" scolded Diesel deviously. "Calm down, why don't you!"

"Please, Diesel!" Thomas begged pathetically. "You have to tell me where the card is! I beg of you...!"

The devious black-haired boy snickered. "As you wish, Thomas..."

With that said, Diesel took a card out of his pocket. Unknowingly to anyone else, it was just a useless monster card.

"If you must know-" remarked Diesel, holding the card up (without showing the artwork). "-I have the ' _soul card_ ' right here."

"You have it?" gasped Rosie.

"Then please... you MUST give it to me!" demanded Thomas almost pleadingly.

"You know what?" Diesel shrugged innocently. "Since I pity you so much, right now... Sure, why not?"

Thomas began to walk over to get it. Unfortunately...

"On the other hand-" continued Diesel, taking the card in both hands. "-forget about it! Why should I, anyway? We ARE in the middle of a duel, after all! Let's just get on with the match!"

With that said, he ripped the card up in front of everyone - especially Thomas. Thomas, with hardly a whisper, could only watch on in pure horror at the wicked deed. His blue eyes were filled with dull emptiness. Finally, realizing that Emily was truly gone forever, the poor blue-haired boy could only grip both hands to the sides of his head and let out a massive scream of despair and sadness. Diesel could only laugh at how silly his opponent looked, right now. Everyone else on the other end of the speeding train was absolutely devastated.

"How could you...?" whispered Mavis, who had burst into tears over what her former boyfriend had just done.

Thomas, upon recovering, gazed at Diesel hatefully as nothing but cold fury swept through his body.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!"

"Fooled you!" cackled Diesel, revealing what the card really was. "It was just a common card of mine. Emily's so-called soul was never sealed inside any card. I don't even know where she is! I only said that junk to play around with you. The look on your face when I tore up that card was absolutely priceless!"

No one, and I mean **NO ONE** , from the group was happy with what they've heard, at all.

"You stupid rat!" insulted Edward angrily (a rather rare moment for him).

"That's not funny!" shouted Rosie in tearful anger.

"How much lower can you even go?!" growled Toby.

Even Spencer was deeply disgusted by that action. "Not even I would sink as low as that!"

"Man, you guys have no sense of humor." sighed Diesel, tossing the remains of the card aside. "It was just a joke! A joke!"

He then started to laugh at Thomas yet again. Unknowingly to him, however, Diesel had made an extremely FATAL mistake on his part by playing such a cruel joke on his already emotionally unstable opponent, and now he was going to pay the price for doing it, **BIG TIME**! Soon enough, Thomas, feeling his inner darkness ROARING with great wrath and fury, silently returned over to his side of the field. Upon turning back around, however, something very alarming began to happen... Diesel's lone Armored Centipede actually began to tremble with fear and even slowly retreated backwards like it didn't want to face the opponent anymore! Never had it felt such a violent and dangerous force like that before, and the waves of unadulterated anger lashed out against it... Diesel Horwich wasn't laughing anymore when he witnessed his own monster squeaking and looking positively terrified at what was ahead...

"H-Hey, what's happening?"

The rest of the gang shared the same question when they saw Armored Centipede shaking like a leaf.

"W-Why's Diesel's monster doing that...?" asked James nervously.

"Armored Centipede...is afraid?" came from Maiden of the Aqua, sensing the terror with Armored Centipede as it kept trembling hard.

From there, on Thomas's side of the field...

"Unforgivable..." A snarl escaped from Thomas's mouth, knowing that Diesel had gone much TOO FAR this time. As the blue-haired boy stood motionlessly on his side of the field, a powerful explosion of dark energy deep within his heart had been unleashed. He felt no pain and didn't even scream from the dark aura slowly beginning to form and burn all around him - only saying this line as calmly as possible... "Wash your neck and wait, Diesel..."

Diesel glanced at his opponent with a freaked out expression on his face. Everyone else on the other side of the train, even Spencer, gasped at what the blue-haired boy had just said. Thomas had never gone and said something so dark and threatening like that to anyone, not even towards a bad guy, before. But the moment they heard the amount of growing anger, venom, and darkness in his tone of voice, the group instantly knew something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately, it was about to get a whole lot worse from here...

"You think you're acting like a mighty animal..." Thomas's voice had become mixed with his own along with that of Diablon's voice. At last, he finally opened his eyes and revealed the ferocious, crimson red, eyes of Diablon, combined with the bloody scar across his face made for one of the most terrifying images one could ever hope to imagine. "...BUT INSECTS ARE INSECTS!"

The dark aura had begun to thicken around the beyond livid Thomas, as the ' ** _Evil One_** ' once again managed to take control of his body. However... the blue-haired boy had no desire to resist Diablon's dark influence this time around - not even putting up any kind of resistance to Diablon's power. Hell no... Thomas was completely ' _ **EMBRACING**_ ' his rage, darkness, and hatred. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, plays around with his emotions and feelings regarding Emily and lives to tell the tale! Not only would Thomas go and win the duel, he would ' _ **KILL**_ ' Diesel for playing such a cruel joke on him like that. Just then, to the rest of the group's horror, the dark aura was beginning to create a silhouette of Diablon himself above Thomas.

"Thomas...!" gasped Maiden of the Aqua.

"Diablon!" added Stanley. "He's taken control of Thomas again!"

"Only Diesel's brought it upon himself!" came from Edward, before sending the devious black-haired boy a silent prayer.

"Sucks to be him, right now!" finished James, referring to just how much Diesel was about to pay for his misdeeds.

Back over at the duel in the middle of the speeding train, Diesel tried to put up a brave facade...

"D-Don't be ridiculous... T-There isn't anything you can do to break my combo!"

"YES, THERE IS!" roared Thomas (possessed). "I activate Breaker's special ability! All I have to do is just remove the Spell Counter from my mons-"

"I know what it does, Thomas!" interrupted Diesel. "By removing the Spell Counter from Breaker the Magical Warrior, you can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field... Uh-oh!"

"Correct! Once I destroy Insect Barrier, nothing will stop my monsters from being able to attack once more!"

Diesel had a look of worry on his face, watching as Thomas (possessed) began to make his big counterattack.

"Go forth, Breaker! Rid the buggy bastard of his Insect Barrier!" commanded the possessed blue-haired boy. "MANA BREAK!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior's sword glowed. With a powerful slash, he sent a sword beam out that struck and destroyed Diesel's face-up Insect Barrier Spell card.

"Nooooo! My Insect Barrier!" screamed Diesel in horror.

"As a result of using up the Spell Counter Breaker was equipped with upon being first summoned for the activation of the effect of ridding a Spell or Trap card on the field-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-Breaker will lose the power bonus it was granted! ...thus resulting in a drop of 300 attack points."

Breaker the Magical Warrior's attack went down some more (ATK: 1800 - 1500). The look on the possessed blue-haired boy's face grew more and more cold, dark, and evil-looking.

"And now... I can attack with the Poison Butterfly you willingly gave me!"

Diesel screamed like a little girl! ...which would have been rather funny to see had this not been such a serious situation.

"This is the end of you, Diesel Horwich!" declared Thomas (possessed), gazing at his enemy with nothing but pure malice. "Finally, after all those horrible years of trouble you've put us through, you're finally going to get what you rightfully deserve... Prepared to be executed for your crimes!" He finally entered the battle phase... "Poison Butterfly, destroy Armored Centipede!"

Poison Butterfly obeyed, spraying its poison, which covered and destroyed Diesel's only monster. Diesel winced slightly as he took some damage (LP: 3700).

"This isn't the end, you buggy bastard!" thundered Thomas (possessed) further. "Breaker, go and attack Diesel Horwich directly!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior obeyed, slashing at Diesel with his sword, causing him to yell in pain (LP: 2200). Regardless, the devious black-haired boy only grinned big upon recovering, mainly because he thought it was the end phase, now...

"Nice try!" said Diesel smugly. "You said you'd beat me, but you didn't back your words up. You've attacked, but I still have 2200 life points left—and you have no more monsters to attack me with! The moment you end your turn, Poison Butterfly will go and drain the rest of your life points..." He leaped up and clipped his heels together happily. "I win!"

"Don't misunderstand me." replied Thomas (possessed) harshly.

"Huh?"

"My turn still isn't finished." continued the possessed blue-haired boy. "And it won't be until I've defeated you!"

Diesel looked worried. "W-What do you mean by that?" he stammered. "Since you've attacked, you should be at your end phase! T-There shouldn't be anything more you can do for this turn!"

"I activate a Quick-Play Spell card!" shouted Thomas (possessed), taking a card from his hand and holding it up. "Berserker Soul!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card suddenly flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"What?! Berserker Soul?" gasped Diesel.

"Berserker Soul?" Molly quizzed. "What does that card do?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." shrugged James.

Back on the other end of the speeding train, Thomas (possessed) had begun to explain his card's effect.

"I can only activate this card whenever I control a monster with 1500 attack or less, and it has just attacked you directly." The possessed blue-haired boy explained, just as he discarded the last cards in his hand to the graveyard. "Once that's happened, I have to discard my entire hand and draw a new card. If that drawn card is a monster card I must discard it immediately, and my monster can then go and attack you once again. From there, I must draw another card, and if it's a monster as well, then the cycle will continue until I've drawn a Spell or Trap card."

"A monster with 1500 attack points?" Diesel repeated, just before realizing something about Thomas's previous actions. "Huh..."

Breaker the Magical Warrior had the following stats (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1400).

"That time..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Breaker the Magical Warrior's sword glowed. With a powerful slash, he sent a sword beam out that struck and destroyed Diesel's face-up Insect Barrier Spell card.

"Nooooo! My Insect Barrier!" screamed Diesel in horror.

"As a result of using up the Spell Counter Breaker was equipped with upon being first summoned for the activation of the effect of ridding a Spell or Trap card on the field-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-Breaker will lose the power bonus it was granted! ...thus resulting in a drop of 300 attack points."

Breaker the Magical Warrior's attack went down some more (ATK: 1800 - 1500).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"He wanted to make his monster weaker!" Diesel thought to himself. "That Thomas had planned ahead so much..."

"And now, I draw my first card!" Thomas (possessed) immediately drew his card and held it up. "It's a monster card! I send Queen's Knight to the graveyard!"

It was true; the card in question was the familiar blonde-haired female Poker Knight. Diesel took a step back out of both reflex and fright.

"This is for spreading lies about Duck!" roared Thomas (possessed), discarding his monster card to the graveyard. "Breaker, strike Diesel down again!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior obeyed and charged forth, slashing Diesel with his sword and making the devious black-haired boy yell in pain (LP: 700).

"Hey, that was my favorite shirt!" protested Diesel, upon recovering from the second direct attack. Suddenly, he remembered something very important... "In this world, the monsters are real. That means the damage they cause is very real, too!" The devious black-haired boy gasped in horror at another realization he had thought of... "If Thomas keeps attacking me like this, he could actually KILL ME!"

"My second card!" Thomas (possessed) drew again, before seeing it was...the Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts monster card. "It's a monster card!"

The look on Diesel's face would have been priceless! ...again, if this wasn't such a serious situation and Thomas wasn't possessed by Diablon, right now.

"This is for hurting Mavis!" thundered Thomas (possessed). "Direct attack again!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior obeyed the command again, charging forth and slashing Diesel again, causing him to scream in pain (LP: 0). But, rather than settle down from winning the match, Thomas (possessed) didn't even stop there.

"My third card!" he announced, whilst drawing again. This time, it was the Big Shield Gardna monster card. "It's another monster card!"

" **WHAT**?!" screamed everyone in the audience.

Thomas had won the duel, but wasn't stopping with his barrage of attacks?! Diesel was now terrified beyond words. Thomas may have won the duel... but he wasn't gonna stop attacking until his opponent was dead!

"And this..." Thomas (possessed) quietly said, before sending his drawn card to the graveyard while raising his voice in further fury. "THIS IS FOR PISSING ME OFF!"

On cue, Breaker the Magical Warrior went and slashed Diesel again, making him cry out in agony.

"I draw..." Thomas (possessed) began, drawing and holding a card up (Gamma The Magnet Warrior). "...a monster card!"

Diesel was attacked again, yelling. And, as before, Thomas (possessed) didn't stop his revenge there...

"I draw..." The possessed blue-haired boy bellowed out again, drawing the Alpha The Magnet Warrior monster card. "...a monster card!"

This just wasn't Diesel's lucky day, as he got attacked by Breaker the Magical Warrior once again.

"I draw...a monster card!" Thomas drew another card, just as Breaker the Magical Warrior attacked again. He then drew yet another card. "I draw...a monster card!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior, fueled by his possessed master's vengeful wishes, continued to sword slash Diesel again and again with every monster card sent to the graveyard. This was also because Thomas, blinded by his rage, hatred, and possessed by Diablon's influence (thanks to that cruel joke regarding Emily), wouldn't stop drawing monster cards from his deck. And, seeing as the damage Diesel was taking was real, if Thomas (possessed) kept drawing cards and attacking like this, then Diesel could potentially die! ...not that Thomas really cared, right now...

"He's going to kill him!" cried Stanley.

"Billinton... So, ' _this_ ' is your inner darkness I've been told about..." thought Spencer with bloodshot eyes. He was looking positively shocked at the scene.

"Serves Diesel right if you ask me." snorted James uncaringly. "Look at all the trouble he's caused us."

"How dare you, James?!" screamed an angry Molly, sounding and looking absolutely disgusted by James' statement of the situation. "Diesel may be a bully, but even he doesn't deserve to die at the hands of one of us!"

"But, he tried to kill Mavis!" protested James, thinking back to the San Francisco tournament. "Not only that, but he's put us through nothing but trouble for years since he moved to the Island of Sodor! I seriously believe Diesel DESERVES his fate!"

That comment caused the usually calm and shy black-haired girl to slap her red-haired boyfriend across the face.

"What'd you do that for?" asked James hurtfully, reeling back and holding onto his hurting cheek. "I was only pointing out a fact."

"James, Diesel is still a human being!" snapped Toby, agreeing with Molly on her statement. "Even though he's done a ton of rotten things to us in the past..."

"...even he doesn't deserve something like this!" finished Stanley.

James realized that his friends were right. Back on the large graveyard-like circle on the other end of the train, Diesel had finally collapsed onto the ground just as Thomas (possessed), with the dark aura still surrounding him and growing more and more stronger than ever from his rage, furiously drew his eighth card.

"I draw..." He looked to his drawn card for a quick moment before starting to discard it. "...a monster-!"

"NO, THOMAS!" screamed a crying Rosie, running towards her friend. "PLEASE STOP!"

She grabbed a hold of Thomas's arm, stopping him from discarding his card.

"Let go of me, Rosie!" snapped Thomas (possessed).

"You've already won the match..." pleaded Rosie, weeping softly. "There's no reason to keep attacking Diesel any longer... Let your anger and bloodlust go and come back to us! PLEASE!"

The possessed blue-haired boy merely shrugged the pink-haired girl off of him and looked to his drawn card before starting to discard it, but then suddenly gasped at what the card was. Seeing the card had caused all of his vengfulness to begin leaving him. What card was it? Well...

"Wha...?"

The card in question was the Dark Magician Girl monster card.

"You're right." said Thomas quietly, finally calming down and feeling the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' influence finally leaving him. "And I have a promise to keep."

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

After the holograms finally faded away, Thomas then walked over to where Diesel laid and picked him up by his shirt collar.

"Alright, Diesel, out with it! How did you and Dennis both get into this world? Where is Emily? Tell me, quickly!"

Even while being shaken by an already desperate Thomas, Diesel wouldn't response back; his eyes were closed and he was...

"Snap out of it!" shouted Thomas, growing more and more desperate per second. "Tell me everything I need to know, now!"

"He can't answer you, Thomas..." Rosie whispered, just as more tears fell down her face. "You... you've killed him..."

That didn't help Thomas one bit, who only became further enraged and lifted Diesel up with great strength and fury burning in his blood.

"DIESEL!" The blue-haired boy roared in pure anger. "Tell me where Emily is! TELL ME, NOW!"

"He's already dead!" cried Toby.

Before Thomas could say or do anything more, Diesel turned to light and vanished. Diesel Horwich...really was dead. Just then, the train started to swerve, and that meant one thing was about to happen...

"We're going too fast now!" exclaimed Spencer, struggling to remain standing. "We're about to derail!"

And derail the train did... sending everything off the tracks and off a side of a cliff.

"Mommy!" squealed James, as he and his friends fell to their doom.

Thinking fast, however, Spencer drew three cards from the top of his deck and held them out.

"Come forth, my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

Within seconds, the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared with a roar. Much of the gang safely landed on each of the legendary dragon's backs.

"That was some quick thinking, Spencer!" called Edward.

Spencer didn't say a word as the dragons started making their way back to the train tracks; he was only glaring at Thomas, who was riding on the same Blue-Eyes White Dragon he (Spencer) was, before finally speaking severely to him (Thomas)...

"Why the hell did you do it, Billinton...?"

Thomas looked back to the silver-haired boy. "What are you talking about, Spencer?" he quizzed.

"What were you thinking, Thomas Billinton?!" shouted Spencer in anger. "Why did you kill Diesel?! Yes, I know that what he did to you was beyond despicable, but he's still a human being... He did NOT deserve to die like that!"

Thomas turned his back on his friend/rival, but didn't say anything back at first.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me why you killed him?!"

"I... I don't regret doing it." Thomas finally said, sounding very quiet.

Spencer's eyes widened. "What did you say...?"

"Diesel's been nothing but trouble towards me and my friends for years, but this time he had gone too far." explained Thomas, not losing his (although it was now softened a bit) angry look. "He joined the Court of Darkness just for the sake of revenge against me, and even took full advantage of my feelings for Emily... Diesel used them to deliberately make me angry and cause Diablon to take control of me once more." He narrowed his eyes further. "I don't care about that though... Diesel Horwich got what he deserved at the hands of ' _us_ '!"

Spencer, having heard what his rival had said, remained silent for the whole trip back to safety. While Percy had expressed great grief and remorse in killing Dennis, Thomas...showed no guilt or anything for killing Diesel. Soon enough, however, there will be a very big unveiling about Diablon for our heroes to discover...


	65. Once in a Blue Moon

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for an implied, although not very explicit, sex scene between a male and female character respectively. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up along the train tracks somewhere in the middle of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Percy, Gordon, and Henry were each riding on the back of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. After being separated from the rest of their friends earlier on, the three teenagers now had to try and catch up as soon as possible.

"Our friends are probably miles ahead of us by now." moaned Henry.

"No thanks to Dennis." growled Gordon. "Why did he have to do something so stupid like joining the Court of Darkness?"

"He was blinded by his selfish desires." said Percy. "He was consumed by his dark heart..."

"Percy?" questioned Henry, raising an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that Dennis was manipulated by darkness into doing this. He allowed his most dark and selfish desires to consume him... Dennis didn't deserve his final fate at these hands of mine."

Gordon was surprised. "Wow... Those are strong words coming from you, little Percy."

"Thank you." replied Percy. He then looked up ahead... "I'll never forgive the Court of Darkness for what they've done..."

You know what, Percy? Neither will I...

(elsewhere...)

Back where the train had derailed, Thomas and the others were back to safety once more. James was so happy about it that he even started kissing the ground!

"Land!" he cried happily. "Sweet, sweet land!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons then faded away in blue streaks as Spencer returned them into the cards. Thomas, meanwhile, was silent... At least until someone spoke up to him...

"Are you alright, Thomas?" It was from Maiden of the Aqua. "Will you-?"

"What was the matter with you back there, Thomas?" cut in Edward. "Why did you allow Diablon to possess you like that?"

"It was Diesel's own fault." answered Thomas coldly. "He tricked me into thinking I had lost Emily forever... That buggy bastard used my feelings for her against me!"

Edward was aghast. "But, Thomas-!"

"Even then, I didn't care about falling under the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' influence again. This time, I WANTED to become possessed by him!"

"You claimed the life of someone!" argued Mavis, sounding very upset. "While I do agree with you over what Diesel did, even he didn't deserve what you did to him!"

"What makes it worse, is that you don't even feel bad for murdering someone!" added Stanley.

Thomas started to lose it. "I don't care! Diesel had gone too far by joining the Court of Darkness, attempting to capture me, and then tricking me into thinking Emily's soul was sealed inside a card and tearing it up! To be frank, he deserved his fate at my, ' _our_ ', hands!"

"Did you say...?" demanded Edward, becoming VERY aghast with what his younger friend was saying.

"Yes... ' _Our_ ' hands!" confirmed Thomas.

Before anyone else could object, they heard a screech in the sky... Everyone looked and saw a familiar dragon coming towards them.

"It's Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" cried Rosie, knowing the sound of the familiar monster.

Yup, the appearance of Red-Eyes Black Dragon could mean one thing..

"It's Percy!" came from Toby.

"Along with Henry and Gordon!" added James.

And indeed it was.

* * *

 **Title: Once in a Blue Moon**

* * *

Once Red-Eyes Black Dragon had landed, the three teenage boys jumped off.

"Thanks for the lift." complimented Percy.

Before fading away in a blue streak, the dragon gave a roar of approval.

"We're so glad you three are safe." said Toby in relief.

"So are we." agreed Henry. He then saw that everyone was looking upset. "W-What's going on?"

"Thomas killed Diesel!" answered Stanley. "And he doesn't even feel bad for it..."

"Wait, what?" blinked Gordon. "Could you rewind a bit?"

The friends filled the trio in on what had happened on the train.

"And that's what happened." finished Spencer. "Billinton allowed that demon to possess him without putting up a fight."

"And then Thomas used Berserker Soul to repeatedly draw monster cards to perform an overkill so brutal that it ended up killing his opponent." finished Maiden of the Aqua. "We all couldn't believe what we saw Thomas do."

"How could you do something like that, Thomas?!" asked Percy in shock and anger. "How could you just murder a human being and not feel any remorse for it?"

Thomas merely glared before looking away.

"Well? Are you going to explain why you did it?!"

"Diesel has been nothing but trouble to us for years." said Thomas calmly-but coldly. "But the worst thing he did was trick me into thinking I had lost Emily forever. He took advantage of my feelings for her! Diesel Horwich got what he deserved! The world would be a much happier place if that slime never-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Suddenly, Percy grabbed Thomas's arm, turn him around, and punched him in the face so hard, it sent the blue-haired boy spinning to the ground and crashing into a tree.

"Percy?!" gasped Molly. She never saw the green-haired boy get violent with his best friend before.

Thomas was so stunned by Percy's actions, that he just looked back up at his friend rather silently.

"Look, Thomas-" Percy pointed out as calmly as possible. "-it's true that what Diesel did to you was inexcusable, but he was still a human being! Not even HE deserved that fate! You're not the only one to kill a fellow human today; I killed Dennis during our duel. But unlike you, I didn't want to do it... and I even felt great remorse for what I had done!"

"Percy..." whispered Thomas.

"I could have given Dennis the chance to surrender and save himself." continued Percy. "But even if I had, knowing how stubborn Dennis can be a times, he would most likely decline the offer. But it wasn't his fault. Nor was it Diesel's. They were manipulated by darkness into doing this. They allowed their most dark and selfish desires to consume them, just like YOU did during your duel with Nathaniel."

At that point, Thomas began to think about his previous actions... in form of a flashback.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Diesel had played that cruel joke on his opponent, and everyone in the audience was disgusted about it.

"Man, you guys have no sense of humor." sighed Diesel, tossing the remains of the card aside. "It was just a joke! A joke!"

He then started to laugh at Thomas yet again. Unknowingly to him, however, Diesel had made an extremely FATAL mistake on his part by playing such a cruel joke on his already emotionally unstable opponent, and now he was going to pay the price for doing it, **BIG TIME**! Soon enough, Thomas, feeling his inner darkness ROARING with great wrath and fury, silently returned over to his side of the field. Upon turning back around, however, something very alarming began to happen... Diesel's lone Armored Centipede actually began to tremble with fear and even slowly retreated backwards like it didn't want to face the opponent anymore! Never had it felt such a violent and dangerous force like that before, and the waves of unadulterated anger lashed out against it... Diesel Horwich wasn't laughing anymore when he witnessed his own monster squeaking and looking positively terrified at what was ahead...

"H-Hey, what's happening?"

The rest of the gang shared the same question when they saw Armored Centipede shaking like a leaf.

"W-Why's Diesel's monster doing that...?" asked James nervously.

"Armored Centipede...is afraid?" came from Maiden of the Aqua, sensing the terror with Armored Centipede as it kept trembling hard.

From there, on Thomas's side of the field...

"Unforgivable..." A snarl escaped from Thomas's mouth, knowing that Diesel had gone much TOO FAR this time. As the blue-haired boy stood motionlessly on his side of the field, a powerful explosion of dark energy deep within his heart had been unleashed. He felt no pain and didn't even scream from the dark aura slowly beginning to form and burn all around him - only saying this line as calmly as possible... "Wash your neck and wait, Diesel..."

Diesel glanced at his opponent with a freaked out expression on his face. Everyone else on the other side of the train, even Spencer, gasped at what the blue-haired boy had just said. Thomas had never gone and said something so dark and threatening like that to anyone, not even towards a bad guy, before. But the moment they heard the amount of growing anger, venom, and darkness in his tone of voice, the group instantly knew something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately, it was about to get a whole lot worse from here...

"You think you're acting like a mighty animal..." Thomas's voice had become mixed with his own along with that of Diablon's voice. At last, he finally opened his eyes and revealed the ferocious, crimson red, eyes of Diablon, combined with the bloody scar across his face made for one of the most terrifying images one could ever hope to imagine. "...BUT INSECTS ARE INSECTS!"

The dark aura had begun to thicken around the beyond livid Thomas, as the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' once again managed to take control of his body. However... the blue-haired boy had no desire to resist Diablon's dark influence this time around - not even putting up any kind of resistance to Diablon's power. Hell no... Thomas was completely ' ** _EMBRACING_** ' his rage, darkness, and hatred. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, plays around with his emotions and feelings regarding Emily and lives to tell the tale! Not only would Thomas go and win the duel, he would ' ** _KILL_** ' Diesel for playing such a cruel joke on him like that. Just then, to the rest of the group's horror, the dark aura was beginning to create a silhouette of Diablon himself above Thomas.

"I activate a Quick-Play Spell card!" shouted Thomas (possessed), taking a card from his hand and holding it up. "Berserker Soul!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card suddenly flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"What?! Berserker Soul?" gasped Diesel.

"Berserker Soul?" Molly quizzed. "What does that card do?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." shrugged James.

Back on the other end of the speeding train, Thomas (possessed) had begun to explain his card's effect.

"I can only activate this card whenever I control a monster with 1500 attack or less, and it has just attacked you directly." The possessed blue-haired boy explained, just as he discarded the last cards in his hand to the graveyard. "Once that's happened, I have to discard my entire hand and draw a new card. If that drawn card is a monster card I must discard it immediately, and my monster can then go and attack you once again. From there, I must draw another card, and if it's a monster as well, then the cycle will continue until I've drawn a Spell or Trap card."

"A monster with 1500 attack points?" Diesel repeated, just before realizing something about Thomas's previous actions. "Huh..."

Breaker the Magical Warrior had the following stats (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1400).

"And now, I draw my first card!" Thomas (possessed) immediately drew his card and held it up. "It's a monster card! I send Queen's Knight to the graveyard!"

It was true; the card in question was the familiar blonde-haired female Poker Knight. Diesel took a step back out of both reflex and fright.

"This is for spreading lies about Duck!" roared Thomas (possessed), discarding his monster card to the graveyard. "Breaker, strike Diesel down again!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior obeyed and charged forth, slashing Diesel with his sword and making the devious black-haired boy yell in pain (LP: 700).

"Hey, that was my favorite shirt!" protested Diesel, upon recovering from the second direct attack. Suddenly, he remembered something very important... "In this world, the monsters are real. That means the damage they cause is very real, too!" The devious black-haired boy gasped in horror at another realization he had thought of... "If Thomas keeps attacking me like this, he could actually KILL ME!"

"My second card!" Thomas (possessed) drew again, before seeing it was...the Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts monster card. "It's a monster card!"

The look on Diesel's face would have been priceless! ...again, if this wasn't such a serious situation and Thomas wasn't possessed by Diablon, right now.

"This is for hurting Mavis!" thundered Thomas (possessed). "Direct attack again!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior obeyed the command again, charging forth and slashing Diesel again, causing him to scream in pain (LP: 0). But, rather than settle down from winning the match, Thomas (possessed) didn't even stop there.

"My third card!" he announced, whilst drawing again. This time, it was the Big Shield Gardna monster card. "It's another monster card!"

" **WHAT**?!" screamed everyone in the audience.

Thomas had won the duel, but wasn't stopping with his barrage of attacks?! Diesel was now terrified beyond words. Thomas may have won the duel... but he wasn't gonna stop attacking until his opponent was dead!

"And this..." Thomas (possessed) quietly said, before sending his drawn card to the graveyard while raising his voice in further fury. "THIS IS FOR PISSING ME OFF!"

On cue, Breaker the Magical Warrior went and slashed Diesel again, making him cry out in agony.

"I draw..." Thomas (possessed) began, drawing and holding a card up (Gamma The Magnet Warrior). "...a monster card!"

Diesel was attacked again, yelling. And, as before, Thomas (possessed) didn't stop his revenge there...

"I draw..." The possessed blue-haired boy bellowed out again, drawing the Alpha The Magnet Warrior monster card. "...a monster card!"

This just wasn't Diesel's lucky day, as he got attacked by Breaker the Magical Warrior once again.

"I draw...a monster card!" Thomas drew another card, just as Breaker the Magical Warrior attacked again. He then drew yet another card. "I draw...a monster card!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior, fueled by his possessed master's vengeful wishes, continued to sword slash Diesel again and again with every monster card sent to the graveyard. This was also because Thomas, blinded by his rage, hatred, and possessed by Diablon's influence (thanks to that cruel joke regarding Emily), wouldn't stop drawing monster cards from his deck. And, seeing as the damage Diesel was taking was real, if Thomas (possessed) kept drawing cards and attacking like this, then Diesel could potentially die! ...not that Thomas really cared, right now... Before long, Diesel had finally collapsed onto the ground just as Thomas (possessed), with the dark aura still surrounding him and growing more and more stronger than ever from his rage, furiously drew his eighth card.

"I draw..." He looked to his drawn card for a quick moment before starting to discard it. "...a monster-!"

"NO, THOMAS!" screamed a crying Rosie, running towards her friend. "PLEASE STOP!"

She grabbed a hold of Thomas's arm, stopping him from discarding his card.

"Let go of me, Rosie!" snapped Thomas (possessed).

"You've already won the match..." pleaded Rosie, weeping softly. "There's no reason to keep attacking Diesel any longer... Let your anger and bloodlust go and come back to us! PLEASE!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas began to see that is best friend was right.

"I..." he struggled to say. "I..."

"And think about Emily, Thomas..." Percy went on. "What do you think would have happened if she had been here to witness what you had done to Diesel? I honestly believe she would have been horrified—maybe even become afraid of you—over what you were allowing yourself to become."

Thomas's hands shook as he looked at the palms. "W-What have I done...? Thomas ' _Brighton_ ' Billinton, what the friggin' ' _ **hell**_ ' have you done?!"

The poor blue-haired boy fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and began to sob with the remorse and guilt over his actions against Diesel finally taking hold of him. But soon, an all-too familiar voice spoke up inside his mind...

"No!" echoed a voice inside the blue-haired boy's head. "That fool deserved his death at ' _our_ ' hands! He messed with ' _our_ ' head, and had to pay the price for it!"

Thomas stopped crying and clenched his head in pain.

"Thomas?" peeped Rosie, with her voice full of concern.

"Diablon's trying to take control over him again!" cried Maiden of the Aqua.

"Snap out of it, Billinton!" demanded Spencer.

Before anyone could say anything more, Thomas had sadly fallen under Diablon's influence once more. But instead of becoming incredibly destructive, he instead only said this...

"Don't try and follow me!" boomed the possessed blue-haired boy, sounding like he was in severe pain or something. "There's someplace I have to go to deep in those woods!"

Thomas (possessed) then dashed off alongside the tracks towards the woods up ahead.

"Thomas, stop!" called James, but to no avail. "Ah, damn it..."

"What's going on?" questioned Henry. "Why did Thomas run away on us?"

"Again." put in Gordon.

Nobody else seemed to answer... They just stared at the swarm of trees up ahead, with the sun going down added for good measure. Ultimately, the gang decided to follow their troubled friend anyway, just to make sure he remained safe and sound.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the woods, Thomas (possessed) ran as fast as he could through the forest.

"It's here somewhere!" he thought to himself. "It's gotta be!"

Looks like Diablon took control of Thomas because something was to be found in these woods. What exactly was it? Oh, you'll all find soon enough...

(elsewhere...)

Deeper in the woods much later, a moon beam was shining onto a large rock of some sort. All seemed to be quiet, minus a few hoots of an owl, until a new voice was heard...

"Anakin..."

All of a sudden, a fading image of the same young woman who spoke to Emily, and to Thomas when he was in a coma, started to appear. In case you're all wondering, this absolutely beautiful young woman looked like an older version of Emily... Only she had a slightly more matured body, brunette-colored hair, a slightly different voice (with a slight Scottish accent), and wearing a beautiful dark green (almost emerald) royal gown. Just who was this young woman? What was it she was up to?

"You'll soon be coming here, my Ani..." The young woman whispered weakly. "When you do..."

Okay, I don't know if this could be a sign of good or bad stuff that is to happen...

(elsewhere...)

Before long, Thomas (possessed) found himself at what would seem to be an old deserted cottage.

"Wait..." The possessed blue-haired boy thought in surprise. "I... I remember this..."

He then clutched his head, which was searing with pain.

"AUGH! W-What's-?"

When Thomas looked up, his eyes were red again, and he had a familar demonic face, scar, and body to go along with it. The blue-haired boy had once again transformed into Diablon, but was seeming to be in pain this time around.

"WHY?!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' bellowed into the night sky. "WHY AM I...HERE?!"

As he wailed on in agony, the moon had become full in the nightsky. It was also then a flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was many, many years ago this very night. Two voices were heard coming from an old cottage in the middle of the woods...

"It's such a beautiful night here, Anakin." came the first (female).

"Not as beautiful as you, Princess Anastasia." responded the second (male).

Inside the house, two teenagers were seated at the table in the kitchen and looking out at the lovely nightsky.  
-The first teenager (15) was male, had short black hair, and wore warrior's clothing.  
-The second teenager (16) was a beautiful female, had long brunette hair, and wore clothing that signaled she was of royalty.

"Anakin..." whispered the brunette-haired girl (Anastasia), looking to her friend as a worried look then appeared on her gorgeous face.

The black-haired boy (Anakin) looked to his friend. "Yes, Anastasia?"

"I... I have something I need to tell you." The brunette-haired girl confessed.

"What is it?"

Anastasia sighed as she tried her absolute hardest to admit she already had a special someone in her life...

"I..." Anastasia began slowly, before adding... "I already have someone special in my life."

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I have a fiance, Anakin." admitted Anastasia with heavy regret.

"A fiance?" blinked Anakin. He felt suprised, and slightly hurt, by the confession. "Oh, I see... G-Good for you. I bet he's...a wonderful prince..."

After a beat, the discussion grew grim...

"He's not." Anastasia sighed sadly. "He's a self-absorbed, perverted jerk who seems to like me only for my body and other selfish things."

"Selfish things?" asked Anakin. "Then why are you marrying him?"

"My Father had just arranged the marriage... Do you remember when that neighbouring kingdom's messanger came to our home to visit Father?"

The black-haired boy nodded. "Yes, I remember that time. What about him?"

"The prince of the kingdom caught Father's eye." The beautiful princess went on sadly. "He sensed a desire in him to build an empire as vast as our own kingdom... And when I tried to protest about it, the prince saw and made a few passes at me."

"That slime!" growled Anakin. "Why didn't you try running away?"

"Because-" answered Anastasia grimly. "-that was when Father thought the prince and I were made to be together... From there, he signed a peace treaty between the kingdoms, and the prince became my fiance..."

Anakin was very surprised. Never did he think that Anastasia's Father would not see the potential evil within the prince as Anastasia had told him.

"What about your Mother? What did she have to say about all of it?"

"Like me, she didn't like the idea of me being married with someone against my will." answered Anastasia sadly. "But my Father wouldn't listen... He merely retorted that there has to be someone in line who can rule with an iron fist."

Anakin felt very sorry for his only friend, and wanted to do something to help her.

"So... when will the royal wedding take place?" he asked.

Anastasia sighed heavily. "The good news is that since I'm only 16-years old, it won't be until shortly after I turn 18-years old."

"Oh... good..." Anakin said in relief.

"Even then..." Anastasia continued. "If I want to become a wife to a prince, I want to be loved by someone who loves me for who I am, and not by someone who is perverted and only wants me for sexual reasons..."

Anakin knelt down to his friend's level. "You've got me! Maybe I can try to convince your Father to-"

"You can't!" interrupted Anastasia. "I know you want to help me, Anakin, but my Father is King and a very stubborn man... Nothing you can say or do will convince him otherwise."

Anakin and Anastasia were both very close friends, but it was very clear that Anakin had feelings for the beautiful princess. And, although she tried to deny them, it was also clear that Anastasia had a very soft spot for her royal bodyguard. Alas...

"Either way, Anakin, I simply cannot be with you." continued Anastasia sadly, taking her friend's hands and placing them in hers. "The law says that only a prince can marry a princess."

"It's not fair!" protested Anakin, becoming very upset. "I won't let this happen to you! I won't let you marry that selfish pervert!"

"I'm sorry, but there isn't anything you can do!"

Obviously, this all happened when the two were only teenagers. But let's see a few years later...

(new scene...)

It was a beautiful night in the woods. Once more, all was quiet around the area with no danger or anything. But then...

"The Queen is really asking a lot for us to do this." commented the voice of Anakin.

"Mother says it's for the best." added the voice of Anastasia.

Yes, riding the horse through the woods was the same Anakin and Anastasia... except they were now 18-years old! ...and Anakin now sported a scar on the side of his face.

"Oh, my Ani..." gushed Anastasia, cuddling up close to the black-haired boy. "This is such a wonderful night."

"It is indeed." agreed Anakin, but then suddenly gave a yawn. "Oh! Excuse me..."

Anastasia giggled. "Thankfully we're near that cottage. You know, our old hangout?"

"Oh yeah! We can spend the night there, and prepare for our big journey in the morning."

Before long, the couple had arrived at their old cottage. Anakin quickly jumped off the horse and helped Anastasia down.

"Why, thank you." complimented the beautiful princess.

Anakin smiled and then spoke to the pair's horse...

"Rest up for a bit." he said softly, patting the animal's head gently while it neighed softly. "We have a long journey ahead of us in the morning"

(later...)

Later that evening, aside from the horse quietly and peacefully eating some hay that Anakin set for the animal, it was, as said before, very quiet.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the cottage, the lights were out... But it still wasn't exactly as quiet as you expected it to be. Why? Oh, that's because there were some soft moans coming from nearby...

"Oh, Ani... Please don't stop, now..." came Anastasia's voice in a tired, sexy tone. It was like she was getting something from her lover, and was enjoying it greatly.

It would seem that the noises could only mean one thing... but I won't tell any of you the details of what happened just yet.

(new scene...)

Eventually, the morning sun pierced through the windows. And in the bed, under the covers, were both a naked Anakin and Anastasia (and their clothing were shown to be lying on the floor next to the bed)...

"Ugh..." winced Anakin, as the sunlight shined onto his face. "M-Morning already?"

Anastasia's eyes opened, and she smiled softly. "Oh, Anakin, let's give this moment just five more minutes..."

"We really must get going." insisted Anakin, smiling and putting his arm around his friend/lover. "The other kingdoms await us."

Well... this was a change from two years ago... I wonder what happened that resulted in this? Again, the details will be revealed in due time.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Diablon was still clutching the sides of his head.

"Those...memories... Why did I...see 'em?"

It was as if someone was trying to send Diablon a message. Suddenly, he looked up and had a look of pained anger on his face.

"Something or someone here is calling out to me..." hissed Diablon. "I WILL find out who it is."

(elsewhere...)

The eyes of the same young woman from before widened with surprise.

"Anakin!"

Back at the rock with the moon beam shining onto it, the fading image of the gorgeous young woman had just sensed that Diablon was coming to find her, and that would also mean one thing...

"I must act quickly to save my love and his present day-reincarnation from the darkness in their hearts, and the only one way for me to pull it off...is to fight both of them directly..."

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the woods very late into the night, Percy, Spencer, and the rest of the gang were exploring and trying to find Thomas. So far, they were having no such luck...

"We'll never find him." groaned James.

"I've never seen a forest this big before." commented Edward. he then turned to face Maiden of the Aqua. "Do you find this forest to be any familiar to you by any chance?"

"Hmm..." mused Maiden of the Aqua. "There is a reason I find it familiar..."

"In that case, how do you find it familiar?" questioned Gordon.

"I...don't know... I believe it could be because I've been here before."

Spencer snorted. "Well, that isn't gonna help us all that much."

"Never mind that." said Percy. "We have to find Thomas quickly."

"Even if he became possessed by Diablon again-" continued Maiden of the Aqua. "-he came to this forest for a reason."

"The question is why?" mused Mavis thoughtfully.

Rosie sighed heavily and looked up to the moon. "Oh, Thomas... Where are you?"

(elsewhere...)

As the moon continued to remain full, bright, and beautiful, there sounds of clatter and such could be heard.

"GRRAAGGHHH!" roared a voice full of anger and frustration.

It was Diablon... He was grabbing, ripping, and tearing trees apart with his bare hands. Being a demon tends to give you superhuman strength, after all.

"I'm no longer that weakling!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' screamed to nothing in particular. "I am Diablon - the Supreme King - the ruler over the Court of Darkness! I will rule the Duel Monsters spirit world with an iron fist, and nobody will stop me from succeeding!"

Just then...

"This place..." echoed a voice (male) inside Diablon's head. "Why does it seem so... so... familiar?"

"Silence!" demanded Diablon to himself. "Don't you remember how that girl selfishly killed herself just for the sake of torturing you? I took you in when she abandoned you! You owe me!"

But then...

"I... I don't..." cut in a third voice (Thomas). "Who are-?"

It was like a conversation was going on in Thomas's head between all three voices. Unfortunately, the current ' _host_ ' of the body was not gonna have it...

"SHUT UP! This body is mine, and I will NOT surrender it back to the likes of you!"

Before anything more could be said, more voices were heard...

"Did you guys hear that?" came the voice of Percy.

Diablon cursed. "Those friends of the boy... They mustn't find me!"

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' then began to take off when...

"Oh no, you don't!"

Diablon legs suddenly caved in, causing him to fall onto the ground.

"What?! W-What has happened?" grimaced the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', surprised that he fell over just like that. "How did-?!"

"Give me back my body!" snapped the voice of Thomas.

"You little bastard..." snarled Diablon, wincing as his head began pounding with pain once more. "You won't-!"

He ' _ **Evil One**_ ' couldn't finish his sentence, as he gripped his head and began screaming in agony.

"Over there!" called the voice of Edward.

Within seconds, the gang of friends made their way over to Thomas.

"Thomas? Thomas!" cried Maiden of the Aqua, shaking her blue-haired friend gently. "It's us!"

Diablon raised his head... and revealed himself to be Thomas once more.

"Huh? What? ...G-Guys, what happened?"

"You ran off, that's what happened." answered Spencer. "Getting lost in these woods as a matter of fact."

Thomas closed his eyes for a few seconds as he started to feel something familiar to him.

"There's something inside of me..." The blue-haired boy said quietly. "It's like I have a memory of this place."

"I remember this part of the woods, Thomas." Maiden of the Aqua pointed out. "Maybe I can help you find it."

Thomas felt thankful. "Thank you... And before you showed up, Diablon appeared to be talking to another voice inside my head. I think they were arguing about a girl. Diablon said that she had selfishly killed herself to make someone else suffer."

"A girl?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "I believe so..."

"I'm starting to get confused." groaned Gordon, gripping the sides of his head. "All of this stuff about Diablon is starting to make my head spin..."

"Let's worry about it later." suggested Maiden of the Aqua. She then closed her eyes. "I sense... I sense something nearby that will give us the answer about why Diablon brought Thomas here."

"Man, I sure hope so..." muttered James.

"Follow me."

Maiden of the Aqua began to lead everyone through more of the forest, all while the moon continued to shine so brightly and beautifully...

(elsewhere...)

Eventually, Maiden of the Aqua and the others arrived somewhere near the center of the whole forest.

"This is the place." reported the blue-haired female monster, starting to push some bushes away. "Up ahead is something very sacred..."

It looked like some sort of large, ancient circle. Statues were placed on opposite ends, and a large rock laid in the middle. Nobody knew what to make of it...

"What is it?" Molly asked curiously.

"A very ancient symbol." said Maiden of the Aqua. "Many say it to be a secret shortcut to the capital city. Once you reach the center of the circle, and the moon is in just the right position, the magic of this forest will create an illusion of that which you fear the most. By conquering that one fear, you will in turn be able to unlock that shortcut and pass in safety."

"Ancient circle?" quizzed Gordon.

"Secret fear?" put in James.

"Shortcut?" finished Henry.

"Most importantly-" cut in Edward. "-moon in the right position?"

"From what I have heard-" said Maiden of the Aqua. "-many have tried to enter the circle, but they were constantly rejected."

"Rejected?" repeated Molly. "Oh dear... Maybe they weren't the right person."

"Let me try it." suggested James, starting to approach the circle. "I could have a secret fear to conquer and that jazz..."

As the red-haired boy approached the circle, Gordon looked to Henry and held up three fingers and started to countdown...

"Three... two... one..."

" **WHOOAA**!" came a cry from James.

The red-haired boy was thrown back by a force field of sorts.

"Guess you weren't the one that they wanted." joked Percy.

"Ha ha... Very funny, Mr. Clown Avonside..." James laughed sarcastically.

"Why don't I try it?" asked Thomas.

"By all means." huffed the red-haired boy. "Although I bet you'll be knocked back, as well."

Thomas slowly walked towards the circle. James snickered as he expected the blue-haired boy to be sent flying back by the force field... But, to his surprise, Thomas was able to walk into the circle without problem.

"Oh... Well, so much for what I know."

Inside the circle, Thomas approached the rock. When he did, Maiden of the Aqua's voice called out to him...

"Be careful Thomas." The blue-haired female monster warned. "When the moon shines a beam onto the rock, it will create your greatest fear. From there, you must conquer it to open a secret passageway!"

"Got it." nodded Thomas.

Once the blue-haired boy reached the center, the moon suddenly began to shine brighter and release a beam that struck the rock. That meant it was time to endure such a fear Thomas had...

"Okay... Here goes nothing..." thought Thomas to himself.

From the center of the circle began a pool of dark magic. Slowly, the magic began to change into the shape of a human being.

"Something's forming!" announced Edward.

The magic soon formed a familiar face... Thomas, upon seeing who it was, grew most shocked.

"Emily?"

Yes... The shape of the human was revealed to indeed be Emily.

"That's Thomas's greatest fear?" asked James. "But it's only Emily!"

"Emily!" cried Thomas, running towards his friend.

The dark green-haired girl, hearing the voice of the blue-haired boy, turned around to look at him in surprise.

"Thomas? Thomas, is that you?" she asked.

"Yes." Thomas confirmed. "Oh, Emily, I'm so glad to see you."

Emily suddenly felt upset. "You didn't save me... back at my home."

"I tried to save you." protested Thomas. "But those monsters took you from us! From me... W-We all came to this world to save you!"

Emily frowned, closed her eyes, and turned away once more. She could feel something coming from her friend, and it was obvious to what it was.

"I can feel anger and darkness in your heart." The dark green-haired girl whispered grimly. "Almost like a presence of some kind..."

"You have no idea what I've been through." said Thomas solemnly. "All I wanted was to find you and bring you safely home. There is a demon growing in my heart. The longer we're apart, the stronger he's growing."

Finally, Emily turned around... But instead of a usually calm, caring look on her face, it was instead a sneer.

"Oh, right!" she snapped. "That must mean you think it's MY fault you've done some silly things!"

Thomas was taken aback. "Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Why would you think such a thing?"

"Huh! I bet...! You probably don't care about me, at all!"

Outside the circle, everyone, except for Maiden of the Aqua, was aghast over Emily's sudden change in attitude.

"What's the matter with Emily?" asked Rosie.

"She's suddenly acting like a you-know-what." added James.

Back inside the circle...

"If you truly cared about me-" ranted Emily. "-you wouldn't have failed to save me! Now I'm stuck in this world, and it's all your fault!"

"Stop this!" argued Thomas. "If I didn't care, then why am I in this world trying to save you?"

"You probably just wanna help your REAL girlfriend, Dark Magician Girl."

Suddenly, Thomas started to have a realization... This was exactly how Emily was acting back in Middle School when she was being bullied by Gordon and James.

"This is my worst fear." Thomas thought to himself, remembering Maiden of the Aqua's words. "This was what Maiden of the Aqua warned me about..."

" _ **Remember... once you reach the center of the circle, the forest will create an illusion of your worst fear**_."

Thomas then clenched a fist as he pointed to the illusion.

"You're a fake!" he declared aloud. "The real Emily would never go back to how she was when she was being bullied. She is far too smart to sink back to such a low. You're nothing but an illusion based on my worst possible fear!"

The ' _Dark_ ' Emily merely smirked. "If I'm a fake, then why do I look so much like Emily?"

"You're not Emily!" screamed Thomas.

"Ha! Then why do I also see fear in your eyes?"

The blue-haired boy kept his stance as 'Emily' approached him.

"Trying to play brave, are we?" she asked in a highly seductive tone, kneeling slightly so that she was eye-level with him. "So foolish... although at the same time, so cute."

'Emily' then puckered her lips and brought her face closer to Thomas, intending to forcefully kiss him. Unfortunately, before she could go in for the kill, the dark green-haired girl was immediately pushed away by the blue-haired boy.

"Keep away from me, you bossy, short-tempered, witch!" snapped Thomas.

Seemingly angered at being pushed away like that, 'Emily's' body suddenly started glowing all white as everyone else gasped in shock. When the glowing finally stopped, 'Emily' was now shown to be three years older with a more matured body and brunette-colored hair instead of dark green (almost emerald) hair. In addition, she had a Duel Disk on her left arm.

"Looks like you need to be taught some respect." 'Emily' said hotly. "Once I've defeated you, your darkness, a well as life, will be forfeited!"

Back over with the rest of the gang...

"That isn't Emily!" gasped Mavis.

"Who is that girl?" asked Gordon. He suddenly grinned with interest... "Although she may not be Emily, that girl sure looks like her in a way."

"Except WAY more hot looking!" added an excited-looking James. "And by hot, I mean with a far more mature looking body than even the real Emily."

Molly, feeling very annoyed, responded by smacking her boyfriend on the back of the head with a paper fan. How she got it, that cannot be explained...

"There has to be an explanation for who she is..." thought Spencer to himself.

Back inside the circle...

"Who are you?!" Thomas demanded in a hostile tone. "How come you're here as my greatest fear?"

'Emily' giggled scornfully. "Isn't it obvious? I am Emily..."

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" roared Thomas, with his anger rising. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Heh! Like I would say anything THAT easily. Why not just admit that I am Emily, and that you're upset you had failed to stop me from falling into darkness once before..."

" **SHUT UP**!" Thomas screamed, as he clenched his fists in fury as a dark aura began to take over him.

"Face it-" continued 'Emily'. "-you think you can save me from the darkness, but in reality... you never could." Her smile grew cold and smug. "Save me from killing myself as a child? You really should have let me die after ' _our_ ' friends finally turned their backs on me..."

That did it... Thomas looked up to the sky with a growl and screamed in rage as the darkness all around him suddenly exploded and covered the blue-haired boy entirely.

"Why is that Emily look-alike making him angry like that?" asked Mavis.

Toby'e eyes widened. "Ask that question later."

"Why?"

"Because..." The brown-haired boy gulped in fear. "Because I think our main enemy has returned once again!"

Toby was right... Lowering his head was Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, shirtless, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. He then gazed at his opponent with unmatched hatred...

"I know who you are, but you do not know me." Diablon sneered.

"It has been a long time..." said 'Emily', ending with this... "...Anakin."

Everyone then gasped. Who was this ' _Anakin_ ', that girl was talking about? Find out about it! ...next time, as the moon continued to shine brightly into the circle below.


	66. A Tragic Reunion

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for a suicide attempt and brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside a magical circle, 'Emily' and Diablon both faced each other with unwatched hatred on their faces.

"I will make you regret ever reviving me!" hissed Diablon.

'Emily' glared in response. "I must use all of my power to dispel you back into the darkness from where you came from!"

"Ha! You're more than welcome to try doing that, fool."

With that said, the two duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x2.

"Diablon vs. that Emily look-alike..." mumbled Percy. "This should be a good match-up... I think."

"Who should we be rooting for?" asked Rosie.

"At this point-" replied Toby. "-I have absolutely no idea."

Back inside the circle...

"The first turn will go to me." announced 'Emily', drawing her first card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Emily? (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Skelengel, Cestus of Dagla, Wingweaver Priestess, Ultimate Offering, Kuribon, and Monster Reborn

* * *

"Diablon, you heard me loud and clear when I called you 'Anakin', right?"

Diablon glared intensely. "Anakin? I haven't the faintest clue as to what you're talking about."

"Don't play games with me!" snapped 'Emily'. Her hand contained Skelengel, Cestus of Dagla, Wingweaver Priestess, Ultimate Offering, Kuribon, and Monster Reborn. "I may be a princess and user of light, but I can be just as ruthless in battle as you always are!"

"Then show me!"

'Emily' responded by placing a card (facedown and sideways) onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I'll set this monster in defense mode-" declared the brunette-haired young woman. "-and I'll end my turn!"

A facedown card (sideways) materialized on the field. Diablon scowled and drew a card.

"Is that suppose to be a move?" he demanded. "Let me show you a REAL play!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): Berfomet, Dark Renewal, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Dark Magician, Magician Navigation, and Dark Red Enchanter

* * *

Diablon added the card to his hand and smirked to himself.

"So, you claim to be as ruthless as me in battle? Pah! I don't really see it."

The ' ** _Evil One's_** ' hand currently contained Berfomet, Dark Renewal, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Dark Magician, Magician Navigation, and Dark Red Enchanter. Just then, the Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts-" commanded Diablon. "-appear and attack the facedown monster!"

The mighty Gazelle appeared to the field with a roar (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200), and immediately pounced and slashed at 'Emily's' facedown monster.

"Whatever your monster is-" boasted Diablon. "-it is no match for the power of Gazelle!"

The monster was revealed to be a little angel wearing a crown and wielding a bow and arrow. Diablon scowled, as he knew what that monster was...

"Rrrgh... Skelengel!"

The audience was surprised by the monster.

"That's one of Emily's cards, wasn't it?" asked Rosie.

"Is it possible this girl is using Emily's deck?" came from Mavis.

Back inside the circle, Skelengel was destroyed by Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts's claw attack. 'Emily', however, smiled as she drew a card.

"When Skelengel is attacked while facedown, its flip effect lets me draw one card."

A facedown card suddenly appeared, compliments of Diablon.

"It matters not!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' growled, just as a facedown card materialized behind Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. "I set one card and end my turn!"

"I was expecting so much more from you, Diablon." teased 'Emily', drawing a card. "I guess you're all talk and no action."

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Emily? (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (7): Cestus of Dagla, Wingweaver Priestess, Ultimate Offering, Kuribon, Monster Reborn, ?, and ?

* * *

Diablon scowled. Inside his head, however...

"That...voice..." echoed a male voice. "Why does it sound so...familiar?"

Diablon grunted as he closed his eyes, as if someone was trying to take control over his body.

* * *

 **Title: A Tragic Reunion**

* * *

'Emily', meanwhile, took another card and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I summon Kuribon in attack mode!" she announced confidently.

The female Kuriboh monster appeared to the field as she spoke in her ' **Kuriboh** ' language (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"And to finish up with my turn-" The brunette-haired young woman continued, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "-I'll set one card facedown."

A facedown card materialized behind Kuribon. Diablon, meanwhile, soon regained his senses after feeling a pain in his head to draw a card and take his turn.

"That weak boy attempted to overpower me?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' thought to himself. "He can continue to try, but he will NEVER regain his former body!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (5): Berfomet, Dark Magician, Magician Navigation, Dark Red Enchanter, and Graceful Charity

* * *

On cue, the Graceful Charity Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate the Spell card Graceful Charity!" said Diablon, drawing three cards from his deck. "By using it, I am allowed to draw three more cards and discard two of them to the graveyard."

Very quickly, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' sent Dark Magician (Monster card) and Magician Navigation (Trap card) both to the graveyard one-by-one. His drawn cards (Watapon, Polymerization, and Magic Formula) were each added to the hand. but one of them was immediately placed onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"As I've drawn Watapon-" explained Diablon. "-it automatically gets special summoned to the field."

The cute, cottonball-like monster appeared on the field with a high-pitched 'Watapon' (Level: 1/ATK: 200). But then, it suddenly faded away in a blue streak.

"But now I'll sacrifice it to tribute summon the Dark Red Enchanter in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a female spellcaster dressed in dark red clothing and a large yellow scepter (Level: 6/ATK: 1700/DEF: 2200).

"Now, her attack may be low for a level 6 monster-" acknowledged Diablon. "-but her effect, when normal summoned successfully, uploads two Spell Counters onto her weapon!"

"Spell Counters?" blinked 'Emily'.

In an instant, Dark Red Enchanter's scepter began to glow, causing the female monster to grow much stronger (ATK: 1700 - 2300).

"With every Spell Counter equipped to her, she receives 300 additional attack points!"

'Emily' kept a neutral look on her face, watching as the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up behind Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts.

"Polymerization..." The brunette-haired young woman thought to herself.

"Using this Spell card, I will now fuse Gazelle with Berformet in my hand!" declared Diablon, holding both mentioned monster cards.

Berfomet appeared and merged with Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts.

"I fusion summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!"

The two-headed beast soon appeared to the field when the fusion ended (Level: 6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800).

"And because I've played a Spell card-" continued Diablon. "-my Dark Red Enchanter gains yet another Spell Counter...and more attack points."

Dark Red Enchanter's attack power grew even higher (ATK: 2300 - 2600).

"Battle!" declared Diablon, entering the battle phase. "Dark Red Enchanter, attack and destroy Kuribon with Dark-Red Shockwave!"

Dark Red Enchanter obeyed, raising her scepter and firing a blast of magic at Kuribon.

"Say goodbye to more than half of your life points!"

"I think not!" retorted 'Emily'. "I activate Kuribon's special ability!"

The magical blast from Dark Red Enchanter did destroy Kuribon, but 'Emily's life points did not decrease (LP: 4000).

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Diablon.

Over with the gang...

"Kuribon's effect allows that imposter of Emily to receive no battle damage, and she returns to the hand." Spencer explained to everyone else. "What's more, Diablon will now gain life points equal to his attacking monster's current attack points."

Back inside the circle, as the silver-haired boy had predicted, Diablon's life points rose (LP: 6600).

"My battle phase is not finished yet!" cried Diablon. "Chimera, attack my opponent directly with Pulverizing Pounce!"

Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast obeyed, pouncing towards 'Emily'.

"Facedown card, open!" declared 'the brunette-haired young woman, just as her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Continuous Trap - Ultimate Offering!"

"Damn it all..." mumbled Diablon to himself.

"Now, during either the main phase or battle phase-" explained 'Emily', taking a life point hit (LP: 3500). "-I can perform an extra summon at the cost of 500 life points!"

On cue, Kuribon reappeared on the field. Suddenly, 'Emily' took another life point hit (LP: 3000).

"Then I'll pay 500 more life points to perform one more summon!"

Joining Kuribon was a familiar servent to the Wingweaver. Yes, that's right! The powerful Wingweaver Priestess had joined Kuribon (Level: 4/ATK: 1950/DEF: 1600).

"What is that monster?" questioned Molly. "It looks...almost like Emily."

"It's called Wingweaver Priestess." explained Maiden of the Aqua. "Those monsters serve Wingweaver."

"It's strong-" acknowledged Spenceer. "-but it's still weaker than both Chimera and Dark Red Enchanter... Although that girl summoned Wingweaver Priestess for a good reason..."

Back inside the circle, the battle phase wasn't over yet...

"Chimera-" commanded Diablon. "-take down Kuribon!"

Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast obeyed and pounced for the little female Kuriboh. Suddenly, 'Emily' held up a glowing card.

"W-What is the meaning of this?!" gasped the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Why is that card glowing?!"

'Emily' held the card out. Everyone outside the circle was shocked when they saw what the card was...

"D-Dark Angel?!" came from Henry.

"A dark attribute fairy-type monster!" added Toby.

"When a fairy-type monster I control is attacked-" explained 'Emily'. "-I can tribute it and give its attack to another fairy on my side of the field! ...like Wingweaver Priestess here!"

Wingweaver Priestess's eyes started glowing as she grew more powerful (ATK: 1950 - 2250).

"Even better? Your Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast must attack Wingweaver Priestess instead!"

Chimera the Flying Mythical was suddenly forced to turn its attack to Wingweaver Priestess, much to Diablon's shock.

"Counterattack!" commanded 'Emily'.

"No, stop your attack!" shouted Diablon, but to no avail.

Wingweaver Priestess fired a magic blast, destroying Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast, causing Diablon to brace himself and seeth (LP: 6450).

"I play Chimera's special ability!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' announced. "When it is destroyed, I can bring back one of his fusion components in his place. And I choose to special summon Berformet in defense mode!"

Berformet appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 5/DEF: 1800). Suddenly, 'Emily' gave a smirk of her own.

"Nice effect, now let me show you mine as I play Wingweaver Priestess's next effect!"

Wingweaver Priestess started to glow all white.

"When she destroys a monster in battle-" explained 'Emily', readying a card in her hand. "-I can tribute her and special summon from my deck her mistress!" She showed what the card was. "Come forth - Wingweaver!"

A bright light filled the field, and appearing in the place of Wingweaver Priestess was the familiar, and beautiful, six-winged angel (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2450). However, Diablon suddenly started to laugh at his opponent...

"Huh?" "Emily' raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Diablon ceased his laughter. "Your efforts to summon that monster were in vain. What I am about to activate will get rid of your only monster..."

On cue, the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' facedown flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Dark Renewal!"

A large familiar coffin suddenly appeared, opened up, and sucked both Wingweaver and Dark Red Enchanter inside.

"When you summon a monster-" explained Diablon. "-I can offer your summoned monster and a spellcaster-type monster on my side of the field as a tribute to special summon from either the deck or graveyard one dark attribute spellcaster-type monster."

The ' **Evil One's** ' graveyard started glowing all white.

"Now I special summon from my graveyard the Dark Magician!"

Returning to the field was the purple-haired, male spellcaster-type monster himself (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"Now go, my Dark Magician!" commanded Diablon. "Perform a direct attack on the opposing player now!"

Dark Magician, twirling his scepter about, obeyed and unleashed a blast of black magic at 'Emily', striking and causing her to cry out in pain as her life points dropped to very low levels (LP: 500).

"And-" continued Diablon, just as the Magic Formula Spell card materialized face-up behind Dark Magician. "I'll equip Dark Magician with Magic Formula! This will increase his attack points by a further 500!"

A large spellbook appeared before Dark Magician, causing him to read and grow stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Any last words?" asked Diablon, smirking.

'Emily got back to her dueling stance and looked to Dark Magician, noticing the look of concern on his face.

"I know..." she said mentally. "You're worried for your Thomas's well being. Don't worry, I will help him reclaim control from the ' ** _Evil One_** ' one way or another." She then spoke aloud... "Diablon, your rule has gone on long enough! I know that Anakin is fighting to resurface."

"Again, I don't know who this ' _Anakin_ ' is." scoffed Diablon.

"Yes, you do!" insisted 'Emily', drawing a card. "You've kept him away from me for over a thousand years, and I WILL find a way to get him to resurface!"

The audience gasped when they heard what the brunette-haired young woman had just said.

"Well, perhaps he's just really angry with you." retorted Diablon. "After the way you cruelly broke his heart, I can't blame him."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Emily? (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (4): Monster Reborn, Cestus of Dagla, ?, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Immediately, 'Emily' held her drawn card out.

"You lie, Diablon!" she shouted. "First I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards from my deck!"

One of the cards added to her hand caught 'Emily's' eye. She knew that it was the only way to try and bring 'him' back.

"Diablon-" The brunette-haired young woman began. "-the only way to get rid of you and bring Anakin back is to show you just how ruthless I can be in battle like you are." She readied one of the cards in her ready. "And this... this is the only way to show it..."

Diablon suddenly heard a voice inside his head...

"Is that really...her?"

"Shut up!" hissed Diablon to himself. He suddenly gasped when he saw the card his opponent was about to play. "Impossible! You have a copy of it?!"

"Where'd she get that card?" asked Mavis, realizing what the card was.

This was the card 'Emily' was about to activate...

"I activate The Field of Dark Graves!" The young woman announced.

With the mentioned Field Spell card placed inside the Field Spell zone of the Duel Disk, the scenery began to change into its creepy setting.

"Where did you get that card?!" demanded Diablon in shock. "It belongs to no one but members of the Court of Darkness!"

Suddenly, the voice in the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' head spoke once more...

"Anastasia!"

And so, we have a name for the Emily look-alike... It's Anastasia. Regardless, because she played such a dangerous and evil card, the brunette-haired young woman started to chuckle rather darkly as darkness gathered all around her.

"You know the old saying, Diablon-" The brunette-haired young woman said in a cruel tone. "-fight fire-with-fire... Or in this case, darkness-with-darkness..."

On cue, the Monster Reborn Spell card materialized face-up on the field, due to Anastasia placing two fingers on one of the Spell/Trap slots on her Duel Disk.

"But enough of that junk... I play Monster Reborn!"

Within seconds, Wingweaver started to return to the field. All of a sudden...

"It won't work, you!" cried Diablon, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "I activate the effect of Magician Navigation in my graveyard!"

"What?!" gasped Anastasia.

"Because I control a Dark Magician, I can banish this Trap card from my graveyard. From there, I can negate the effect of one face up Spell or Trap card on your side of the field until the end of this turn!"

Monster Reborn fizzled out before shattering into pieces of glass. With the Spell card negated, Wingweaver faded away back to the graveyard.

"Because The Field of Dark Graves is immune to be negated and destroyed-" hissed Anastasia. "-you've saved Magician Navigation for my Monster Reborn card..."

"Exactly so, my lovely angel." taunted Diablon. "Your card became as worthless as your attempts to bring Anakin back. That boy is dead, and there is only Diablon, now! And soon, your angel wings will be clipped, and you'll then be gone forever. Even my present day host agrees with that statement..."

"You...!" growled Anastasia, becoming greatly angered while slotting another card into her Duel Disk. "I have other ways to revive monsters! Like with this one..."

The Swing of Memories Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Swing of Memories?"

On cue, Wingweaver returned to the field once more... However, her expression became one of great anger thanks to the dark influence of The Field of Dark Graves (ATK: 2750 - 3250).

"Normally, my monster would return to the graveyard once my turn comes to an end-" explained Anastasia, just before slotting a card into her Duel Disk. "-but what I will soon play will change all of that!"

In cue, two blades appear in Wingweaver's hands as her attack went up (ATK: 3250 - 3750).

"Cestus of Dagla grants Wingweaver 500 attack points and will allow me to recover life points equal to the battle damage you receive from Wingweaver!"

Finally, Anastasia slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. On cue, an Equip Spell card called Destiny Wings(!) materialized face-up behind Wingweaver.

"At last, I'll play Destiny Wings!"

Wingweaver's wings began to glow.

"Attack!" The brunette-haired young woman ordered at once.

Wingweaver obeyed and began to charge an orb of darkness in her hands. It was also the moment where Destiny Wings began to activate...

"Now the effect of Destiny Wings activates!" announced Anastasia, drawing a card. "I draw and discard the top card of my deck to the graveyard. If it's a monster card, then your monster will not be destroyed. However, the equipped monster will also gain additional attacks thanks to the star level of the discarded monster!"

She showed her drawn card to Diablon, much to his shock.

"Fairy Queen Autumn!" growled Diablon. "A monster card, and a level 7 creature!"

"That means she can attack seven times!" cried Rosie.

"And recover massive amounts of life points!" added Stanley.

Back inside the circle, Anastasia gave a surprisingly evil laugh...

"Wingweaver, attack Dark Magician with your Cestus of Dagla!" she commanded. "Do not show our enemy any form of mercy!"

Wingweaver obeyed, charging forward and striking Dark Magician.

"That was my first attack!" announced Anastasia (LP: 1250).

Diablon grimaced (LP: 5700). But then...

"Now go, and attack again!"

Dark Magician was hit yet again (LP: 2000)(LP: 4950).

"Third attack!" commanded Anastasia.

A third hit on Dark Magician (LP: 2750)(LP: 4200). Yet again, Anastasia remained on the offensive...

"Attack a fourth time!"

A fourth blow nearly knocked Diablon off his feet (LP: 3500)(LP: 3450).

"This Emily look-alike really can be as dangerous as Diablon..." whispered James in shock.

"I hope she doesn't try to kill us next." added a frightened Henry.

A fifth and sixth strike had severely damaged Diablon's life points (LP: 1950), and restored Anastasia's own (LP: 5000).

"And one more attack should do it!" called Anastasia (LP: 5750).

Wingweaver once again charged forth and sliced Dark Magician across the chest, causing the purple-haired spellcaster to cry out in agony and bring him to his knees. Surprisingly, it brought Diablon to his knees, as well.

"You little bitch..." snarled Diablon weakly (LP: 1200).

"Have you had enough?" asked Anastasia.

Suddenly, to her surprise, Diablon began laughing.

"W-What are you laughing at?"

Diablon's laughter only grew louder and harder.

"Stop it!" The brunette-haired young woman demanded. "Stop laughing!"

"You are such a hypocrite." remarked the demon, once he had stopped his laughter. "You talk of fighting for the purity of light, yet you're willing to taint your light monsters with darkness just to satisfy your lust for blood."

"You're the one to talk!" snapped Anastasia.

"Hmm? Whatever do you mean?"

"You've spoken of bringing a Golden Age, manipulating and deceiving many of monsters into becoming your followers." The brunette-haired young woman pointed out. "But really, you merely lied to them just so you could get what you wanted and leave them with nothing! Once you become powerful enough to retain control forever, you're gonna betray those who are allied with you—like the Court of Darkness."

Diablon just sneered. Inside his head, however...

"Anastasia!"

Once more, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' clutched his head in pain from the voice trying to break free and take control.

"Be quiet, you!" he demanded. "Anastasia never loved you!"

"I will fight on!" vowed Anastasia. "If I have to be as ruthless as you to win my Ani back, then so be it!" She then pointed forth. "My turn is over now, so that means Swing of Memories will send Wingweaver back to the graveyard, right? Wrong! Because, now, another effect of Destiny Wings will now activate... By sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, I can stop the equipped monster from being destroyed by other card effects!"

True to the brunette-haired young woman's words, Wingweaver was spared from being sent to the graveyard from the effect of Swing of Memories.

"And now, it's your turn, Diablon!"

Growing more angered, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Diablon (LP: 1200)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (1): Dark Magic Vase

* * *

His drawn card was revealed to be the Dark Magic Vase Spell card. With Dark Magician being present still, Diablon thought he could hopefully draw a card and take his opponent down.

"I activate the Spell card Dark Magic Vase!" Diablon declared, holding his card out. "Because I control a Dark Magician-named monster on my side of the field, I'm able to draw a total of two cards from the deck while being forbidden from summoning any monsters this turn."

"Two cards..." mused Anastasia. She then nodded. "Proceed."

With that said, Diablon drew two new cards. From there, one of the cards suddenly flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"I'll also immediately play one of my drawn cards!" continued the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Emergency Provisions!"

On cue, the face-up Magic Formula faded away in a blue streak.

"By giving up my Magic Formula-" explained Diablon, gaining life points (LP: 2200). "-I'll gain 1000 more life points."

From there, Dark Magician knelt into a defensive stance.

"Finally, I'll keep Berformet in defense mode and switch Dark Magician into defense mode." finished Diablon, releasing his fingers from the card on his Duel Disk. "This will end my turn."

Once more, the mysterioous voice echoed inside the " ** _Evil One's_** ' head...

"I have to talk to Anastasia!" The voice (male) insisted.

Diablon grimaced in pain. "Keep out of this! You have no right to be here!"

"Yes, I do!" snapped the voice (male).

Over with Anastasia...

"Anakin...?" she whispered hopefully.

Diablon clutched his head and yelled in agony. This was something Percy, Spencer, and everyone else could see...

"Could Thomas be trying to reclaim his body?" quizzed James.

"It looks like it..." assumed Edward, just before calling out to the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Thomas, we know you can break free!"

"You can do it!" came from Mavis.

Before long, Diablon stopped his agony. The bad news? He was still in control of the body!

"It's your turn, now!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' called out harshly.

Anastasia frowned as she drew her card. Diablon was really determined to keep her and Anakin apart, wasn't he? Either way, the brunette-haired young woman would fight to the bitter end to bring Anakin back to his old self.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Anastasia (LP: 5750)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (1): Awakening from Beyond

* * *

Her drawn card was a Spell card called Awakening from Beyond. But first, a certain Spell card of Anastasia's needed its effect to be resolved...

"During my standby phases, while Wingweaver is equipped with Destiny Wings, I am required to pay 1500 life points or allow my Equip Spell card to be destroyed."

Anastasia winced as she paid a heavy life point price (LP: 4250). Even then, her turn wasn't finished just yet...

"Now, I'll activate the Spell card Awakening from Beyond!" continued Anastasia, holding her card out. "It lets you draw two cards from your deck... However, it also allows me to add one monster from the graveyard to my hand."

Diablon drew two cards from his deck, while a monster card slipped out of Anastasia's graveyard and allowed the brunette-haired young woman to add it to her hand.

"But, I'll also summon it immediately!"

On cue, Wingweaver Priestess reappeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1950 - 2450).

"Now, go forth, my monsters!" commanded Anastasia. "Strike down the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' monsters with all of your might!"

Wingweaver Priestess first attacked and destroyed Berfomet, and was followed by Wingweaver attacking and destroying Dark Magician.

"I'm defenseless!" howled Diablon (LP: 2200). He narrowed his eyes in anger at the brunette-haired young woman. "Why, you-!"

"It's useless to keep resisting, Diablon!" insisted Anastasia. "Give him back to me! Give me back my Anakin!"

"You want him back?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' hissed, drawing a card. "You'll have to destroy this body of mine to do so!"

Anastasia scowled in response.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Diablon (LP: 2200)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (1): Flash Fusion, Giant Soldier of Stone, Divine Wind, and Swords of Revealing Light

* * *

Diablon's hand currently contained Flash Fusion, Giant Soldier of Stone, Divine Wind, and the just added Swords of Revealing Light.

"I may not have anything that can beat your monsters-" acknowledged the ' ** _Evil One_** ', taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-but I can still defend myself!"

Appearing onto the field kneeling in a defensive stance was a large soldier made entirely of hard stone (Level: 3/DEF: 2000). Joining the monster was a facedown card appearing behind it...

"I summon Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode and set one more card!" announced Diablon, just before raising another card. "Now to stop your attacks... I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"

Many swords of light rained down from the sky...

"The swords?!" winced Anastasia.

"The Emily look-alike now can't attack for three turns!" gasped Henry.

"That finishes my turn." said the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Now then... let's see how you can try to get your precious Anakin back, now."

Angered, Anastasia drew a card. As Diablon smirked at his opponent, the voice started to echo once more...

"Let me out! I must talk to her!"

"Be silent!" Diablon grimaced once more, clutching his forehead.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Anastasia (LP: 4250)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (1): Cards from the Sky

* * *

Anastasia's drawn card was a Spell card called Cards from the Sky.

"Once more, Destiny Wings' will activate! I pay 1500 more life points to keep my Equip Spell card on the field."

Anastasia winced some more as more life point damage was sustained (LP: 2750). Once more, the voice of Diablon's head echoed...

"Anastasia! Anastasia!" The unknown voice (male) cried out.

"I said KEEP QUIET!" Diablon bellowed aloud.

Recovering enough, Anastasia held her drawn card out as it started glowing.

"I activate Cards from the Sky!" she declared. "By banishing one light attribute fairy-type monster from my graveyard, I am able to draw two additional cards!"

A card slid out of the brunette-haired young woman's graveyard before fading away into oblivion. With that said and done, Anastasia drew two new cards. She gazed long and hard at Diablon with studying eyes. What she was about to do would either ensure that Anakin retakes control of his body... or end with his final destruction...

"First-" Anastasia began, placing a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. "-I summon Freya, Spirit of Victory in attack mode!"

The cheerleader-like monster appeared (Level: 1/ATK: 100 - 600). Just then, another Spell card materialized face-up on the field... And it was a rather new one called...

"Next, I'll play the Spell card Betrayed Summon(!)." declared Anastasia, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "This allows me to guess the name of one monster. If it happens to be in your hand or deck, I can normal summon it right onto my side of the field."

Suddenly, the face-up Ultimate Offering Trap card started glowing and activating once more.

"Then I'll use the effect of Ultimate Offering once more!" The brunette-haired young woman went on, taking more damage (LP: 2250). "At the cost of 500 life points, I can make an extra normal summon this turn!"

"It wouldn't matter!" scoffed Diablon. "You would be unable to conduct the battle phase for three turns!"

"Who said I was planning any attacks?" asked Anastasia ominously.

"Huh?"

"What I'm about to summon-" The brunette-haired young woman continued. "-will be a memory of the past—YOUR past!"

"MY past?!" repeated Diablon. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Freya, Spirit of Victory faded away in a blue streak.

"I tribute my monster to summon the Catapult Turtle in YOUR deck!"

A beam of light shot out of Diablon's deck, causing it to land onto a monster field slot on Anastasia's Duel Disk. Appearing onto the field was a very familiar turtle-like monster (Level: 5/ATK: 1000 - 1500).

"She just summoned Thomas's own monster!" exclaimed Stanley, pointing forth.

"What's going on?" qustioned Rosie.

Back in the middle of the circle...

"Like what I just did?" teased Anastasia. "It's happens to be very familiar to you, isn't that right?"

Diablon growled. "That's a monster I used earlier in my duel with that Guardian!"

"Correct, and that means you know exactly what it does, yes?"

Anastasia took Diablon's moment of silence as a yes.

"I will begin by offering up my Wingweaver Priestess!" said the brunette-haired young woman, just as the first of her two monsters leaped up and onto the back of Catapult Turtle. "With the offering met, I now inflict half of my monster's attack points as damage to your life points, Diablon!"

Diablon clenched his teeth as he waited the attack.

"Open fire!"

Catapult Turtle launched the Wingweaver Priestess at Diablon, striking him and causing him to be knocked back a distance (LP: 975).

"One more hit, and he'll lose!" cried Percy.

"But what will happen if Diablon loses?" asked Molly. "Won't we lose Thomas forever?"

"I... I can't be certain." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

Back inside the circle...

"This is your last warning, Diablon." warned Anastasia. "Give Anakin back to me this instant, or perish into darkness!"

Diablon sneered. "Never." he said in a rage-filled growl.

With that said, Anastasia started to give the final command...

"Catapult Turtle-" she began. "-I will offer-"

"STOP!" called the voice of Maiden of the Aqua.

Anastasia immediately stopped her command and gazed at whoever was talking to her.

"Who is it?!"

Maiden of the Aqua slowly approached the glowing circle. She hoped she could try and convince Anastasia that there had to be another way to take Diablon down...

"You can't kill him!" The blue-haired female monster exclaimed. "If Diablon dies, then our friend Thomas will be lost forever!"

"I don't care!" objected Anastasia. "This is the only way to bring my Ani back!"

"No, it's not!" protested Maiden of the Aqua. "If you do this, then Anakin will die, as well!"

"Yes, she is right..." teased Diablon, managing to get back to his feet. "If you do eliminate this body, you will never see Anakin again..."

Anastasia was now silent and hesitant.

"So, tell me, what will it be, Anastasia?" asked the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "Do you really want to kill the one boy you love just for the sake of killing me?"

Still, Anastasia didn't say a word. All of a sudden...

"URRGGH! No! You can't-!"

Diablon clutched his head in pain and fell to his knees again. After a few seconds, Diablon began speaking...with a different voice...

"Anastasia, don't hesitate!" begged the voice (male). "You must attack ' _us_ ' now!"

Anastasia's eyes widened. "Anakin?"

"I would rather die than live knowing what I've caused as this monster!" continued the voice (male) coming from Diablon's mouth. "I have to pay for my misdeeds before it's too late!"

One of Diablon's eyes had went from crimson red to normal blue in color.

"Hurry!" called the voice of Anakin from Diablon's mouth. "Attack me, now!"

"S-Shut up!" ordered Diablon in pain.

It would seem that Anakin had finally mustered enough strength to try and retake control from Diablon. Even then, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' wasn't gonna give up the body just like that.

"Anastasia, you MUST attack me, now!" continued the voice of Anakin from Diablon's mouth. "If you don't, Diablon could get a chance to make a turn-around and take you down! HURRY, AND STRIKE ME DOWN!"

Silence filled the area. Nobody, not even someone from the group outside the circle, dared to say a word. Finally...

"A-Alright, Anakin..." whispered Anastasia, a tear trickling down her cheek. Finally, she gave the command. "Catapult Turtle... I offer my Wingweaver to activate your effect!"

Wingweaver floated over and lowered herself onto Catapult Turtle.

"ATTACK!"

Wingweaver was launched from Catapult Turtle.

"I've failed..." said Anastasia quietly to herself. She didn't want Anakin to die, but this time, there was nothing she could do. "I'm so sorry, Anakin..."

Diablon/Anakin waited for the attack to strike him. Unfortunately...

"N-No!" winced the voice of Anakin from Diablon's mouth. "I will not allow it to end!"

Suddenly, Diablon's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Counter Trap - Divine Wind! This activates in response to card effects that inflict life point damage to me..."

"Now the Emily look-alike will instead receive the damage PLUS an additional 500!" said Edward in horrified realization.

Before Wingweaver could strike, she was intercepted by a large wall of wind before being thrown back to Anastasia.

"My Ani..." whispered Anastasia (LP: 2250), before smiling. "Well done..."

Diablon was smiling in a cruel way. He had won the duel...

"I win!"

The force finally struck Anastasia, causing her to scream in agony (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Diablon wins!**

* * *

All of a sudden, the voice inside Diablon's head echoed once more...

"What have I done...?" Suddenly, Diablon's whole body was overcome with pain as the voice of Anakin then let out a massive scream of his own. "NNNNNOOOOO! ANASTASIA!"

The whole circle began to fill with light in response to scream and surge of power. The whole gang out side it watched the event happen in complete shock.

"Bust my Buttons!" whispered Percy.

When the light faded, it sorta looked like Thomas was now back in control of the body once more—except it wasn't Thomas! It was instead an 18-year old young adult with short black hair (although he shared a scar on the side of his face and across his chest).

"Thomas?" whispered Edward.

"No... that must be the Anakin the Emily look-alike was hoping to see..." corrected Maiden of the Aqua.

The black-haired boy ran over to his fallen friend/lover and held her in his arms.

"Anastasia, Anastasia!" he screamed frantically. "It's me, Anakin!"

Anastasia opened her eyes and looked up weakly.

"Anakin..." The brunette-haired young woman whispered happily. "Oh, my Ani, I knew you could do it."

"Anastasia..." said Anakin slowly. "I... I never thought I'd ever see you again after so long... especially after you-"

"Shh! Don't say another word..." hushed Anastasia, stopping the black-haired boy from speaking briefly by placing her index finger onto his lips. "I... I always knew I would...see you again, someday." She then felt sad and ashamed. "And...I'm so sorry for how I acted during our duel and towards that boy, Thomas, but I HAD to be ruthless. It was the only way I could draw you out so that you could fight the darkness from within once you...knew it was me."

"Why did you throw your life away?" asked Anakin solemnly. "Where were you when I needed you?"

"I made a choice." said Anastasia weakly. "I HAD to die."

"You promised that we would always be together no matter what." The black-haired boy argued, with tons of tears streaming from his eyes. "But when I needed you the most, you weren't there... You had abandoned me, you lied to me, you had broken your solemn promise..."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A depressed and broken-hearted Anakin was staring over the edge of a very high cliff.

"After you had died, and I went insane and killed everyone in our old kingdom-" narrated Anakin. "-my broken heart became filled with nothing but pain and misery. I desperately wanted to die to end the pain, and to make sure we would always be together."

Past Anakin slowly turned around and extended his arms, as though he was intending to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff. But...

(elsewhere...)

At the bottom of the cliff, a farmer and his horse were taking a cart full of hay to market. Unknown to either of them, the hitch to the cart came undone and began rolling backwards.

(elsewhere)

Back atop the cliff, Past Anakin slowly leaned backwards.

"Anastasia... we will be together again soon, my love..." he whispered, falling off the cliff to his seeming death.

But just before the depressed warrior could hit the bottom and break every bone in his body, he landed safely in the cart full of hay.

"I tried many attempts at suicide-" Anakin narrated sadly. "-but nothing I did would work. It was then I decided that if I couldn't join you in death, I would find a way to bring you back to life."

(elsewhere)

After a journey to the mountains, Past Anakin found himself standing in front of a large temple.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"By awakening the Sacred Beasts from their deep slumber inside that temple in the mountains near the old kingdom-" continued Anakin. "-I released the darkness in my heart and became this demon Diablon..."

"Oh, Ani..." whispered Anastasia in a gentle tone. She felt absolutely terrible at what her lover had gone through because of her actions.

After what seemed like forever...

"But... what do I do, now?" asked Anakin slowly, still trying his hardest not to cry.

"Never give up." Anastasia proclaimed. "Even if you do become Diablon once again, I will always be with you in spirit..." She then tried to reach up and gently touch her friend/lover's face. "I...love...you..."

Finally, the image of the brunette-haired young woman closed her eyes, her body went limp, and she faded away back into darkness. Poor Anakin, lost in his despair, gazed up and gave a huge skyward scream.

"ANASTASIAAAAAAAAA!"

The loud cry seemed to echo straight into the night sky (and the moon was beginning to become less and less bright).


	67. In the Name of the King

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the woods; within a sacred place with a circle and stone... all was not well...

"So that's Anakin..." whispered the voice of Percy.

Percy, Spencer, and everyone else was observing a very heartbroken black-haired boy in the middle of the circle.

"And that Emily look-alike was his lover..." added Stanley.

"And it would seem that for some reason-" came from James. "-she killed herself."

Maiden of the Aqua shook her head. "No... There has to be more to it than that..."

While everyone else spoke... Inside the circle, Anakin was on his hands and knees weeping like no tomorrow.

"Anastasia..." he sobbed. "For years I've wanted to find you, but the minute I do you leave me once more... It's not fair. Why can't we stay together? Why must I lose you again?"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Anastasia had fallen to the ground, apparently being mortally wounded. Anakin knelt down, turned over, and held the girl in his arms.

"Anastasia..." The black-haired boy peeped in shock. "Why did you do that? Why did you take the blow for me?"

"I...can't live...without you." said Anastasia weakly, coughing. "You mean...the world to me."

"But I cannot live without you either!" protested Anakin, unsheathing a dagger and putting it to his throat. "If you die, then I will die with you, so we may always be together!"

Before the black-haired boy could slit his own throat...

"NO!"

...Anastasia managed to grab onto her husband's wrist, stopping him from committing suicide.

"Please!" The brunette-haired young woman begged, coughing a bit. "I want you to live... live for the both of us!"

"I can't!" protested Anakin, trying to pull his wrist free from Anastasia's grasp. "I won't!"

"You have to!" insisted Anastasia, refusing to let go. "You're too young, Anakin. I won't let you throw your life away just because of me! Our child wouldn't have wanted it to end for you like this!"

Dropping the dagger, Anakin's eyes began flooding with tears. He loved her more than anything, and living without her was going to be nothing but misery.

"I know...it will hurt... but you have...to be strong." smiled Anastasia. "Find another lover... raise a family with her... live your life the best as you can." She took Anakin's hand and placed it on her pregnant stomach (although the pregnancy had ended in a tragic miscarriage). "I'm sure our child...would have been wonderful. We'll both be...waiting for you when...your time comes."

"Don't go! You can't leave me!" sobbed Anakin. "You're the only friend I've ever had!"

Anastasia didn't say anything back right away. When she finally did speak, it was this that was said...

"I...love...you... my Ani... and I...will always...be with...you..."

With that said, the brunette-haired young woman finally closed her eyes and died peacefully in her friend/lover's arms. Poor Anakin was beyond devastated when he felt no more life in the beautiful princess...

"Anastasia! ANASTASIA!" The black-haired boy screamed repeatedly, crying in his great despair as Anastasia finally turned to light and vanished.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"It's not fair..." Anakin continued in anguish. "It's just not fair! She should have let me die..."

Before long, the black-haired boy was unknowingly overcome with pain (which he didn't either notice or care). His hair soon started to return to the color blue, and his more muscular structure started to lessen a bit. Before long, Anakin had returned to being...

"Thomas!" exclaimed Rosie, running into the circle. "He's back!"

Everyone else started to follow. When the group entered the circle, they approached the down Thomas.

"Thomas!" called Percy. "We're so glad you're back!"

"Yeah!" agreed James. "We knew you could-!"

To the red-haired boy's surprise, he heard broken sobs coming from Thomas...

"T-Thomas?"

"What is wrong with me?" Thomas weeped. "I saw...everything! I've seen...the pain...and anguish!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Maiden of the Aqua softly.

"I saw another vision of the past..." The blue-haired boy tried to explain. "A vision of Anakin watching the woman he loved die in his arms... He wanted to kill himself so he could always be with her! ...but she wouldn't let him!"

Thomas was crying so hard, that...he eventually fell unconscious.

"Thomas!" gasped Percy, rushing over to his best friend.

Unknowing to anyone, Thomas wasn't just unconscious... He was having a dream of some sort...

* * *

 **DREAM SEQUENCE**

The world was nothing but smoke and ash. Everyone had tried their best to confine him, but their best wasn't enough.

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ', the devil himself had been reborn after thousands of years, and with his revived power he had managed to achieve the impossible. The Three Sacred Beasts, the three demons, had been revived as well, and thanks to the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' new powers, he had fused the three beasts themselves together to form a beast of catastrophic and unrelenting power. Duelists from all over the Spirit World, including Percy Avonside, Spencer Gresley, and the rest of the humans that had come to the Spirit World, fought in retaliation against the revived devil. However, each and everyone of them had been defeated and had died, even both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl had fallen, along with the Sanctuary in the Skies guardian, Wingweaver, they were all defeated and killed by the devil.

Now there was no one left who could stand up the devil. He reigned supreme over everything. There was only one person remaining who knew the true identity of the one buried beneath the demonic exterior. That person was Emily Sterling. When she discovered who the monster really was, her heart broke, learning that the once cheerful, cheeky and selfless boy she cherished had a devil resting inside him. And now that thousand year old devil had returned from the dead. Pumping her legs as hard as she could, Emily reached the top of a building that the devil and the merged beast were passing.

"Thomas Billinton!" she screamed with all her might. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Now, normally Emily absolutely hated using swear words of any kind (even 'damn' or 'hell') in any given situation, but this time it was different... It was also only at her words did those red eyes finally meet her own eyes. As full as they were, a vile mixture of rage and blood-lust, a shadow of recognition passed over them.

"Ah, Emily." Thomas's words came out twisted and cruel and nothing like the way he used to say her name. "Have you come to worship your newfound God?"

"You're no God." The dark green-haired girl snarled. "I know the boy that lives inside you, and I demand he speak to me now!"

She knew it was a crazy plan, but she prayed that her request would reach his corrupted heart. Fortunately enough, Thomas ended up complying. As the combined Sacred Beasts approached the building where Emily stood, Thomas jumped off of the beasts head and landed on top of the building so he could meet with that girl.

His appearance remained largely the same as the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', or Diablon, appeared in the past. His body was grey and bulky, with spikes protruding from his shoulders, arms, and ankles and the large pair of black demonic wings now sprouting from his back, his face was veinier and his ears were wing-like appendages, his hair was a much darker tone of blue, his feet expanded and became spiked as well. Finally, the demon's pupils were slits and his irises continued to glow a luminous crimson.

But there were a few key differences due to both beings becoming one through Thomas's body. The enlarged muscle mass left him in nothing but Thomas' belt and jeans which were now tattered at the cuffs. Still hanging around his neck was the Millennium Puzzle, along with a glowing Millennium Eye symbol on his forehead, and he also appeared to now be taller than Emily. Unlike before when Diablon originally ruled during the war, and the various times he possessed Thomas through his anger, his irises no longer continued to glow a luminous crimson. Instead his eyes now shone a terrifying, ominous golden, further adding to his already demonic appearance. But what stood out the most, and what shocked Emily the most, were the multiple scars that covered certain parts of the body.

There were smalls scars and cuts on his hands, received from the numerous violent fits of rage Thomas entered throughout the journey through the Spirit World. But the most prominent scars were the two scars Thomas had received after he was brutally defeated in a duel. The first ran diagonally across his now bulkier chest, while the second, and more severe scar ran straight from the center of his forehead, down straight through his left eye and running down his veined cheek to the bottom of his nose.

"I see you needed a closer look at me in my full power. Now, are you ready to get down on your knees?"

"Why are you doing this?" Emily didn't even try to hide the way her voice cracked. "Why are you hurting so many monsters? They're not angry, Thomas. They only want peace."

"They're insignificant. Their wants hardly matter in the grand scheme of things." explained Diablon. Thomas's new presence seemed to only grow and grow in strength, sending shivers down Emily's spine. "Even so, I did what everyone wanted. I destroyed the Court of Darkness, my own servants. I achieved a power so great, you could never comprehend it."

"What did you want, Thomas? Did you want destruction? A boy I used to know only wanted to help others. Where is he?"

"He's dead." insisted Diablon (Thomas). "I had sacrificed him a long time ago to get where I am now. He was holding me back, just as you are."

The ' _new_ ' Thomas started stalking closer and closer to her. Every instinct in Emily's body screamed at her to run, but she stayed put.

"You're nothing but a baby throwing a tantrum then." Emily declared in defiance. "I know you came to this world so that you could save me. Look into your heart, it knows what you truly want-"

"The heart is nothing but a stupid, useless thing that has only ever wanted foolish things like you!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' (Thomas) spat out.

Emily had prepared herself for many things before she confronted Thomas, but she had never imagined a confession like that. Even when they knew they both had feelings for each other... Like when he saved her from years of pain, and they shared blushes and laughs together, despite Emily herself had buried the possibility of them ever being in a relationship away out of fear and nervousness in the deepest, darkest recesses of her soul. But they both knew of the others love for each other.

"I want you." Diablon went on with half-lidded eyes. "I want you more than anything else, but I'm not good enough for someone as perfect as you. I was able to ignore my want whenever I dueled, until the Court of Darkness had captured you. From that moment nothing mattered to me except finding you. I crushed everyone and anyone who stood in my way, but there's no one left who can satisfy me anymore. I hate that I want you. I hate that there's nothing worthwhile left in this world for me. I hate it so much, I'll be glad to see it all burn to the ground!"

The next thing Emily knew she wrapped her arms around him as she tucked her head in the crook of his neck. She knew it was all her fault. The dark green-haired girl was the chain keeping the darkness in Thomas's heart from escaping - but because she failed to stop herself from getting captured, the darkness was released and the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' was able to regain his power and take control of Thomas. It was all Emily's fault.

"I never wanted you like this, Tommy. I wanted you too, but never as something like this." Emily was caught between cursing him and crying for him. She could see the boy beneath his exterior, and despite what he had become, she couldn't help but love him, still.

"Then why did you come here for me?" Diablon (Thomas) threaded a clawed hand through her hair with a surprising amount of gentleness. "I've killed so many souls, I've destroyed so much of the world, and yet you still don't hate me for my actions... Why?"

"Why? Because of everything you've done for me." The dark green-haired girl whispered against his spiked-shoulders. "You saved me from the darkness and stopped me from killing myself all those years ago. Don't you remember what we said after you saved me? ' _ **We would always stand by each other no matter what, we would never abandon each other**_ '. I couldn't ever live without you, Thomas. Despite everything, I still love you, no matter what you do or how you may hurt me."

"I don't want to hurt you. I've never wanted to."

It was so hypocritical coming from the devil himself, but Emily couldn't help but believe his words. He tilted her head up to look her in the eye as he traced the outline of her face. The dark green-haired girl couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Instead of answering him... she kissed him. It was dark and all consuming, but she enjoyed it, anyway.

"I will protect you, Emily." vowed Diablon (Thomas). "I promise. Never again will I let anyone hurt you. Never again will we be separated from each other, my love. I will share my power with you. You'll become my Goddess. We'll destroy this old world and create a paradise for just for the two of us."

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' leaned down and captured her lips again. Emily knew Thomas's mind and heart had been contaminated by his own darkness and Diablon's influence, but she knew that even in this demonic form, Thomas's love for her remained as pure as it had always been. After all, a devil couldn't hold her or kiss her as gently as he did now. But despite all this, Emily knew that no matter how much she wished, there was no way she could free Thomas from the devil's control. There was no way she could change his decision to destroy the world. There was no saving him.

"T-Tommy..."

Emily weeped into what used to be her Thomas's scarred chest. The dark green-haired girl knew that if the darkness in her own heart fully consumed her, she would become Thomas's Goddess, and they would destroy the world together. Then, at least no matter how much she wanted it properly, no matter what darkness that contaminated their hearts and souls for eternity, there was one thing they shared that the devil nor the darkness could never destroy...

...and that was their love for each other.

* * *

 **Title: In the Name of the King**

* * *

The dream sequence ended, and Thomas's eyes soon began to open.

"That vision again..."

Rosie was the first to notice... "Thomas? Guys! He's awake!"

Before long, everyone had gathered around the awakening Thomas.

"Thank goodness." said Edward in relief.

"Nice of you to finally be awake, Sleeping Beauty." joked James, but not in a teasing way.

Once Thomas regained his vision, he saw was lying in a sleeping bag near a campfire. What's more, the he and gang were no longer in that forest.

"W-Where am I?" Thomas asked weakly.

"We're out of that forest, that's what." answered Spencer.

"After Diablon took over, you dueled against that girl Anastasia." added Maiden of the Aqua. "After it was over, you then turned into a boy with black hair who happened to be her lover."

"I know of that..." whispered Thomas. "As I've said earlier, I saw everything going on..."

"Either way, you've conquered your fear!" Gordon pointed out. "You got us out of the woods and such. Give a day, and we'll be at that city before you know it."

"After you fell unconscious, that slab revealed a shortcut." added Toby.

"It took half-an-hour, but we got out of the woods thanks to it." finished Henry. "From there, we set up camp for the night."

"Our journey's almost done." Molly added to that. "Soon, we'll get to the bottom of that demon in your heart."

"AND find Emily." concluded Toby.

Thomas smiled weakly. "Great... g-great..."

Still weak from what happened, the blue-haired boy closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

"A little rest should do you well." said Mavis.

"Us too." agreed Stanley, stretching his arms out. "We should all get some sleep."

Before long, the heroes were all tucked in for the night. They were feeling much more relieved that they were finally going to reach the capital city and get some answers. The only one who didn't go to sleep was Spencer...

"Soon we will face my monster of a Grandfather..." he thought to himself. "He must be put down for all of his crimes..."

Spencer took out his deck and began looking through it. Cards like Vorse Raider, Reflect Energy, Different Dimension Dragon, Monster Reborn, Magical Trick Mirror, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, etc. were shown.

"But I will never forgive him for the death of one..."

The card he had stopped at was Maiden with Eyes of Blue...

"That bastard will soon feel my wrath." Spencer continued to mentally speak. "I don't care if I need help from Billinton and the likes, Gozaburo will pay for his misdeeds!"

But wasn't there another villain Spencer had to worry about? Let's go see...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the main office of President Douglas Crump, the pompous man was busy readying himself for a public speech he was due to give outside the White House in a matter of days.

"Mark my words, Boxford Corp..." Douglas Crump said to himself. "Your days here in America will be numbered!"

Unlike what he would normally do (allow his staff to type his speech), Douglas Crump was writing the whole speech himself. Why? Oh, because he had LOTS he wanted to say about Boxford Corp personally...

"My own crafted speech will be loved by the millions."

Oh boy... Was there any rays of hope of survival for Spencer's family in the coming days? Let's go see a close friend of theirs, shall we?

(elsewhere...)

In the city of San Francisco, traffic was as busy as ever. People were also wandering and minding their own business...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Industrial Illusions headquarters, Discord seated at his desk with his hands covering his face. It looked like he was doing some serious thinking...

"That President is more stubborn that I first thought." The creator said to himself. "With all the real Duel Monsters sightings and Spencer-boy suddenly vanishing, there must be more to this situation than people think."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in?"

The door opened, and Discord's main secretary entered the office with some news.

"Sir-" The female secretary began. "-I think we found something you might want to take a look at."

"Let's see." insisted Discord, holding his hands out.

The female secretary handed her boss a list. Discord looked through it before stopping at one name on the list.

"What in the world? I...don't believe it!"

Who could the mysterious person be? Will it be enough to clear Boxford Corp's name and put an end to Douglas Crump's smear campaign? Only time will tell, I'm afraid.

(elsewhere...)

It was a new morning somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world. Thomas and the others were awake, and were ready to continue on their way! ...but first, there was breakfast...

"Our rations are running low..." sighed Edward, looking at what food he and everyone else had left. "This is all we have left."

"Not to worry." Maiden of the Aqua reassured. "We're nearing the city now. Once there, we can visit the castle."

"Hopefully, they've got nice showers." commented Rosie. "The lakes have been fine and all, but to bathe in privacy would be real nice."

"Here, here." agreed Mavis and Molly at once.

As everyone ate, Thomas looked rather quiet.

"Hey, Thomas!" called James. This caused the blue-haired boy to look up. "You alright? It doesn't look like you're eating very much."

"Sorry." apologized Thomas. "I was just doing a bit of thinking."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Thinking? Like what?"

"About all that has been happening. And about my dream."

And he told his friends about the vision he'd had while he was asleep.

"So, all of us were dead-" said Percy, recapping his best friend's story. "-the world was in ruin, you were completely turned into Diablon, and Emily...what?"

"She wanted to bring me back from the darkness, but she eventually joined it out of her love for me."

"It would seem that you were being shown a vision of what the future would be if you gave up and fell into darkness." commented Maiden of the Aqua.

Thomas sighed heavily. "I know... but I'm not giving up, now."

"Got that right!" agreed James. "We've all come too far to surrender and end the whole journey."

"So, let's go!" finished Stanley. "We have a Duel Monsters capital city to visit!"

With that said, everyone packed their belongings and were on the way.

(elsewhere...)

The Sanctuary in the Sky was still under severe repair after that attack, which had resulted in the capture Nathaniel and the death of Guardian Eatos. Even then, the monsters of the shrine had to remain vigilant for anymore attacks.

(elsewhere...)

Atop the balcony of her room, Wingweaver looked like she was in deep thought.

"Guardian Eatos..." she thought only to herself. "We can only fear what will become now of your son."

If only she knew... All of a sudden...

"Hold it right there!" echoed the voice of a Blade Knight.

Wingweaver perked up as a shout was then heard.

"You have a lot of nerve showing yourself here, traitor!" Another Blade Knight shouted.

"Traitor?" murmured Wingweaver. "Could it be...?"

"Please, I must speak to Mistress Wingweaver!" echoed a familiar voice (male).

"Be silent, you snake!" snapped the voice of a third Blade Knight.

Wingweaver's eyes widened. "It IS him!"

Without wasting another second, the beautiful angelic-like monster started to make her way out of the palace and to the main gates to try and stop the guards from doing anything to whoever was at the gateway.

(elsewhere...)

Down in the gateway, three Blade Knights there currently had under arrest...a reformed Airknight Parshath!

"You have a lot of nerve coming back." said one of the Blade Knights. "Especially after everything you had done after betraying us."

"Please-" begged Airknight Parshath, being restrained by the other two Blade Knights. "-you need to let me through! I must go see Mistress Wingweaver!"

The centaur-like monster dropped to his knees when one of the Blade Knights kicked him in the back of the leg.

"Oh, we'll let you through..." began the second Blade Knight.

"By taking you to the dungeons for all eternal!" finished the third Blade Knight.

"Stop!" cried a familiar voice (female).

The three Blade Knights looked to nearby and gasped.

"M-Mistress Wingweaver!"

The three monsters bowed out of respect. Airknight Parshath, once his legs regained themselves, looked up and became very surprised as Wingweaver approached.

"Let him speak!" demanded Wingweaver.

"But he's a member of the Court of Darkness!" objected one of the Blade Knights.

The second Blade Knight nodded. "He's betrayed this holy shrine for the powers of darkness!"

"I've turned my back on the darkness!" insisted Airknight Parshath. "After I was defeated by Emily, the darkness within my heart was destroyed."

The third Blade Knight snorted. "Darkness destroyed, my-"

"Silence!" commanded Wingweaver fiercely. "I believe him."

"HUH?!"

"You heard me correctly." said the beautiful angelic-like monster firmly. "I believe Airknight Parshath here..."

"But how can you be sure he's not trying to deceive us?" argued one of the Blade Knights. "For all we know, he could be baiting us into a trap!"

"I have my ways of knowing."

"How?" asked the second Blade Knight.

Wingweaver closed her eyes. "Because Emily was able to save him while defeating her own darkness."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

After remembering that Thomas saved her life, Emily opened her eyes (which had returned to normal) fiercely. In addition, the dark aura around her body slowly died down until it was no more.

"W-What's happening?!" gasped Airknight Parshath.

Emily never said a word, but a confident smile soon crept onto her face. Yup, Emily had done it! Her darkness...was destroyed.

"I-Impossible!" exclaimed Airknight Parsath. "Y-Your darkness...! It's... it's... it's gone! ...but how?"

"You forced me to gaze inside my heart." explained Emily slowly. "Thinking that I would find only darkness. But you were wrong!"

"Then you gazed in the wrong place!"

"Look, believe what you wish, but I know the truth. My heart is filled with the light of friendship. And no magic, darkness, or anger can take that away. No matter how strong it is." Emily retorted, continuing to give her passionate speech. "So... thank you, 'Parshath'. You've reminded me that my friends are always with me! And we're going to win this fight and take you down together!"

(new scene...)

Emily was performing a move that would win her the duel...

"With the payment offered, I can now ritual summon from my hand, deck, or graveyard the true angel of this land; Serapheem!"

The cloudly sky slow-but surely started to break away, while Emily performed a summon chant...

" _ **Angel of the highest order, she who guards the Sanctuary in the Sky, I summon you to smite the wicked from this land**_!"

A familiar monster started to lower from the brightened sky.

" _ **RITUAL SUMMON**_!" shouted Emily, raising her right hand into the sky. " _ **Arise from the heavens - Serapheem**_!"

Continuing to lower onto the field was the more powerful version of Wingweaver (Level: 12/ATK: 2900).

"Sera-pheem..." whispered Airknight Parshath.

Serapheem closed her eyes and raised her hands into the sky to gather power.

"As of now, there isn't anything you can do to stop our attack!" declared Emily.

Airknight Parshath could not believe it. He was about to lose to the one he was meant to capture!

"I-Impossible...!" The Court of Darrkness member murmured. "I... I have been...defeated?"

" **HOLY RAYS OF THE GODDESS**!" roared Emily.

With that command given, rays of light shot down from the heavens, striking Darknight Parshath. The dark being cried out in agony as he melted away as a sign of destruction. The rest of Airknight Parshath's cards were also shown being destroyed as well for dramatic effect.

"NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!" screamed Airknight Parshath, just as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0).

The centaur-like monster, as the light overwhelmed him, thought he was about to die. Just then, he saw a familiar face floating before him...

"W-Wingweaver?"

It was not Wingweaver... it was Serapheem.

"Your fall into darkness was your eventual downfall." said the goddess-like monster. "However, you're not to blame for it."

Airknight Parshath was silent.

"It was Diablon who caused this." continued Serapheem. "He has lied to you, and manipulated you into opening your heart to the darkness."

Still, Airknight Parshath said nothing.

"However, as of now, your heart shall be purified of the dark, Guardian Parshath!"

With that said, Serapheem held out her hands and made them glow. Airknight Parshath felt something being pulled out from him and thus began screaming in agonizing pain.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, the light show soon ended...with Airknight Parshath standing still... just before finally collapsing.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and the three Blade Knights each remained silent.

"Do you see now?" continued Wingweaver. "I've seen the last part of the duel! I KNOW Parshath has defected from the Court of Darkness!"

"Mistress Wingweaver..." whispered Airknight Parshath in awe, but didn't get a chance to speak on as Wingweaver turned her attention to him next.

"But I still have to know something..." The beautiful angelic-like monster went on. "Why did you let Diablon manipulate you into abandoning us?"

"I only wanted to bring Anakin and Anastasia back to life." admitted Airknight Parshath sadly. "They were my friends, and..."

"And you were devastated when I informed you they had died..."

Airknight Parshath nodded ever-so slowly. "Yes... I am so sorry for betraying all of you, but most importantly..."

Tears began streaming from his eyes as he took hold of Wingeaver's hands and looked into her eyes...

"I've betrayed you, Wingweaver! I'm so sorry for all that I've done while serving the Court of Darkness... I know this is asking for too much, and I know that you will never forgive me, but I truly regret all of the crimes that I've commited..."

Wingweaver couldn't help but blush as she heard the centaur-like monster speak on. This feeling going on in her heart... she had never felt anything like it in years! Finally... the beautiful angelic-like monster spoke back...

"I forgive you, Parshath." Wingweaver said softly.

Airknigth Parshath looked up hopefully. "Huh? Y-You do?"

"I can tell you truly regret your actions and want to make up for them." answered the beautiful angelic-like monster.

Airknight Parshath didn't say anything at first. This allowed Wingweaver to continue speaking...

"And-" she went on. "-I know of one way to make it all better between us."

"How so?" quizzed Airknight Parshath.

Instead of speaking again, the female angelic-like monster held the male centaur-like monster close and embraced him with a kiss.

"Let's...leave 'em alone for a while." whispered one of the Blade Knights to each other.

"Good idea."

With that said and agreed on, the trio of warrior-type monsters departed to give the two light attribute monsters some alone time with each other.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo was speaking to the other members of the Court of Darkness.

"Her darkness is gone, Gozaburo!" argued Earl of Demise. "That means we have no more use for the girl, anymore!"

"Our hunt was all in vain." added Darkbishop Archfiend. "Not to mention that the girl has succeeded in turning Airknight Parshath against us."

Gozaburo remained silent.

"So, what do we do now?" questioned Vampire Lady. "Sooner or later, that boy and his friends will reach the capital city."

"I told you we should have captured HIM instead of the girl!" protested Earl of Demise angrily. "But did anyone listen to me? Nooooo! No one EVER takes Earl of Demise seriously."

Laughter started to echo throughout the chamber...

"Huh?"

Gozaburo Gresley...was cackling with laughter. It was as if he wasn't worried that Emily had escaped and destroyed her darkness... almost like it was part of a big plan or something.

"Has he lost his mind?" Darkbishop Archfiend whispered.

"Huh! Probably so!" huffed Earl of Demise, folding his arms.

Upon ceasing his maniacal laughter, Gozaburo turned to gaze at the Court of Darkness with his eyes blazing with evil and insanity.

"Oh, this is not even close to being over..." he insisted. "Far from it! That girl is still a very important part of our big plan."

Vampire Lord hissed in response. "How so?"

"Haven't you notice how powerful Thomas's darkness has grown during his quest to find her? He became Lord Diablon, and even survived a long fall that should have killed him! ...but what if he were to discover that his friend has been recaptured while near death?"

"Go on..." listened Darkbishop Archfiend.

"All we have to do is recapture the girl and bring her back here." said Gozaburo. "But we have to make sure she's injured enough so that Thomas will be filled with nothing but rage when he finds out she might be dead!"

Vampire Lord smirked evilly. "And I know just who can do the job..."

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in a meadowy field in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Thomas and everyone else were continuing on their way. It was currently the afternoon, and...

"I'm hungry!" whined James.

"We're nearly there." said Maiden of the Aqua, looking down the road.

"I sure hope so..."

Thomas scouted around with his little telescope before seeing something.

"A sign!" he announced.

Indeed... Up ahead was a sign pointing in a direction. The group approached as Spencer read what it said...

"'Duel Monsters capital city, up ahead...'" he read, beore looking down a path. "That way!"

"We've made it!" cried Percy. "Come on!"

The green-haired boy immediately raced down the road.

"H-Hey, Percy!" called Thomas.

Suddenly, Mavis followed. "Wait for me, Percy! WHOO!"

"A nice, hot shower for me!" cheered Rosie, racing down the road.

"I can't believe our trip's finally paying off." came from a very happy Molly, following her two friends.

"FOOD!" exclaimed Gordon and James, as they both ran down the road also.

Soon, practically everyone (except Thomas, Spencer, Edward, and Maiden of the Aqua) race racing down the path. They had at last reached the light at the end of the tunnel.

"They all seem excited." remarked Maiden of the Aqua.

"After everything we've been through-" said Edward. "-they're happy that their quest is nearly over."

"Soon we'll be ready to find Emily." agreed Spencer, before looking down to his friend/rival. "That's what you want, right, Billinton?"

"Yes..." nodded Thomas. Finally, he ran down the road. "Come on!"

The remains of the party chased after their friends. With their journey soon coming to a close, will they, especially Thomas, get the answers they're looking for? Only one way to find out! ...next time.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions, the Court of Darkness and Gozaburo Gresley were all waiting when the big doors opened...

"You called for me?" asked a voice (male).

"Yes." confirmed Vampire Lord. "We all have a very important task for you."

The mysterious figured moved in closer until the lighting finally revealed who he was...

"This had better be good..."

...it was Knight of Dark Dragon.


	68. Return of the Dragon Knight

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Emily was currently all alone and setting up camp for the night.

"It has been so dangerous for me for the last few days." she thought to herself. "I may have defeated and saved Airknight Parshath from his darkness, but something tells me the Court of Darkness isn't finished with hunting me down just yet.

Emily began looking through her deck while remaining in her thoughts... Some cards shown were Monster Reborn, Angelic Gift, Wingweaver, etc..

"But even if they still try to come after me, I'm not going down without a fight."

(elsewhere...)

"This had better be good..." growled Knight of Dark Dragon.

Inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Knight of Dark Dragon had just been summoned by the Court of Darkness and Gozaburo Gresley.

"Oh, I assure you it will be..." grinned Vampire Lord. "A girl we had captured weeks ago has escaped. We need you to hunt her down and bring her back to us..."

The Dragon Knight felt insulted. "A girl? You want me to capture a GIRL?! Are you insulting my abilities?!"

"Of course not." insisted Gozaburo, smiling like he was actually teasing Knight of Dark Dragon. "This girl is not an ordinary one. There is far more to her than meets the eye..."

"And what does that mean?" huffed Knight of Dark Dragon.

"That girl has a great darkness within her." claimed Darkbishop Archfiend. "A darkness that we can put to good use in our mission to revive our lord and master."

Now that wasn't true, as Emily's darkness had been conquered, but the Court of Darkness were willing to bend the truth to the mercenary so long as it meant getting her back to the Castle of Dark Illusions. The Dragon Knight, meanwhile, thought it over for what seemed like forever. Eventually, he gave a heavy sigh and spoke to his employers...

"Alright, I'll go after this girl." Knight of Dark Dragon then scowled. "But you had better not have lied to be about her being what you say she is."

"You have our word." reassured Earl of Demise.

"How do I know which girl to find, though?"

"You can tell by the color of her hair and eyes." said Vampire Lord. "Dark green, closely emerald colored."

"And your sense of smell!" Vampire Lady added. "You can smell darkness, can you not?"

"Yeah, I can smell darkness." Knight of Dark Dragon answered.

"Then you can easily sniff her out!"

Knight of Dark Dragon frowned. "Fine..."

With that said, he left the throne room (as well as castle) to begin searching for the girl the Court of Darkness were speaking of. Uh-oh... Emily had better be ready to face this upcoming threat...

* * *

 **Title: Return of the Dragon Knight**

* * *

In the clearing somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, Emily had finally got a campfire all setup. Currently, as she tooked dinner, the dark green-haired girl was thinking about how she was gonna find her friends in this vast world.

"This world's just so big..." she thought to herself. "It could take me longer to find them than it took me to escape the Court of Darkness or conquer my inner darkness... But I can't give up now; I've come too far to quit!"

(elsewhere...)

Riding on the back of his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon was sniffing the air for a possible stench of darkness. So far, there was no darkness around where he currently was...

"Not here either..." The Dragon Knight sighed. Suddenly, he got a whiff of a new scent. "Huh? What's this scent I'm smelling?"

It wasn't anything like the scent of darkness he was used to smelling. The scent was pure... wholesome... almost like...light.

"I must find the source of that scent..."

With that thought on hand, Knight of Dark Dragon made Red-Eyes Black Dragon follow the direction of the scent.

(elsewhere...)

Later that night, Emily was asleep by the burning campfire in a sleeping bag. So far, she was sleeping peacefully... It was as if the dark green-haired girl was have a nice, peaceful dream...

"Thomas..." she murmured sleepily.

Why not take a look at it?

* * *

 **DREAM SEQUENCE**

Emily and Thomas were sitting on a hill as a gentle breeze caused leaves to dance all around them.

"It sure is beautiful out here." whispered Emily.

Thomas agreed. "Yeah, it sure is..."

Emily blushed as she felt Thomas put his own hand on hers. The blue-haired boy then looked towards his friend with much more to say...

"I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, Thomas." replied Emily.

"Throughout our mission-" continued Thomas. "-I kept worrying that I would never see you again, almost like I would lose myself to the darkness."

Emily didn't say a word back.

"Promise that no matter what happens-" The blue-haired boy went on. "-we'll always be together."

Just before Emily could say something back...

 ***BOOM!***

 **END DREAM SEQUENCE**

* * *

The dream came to an abrupt halt as Emily suddenly shot herself awake from the loud explosion coming from nearby.

"Trembling Tracks!"

A large fire had started in the spot where the explosion took place. Curious, Emily got out of her sleeping bag and slowly moved towards the fire.

"W-What's going on?" asked Emily.

All of a sudden, to her shock, a human emerged from the large fire.

"You!" called the human.

Emily took a step back out of reflex. "M-Me?"

"I'm looking for someone." The figure growled, revealing himself to be Knight of Dark Dragon. "I'm looking for a girl with darkness in her heart."

"Girl with darkness in her heart?"

Knight of Dark Dragon was about to speak again when he sniffed the air and got a whiff of the same scent he smelled from before. The Dragon Knight narrowed his eyes as he then realized something about this girl...

"It is you!" he bellowed. "You are the one with the scent of light!"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Emily.

"I have been following this scent throughout my hunt." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "At first I was to find a girl with darkness in her heart, but..."

Emily grew more and more nervous. "But...what?"

"But I can see that I have been led to the wrong girl." continued the Dragon Knight, walking towards the dark green-haired girl. "It's YOU I'm after!"

Realizing she was still being hunted by the Court of Darkness, Emily started turned and began to make a run for it. Suddenly, she was stopped by a wall of fire.

"It's useless to resist." insisted Knight of Dark Dragon.

"I went through great lengths to escape from the Court of Darkness-" snapped Emily. "-and I'm not going back! I have to find my friend, Thomas, and go home!"

Knight of Dark Dragon merely drew a card and readied it.

"You're coming with me, conscious or not, and you will like where I'm going to be taking you."

All of a sudden, Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared in a burst of fire.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" murmured Emily, looking quite shocked in seeing the familiar black-scaled dragon. "But, I thought only Percy wielded that card?"

"My name is Knight of Dark Dragon." The Dragon Knight introduced himself. "I am the true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

Knight of Dark Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon both slowly and menacingly approached the seemigly defenseless Emily. Eventually, the girl dashed away into another direction.

"It's useless to escape." Knight of Dark Dragon remarked.

Emily ran as fast as she could, but Red-Eyes Black Dragon was quickly following her. Emily had no other choice.

"Come forth - Seiyaryu!" cried Emily, as she drew and held a card out.

The large pink dragon materialized with a mighty roar as the dark green-haired girl quickly jumped onto its back before it flew up into the air. Red-Eyes Black Dragon tried to stop Seiyaryu from flying away by biting down on its tail. However, Seiyaryu was much too fast for it to reach.

"Thanks, Seiyaryu!" panted Emily.

But it was far too soon to be relieved... Red-Eyes Black Dragon was hot on their trail and pursuing fast, with its master alongside it.

"You might as well stop resisting, you are only delaying the inevitable!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, riding on the back of his own dragon. "Surrender yourself!"

Unfortunately, Emily wasn't going to let that happen, not after she had come so far in escaping and conquering her darkness! She looked down towards the ground and saw that there was a large trench.

"If we go down there we might be able to lose him!" The dark green-haired girl said to herself.

Unfortunately, Knight of Dark Dragon had different plans...

"INFERNO FIRE BLAST!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon began firing multiple molten fireballs at Emily and Seiyaryu, each one exploding into molten rocks. Seiyaryu dodged each deadly blast, narrowly avoiding the molten rock residue. Seiyaryu ascended higher in order to swoop around and get behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but as they were upside down, Emily lost her hold on Seiyaryu and began falling from the sky!

"AAAAAHHHH!" she screamed.

Rather fortunately, Emily landed safely... Unfortunately, she landed right on Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Knight of Dark Dragon was very pleased with this turn out.

"So, the prey has come to the predator!" chuckled the Dragon Knight, standing up. "You were never a match for me..."

But Emily wasn't about to give up like that. With all her might, she clenched her right hand into a fist and threw a punch at Knight of Dark Dragon as hard as she could hit, striking him hard and square in the middle of the face while also causing him to stumble back and seemingly fall off the dragon into the abyss below.

"Oops! Sorry!" Emily called out, apologizing sarcastically. She then turned and gave a gasp. "Oh no!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself had angrily turned its head and already had charged and fired another Inferno Fire Blast directly at Emily herself as she started to run away. As the dark green-haired girl ran down Red-Eyes Black Dragon's tail, Seiyaryu was coming up behind them.

"RAZOR FIRE BLAST!" Emily commanded to her dragon.

Seiyaryu obeyed and fired a powerful stream of blue fire from it's mouth, just as Emily jumped off Red-Eyes Black Dragon's tail. The Razor Fire Blast and Inferno Fire Blast collided in mid-air and unleashed a fiery explosion directly above the once again falling and screaming Emily. Thankfully, however, Seiyaryu caught her.

"Dive, dive!" The dark green-haired girl ordered.

Meanwhile, as it turned out, Knight of Dark Dragon had not fallen to his death... He was hanging onto his Red-Eyes Black Dragon's foot with a bleeding and swollen nose to match.

"You little bitch...!" The Dragon Knight quietly growled to himself. Now that girl had further damaged his pride and really pissed him off...

Emily shot a quick glance at her hunter for a brief second as he climbed back onto the top of his dragon, before she pretended to talk into a walkie-talkie.

"This is Pink Dragon, we're going in!"

With that said, Seiyaryu began to dive down into the trench down below, with Red-Eyes Black Dragon once again pursuing them.

"Defensive action!" cried Emily, as the two dragons maneuvered through the twists and turns of the trench. "Lock and load! WOOHOO!"

Surprisingly, Emily seemed to be enjoying herself greatly, despite being chased by the most feared and deadly mercenary found in the whole Duel Monsters spirit world. Needless to say, Knight of Dark Dragon found himself secretly impressed by her determination and skill with commanding her dragon through the trench.

"She's more impressive than I first thought about her. I can see now why those pathetic Court of Darkness members had such a hard time trying to re-capture her." The Dragon Knight thought only to himself. "Even then, I won't be evaded that easily!"

"Stay on target, stay on target, stay on target!" Emily ordered as Seiyaryu avoided the numerous rocks, but then there was more trouble.

The trench ended in a dead end! But Emily didn't even flinch or even think of ordering Seiyaryu to pull up. Soon, her plan was ready to be put into effect...

"And FIRE... NOW!" bellowed Emily.

Seiyaryu instantly obeyed and fired a powerful blue fireball from it's mouth at the cliff-face. The blast drilled through the rock forging a tunnel.

"Protect wings, NOW!"

Seiyaryu followed it's masters order and tucked it's wings against it's body so that it could go through the tunnel.

"Clever!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon, once he realized Emily's plan. The Dragon Knight also realized that the tunnel she had forged was much too small and narrow for Red-Eyes Black Dragon to fit through. "Pull up, Red-Eyes!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon did so and in seconds it flew overhead towards the cliff where the ocean lay below, and where Emily and Seiyaryu would emerge from the other side of the tunnel.

"Prepare to unleash your wrath on those fools!" Knight of Dark Dragon ordered, just as Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to descend.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon prepared another Inferno Fire Blast to launch as soon as Emily and Seiyaryu emerged. Unfortunately for them, they had fallen for Emily's trap.

"TURN AND BURN!" Emily commanded as they finally emerged.

In an instant, faster than Knight of Dark Dragon could ever predict or react to, Seiyaryu spread it wings, made a complete 180 degree turn and unleashed a ferocious fire blast directly at Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"WHAT?!" screamed the Dragon Knight in complete surprise.

The Razor Fire Blast struck Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Knight of Dark Dragon with incredible force, sending them both of them crashing into the nearby cliffs and falling down towards the rocks below.

"Ha ha!" cheered Emily. "And stay down!"

And she and Seiyaryu flew across the night sky... Down on the rocks by the ocean, Knight of Dark Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon both laid wounded, but not out entirely.

"She lured us into her trap!" groaned Knight of Dark Dragon. But then his angry look turned into a smirk. "I'll admit she is, indeed, a worthy adversary... Oh, how I look forward to absolutely crushing her in a duel and regain my pride!"

Obviously, that Dragon Knight was definitely not going to give up. Over with Emily and Seiyaryu, the pair discovered that they've managed to lose their pursuers.

"We've lost them." said Emily aloud, just before turning her attention to the large, pink dragon. "Seiyaryu, we're safe now... Let's land."

Seiyaryu obeyed, landing safely on the ground in the middle of the trench. After getting off of her dragon (which then faded away in a blue streak), Emily saw a bunch of rubble on the ground nearby.

"Hey, what's that?"

Walking closer, the dark green-haired girl saw there was someone buried in the middle of the rocks. It was Knight of Dark Dragon, and his eyes were closed like he was dead.

"Is he...dead?" whispered Emily to herself.

She moved in closer to see if he was. All of a sudden, the seemingly dead Dragon Knight's eyes opened (revealing them to be all red). Emily had no time to back away when Knight of Dark Dragon broke out of the fallen rubble, stood up, and grabbed the dark green-haired girl by the throat and lifted her up.

"Fooled you!" joked Knight of Dark Dragon. "Nobody makes a joke out of me and gets away with it!"

Emily gagged as she was being choked by the mercenary's great strength. Soon, the Dragon Knight threw the dark green-haired girl aside and onto the ground.

"I have to admit though..." continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "I can't remember the last time I had been outsmarted in a way like that." He activated his Duel Disk. "Now that I think about it, this is just what I need to regain my lost pride!"

"W-What...do you...mean?" coughed Emily, still recovering from being choked.

"I mean I'm challenging you to a duel." The mercenary pointed out. "If I win, then you will be coming with me."

Before Emily could object to the match, the Dragon Knight went on some more...

"You've also mentioned a friend named Thomas earlier. Tell me; was he a blue-haired teenage boy with a golden item of sorts around his neck?"

Emily's eyes widened.

"Heh! I think I'll take that as a yes." remarked Knight of Dark Dragon.

"You've seen Thomas?!" gasped Emily. "Tell me where I'll find him, right now!"

Knight of Dark Dragon smirked. "I even know where he's going. He and his group of friends are on their way to the capital city of this world to seek assistance. To prove I'm a monster of my word, why don't I make things fair for you? If you somehow manage to defeat me, I will gladly take you there to meet up with him. Deal?"

After thinking it over, and deciding to take the risk, Emily activated her Duel Disk and got into a dueling stance (LP: 4000).

"Deal."

"Excellent." grinned Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000).

The dark green-haired girl silently drew her opening hand and faced her opponent (LP: 4000). This was one duel she HAD to win! ...but Emily didn't know how powerful her opponent was, but she would soon learn of it...

"I'll take the first turn, if you don't mind." The Dragon Knight insisted, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Dragon's Gunfire, Call of the Haunted, Red-Eyes Spirit, Attachment Dragon, and Troop Dragon

* * *

His drawn card was the Troop Dragon Monster card.

"A decent start." Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself. His hand contained Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Dragon's Gunfire, Call of the Haunted, Red-Eyes Spirit, Attachment Dragon, and the added Troop Dragon. "That girl has no idea who she's even dealing with!"

Emily glared on silently, watching as her opponent took a card from his hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Troop Dragon in defense mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a green dragon in armor (Level: 2/ATK: 700/DEF: 800).

"And also-" continued the Dragon Knight, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, a facedown card materialized behind Troop Dragon. "-I set one card and end my turn."

Emily sweated nervously. What kind of opponent was she up against? What was he like? It was the kind of answer the dark green-haired girl was nervous of receiving.

"I can take your dragon!" cried Emily, drawing a card. "I'll even take it down, now!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): The Golden Apples, Damage Mage, Maha Vailo, Cost Down, Seiyaryu, and Hymn of Light

* * *

Her hand contained The Golden Apples, Damage Mage, Maha Vailo, Cost Down, Seiyaryu, and the added Hymn of Light.

"A good start, but I need either Serapheem or Wingweaver out if I want to emerge triumphant against this guy." Emily took a card from her hand. "I guess this monster would be a good start..."

She placed the card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"I summon Maha Vailo in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was the blue-cloaked spellcaster with blonde hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1550/DEF: 1400).

"Destroy Troop Dragon!" commanded Emily.

Maha Vailo obeyed, striking down Troop Dragon was a shot of lightning.

"I activate Troop Dragon's effect!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, as his deck started glowing all white. "When he's sent to the graveyard, I can summon another Troop Dragon in his place."

A second Troop Dragon appeared in a defensive stance. With nothing else to do, Emily immediately entered the end phase.

"I end my turn!"

Knight of Dark Dragon drew his next card without a word.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (5): Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Dragon's Gunfire, Red-Eyes Spirit, Attachment Dragon, and ?

* * *

"I activate my facedown card!" announced the Dragon Knight, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - Call of the Haunted!"

Emily winced. "Call of the Haunted..."

"This allows me to revive a monster from my graveyard and place in attack mode." explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "Welcome back, Troop Dragon!"

The destroyed Troop Dragon reappeared on the field and joined the freshly summoned one.

"Now that I control two monsters, I'll offer them both as a tribute!"

The two dragons vanished in streaks of blue. Emily began to grow nervous as she had a feeling what was coming.

"Prepare yourself!" thundered Knight of Dark Dragon, placing his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth, the ultimate dragon of darkness - Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Appearing onto the field in a blaze of fire was the mighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000). Emily gazed up at the dragon in awe and fear.

"You ready?" teased Knight of Dark Dragon, just before entering the battle phase. "Attack Maha Vailo with Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed the command, charging and firing off a blast of fire at Maha Vailo. The weaker monster was struck and destroyed in an instant.

"There goes your monster!"

Emily grimaced as she took some battle damage (LP: 3150). Unfortunately, her troubles weren't over just yet...

"I'm not quite finished with you just yet." continued Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and slotting yet another card into his Duel Disk. "Next I'll play this Spell card..."

The Dragon's Gunfire Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Dragon's Gunfire! Since I control a dragon-type monster on the field, you will receive an additional 800 points of damage to your life points!"

Emily was now looking very worried.

"Fire!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

A large blast of fire shot out of the face-up Spell card and struck Emily, causing her to scream in pain (LP: 2350).

"So, how do you like that?" taunted the Dragon Knight.

Emily was wincing. "I...special summon...Damage Mage in...defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a cloaked female spellcaster with a pair of wings under her arms (Level: 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 1200).

"If I take damage from a card effect-" explained Emily (LP: 3150). "-then Damage Mage automatically summons herself to the field and increases my life points based on the damage I took."

"How annoying..." grumbled Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and slotting one more card into his Duel Disk. "I set a card and end my turn."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon suddenly gave a roar, while Emily looked up at it fearfully.

"This Red-Eyes isn't anything at all like Percy's." she said to herself. "This dragon is dark, mean, and somewhat...evil..." The dark green-haired girl narrowed her eyes and drew a card. "No matter, I won't be defeated here!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3150)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (5): The Golden Apples, Cost Down, Seiyaryu, Hymn of Light, and Magician's Valkyria

* * *

On cue, the Cost Down Spell card materialized face-up and activated.

"From my hand-" said Emily, sending a card from her hand to the graveyard. "-I activate the Spell card Cost Down! By sending one card to the Graveyard, I can downgrade the star levels of all the monsters in my hand by 2 until the end phase."

Magician's Valkyria briefly appeared before fading away. From there, Emily took a card from her hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"With the level of my monster lowered from 7 to 5, I sacrifice Damage Mage to summon a dragon-type monster of my own - Seiyaryu!"

Damage Mage faded away, and in her place appeared the mighty Seiyaryu (Level: 7 - 5/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2300).

"Tch! Seiyaryu..." muttered Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Seiyaryu-" called Emily. -attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The pink dragon obeyed and took to the skies.

"RAZOR FIRE BLAST!"

Seiyaryu fired its blast and roasted Red-Eyes Black Dragon, causing Knight of Dark Dragon to brace himself while crying out in pain (LP: 3900). Upon recovering, the Dragon Knight glared at his opponent with a growl.

"Trap card, open!" announced the Dragon Knight. His set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "Red-Eyes Spirit! Now Red-Eyes will be reborn once again!"

In a burst of fire, the mighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon rose again.

"He brought Red-Eyes back again!" thought Emily. She then shook the concern out of her head. "No matter though... I still have Seiyaryu present, and it's stronger." From there, the dark green-haired girl slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "I set one card and end my turn."

"Your time will soon be up, girl of light!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "It's time to show you why I am the master of dragons!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 3900)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (3): Attachment Dragon, ?, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up and started glowing a celestial whitish light.

"I activate Card of Sanctity!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing and four cards to his hand. "With this, we must draw until we each have six cards in our hands."

Emily silently drew five cards. From there, a monster card called Exploder Dragon materialized face-up.

"Thanks to my new hand, I'll summon Exploder Dragon in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a dark bluish dragon carrying an explosive of sorts (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0).

"Attack Seiyaryu!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

Emily was surprised. "What?! But your monster is weaker than my own!"

"Attack points don't matter with this kind of monster." Knight of Dark Dragon pointed out. "When it does battle, none of us take any battle damage. Not only that, but when it falls in battle, the monster that destroyed it will be destroyed, as well!"

Seiyaryu opened fire another Razor Fire Blast attack at Exploder Dragon.

"No, stop, Seiyaryu!" cried Emily, but was too late.

The blast hit the explosive, causing a massive explosion that claimed the life of both battling dragons.

"This leaves you wide open for a direct attack!" proclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Red-Eyes, strike my opponent down with Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed without question and fired off another ball of fire. Within a second, Emily was struck by the fireball as an explosion clouded her side of the field.

"Even if she has life points left-" Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself. "-there's no way she could withstand that blast."

The smoke soon cleared up, and revealed a wounded Emily clutching her side...and a face-up Trap card.

"WHAT?!"

"The Golden Apples..." panted Emily (LP: 750). "This card activates in response to a direct attack on my...life points." She continued to breath hard as her life points went back to how they were (LP: 3150). "Now my...life points recover...by the damage I took from Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

On cue, a new monster started to appear on the field.

"In addition, my Trap card...also gives me a...Malus Token!"

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled. "Malus Token..."

Appearing onto Emily's field was what looked like a monster made of bluish smoke.

"Best of all-" Emily went on some more. "-my Malus Token's attack and defense become equal to the points I've gained."

The Malus Token's stats went up (ATK: 0 - 2400/DEF: 0 - 2400).

"Damn it all..." thought Knight of Dark Dragon. From there, he spoke aloud... "I end my turn, now!"

Emily was feeling pleased. "Okay, so far I have the advantage with my two strong monsters. I just need to keep up the pace, and I'll defeat him."

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Emily Sterling (LP: 3150)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (7): Hymn of Light, Victoria, Soulpatch, Battle Mania, Lightning Vortex, Gellenduo, and Saffira, Queen of Dragons

* * *

"Get ready, Knight of Dark Dragon!"

Her hand contained Hymn of Light, Victoria, Soulpatch, Battle Mania, Lightning Vortex, Gellenduo, and the added Saffira, Queen of Dragons.

"This could be it." thought Emily, planning her newest strategy. "First, I'll use Lightning Vortex to destroy Red-Eyes, then I'll revive it to my field with Victoria and power her up with my Soulpatch Spell card. From there, I'll attack with all of my monsters, and if he manages to summon a monster to protect himself, I'll still have two more to finish him off and win the duel."

She began to reach for her card, but then her hand froze and a voice in her head called out to her.

" **I would try calling out Saffira first, if I were you**."

Emily was puzzled. Here she was holding in her hand the key to winning the duel in an instant, and now someone was telling her to use a different strategy? Before the dark green-haired girl could think anymore, she was interrupted by her opponent...

"Well?" called Knight of Dark Dragon. "I'm waiting!"

Emily responded by placing a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. On cue, a monster card called Victoria materialized face-up.

"I summon Victoria in attack mode!" The dark green-haired girl announced.

Appearing onto the field was a female knight riding a dragon with many heads (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).

"Victoria?" blinked Knight of Dark Dragon. He then remembered something about it... "That monster...allows you to select one dragon-type monster in my graveyard and special summon it onto your side of the field!"

"That's right." confirmed Emily. "I special summon Troop Dragon from your graveyard to my side of the field!"

On cue, one of the two Troop Dragons appeared on the dark green-haired girl's side of the field. Not done with her turn, Emily took and slotted yet another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"Now it's time for me to play a Ritual Spell card!"

A Spell card called Hymn of Light flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Hymn of Light?!" growled Knight of Dark Dragon in shock.

"By offering enough monsters, I am able to summon a powerful monster from my hand to the field." explained Emily. She motioned her right hand forth. "I offer both Victoria and Troop Dragon!"

The two monsters vanished from the field in blue streaks.

"What is she planning?" wondered Knight of Dark Dragon.

His answer came quicker than expected...

"I ritual summon the level 6 dragon-type monster - Saffira, Queen of Dragons!" announced Emily, holding her glowing card up. "EMERGE AND SHOW YOURSELF AT ONCE!"

Appearing onto the field in a burst of light was a majestic, humaniod, female dragon (Level: 6/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2400).

"Your monsters are history!" thundered Emily, just as the Lighting Vortex Spell card materialized face-up. "I activate Lightning Vortex!"

"Damn!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon. "Not that!"

"By discarding one card from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field!"

Bolts of lightning struck Red-Eyes Black Dragon, causing it to let out a roar of agony before exploding into nothingness.

"R-Red-Eyes!" exclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Your time is up!" declared Emily boldly, pointing forth at her opponent. "As soon as I declare an attack, you'll be defeated!"

"I think not!" retorted the Dragon Knight, as he took a card from his hand and readied it. "I play the effect of the Keeper of the Shrine in my hand! When a dragon-type monster is sent to the graveyard by a card effect this turn, I can special summon this beast to my side of the field in defense mode!"

Emily reacted in shock. "What?!"

"Yes! Now come forth - Keeper of the Shrine!"

Appearing onto the field was another humanoid dragon monster in a mediating position (Level: 4/ATK: 0/DEF: 2100).

"Now I play another effect of my monster!" continued Knight of Dark Dragon, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "Because a normal monster was destroyed this turn, I can add one normal dragon-type monster from the graveyard to my hand!"

He took and held the card out.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"This must be why that voice told me to change my combo." Emily thought to herself. "It's like whoever was talking to me knew this would happen..." She then spoke out loud. "Too bad you'll never get a chance to use it." The dark green-haired girl slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "I equip Saffira, Queen of Dragons with Soulpatch! This will grant my light or earth attribute monster 1000 extra attack points!"

The Dragon Queen started glowing as she became even stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3500).

"Now, Malus Token-" called Emily. "-attack Keeper of the Shrine!"

Within seconds, Keeper of the Shrine shattered into pieces of glass. Knowing that he was open for a direct attack, Knight of Dark Dragon cursed loudly in frustration.

"Saffira, Queen of Dragons, attack Knight of Dark Dragon directly!"

Saffira, Queen of Dragons obeyed the command, firing a blast of white fire directly at Knight of Dark Dragon. The Dragon Knight screamed as the flames burned through his body and dealt massive life point damage (LP: 400).

"And now, because Saffira was ritual summoned successfully this turn-" The dark green-haired girl continued. "-you must send one random card from your hand to the graveyard."

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled as he sent a card (Mirage Dragon) from his hand to the graveyard. It was now his turn...

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, ?, ?, and Black Dragon's Chick

* * *

On cue, the Black Dragon's Chick monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Playtime is over, now... I summon Black Dragon's Chick in attack mode!"

Appearing from the card and onto the field was a large red egg with a baby Red-Eyes Black Dragon inside (Level: 1/ATK: 800/DEF: 500).

"Black Dragon's Chick?" quizzed Emily, looking at the monster with curiosity.

"Now, I'll tribute it!" continued Knight of Dark Dragon, as his monster faded away in a blue streak. "This will allow me to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon onto the field!"

Within seconds, Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared onto the field. All of a sudden, a dark aura began to surround Knight of Dark Dragon... This was something Emily took notice of...

"What's going...on?" she whispered. "Why does that guy got...darkness all around him?"

This was not a good sign at all. How so, you're probably asking? Well...

"And now I will sacrifice my Red-Eyes!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a demonic growl as it got surrounded by a pillar of fire. That could mean only one thing...

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon..." The Dragon Knight mumbled, as his eyes began glowing all red. "I command you to evolve into Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

The fire soon faded away and revealed, much to Emily's horror, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's new dark form (Level: 9/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon..." whispered Emily.

"My new monster recieves 300 extra attack points for every dragon-type monster rotting in the graveyard!" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, just as seven monster cards emerged from his graveyard. "I count seven in total... That brings Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon to 4500 attack points!"

The new dragon's power grew to great heights (ATK: 2400 - 4500).

"It's now as powerful as the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon..." thought Emily, looking up at the evil dragon in awe and fear.

"And now-" Knight of Dark Dragon went on. "-prepare to feel its fury... Destroy the Malus Token!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon obeyed and charged a powerful blast of fire in its mouth.

"INFERNAL DARKFIRE!"

Firing the blast, the Malus Token was vaporized upon contact.

"My monster!" cried Emily, but he eyes widened when Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's attack was coming for her now! "No!"

The flames struck the dark green-haired girl, causing her to scream in agony as the flames burned all around her (LP: 1050).

"This duel will be mine soon enough." boasted Knight of Dark Dragon. "You've done well thus far, Red-Eyes!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon returned to his own side of the field. The smoke on Emily's side of the field soon cleared away and revealed the girl looking even more injured.

"It's m-my...turn!" she struggled to say, but still managed to draw a card.

No matter what condition she was in, Emily was determined to keep fighting to the bitter end.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Emily Sterling (LP: 1050)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): Battle Mania and Solar Ray

* * *

A facedown card materialized, followed by Saffira, Queen of Dragons going into a defensive stance.

"I set...one card... and switch Saffira, Queen of Dragons...to defense mode..."

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gave a soft growl as Emily's turn came to an end. Knight of Dark Dragon started to draw his card when...

"Is this what you want to do?" echoed Emily's voice.

"What?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, looking at his opponent curiously.

The wounded Emily looked up at her opponent. "I said...is this...what you want to do? Possibly take someone's life...in a fight like...this?"

"Well, I-" Knight of Dark Dragon tried to say, but was interrupted.

"What do you hope to gain from it?"

"I happen to be a mercenary!" cut in the Dragon Knight. "I want to become famous and feared by all in this world! The Court of Darkness paid me handsomely for performing jobs for them, which includes the recapture of the girl with darkness in her heart."

"Well, your quest to...capture me will be for nothing." said Emily, struggling to remain on her feet. "Because I...have no darkness in...my heart, anymore."

That was when Knight of Dark Dragon started to realize something about the dark green-haired girl...

"That's why you...smell of pure, wholesome light!"

Emily nodded weakly. "Exactly."

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

Despite being told the truth, the duel was still on...and Knight of Dark Dragon aimed to win it. On cue, the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Mystical Space Typhoon!" The Dragon Knight declared, with two fingers placed on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "With it, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field..."

A cyclone formed around the face-up Soulpatch Spell card.

"Say goodbye to Soulpatch!"

The Equip Spell card soon vanished without a trace. Without it, Saffira, Queen of Dragons was reduced back to its original state (ATK: 3500 - 2500). Emily began to reach for her Duel Disk to activate her facedown card.

"Now's my chance to beat him." she thought to herself. "This could be my last chance to be reunited with Thomas and the others..."

But before the card could be activated, the dark green-haired girl's hand froze.

" **No, Emily**!" said the familiar voice from earlier. " **Do not activate that card just yet... Wait until he declares an attack**!"

The voice sounded familiar to Emily, although she didn't know if she could trust the voice in her head. In her condition, the dark green-haired girl would be at risk of death. Not only that, but she would perhaps never get to see Thomas or her friends again. Unfortunately, Knight of Dark Dragon wasn't done with his play just yet... A monster card called Attachment Dragon materialized face-up.

"Now I summon Attachment Dragon in attack mode!" continued Knight of Dark Dragon.

A very small greenish dragon appeared onto the field (Level: 1/ATK: 100/DEF: 100).

"Now it may be weak, but its effect is what I want." The Dragon Knight pointed out.

"E-Effect?" mumbled Emily wearily.

"Attachment Dragon can equip itself to one monster on your side of the field and change its battle position." explained Knight of Dark Dragon. he then pointed forth at his oponent's only remaining monster with two fingers on his right hand. "Observe!"

Attachment Dragon immediately lunged forth and attached itself to Saffira, Queen of Dragons, causing the female dragon to roar out in pain and surprise as it stood up into a battle ready position.

"Saffira!" cried Emily.

"This is it..." thought Knight of Dark Dragon to himself. "All I have to do is declare an attack, and I'll win!" He suddenly hesitated. "But... if I attack..."

The Dragon Knight cast a glance at his wounded opponent. It looked like she would not survive the attack if a battle WAS declared!

"Do I really want to risk killing her just for the sake of winning the duel?" Knight of Dark Dragon asked himself. "But, I... I need to reclaim my lost pride!"

Suddenly...

"Well?" coughed the voice of Emily, causing Knight of Dark Dragon to look up. It looked like Emily was gonna collapse at any moment. "What are you waiting for? Attack me and end the duel! ...you want to win, don't you?"

The Dragon Knight was silent for what seemed ages. At last, he made a decision on what to do...

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon..." Knight of Dark Dragon began. "I... I want you destroy Saffira, Queen of Dragons and wipe out the remains of my opponent's life points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon obeyed and charged a powerful blast of fire in its mouth.

" **INFERNAL DARKFIRE**!"

The mighty blast was fired towards Saffira, Queen of Dragons. If it successfully hit, Emily would not only lose the duel, but she would possibly also die in the process due to her terrible state.

"It's all over!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon.

The attack finally hit, and a massive explosion clouded Emily's side of the field. All seemed quiet when the commotion finally ceased... Just then, however, a voice echod in the smoke...

"Solar Ray..."

"What?!" gasped Knight of Dark Dragon. Once the smoke cleared away, he saw a face-up Trap card on his opponent's side of the field. "Not that!"

"S-Solar Ray...inflicts 600 points of...damage to your...life points...for every light attribute...monster on...my field..." Emily weakly explained (LP: 0).

A beam of light shot from the Trap card and hit Knight of Dark Dragon. He didn't flinch or scream... only remained very still as the wave of realization washed all over him.

"She... she outsmarted me again..." The Dragon Knight thought to himself (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: This duel is a draw!**

* * *

The holograms faded away... Knight of Dark Dragon soon recovered and walked over to the barely standing Emily in an attempt to congratulate her.

"I am impressed with your tactics." he said rather impressively. "But why did you wait until I attacked to activate Solar Ray? You could have activated it the moment my turn began. You could have won."

No answer came... Why not? Because Emily...collapsed right there and then. Knight of Dark Dragon was now in his thoughts over the chase and duel... The Court of Darkness had lied to him in order to reclaim the dark green-haired girl. And he had promised to take her to Thomas if she won the match. Not only that, but she had a chance to win in the duel, but for some reason, she didn't take it. Even though neither of them won, Knight of Dark Dragon began to feel it would be unfair to have to capture her after her hard work in the duel.

"I may as well take her to that boy." The Dragon Knight said only to himself.

Without a second to waste, he picked Emily up and hung her over his shoulder. Just before Knight of Dark Dragon could leave...

"Well done!" congratulated the voice of Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon turned around to see Vampire Lord appear from behind one of the trees. He had been watching the whole thing happen, and was smiling in a very evil way...

"You!" gasped the Dragon Knight. "Were you here...this entire time?"

"Every moment." confirmed Vampire Lord, not losing his smile. "I must say it was a rather impressive match. Though it was a shame the girl chose not to win when she had the chance."

Knight of Dark Dragon remained absolutely silent. The words Emily said to him earlier began to echo inside his head...

" ** _Is this what you want to do? Possibly take someone's life in a fight like this? What do you hope to gain from it_**?"

Emily was right about one thing she said before passing out... Was this what Knight of Dark Dragon wanted to do? Was there anything to gain from it? That's something he'll find out soon enough...


	69. The Enemy of My Enemy

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for brief language. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Knight of Dark Dragon started narrating the events of the previous story:

"Ever since I can remember, I was the most feared warrior of this world. Everyone I faced feared me!"

"Do you buffoons really want to mess with someone like me?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon, sounding very menacing. "Because that would be an unwise move on your part."

"Heh! We ain't afraid of you, pal!" scoffed the second goblin. "We're the Goblin Attack Force!"

"And we're about to teach you some manners." said the third goblin.

"Goblin Attack Force style!" finished the first goblin.

Knight of Dark Dragon merely stared coldly at the three goblins as he began glowing all red. He would show those three idiotic goblins what happens when you mess with the wrong Dragon Warrior.

"What's he doing?" whispered Molly.

Before long, Knight of Dark Dragon had transformed himself into a fiery dragon-like spirit.

"What is this?!" screamed the first goblin.

"A very ticked off dragon spirit, that's what!" wailed the second goblin.

"Lets get out of here!" cried the third goblin.

The three goblins started to run back towards their hut... but Knight of Dark Dragon was not gonna let them escape...alive.

"You're not going anywhere!" he shouted.

With another fierce roar, the fiery dragon made a dive towards the hut the three goblins had entered. There was an explosion upon contact with the hut, and the three human girls each braced themselves from the force of the blow.

"Whoa!" cried Mavis.

When the force of wind died down, the three girls looked in the direction of the hut...and got a nasty shock at what they saw.

"Oh... my..." Molly whispered in fright.

The hut was completely destroyed. All that was left behind was a raging fire... which a now human Knight of Dark Dragon emerged from without flinching or caring that he caused death and destruction.

"I crush ANYONE who even dare to face me!"

"Even if you do go and power it up now, it will be unable to attack this turn because you summoned it by your Knight of Dark Dragon's effect!" Rosie argued some more.

"Again, you're so naive!" insulted Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and holding up another card from his hand. "What I hold here is the one card that will bring you down!"

Rosie, Mavis, and Molly each silently waited to see what the man was going to do. Knight of Dark Dragon then slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Spell card materialized face-up...

"The Spell card Inferno Fire Blast!"

"I-I-Inferno Fire Blast?!" Rosie was really scared now.

"You know, there's an old saying I heard about both the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon." Knight of Dark Dragon remarked. "' _The Blue-Eyes brings **power** , and the Red-Eyes brings _**_potential_** '... I'm about to show you what that potential is all about with my Inferno Fire Blast Spell!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon started charging up a burst of hit flames from its mouth.

"This card allows Red-Eyes to deal direct damage to your life points equal to its original attack points." explained the Dragon Knight, smiling savagely. "So now, Red-Eyes... finish them off!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed, firing off the devastating Inferno Fire Blast, surrounding the whole area with fire. For dramatic effect, Diamond Head Dragon roared in agony as it melted away from the seering heat of the fire. Rosie, meanwhile, braced herself as she felt the heat of the flames getting to her.

"Rosie!" cried out Mavis and Molly at once, just before the flames caught up with them.

"My goal... to be the most famous and feared mercenary in the world. But then I seemed to lose my edge when I met the owner of another Red-Eyes Black Dragon..."

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon obeyed, charging a blast.

"Oh and every time a Red-Eyes monster attacks-" The green-haired boy continued some more. "-I can equip one Warrior monster from my graveyard to it and raise its attack by 200 points!"

Axe Raider suddenly appeared on Red-Eyes Slash Dragon as it got even stronger (ATK: 2800 - 3000). Just then...

"This duel isn't over yet!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon hotly. "I'll use my facedown De-Fusion to split your new monster back into the two original creations used to summon it!"

The Dragon Knight's first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I don't think so!" retorted Percy. "By sacrificing my Axe Raider, I can negate your card and destroy it!"

Axe Raider was launched from the dragon and slashed at the De-Fusion card, destroying it. Red-Eyes Slash Dragon then got weaker (ATK: 3000 - 2800).

"Knight of Dark Dragon only has 1000 life points left!" cried Mavis. "And Percy's monster is still 800 points stronger than his! Percy's got this won if his second attack hits its mark!"

"Percy...isn't going to win!" Amazoness Sage suddenly blurted out, causing Thomas and the others to stare. "Knight of Dark Dragon's final set card will change the whole duel!"

The blast from Red-Eyes Slash Dragon struck Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, causing it to explode massively.

"You lose, Mr. Ultimate Dragon Warrior!" declared Percy proudly. "Red-Eyes... get ready to-"

Unfortunately...

"Don't... be... so... sure!" growled a familiar voice, interrupting the green-haired boy.

Percy's smile of triumph turned to a look of confusion. The smoke cleared, and a very ticked off Knight of Dark Dragon was shown with his life points dropping to zero instead of 200 (LP: 0).

"If I'm to go down, then I'm going to take you with me!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Percy. "Your life points are suddenly at zero! Wouldn't that mean you lose?"

And so... Knight of Dark Dragon decide to just show the green-haired boy what he really meant...

"Trap card, open!" shouted the Dragon Knight. His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Red-Eyes Burn!"

Now Percy was scared. "R-Red-Eyes Burn?!"

"Since you've attacked a Red-Eyes monster I control-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon in the coldest voice. "-we both take damage equal to its original attack points. That means this duel...is a draw!"

An explosion of fire clouded the whole duel field.

"Percy!" cried Thomas.

When the smoke cleared, both Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon were both kneeling on the ground and panting from the intense duel they both experienced.

"I only became seemingly worse when I met the owner of the three legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragons. From there, I suffered...my first loss."

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" began Spencer. "Unleash your final attack on my opponent! End this duel!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon obeyed and started charging another three-way blast from its mouths.

" **NEUTRON BLAST**!"

The blast was finally fired at Knight of Dark Dragon, overwhelming and causing him to scream as the last of his life points finally dropped all the way to zero (LP: 0). With his body smoking from the attack, Knight of Dark Dragon collapsed to his knees in complete disbelief. In addition, with the duel won for Spencer, the ring of fire started to die down slowly but surely.

"This can't be possible!" Knight of Dark Dragon gasped in shock. "I never lose!"

"And after facing the wielder of the Blue-Eyes, I felt like I had lost the pride in my skills... until I was recently tasked to capture a teenage girl who was said to have darkness within her heart."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon prepared another Inferno Fire Blast to launch as soon as Emily and Seiyaryu emerged. Unfortunately for them, they had fallen for Emily's trap.

"TURN AND BURN!" Emily commanded as they finally emerged.

In an instant, faster than Knight of Dark Dragon could ever predict or react to, Seiyaryu spread it wings, made a complete 180 degree turn and unleashed a ferocious fire blast directly at Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"WHAT?!" screamed the Dragon Knight in complete surprise.

The Razor Fire Blast struck Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Knight of Dark Dragon with incredible force, sending them both of them crashing into the nearby cliffs and falling down towards the rocks below.

"Ha ha!" cheered Emily. "And stay down!"

And she and Seiyaryu flew across the night sky... Down on the rocks by the ocean, Knight of Dark Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon both laid wounded, but not out entirely.

"But when I fought her... I realized that I had been deceived."

"I happen to be a mercenary!" cut in the Dragon Knight. "I want to become famous and feared by all in this world! The Court of Darkness paid me handsomely for performing jobs for them, which includes the recapture of the girl with darkness in her heart."

"Well, your quest to...capture me will be for nothing." said Emily, struggling to remain on her feet. "Because I...have no darkness in...my heart, anymore."

That was when Knight of Dark Dragon started to realize something about the dark green-haired girl...

"That's why you...smell of pure, wholesome light!"

Emily nodded weakly. "Exactly."

"When the girl ended the duel in a draw, I was ready to try and bring her to that Thomas boy."

Knight of Dark Dragon was now in his thoughts over the chase and duel... The Court of Darkness had lied to him in order to reclaim the dark green-haired girl. And he had promised to take her to Thomas if she won the match. Not only that, but she had a chance to win in the duel, but for some reason, she didn't take it. Even though neither of them won, Knight of Dark Dragon began to feel it would be unfair to have to capture her after her hard work in the duel.

"I may as well take her to that boy." The Dragon Knight said only to himself.

Without a second to waste, he picked Emily up and hung her over his shoulder. Just before Knight of Dark Dragon could leave...

"Well done!" congratulated the voice of Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon turned around to see Vampire Lord appear from behind one of the trees. He had been watching the whole thing happen, and was smiling in a very evil way...

"You!" gasped the Dragon Knight. "Were you here...this entire time?"

"Every moment." confirmed Vampire Lord, not losing his smile. "I must say it was a rather impressive match. Though it was a shame the girl chose not to win when she had the chance."

Knight of Dark Dragon remained absolutely silent. The words Emily said to him earlier began to echo inside his head...

" _ **Is this what you want to do? Possibly take someone's life in a fight like this? What do you hope to gain from it**_?"

Emily was right about one thing she said before passing out... Was this what Knight of Dark Dragon wanted to do? Was there anything to gain from it? That's something he'll find out soon enough...

* * *

 **Title: The Enemy of My Enemy**

* * *

Opening up outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, an argument could be heard coming from inside the building...

"How dare you lie to me?!" echoed Knight of Dark Dragon's angry voice.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room, Knight of Dark Dragon was shown in a heated argument with the Court of Darkness over their deception.

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Vampire Lord innocently.

"You told me that girl had a powerful darkness in her heart!" protested the Dragon Knight. "But the only thing I could smell on her was pure, wholesome light! You tricked me!"

Darkbishop Archfiend snorted. "So what?"

"Here's a little question." continued Knight of Dark Dragon. "If Thomas is the one you truly need for Diablon's so-called return, WHY DIDN'T YOU CAPTURE HIM INSTEAD OF THE GIRL?! That would have made a million times more sense!"

"She has conquered her darkness, yes..." Vampire Lord acknowledged.

"But even she still has her uses." added Vampire Lady.

Knight of Dark Dragon was puzzled. "Other uses?"

"Yes... other uses." nodded Darkbishop Archfiend.

"What use could a teenage girl with no darkness in her heart have for you?"

No one anwered the question.

"Answer me!" demanded Knight of Dark Dragon. "Why do you still need the girl?!"

"Just keep your armor on!" snapped Earl of Demise. "You'll find out more about the plan regarding Diablon soon enough!"

Knight of Dark Dragon grew angrier. "You know what? I really don't give a damn about the ' ** _Evil One_** '!" He then turned to leave. "Consider our partnership over!"

"You-" hissed Vampire Lord, taking a step forth. "-are not going to leave!"

"Oh yes, I am!" raged Knight of Dark Dragon. "I have had enough of your underhanded tactics and your stupidity!"

"You've performed some rather underhanded tactics yourself, you know." retorted Earl of Demise.

"BE SILENT! It's true that I can be underhanded at times, but at least I have standards! You guys, on the other hand, won't stop at anything to get what you want!"

"We will not let you leave our fold!" declared Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Then I shall fight my way through you all!" roared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Before anything else could happen...

"Hold up-" interrupted Vampire Lord, raising his right hand up. "-I have a better idea on how we could settle this argument."

"Huh?" The Dragon Knight blinked.

Within seconds, a Duel Disk appeared on Vampire Lord's left arm, and the Court of Darkness leader also inserted his deck into the device.

"I would like you to face me in battle." said Vampire Lord, not losing his wicked smile. "If you win, you're homefree."

Knight of Dark Dragon activated his Duel Disk. "Fine! Let's duel, now!"

With that said and agreed to, the two duelists drew their opening hands and faced each other down fiercely (LP: 4000) x2.

"This will be over quickly!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "I'll take the first turn, if you may!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (6): Spear Dragon, Dragon's Bind, Scapegoat, Follow Wing, Armed Protector Dragon, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon

* * *

His hand contained Spear Dragon, Dragon's Bind, Scapegoat, Follow Wing, Armed Protector Dragon, and the drawn Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"I'll begin with Spear Dragon in attack mode!"

On cue, the mentioned monster card materialized face-up on the field before the all-familiar dragon appeared out of the card (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"Starting off strong, are we?" teased Vampire Lord. "That's fine with me!"

On cue, three facedown cards appeared behind Spear Dragon.

"I set three cards facedown and end my turn." finished Knight of Dark Dragon. "I assure you, Vampre Lord, this is a duel you will not be able to win."

"So he says..." muttered Earl of Demise to himself.

Unfazed by his opponent's boastful threat, Vampire Lord instead kept his sinister smile on his face as his turn started up.

"It's my turn!" The Court of Darkness leader announced, drawing a card. "Get ready!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Vampire Lord (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Everliving Underworld Cannon, Vampire Dragon, Vampire Baby, Vampire Takeover, Vampire Lord, and Allure of Darkness

* * *

His hand contained Everliving Underworld Cannon, Vampire Dragon, Vampire Baby, Vampire Takeover, Vampire Lord, and the drawn Allure of Darkness.

"Get ready, you traitor!" called Vampire Lord, taking and readying a card. "Soon, you will be defeated and be forced to serve us some more!"

"Just try it!" dared Knight of Dark Dragon.

"First, I'll play the Spell card Allure of Darkness!" continued Vampire Lord, just as the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "By banishing one dark attribute monster from my hand from the game, I am able to draw two additional cards!"

On cue, the monster version of Vampire Lord briefly appeared before fading away in a blue streak. From there, the Court of Darkness leader drew two cards and immediately held one of the drawn cards out.

"Now I play Call of the Mummy! Since I control no monsters, I can special summon one zombie-type monster from my hand to the field! ...like Vampire Baby."

Appearing onto the field was an infant-like vampire (Level: 3/ATK: 700/DEF: 1000).

"Heh! Don't make me laugh!" scoffed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Your monster cannot even touch my Spear Dragon!"

"He won't be around for long though." grinned Vampire Lord, taking and readying another card from his hand. "Because now I sacrifice him to call forth the powerful Vampire Dragon!"

Vampire Baby faded away in a blue streak.

"Now watch!"

Appearing onto the field was a huge grey dragon with one eye, and an orange underside (Level: 5/ATK: 2400/DEF: 0).

"Because I've normal summoned Vampire Dragon successfully-" continued Vampire Lord, adding a card to his and. "-I can add one level 4 or lower monster from my deck to the hand."

Knight of Dark Dragon cursed aloud, watching as Vampire Dragon started charging an attack.

"Now, Vampire Dragon, attack Spear Dragon!"

Vampire Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of dark flames. Spear Dragon was hit and destroyed.

"So much for Spear Dragon." teased Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon merely scowled (LP: 3500), watching as two facedown cards appeared behind the Vampire Dragon.

"Now I'll set two cards of my own and end my turn." The Court of Darkness leader finished.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (3): Armed Protector Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Graceful Charity

* * *

Upon adding his drawn card to his hand, Knight of Dark Dragon directed his right hand to one of his set cards.

"Facedown card, open!" he announced, just as the first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Scapegoat!"

Four sheep tokens came out of the face-up Quick-Play Spell card.

"Why play that?" questioned Vampire Lord. "They're useless to you!"

"Perhaps..." shrugged Knight of Dark Dragon. "But thanks to a little update to the rules of this card, I can offer two sheep tokens as a tribute!"

Two of the sheep tokens faded away in blue streaks.

"Thanks to that rule update-" scowled Darkbishop Archfiend. "-it is perfectly legal... It also means a tribute summon is on the way."

Earl of Demise grew unhappy. "THAT monster... It HAS to be that one monster!"

The fiend-type monster was right... Appearing on the field, face-up, was the Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card... just before a pillar of fire began to surround it.

"Now... prepare to feel the wrath of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" thundered Knight of Dark Dragon. "Arise at once, my great beast!"

Within the blast of fire, once it began to die down, came the almighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Red-Eyes...Black Dragon..." whispered Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon wasn't finished yet... The Dragon Knight slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk, causing the Graceful Charity Spell card to materialize face-up.

"Next I'll activate Graceful Charity." said Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing three cards. "This allows me to draw three cards and discard two from my hand."

The drawn cards were shown to be Offensive Guard (Trap card), Dragon's Gunfire (Spell card), and Dice Try! (Spell card). Thinking carefully, Knight of Dark Dragon discarded Dice Try! and Armed Protector Dragon.

"And now I shall play the spell Dragon's Gunfire!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This Spell card gives me two effects to choose from so long as I control a dragon-type monster." explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "The first is where I can inflict 800 points of damage to your life points, and the other is where I can destroy one monster that has 800 or less defense."

The face-up Spell card began charging a ball of fire.

"FIRE!"

A ball of fire was launched from the card and struck Vampire Dragon, destroying it.

"As you can see, I've used the second effect to destroy Vampire Dragon." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "It has less than 800 defense points, so it was targetable for my Spell card's effect."

Vampire Lord didn't look worried. "That's what you think..." he thought only to himself. "My set Escape from the Dark Dimension Trap card will allow me to special summon my banished Vampire Lord to defend my life points. From there, I'll activate my other set card, Vampire Takeover, to activate the Field Spell card Vampire Kingdom and special summon a Vampire monster from my graveyard!"

Too bad Knight of Dark Dragon wasn't finished just yet...

"Now I shall reveal both my other facedown cards!"

Vampire Lord gasped in surprise, watching as Knight of Dark Dragon's two remaining set cards flipped face-up and revealed themselves.

"I'll begin by using Dragon's Bind!" began Knight of Dark Dragon. "This lets me target a dragon-type monster I control and prevent both of us from special summoning monsters with attack points equal to or lower than its original attack."

"That makes my facedown Escape from the Dark Dimension useless!" thought Vampire Lord angrily.

Alas, it wasn't over yet...

"And I'll follow up with Follow Wing. This not only prevents Red-Eyes Black Dragon from being destroyed in battle, but if any monster does battle with him, I can go and destroy that monster and raise Red-Eyes's attack by the amount of the destroyed monster."

Finally, the battle phase had come... Red-Eyes Black Dragoon charged a ball of fire in its mouth.

"INFERNO FIRE BLAST!"

The blast finally fired, which struck Vampire Lord and caused him to scream in pain (LP: 1600).

"Why, that lousy-!" seethed Earl of Demise.

"I told you this duel was going to be over soon enough." warned Knight of Dark Dragon. "You made a serious mistake challenging me."

"Mistake?" Vampire Lord questioned, brushing the dust off of his left arm. "Hardly..."

"I will ask you again..." continued the Dragon Knight, this time in a much darker tone. "And this time, I demand a proper answer. Why did you want me to capture that girl even though she had no darkness in her heart?"

While Vampire Lord, along with the other Court of Darkness members, remained silent on the matter, an answer still came...from someone else...

"So, you're seeking an answer?"

Knight of Dark Dragon turned and saw Gozaburo Gresley entering the throne room.

"You know, we're not the kind who gives secrets away that easily." teased the evil man. "Perhaps if you win the duel, I'll fill you in."

"But it will never happen." came from Vampire Lord, drawing a card. "Why, you ask? Oh, because I'm going to defeat you."

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Vampire Lord (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (3): Everliving Underworld Cannon, Paladin of the Cursed Dragon, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up.

"And this should be a good start!" continued the Court of Darkness leader, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Card of Sanctity! This makes both of us draw until we hold six cards in our hands."

With that said, the two dueslists drew cards from their respective decks. Vampire Lord's hand now contained Everliving Underworld Cannon, Paladin of the Cursed Dragon, Zombie World, Heavy Storm, Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon, and Pot of Greed.

"A decent start..." he thought to himself, taking a card from his hand. "However, I do think a field clear is needed."

On cue, the Heavy Storm Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Kiss your Trap cards goodbye..." grinned Vampire Lord. "I activate Heavy Storm!"

A massive storm blew away every single Spell and Trap card on the field.

"My Trap cards!" cried Knight of Dark Dragon, bracing himself. "Y-You've destroyed them!"

"That means Red-Eyes is no longer protected from my own cards!" cackled Vampire Lord. He then took and held out the Pot of Greed Spell card. "But before I show you my secret weapon, I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards from my deck!"

He then drew two more cards, added them to his hand, took another card and got ready to place it into the Field Spell zone.

"The Field of Dark Graves..." whispered Knight of Dark Dragon.

The Court of Darkness leader scoffed. "The Field of Dark Graves? Please, I don't need it to defeat the likes of you - I have something far better in mind."

On cue, a Field Spell card called Zombie World materialized face-up.

"I activate Zombie World!"

The scenery suddenly began to change into a rather nightmarish forest.

"Zombie World?" quizzed Knight of Dark Dragon. "What's that?"

Just then, Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to be affected by something.

"My dragon! What's happening to it?"

"My Field Spell card turns every monster on the field, no matter who owns them, and in the graveyard into zombie-type monsters." explained Vampire Lord. "Best of all, neither player can tribute summon any kind of monster EXCEPT for zombie-type monsters!"

Knight of Dark Dragon growled. "How dare you?!"

"Heh heh heh... too bad I'm not done just yet." continued Vampire Lord, just as the Monster Reborn Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate Monster Reborn, and use it to bring Vampire Dragon back to the field!"

Vampire Dragon reappeared to the field in an instant.

"It's time for me to unveil my secret weapon!"

Vampire Lord sank into the ground for some reason. Unknowingly, it was for a tribute summon...

"I don't care what it is your have planned." declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "I will fight it!"

"Then allow me introduce to you-" announced Vampire Lord. "-the Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon!"

The Dragon Knight's eyes widened. "Red-Eyes, did you say-?"

Appearing onto the field was what looked like a zombified version of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"It's a level 7 monster-" acknowledged Vampire Lord. "-but it can be summoned with one tribute by offering at least one zombie-type monster as a tribute."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon both gazed at each other with hatred burning in their blood.

"But our monsters both have the same attack points." Knight of Dark Dragon pointed out. "Attacking would just get them both destroyed!"

Vampire Lord laughed loudly. "Poor, simple-minded fool... You think I don't know that?"

"What are you-?!"

"Just watch this." The Court of Darkness leader insisted, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, an Equip Spell card called Violet Crystal flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I play Violet Crystal!"

"Violet Crystal?" repeated Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Violet Crystal is an Equip Spell card that raises the attack and defense points of a zombie-type monster by 300."

Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon grew stronger (ATK: 2400 - 2700/DEF: 2000 - 2300). On cue, another Spell card (Everliving Underworld Cannon) flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And now, I play the Continuous Spell card Everliving Underworld Cannon!" added Vampire Lord. "Once per turn, whenever a zombie-type monster is special summoned onto my field, you will receive 800 points of damage!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon began to charge an attack.

"Destroy Red-Eyes Black Dragon, now!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of dark fire at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"There isn't anything you can do to save your monster!" laughed Vampire Lord.

The blast hit, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon was destroyed just like that.

"Red-Eyes..." whispered Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 3200).

"And now watch as my Zombie Dragon revives your dragon to my side of the field!" declared Vampire Lord.

"WHAT?!"

"Every time Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon destroys a zombie monster in battle-" explained Vampire Lord "-that monster is special summoned to my side of the field. Combined with Zombie World, all monsters become zombie-types!"

From there, as the Court of Darkness leader had so ' _kindly_ ' explaind, Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared beside Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon.

"And now my cannon will deal 800 points of damage to you!" The Court of Darkness leader went on.

The face-up Spell card fird a blast at Knight of Dark Dragon. While it did it him, he did not blink, flinch, or scream in pain (LP: 2400). Red-Eyes Black Dragon then fired off a blast of fire at one of the two remaining sheep tokens.

"Now say goodbye to one of your sheep tokens!" proclaimed Vampire Lord.

The sheep token was incinerated in seconds.

"Why, you...!" hissed an enraged Knight of Dark Dragon.

Vampire Lord raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"You will pay for this!" The Dragon Knight bellowed, pointing at his opponent. "Do you hear me?!"

"Hmph... Then why not show me?" dared Vampire Lord. "Backup your words instead of acting like all of them will happen!"

Without another word, Knight of Dark Dragon drew his next card fiercely.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 2400)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (3): Offensive Guard, Burst Breath, Hunter Dragon, Dark Factory of Mass Production, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, Infernal Dragon, and Mirage Dragon

* * *

The Dragon Knight added his drawn card to his hand and remained in is thoughts over the situation.

"As long as Zombie World is on the field-" he thought to himself. "-all of my dragons will be turned into zombies. And if that blasted Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon destroys one of my monsters in battle, it's special summoned to his side of the field. Then his cannon will inflict 800 points of damage to me."

Knight of Dark Dragon's hand, thanks to Card of Sanctity, now contained Offensive Guard, Burst Breath, Hunter Dragon, Dark Factory of Mass Production, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, Infernal Dragon, and Mirage Dragon.

"No matter, I will win the duel and escape from this place."

"Well?" called Vampire Lord, smiling. "What're you going to do?"

At last, Knight of Dark Dragon took a card from his play and began his move...

"This isn't much-" he said aloud, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "-but I'll summon Infernal Dragon in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a blackish dragon with red wings (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 0).

"Not much, indeed." insulted Earl of Demise. "That dragon has nowhere even close to having the power of Vampire Lord's monsters!"

Knight of Dark Dragon ignored that comment, taking two more cards from his hand and slotting them into his Duel Disk.

"Finally, I'll place these two cards facedown and end my turn."

Two facedown cards materialized on the field.

"This duel isn't over yet." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "You may currently control two powerful monsters, and we cannot tribute any non-zombie-type monsters, but I do have ways of calling forth powerful monsters."

"We'll see." interrupted Vampire Lord, drawing a card. "For now, I'll take my turn."

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Vampire Lord (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, Paladin of the Cursed Dragon, and ?

* * *

Without wasting a second, the Court of Darkness member placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Come forth - Paladin of the Cursed Dragon!"

Appearing to the field was what looked like a zombie version of Paladin of White Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200).

"The first of my monsters to attack will be Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon!" Vampire Lord declared, pointing forth and entering the battle phase. "Attack Infernal Dragon, now!"

The zombie version of Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed the command, firing a blast of dark fire at Infernal Dragon.

"Say goodbye!"

Infernal Dragon was overwhelmed and destroyed.

"D-Damn!" winced Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Now you know what happens next." grinned Vampire Lord. "Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon will revive your monster, and my-"

"It won't work!"

Vampire Lord raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why not?"

Suddenly, Infernal Dragon reappeared to Knight of Dark Dragon's side of the field.

"I play the effect of Infernal Dragon!" announced the Dragon Knight, just as his remaining sheep token faded away in a blue streak. "By offering my final sheep token, after my dragon is destroyed, I can special summon Infernal Dragon back to my field." He then smirked. "Looks like you won't be getting one of my monsters with your Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon's effect this time."

Vampire Lord scowled. "Too bad your monster won't be around a second time..."

Paladin of the Cursed Dragon suddenly took to the sky.

"Attack Infernal Dragon, and make sure it stays down this time!" commaned the Court of Darkness leader.

Paladin of Cursed Dragon suddenly dove from the sky and struck Infernal Dragon, knocking the monster down and destroying it once more.

"With his field cleared of monsters-" Darkbishop Archfiend said to his fellow Court of Darkness members. "-that Dragon Knight is open for attack."

"End this duel, Red-Eyes!" ordered Vampire Lord.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon took to the sky to charge an Inferno Fire Blast attack.

"Trap card, open!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Offensive Guard!"

Suddenly, Red-Eyes Black Dragon found itself growing weaker (ATK: 2400 - 1200).

"What?!" grimaced Vampire Lord.

"Since I'm being attacked directly-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "-I can cut Red-Eyes' attack in half for the rest of this turn... Then I draw another card!"

The Inferno Fire Blast attack struck its target, causing Knight of Dark Dragon to cry out in pain (LP: 1200). Was Vampire Lord done yet? Not quite...

"Too bad for you, I still have a monster effect to play." The Court of Darkness member proclaimed. "I play Paladin of the Cursed Dragon's effect!"

Knight of Dark Dragon gasped in surprise when his graveyard started glowing all white.

"Once per turn, my Paladin of the Cursed Dragon can revive one level 4 or lower zombie-type monster from your graveyard to my side of the field." explained Vampire Lord. "And thanks to Zombie World, even the graveyard becomes affected and zombified."

On cue, Infernal Dragon appeared on Vampire Lord's side of the field.

"And now, Everliving Underworld Cannon will inflict 800 more points of damage to your life points since I summoned a zombie-type monster to my side of the field!"

The face-up Spell card started to charge a blast.

"Open fire!" commanded Vampire Lord.

The blast struck Knight of Dark Dragon, causing him to scream while being sent flying back until he landed on the ground (LP: 400).

"It's almost over..." remarked Vampire Lady. "With one more attack, that Dragon Knight will be defeated."

"Any last words before you lose?" asked Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon slowly and silently got to his feet. Although the Dragon Knight was injured, there was a look of fierce determination in his eyes.

"I'll take that silence as no... Infernal Dragon, attack Knight of Dark Dragon directly!"

Infernal Dragon obeyed, charging a blast and firing.

"You're done!" laughed Vampire Lord. "It looks like you'll be in our servitude a little bit longer!"

Knight of Dark Dragon suddenly smiled. "Oh, I highly doubt it."

"Huh?"

On cue, the Rival Arrival Quick-Play Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Rival Arrival; the card I've drawn from Offensive Guard!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Earl of Demise was shocked. "A lucky draw!"

"This allows me to right away summon a monster." explained Knight of Dark Dragon, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "Like say, for instance, Hunter Dragon!"

"Hunter Dragon?" frowned Vampire Lady. "That's a weak monster."

Appearing onto the field was a dragon with a grey body and red wings (Level: 3/ATK: 1700/DEF: 100).

"Infernal Dragon, lay waste to Hunter Dragon!" commanded Vampire Lord

Infernal Dragon obeyed, destroying Hunter Dragon with a powerful blast of fire... just before suddenly destroying itself.

"When Infernal Dragon attacks-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "-it automatically destroys itself."

"This duel is as good as done." taunted Earl of Demise. "You don't have a chance of making a comeback against the likes of us! Even if you're a feared mercenary..."

Knight of Dark Dragon clenched his fist in anger. So, these fools dare to make a mockery out of him? Well, he'll show them!

"The time for playing around has come to an end..."

"Hmm?" quizzed Vampire Lord.

Knight of Dark Dragon's eyes began to glow a fiery red as a dark aura appeared around him. It was time for him to put an end to this duel once and for all!

"This duel is about to end..." The Dragon Knight hissed fiercely, drawing a card from his deck. "But it will end with MY victory!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 400)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (4): Dark Factory of Mass Production, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, Mirage Dragon, and Red-Eyes Fusion

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Red-Eyes Fusion materialized face-up and began getting a dark aura around it.

"I activate the Spell card Red-Eyes Fusion!"

"R-Red-Eyes...Fusion?" repeated Vampire Lord slowly.

"This special Spell card allows me to summon a Red-Eyes Fusion monster using monsters in my hand, side of the field, or deck." explained Knight of Dark Dragon, readying two cards in his hand. "And these two will do nicely..."

Meteor Dragon and a second Red-Eyes Black Dragon both appeared briefly before fusing together.

"Meteor Black Dragon..." thought Vampire Lord to himself. "No matter, I can handle it."

Alas, it was not Meteor Black Dragon... This monster was similar, but much different still...

"I call forth... Meteor Black Comet Dragon!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, raising his right hand into the air.

Vampire Lady spluttered. "Meteor Black Comet Dragon?!"

In an explosion of fire appeared a dragon that looked like a much more powerful—and dangerous—version of Meteor Black Dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000).

"Meteor Black Comet Dragon..." Vampire Lord mumbled in shock. "And from the use of Red-Eyes Fusion, it's treated as Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"This is where the duel ends!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "I play Meteor Black Comet Dragon's effect... By sending a Red-Eyes-related monster from my hand or deck to the graveyard, you'll receive half of that monster's attack points as life point damage!"

A card slid out of his deck, and the Dragon Knight showed Vampire Lord what it was.

"I send Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon from my deck to the graveyard to inflict half of its attack points as damage to your life points."

A spirit of the mentioned dragon appeared before firing at blast at Vampire Lord, striking and weakening him greatly (LP: 400).

"NOW this duel is finished!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "As soon as I attack, you will be defeated!"

Meteor Black Comet Dragon charged a mighty blast of fire, ready for the command to be given.

"COMET FLARE BLAST!"

The blast of meteor-like fire was unleashed, incinerating all of Vampire Lord's monsters (starting with Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon) before striking the Court of Darkness leader and causing a massive explosion to cloud his side of the field.

"It can't be!" gasped Darkbishop Archfiend.

"That bastard won!" exclaimed Earl of Demise in shock, referring to Knight of Dark Dragon's victory.

When the smoke faded away, Vampire Lord was laying on his back on the ground, alive—but unconscious (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Knight of Dark Dragon wins!**

* * *

Gozaburo was impressed. "So, the Dragon Knight won..."

The other members of the Court of Darkness, however, were not happy with the results, at all.

"Seize him!" ordered Vampire Lady.

Numerous Lizard Soldiers came storming into the throne room on command. It looked like those henchmen, along with the Court of Darkness, were not about to let Knight of Dark Dragon escape from the Castle of Dark Illusions.

"I knew you wouldn't keep your end of the bargain." snarled Knight of Dark Dragon.

Without wasting a second, he ran for the exit of the throne room.

"He's getting away!" shouted Darkbishop Archfiend. "Stop him, now!"

The Lizard Soldiers obeyed and gave chase.

(elsewhere...)

Inside Gozaburo's lab, Knight of Dark Dragon found himself trying to find something.

"Where did they take the girl?" he asked himself.

The sound of footsteps echoing from outside meant Knight of Dark Dragon didn't have much time. Without wasting a second, he started to lay waste to the whole place.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the floating castle, all seemed to be quiet... Suddenly, there was the sounds of, and soon sight of, crackling of electricity all around the whole entire Castle of Dark Illusions. Eventually, the crackling stopped and the barrier around the entire building...was disabled.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the lab, it was nearly destroyed at the hands of Knight of Dark Dragon, who was also leaning against the wall while feeling exhausted.

"Where the hell is Emily?" The Dragon Knight asked himself, panting after dealing huge damage to the area. "What have they done with her?"

Finally, the door to the exit broke open, and Lizard Soldiers, along with Gozaburo Gresley, Vampire Lady, and Earl of Demise, stormed inside to try and stop Knight of Dark Dragon from either escaping or dealing more damage.

"There he is!" shouted Earl of Demise. "Capture him!"

"You may as well surrender." insisted Vampire Lady, speaking directly to Knight of Dark Dragon.

"If you're looking for that girl-" added Gozaburo. "-then you're wasting your time... She isn't in the lab."

"Where is she, then?" demanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

Nobody answered; Vampire Lady instead snapped her fingers and allowed the Lizard Soldiers to attack. Cornered with nowhere to run, Knight of Dark Dragon did the only thing he could... He ran for the nearby window, crashed into it, and fell from the whole building to his seeming death.

"What an ignorant fool." commented Earl of Demise, looking out the window and down where the Dragon Knight fell.

Gozaburo wasn't too concerned. "He maybe gone, but he still did the job."

"I still don't like this turn of events." grumbled Earl of Demise. "First we lose Airknight Parshath, and now we lose Knight of Dark Dragon."

"Not that it matters to me." The evil man pointed out, his smile growing eviler. "Right now, I think it's time that I made myself known to that Thomas boy..."

With that said, he left the ruined remains of the laboratory behind. While it (the lab) was severely damaged, Gozaburo knew that his greatest invention was still safe and sound, and would soon be put to good use...

(elsewhere...)

Unknown to anyone in the Castle of Dark Illusions, Knight of Dark Dragon had not actually fallen to his death after crashing trough the window. Instead, he had turned himself, at the last possible second, into a fiery dragon to break his fall.

"Those fiends..." The Dragon Knight thought to himself. "They've tricked me into being their errand boy. And now... who knows what they'll do to that poor girl?"

Despite being worried about Emily, there was also something else on his mind... He had a personal score to settle with a certain green-haired boy who was friends with Thomas...


	70. Viva Capital City

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some fanservice involving some female characters. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

One night, inside the bed chambers of Wingweaver, the beautiful angelic-like monster was sound asleep when she started wincing like she was in pain, and even began mumbling something...

"No... Emily..."

The moaning and wincing were both loud enough to awaken Kuribon. Drowsy at first, the female Kuriboh soon saw that her mistress looked like she was having a terrible dream and hastily flew over to the bed.

"This... this can't be..." Wingweaver mumbled in her sleep some more.

Kuribon reached the sleeping Wingweaver and nudged in her face to get the beautiful angelic-like monster to calm down and wake up. Soon enough, Wingweaver shot up and awoken with a start.

"NO!"

Breathing hard, the beautiful angelic-like monster looked around and saw a very worried and upset looking Kuribon gazing upon her.

"Oh, Kuribon..." she said quietly. "It was just awful. I feel that Emily has been recaptured by the Court of Darkness, and is badly hurt."

The news seemed to upset Kuribon even more than before.

"I want to believe that it was only a dream, but I can't help but feel it was...a cry for help. What can we do about it?"

Kuribon, her eyes welling with tears, floated over and nuzzled into her mistress's chest for comfort.

"Oh, Kuribon..." whispered Wingweaver, hugging the female Kuriboh while slowly starting to cry herself. "What are we going to do?"

What were they going to do, indeed...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere else in the spirit world, Thomas and everyone else were gazing at something truly amazing up ahead.

"There it is..." breathed Thomas in amazement. "The capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world."

Up ahead were tons of buildings. Yup, the group, after a long and tiring journey, had finally arrived at their destination.

"We've finally made it!" cried Percy. "Our mission is almost over!"

"More like just beginning-" James pointed out. "-but you are somewhat right."

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" challenged Gordon, racing towards the city.

James raced after his friend. "No fair!"

"Hey, don't leave us behind!" called Henry, quickly following.

Before long, everyone was racing towards the capital city, happy that they had finally reached their destination.

* * *

 **Title: Viva Capital City**

* * *

Before long, the gang at the front gates of the city. Immediately, a Blade Knight was there to greet everyone.

"May I help you?" he asked.

Maiden of the Aqua stepped forth. "I have returned."

"Welcome back, Mistress Maiden of the Aqua. We have missed your presence."

Maiden of the Aqua smiled at the formal greeting she received from one of the city guards. Soon, Thomas began to speak...

"Will you allow us into the city?" The blue-haired boy asked politely. "We must see the two rulers of this place as soon as possible."

Almost immediately, the Blade Knight looked to Thomas and gasped at who he thought it was.

"Could it be...?" The Blade Knight whispered in shock. "Autraius?"

Before long, the knight-like monster turned to his partner nearby and said something to him...

"Open the gate! Both Maiden of the Aqua and Autraius have returned!"

Within seconds, the large gate opened.

"Please, go right in, folks." The Blade Knight offered politely.

Without wasting another second, Gordon, James, Henry, and Percy all started to run on ahead.

"Wait for us!" called Toby, as he and everyone else followed.

Finally...

"Oh, wow..." whispered Edward, awestruck at the sights.

The capital city itself seemed to be nearly as big as London - England, the capital of the United Kingdom. In addition to the buildings, shops, diners, etc., there also were humans and friendly Duel Monsters roaming around.

"Say, Maiden of the Aqua-" Stanley spoke up. "-how big did you say this place is, population wise?"

"At least 10 million inhabitants."

The gray-haired boy was aghast. "10...million?!"

"Talk about being quite the populated city." James remarked.

"Wonder how long it took to build this place." wondered Henry. "I imagine it must've taken-"

"Let's not go into details right now." interrupted Thomas, looking serious. "We need to get to the castle." He looked to Maiden of the Aqua. "Which way do we go?"

"Last I recall correctly-" said Maiden of the Aqua, looking to her right. "-it's just up ahead to the right."

"Wait!" Percy cut in. "Before we head for the castle, can we take some time to explore this city?"

"And maybe even find a place to freshen up a bit..." finished Mavis, before ending with... "In privacy!"

"It's such an amazing place." added Rosie.

"Well, alright." sighed Thomas reluctantly. He knew by now that his friends weren't going to take "No" for an answer, although he knew that Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl would both help him. "We'll split up here, and meet back in two hours."

With that agreed to, everyone went in their separate ways to explore.

(elsewhere...)

Gordon, Henry, and James were each walking down a street when they saw someone giving them a shady look.

"Yo, my peeps." The male called out deviously, before motioning the index finger of his right hand in a 'Come over here' gesture. "C'mere."

The trio approached the gentleman.

"Yes?" asked James suspiciously.

"Never seen any of you here before." said the man in a sly tone. "You new to the city?"

"You could say that." answered Gordon. "We're actually visitors from another world."

The man smiled to himself. This would be yet another VERY easy hustle...

"Why do you ask?" quizzed Henry.

The man chuckled. "Oh, I was just curious. But since we're chatting, howw about a little game?"

"Game?" blinked James.

"Yes, game."

The shifty-looking man then took a deck of Duel Monsters cards out of his coat pocket. James, thinking he was being challenged to a duel, readied to activate his Duel Disk.

"Are you challenging me to a game of Duel Monsters?" The red-haired boy asked curiously. "Because if you are, that'd be a mistake."

"Oh, no, no, no, no." denied the man, shaking his head. "I have a much better game in mind."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "What kind of game?"

"The rules are simple, we both draw from our decks and show each other the card we've drawn. The monster with the highest amount of attack points wins."

"What does the winner get?" asked James.

"How about we wager £200?" offered the man, holding up a bag of money.

Gordon held up a bag containing some money. "£200 is all we've got."

"Let's play!" insisted James, grinning confidently.

"You sure, kid? This is a game I've never lost at." The shady man pointed out.

"I'm feeling lucky today, actually."

The man snickered confidently. "I have a feeling you won't be for long... I'll go first."

He shuffled his deck until it was enough. Before long, the shady man drew a card.

"And my card is..."

It was the Kaiser Glider monster card; 2400 attack points in total.

"Ha! Kaiser Glider, 2400 attack points. Beat that, kid!" boasted the shady man.

"Not a problem." accepted James, shuffling his deck.

Once he was done shuffling, the red-haired boy started to draw a card. The man, thinking he had it won, was snickering to himself.

"That poor sucker cannot win! I've stacked my deck with powerful monster cards... He cannot beat me THAT easily!"

"My card is..." James cut in, drawing a card from his deck.

The card was revealed to be...

"No way!" wailed the shady man.

It was the Elemental HERO Neos monster card; 2500 attack points!

"And that's game." smirked James, holding his hand out. "That'll be £200 of gold, please."

The shady man just could not believe he had been beaten for the first time in his life. He wanted to run away without giving up his earnings, but knew that he was outnumbered three-to-one. So, with whatever dignity he had left, the man reluctantly handed James the bag.

"Why, oh why...?"

Unfortunately, it was about to get much worse...

"Hold it right there!" called a stern voice (male).

The man flinched. "Oh, geez! The city guard..."

Indeed it was the city guard (consisting of Blade Knights).

"You, sir, are under arrest for your conning ways." said the first Blade Knight firmly.

"That man is a con artist?" blinked James. "As in he was trying to con me of our money?"

"That's right." confirmed the second Blade Knight, taking hold of the shady man's deck. "You're not the first person he's challenged to his game."

He showed the three teenagers some of the cards in the deck.

"All of those cards are monsters!" cried Henry.

"With 2000 or more attack points!" added Gordon.

"He rigged this deck with counterfeit monsters to make sure he would always win." said a third Blade Knight, taking the deck and tearing all the cards up. "But now it won't happen ever again!"

"No!" wailed the con artist, before being dragged away.

"If you three are new to this city-" warned the first Blade Knight to the three teenagers. "-you'd best watch for con artists and other shady-looking characters."

"We will." obeyed Henry. "Thank you very much."

With that said, the city patrol took their prisoner away.

(elsewhere...)

With Percy, Toby, Stanley, and Edward... The four teenagers were currently admiring several of the sights.

"Have you ever seen anything so amazing?" asked Edward.

"Not on the island of Sodor." answered Toby.

"Not even San Francisco!" added Percy.

The brown-haired boy nodded in agreement. "Kinda makes me wish we could stay forever."

Stanley soon found something. "Hey, there's a diner over there. Shall we go grab a bite to eat?"

"We shall indeed." agreed Toby.

"You must've heard my stomach growling-" Percy grinned. "-because that means we're about to get some food!"

With that agreed to, the four teenagers made their way to the diner.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the diner, it had a rather surprising appearance. It all looked like a diner hailing all the way back to the 1950s.

"Goodness gracious..." whispered Edward.

"Having lived in the US for most of my life-" said Stanley. "-I can see this diner is like one you'd find back in the 50s."

"Hope the food's good." prayed Percy.

"Trust me, Percy, it is."

With that said, they took their seats at a table. A waitress soon walked up to take their order...

"What can I get for you four?" she asked kindly.

(elsewhere...)

Later on, Stanley, Toby, and Edward each exited the diner feeling very satisfied from their meals, but Percy instead...emerged feeling VERY stuffed-but happy.

"Best. Meal. EVER!" The green-haired boy cheerfully announced, before letting loose a loud belch. "Scuse me..."

"Well, no wonder." chuckled Edward.

"Considering you ate six turkey sandwiches, three slices of apple pie, and two big glasses of lemonade." added Toby, also chuckling.

Percy just smiled.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the city with Mavis, Rosie, and Molly...

"This place is so beautiful!" gushed Molly in amazement.

"It reminds me of London." came from Mavis.

"I wonder if they have a spa?" wondered Rosie, looking around.

"Sorry, little lady." replied a voice (male). "We don't have any spas around here."

The three teenage girls and saw a man standing outside a door leading to a building.

"However-" The man continued on. "-we have something that is just as good."

"I sure hope you do." said Mavis. "It would be nice to have proper privacy for a change."

"Then let me ask you this... Have you ever heard of a hot spring?"

"A hot spring?" blinked Molly. "Isn't it a pool of water heated up to relaxing and high temperatures?"

The kind man nodded. "That's correct. This city is famous for its hot springs, and we are having a limited time offer for visitors to this city to relax in them free of charge."

"Really?!" gasped Rosie.

"I mean every word."

"Oh, thank you!" cheered Molly, jumping up happily.

"Wait!" interrupted Mavis, who had a look of doubt on her face. "Will there be any privacy? Because we don't wanna be walk in on, or spied on, by any perverts-accidental or not."

"Nothing to worry about." reassured the man. "We have top notch security to prevent peeping toms from sneaking in on any women."

Feeling much better about it, Mavis finally smiled with her two friends.

"Works for me!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside the building with the hot springs, Rosie, Molly, and Mavis were each undressed and wearing towels around their bodies. They were also standing near the edge of one such hot spring.

"Wow, that water looks very hot." worried Molly.

"But I bet it's going to feel so amazing." Rosie reassured.

Mavis gave a sigh. "Alright... here I go..."

Letting the towel drop to her feet, the blonde-haired girl slowly walked into the hot water until it was to her neck. Surprisingly, while it was hot, the water was very soothing and relaxing.

"Ahhhh..." Mavis breathed slowly. "It feels like heaven."

Now knowing it was safe to enter, Rosie and Molly both allowed their towels to fall to their feet, just before they slowly stepped into the hot spring to join their friend in relaxing.

"Oh wow..." sighed Molly. "It feels so hot..."

"Yet it feels so soothing..." came from Rosie.

The three teenage girls gave heavenly sighs as they continued to enjoy themselves in the hot springs.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the city, Maiden of the Aqua knocked on the door of one house.

"Hello?" she called. "I have come back."

The door opened and revealed a somewhat elderly-looking Mystical Elf.

"Maiden of the Aqua?"

"Hi..." The blue-haired female monster greeted. "I've finally returned."

The female elf smiled. "I'm glad to see you again." she said, approaching and giving her old friend a hug. "How have things been going?"

"Ever since the war started up again, surprisingly well." answered Maiden of the Aqua. "Especially since there's a certain someone here who's determined to put an end to the Court of Darkness.

Mystical Elf's eyes widened. "You don't mean...?"

Without saying a word, Maiden of the Aqua stepped aside and revealed someone standing behind her. And that someone was..

"Autraius?"

Although Thomas knew that his name wasn't Autraius, he decided to just smile at the Mystical Elf and nod slightly. Happily, the Mystical Elf came rushing towards the blue-haired boy and hugged him tightly.

"I thought you were gone forever!" cried Mystical Elf. "It's so wonderful to see you, my son!"

"Ma'am..." Thomas spoke up. "I know this may come as a great shock to you, but...I'm not Autraius."

"Huh?!"

"My name is Thomas Billinton." The blue-haired boy continued. "I am a human from the human world. I was brought here to help fight against the Court of Darkness... Although many claim that I could per chance be Autraius's reincarnation."

"And my name is Spencer Gresley." added the voice of Spencer. Within seconds, the silver-haired boy stepped into frame and continued speaking... "I've also come from the real world to help Billinton here defeat the Court of Darkness."

"I'm sorry if you were hoping for your son to return." Thomas continued, feeling sorry for the Mystical Elf.

Mystical Elf, despite feeling very saddened that the blue-haired boy with Maiden of the Aqua wasn't Autraius, couldn't help but smile at him, anyway.

"You look so much like my son." The female elf remarked positively. "You even have that brave look that he usually has on his face."

"I get that a lot." chuckled Thomas. "I've been taking down evil since I started playing Duel Monsters."

Mystical Elf sounded interested. "Really?"

"Yes."

And so, Thomas began telling Mystical Elf about his first time fighting evil in the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament against Sailor John and his pirates.

"Oh, wow..." Mystical Elf breathed. "That final duel must have been so... so..."

"Intense?" asked Thomas.

"That wasn't the word I was looking for... but pretty much that."

The blue-haired boy nodded. "Needless to say, it was."

"Anyway..." Maiden of the Aqua spoke up once more. "We're all heading up to the royal palace to speak with Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl."

"Our city's most famous rulers?" The Mystical Elf gasped in surprise. "Not everyone in this world even gets the privilege to visit, let alone speak, with them."

"They were the ones who brought us to this world." explained Thomas, drawing and holding out two cards. "Not to mention they're both the ace monsters of my deck."

The Mystical Elf gasped once more when she saw that the blue-haired boy did indeed have the two mentioned spellcaster-type monsters.

"You mean to say you know them?" she asked in amazement.

Without saying a word, Thomas nodded in affirmation.

"Then...I shall take you to them."

"You would do that for us?" quizzed Spencer.

"Of course." said Mystical Elf kindly.

Suddenly, just as Thomas turned around, someone bumped into him.

"OOF!"

Thomas was laying on his stomach, while the person who bumped into him laid atop of him.

"S-Sorry." apologized Thomas.

"No, that was my fault." reassured a familiar voice (female).

As the two got back up, the person got a good look at the face of who she bumped into and gave a horrified gasp.

"Y-You!"

Thomas cocked his head in confusion. "You know me?"

He was wondering if this person was going to mistaken him for Diablon just like Deepsea Warrior did, judging by her reaction. And sadly...

"S-Stay away from me!" begged the human female monster in terror, stumbling and falling down trying to escape.

Suddenly, Thomas realized something important...

"Wait... You're that Shadow Tamer from before!"

"You've met her before?" asked Spencer.

"She was one of the ones who kidnapped me during the middle of the night!" explained Thomas. "She and a Warrior Dai Grepher."

"You've killed my friend!" accused Shadow Tamer angrily. "After that, you had tried to kill me!"

"Kill you?" Thomas question. "But I never...! Oh..."

"Would someone explain to me what's going on?" demanded Spencer. He was in Shadow Tamer's way, thus preventing her from leaving. "What exactly happened?"

"During our trip to this world-" began Thomas. "-this Shadow Tamer and a Warrior Dai Grepher kidnapped me in my sleep to try and force me to embrace my inner darkness. They were working for the Court of Darkness!"

"We would never work for the Court of Darkness!" objected the Shadow Tamer. "All I remember is that we were captured and subjected to horrible experiments, and then I blacked out..."

Suddenly, Maiden of the Aqua began to understand what was going on, based on what Shadow Tamer was trying to say...

"It would seem that while you were captured, they brainwashed you into working for them." The blue-haired female monster said wisely. "They made you forget the people you once were."

"Did you at least get a glimps at who brainwashed you?" Spencer asked the frightened Shadow Tamer.

"He was an elderly man dressed in an orange business suit." shivered Shadow Tamer. "In addition, he had this really cruel atti-"

"What?!"

Spencer immediately grabbed Shadow Tamer by her tunic collar and pulled her closer to him. The silver-haired boy's eyes had flared in anger upon his monster of a Grandfather being referenced.

"That was Gozaburo Gresley!" he shouted. "My horrid Grandfather who made my parents' lives a living hell!"

Shadow Tamer quickly became frightened of Spencer's rage, and Maiden of the Aqua quickly tried to pry the two away from each other.

"Spencer, calm yourself!" protested the blue-haired female monster.

"It's not her fault Gozaburo did what he did!" added Thomas.

Spencer, upon realizing what he was doing, immediately soften up and dropped the poor Shadow Tamer, who was shaking like a leaf in fear.

"I'm so sorry for what I did to your friend." Thomas softly said to her. "It's just that after he murdered an innocent child while under the influence of the darkness and showed no remorse for it, I...lost control of myself and because possessed by darkness to seek revenge."

And so the explaination ensured...

(elsewhere...)

Two hours later, the gang reunited in the city square to tell each other how their little trip around the capital went.

"You should see the diners!" grinned Percy. "Great food!"

"The hot springs were so soothing." said Mavis, feeling so refreshed.

"We've managed to stop and get a con artist arrested!" boasted James.

"Sounds like you guys had quite the adventure." commented Thomas. "I'll admit that this place is rather incredible, but now it's time to pay a visit to the castle."

"Right." agreed Maiden of the Aqua, looking into a new direction.

She was looking up at the castle up the hill.

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the group had finally reached the castle.

"This is it?" asked Percy, looking up and seeing how big the building was.

"Yes." confirmed Maiden of the Aqua. "Magnificent, is it not?"

"I'll say it is!" grinned Gordon.

"Well, shall we go inside?"

"We shall." agreed Thomas.

With that agreed to, Maiden of the Aqua approached the big doors and opened them...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the building, Thomas and the others couldn't believe how colorful and decorative the the place was.

"Cinders and Ashes..." whispered Thomas.

"This is one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life!" cried James.

"Who's there?" A familiar voice (female) called out from a distance.

Maiden of the Aqua cleared her throat. "We have finally arrived."

Within seconds, Dark Magician Girl emerged from a corner and gasped upon seeing.

"You've all made it!"

Without any warning, Dark Magician Girl raced forth and happily hugged Thomas (and tackling him to the ground).

"H-Hi, Dark Magician Girl." Thomas greeted, feeling crushed by the weight of Dark Magician Girl's hug.

"I'm so glad that you made it, Thomas!" giggled Dark Magician Girl cheerfully, as she nuzzled her cheek against his.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you too." The blue-haired boy admitted, as the second of his ace monsters finally let go of him. "I still feel terrible for what I did to you and Dark Magician both during my duel with Nathaniel."

"It was Diablon who did that, Thomas, you know that."

Thomas looked down. "I know that, but I..." Tears of shame began to stream down his face as he spoke. "I had given into my desires to not only save Emily, but also to free you from Crystal Seal. And even after that was done, I quickly lost control of myself, and it ended with you being sacrificed."

"Thomas, that was all in the past." reassured Dark Magician Girl.

"But it didn't end there..." Thomas went on still. "I completely lost control of myself when Diesel played a really cruel joke on me, tricking me into thinking that I lost Emily forever..."

Everyone else listened on and felt sympathetic towards their troubled friend. Poor Thomas then fell to his knees and started to weep at recalling his actions.

"I ended up killing Diesel!" he sobbed in despair. "And at first, I didn't even fell bad for doing it! Maybe Nathaniel is right about me... Maybe I really am Diablon!"

It was breaking Dark Magician Girl's heart to see her master/friend in such a broken state, and she got down to Thomas's level and held him close to her.

"You are nothing like Diablon, Thomas." The female spellcaster-type monster insisted slowly and lovingly. "You are better than he would ever be. During your duel with Nathaniel, you tried twice to end the duel peacefully. Your second attempt was at trying to atone for what had happened by allowing yourself to die. If it hadn't been for the ' ** _Evil One_** ' reclaiming control, you would have succeeded."

"I'm sorry..." whispered Thomas through his tears, just as he put his arms around Dark Magician Girl's waist. "I'm so sorry..."

"Shhh." Dark Magician Girl comforted, stroking Thomas's head. "It's alright now. Everything's going to be alright."

"What's going on here?" asked a familiar voice (male) calmly.

Everyone (except for Thomas) looked up and saw, to their surprise, Dark Magician floating in midair and approaching the scene.

"It's Dark Magician!" breathed Henry.

Dark Magician soon lowered himself onto the ground and approached his apprentice with a look of concern on his face.

"How is he?" he asked calmly.

"Not doing too well." sighed Dark Magician Girl. "Thomas and his friends have traveled long and hard to get to this city, but Thomas has gone through the worst along the way..."

"I can tell." said Dark Magician grimly.

(elsewhere...)

After taking the time to calm down, Thomas and the others were now being lead somewhere by Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Maiden of the Aqua.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Edward.

"This is something you must see." answered Dark Magician.

"I know you all must have a ton of of questions for us." added Dark Magician Girl. "But right now, this is more important."

Before long, the party was lead to a large set of doors.

"Behind these doors is something which will answer the question you are likely to ask first." Dark Magician pointed out.

Dark Magician Girl nodded in agreement and started to open the doors. Once she did, the female spellcaster-type monster gasped at something up ahead.

"Hey!" she called out. "What do you think you're doing?"

A Blade Knight was shown to be...tampering with the device in the middle of the room?

"I thought it needed cleaning?" asked the Blade Knight sheepishly. "Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"You're not one of our castle's guards!" shouted Dark Magician, holding up his scepter. "Reveal your true identity, liar!"

"As you wish..."

The Blade Knight then removed his helmet, and surprisingly his armor, and revealed himself to be, much to Spencer's horrified anger, a certain evil man...

"Gozaburo..."

That's right... It was Gozaburo Gresley himself, and everyone who wasn't Spencer was meeting him for the first time.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?!" asked an angered Dark Magician Girl, readying her wand and pointing the end at her enemy.

Gozaburo chuckled. "I'm a master of disguise, in case you didn't know."

He then looked over to the group of heroes, ignoring Spencer at the moment.

"Thomas Billinton, I presume." Gozaburo continued, directing his attention to Thomas while speaking in a surprisingly polite—yet cruel—tone. "At last we meet face-to-face..."

Alright, this was gonna be bad, right? Unfortunately, you don't know the half of it...

* * *

Uploaded on the 25th, that leaves me with one thing to say... **Merry Christmas everybody**!


	71. Ancient Gears of War (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some very disturbing scenes involving mental torture (as a result, the chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside a special room within the main castle of the city of Duel Monsters, Gozaburo Gresley was present and speaking with Thomas, his friends, and allies.

"You're Gozaburo Gresley?" questioned Thomas, sounding as shocked as can be.

Gozaburo chuckled. "You never can tell, can you, kid?"

"Why are you here?" demanded Spencer. "Are you here to challenge me to a duel again?"

"Not this time." answered the evil man, before giving his Grandson a deadly smile. "I wouldn't worry, you'll be destroyed soon enough, Spencer... But right now, I'm here to speak to Thomas."

"Me?" quizzed Thomas. "Why only me?"

"Because I have some terrible news regarding your poor friend Emily Sterling."

Thomas gave a gasp, and this caused the evil man to smile. This was what Gozaburo was waiting for... But before he could continue speaking, the nearby doors had burst open by someone.

"Kuribon? Kuriboh?" questioned Dark Magician in surprise.

Yes, it was both the female and male gendered Kuribohs, and they were out of breath.

"What are they doing here?" asked Percy.

Kuriboh floated over and spoke to Dark Magician Girl...

"Uh-huh... Okay... Yes... Oh, I see..."

"Well?" asked James.

"What's going on?" added Edward. "Why did Kuriboh and Kuribon both come here?"

"Kuriboh was out exploring the town-" explained Dark Magician Girl. "-when Kuribon accidentally crashed into him."

Kuriboh nodded, and gestured towards Kuribon—who looked like she was gonna start crying any second.

"Oh, what's the matter?" asked Dark Magician Girl kindly, taking the poor female Kuriboh into her hands.

Kuribon, trying her absolute hardest to not burst into tears, managed to speak in her ' _Kuriboh_ ' language to the female spellcaster-type monster. Unfortuately, she did not get very far...

"You're too late!" cut in Gozaburo. "Whatever you have to say to the boy, I'll gladly do it for you."

"What is it?" gasped Thomas. "You said you have information regarding Emily... What is it?"

Once again, this was what Gozaburo had been waiting for...

"The girl Emily... is... dead."

Thomas felt his whole world come crashing down by that one confession.

* * *

 **Title: Ancient Gears of War, Part 1**

* * *

" **WHAT**?!" came from everyone else in the room.

"You heard me correct." said Gozaburo, grinning evilly. "Emily Sterling has died. She was a fool to resist our offer for power! And now, she has paid the price by perishing at the hands of Knight of Dark Dragon and his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. How does it feel knowing your whole adventure to this big city has been all for nothing?"

Thomas, while sinking to his knees and shaking hard, said nothing. He just couldn't believe it... It couldn't be possible... It just couldn't be real!

"Emily..." he finally mumbled to himself quietly.

"Knight of Dark Dragon did this?" whispered Percy to everyone else.

"It can't be..." came from Molly, shaking her head, hard. "This has to be a lie!"

"You think I'm lying, eh?" interrupted Gozaburo. He was holding up a slightly charred card. "Then let me show you something, how shall I say, interesting."

The evil man threw the card over to Thomas, who took one look at it before reacting in complete shock at what it exactly was.

"N-No...!"

The card was shown to be Emily's ace monster, Wingweaver. Percy, Maiden of the Aqua, and Spencer each saw the card and realized something to their absolute horror...

"That was Emily's card!" cried Percy.

"Then Gozaburo...is telling the truth..." added Spencer, with his eyes all bloodshot and looking shocked for the seemingly dead dark green-haired girl.

Maiden of the Aqua looked over to Thomas, who was still on his knees, shaking hard, and not even speaking to anyone... Feeling very sad for him, the female blue-haired monster approached and laid her hands onto the despairing boy's shoulders.

"Oh, Thomas..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry... Really I am."

Thomas didn't answer still... The thought of Emily being incinerated by Knight of Dark Dragon's vicious Red-Eyes Black Dragon was haunting him... Her soft, emerald hair reduced to ash by the dragon's flames, her shiny emerald eyes drained off all their beauty leaving nothing but pain and emptiness, her alluring face, gorgeous curves and angelic body, all burned and scarred, the flames eating away at her delicate, sacred and heavenly skin...

"Thomas, are you...okay?" Maiden of the Aqua tried to speak to her friend. "Thomas?"

As the thought of his beautiful, sexy he would even say (to only himself), angel being stripped of her wings and possibly being near death's door lingered in his shattered mind, a low and threatening growl finally escaped through Thomas's lips...

"You lied to me..."

"What?" asked Maiden of the Aqua in surprise.

Suddenly, without any kind warning, Thomas stood up, sharply turned, and violently pushed Maiden of the Aqua away from him.

"YOU **LIED** TO ME!" he roared in anger, tears streaming down his face. "You told me everything was going to be alright! You said we would save Emily!"

"Thomas, y-you-" A shocked Maiden of the Aqua tried to protest, but was cut off quickly.

"YOU **LIED** TO ME!" Thomas repeated once more. "EMILY IS GONE FOREVER, AND I WILL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN! **THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT**!"

Beginning to suffer from a terrifying breakdown, Thomas was slowly growing more and more feral-like as his thoughts over what seemingly happened to Emily continued to play inside his head... As he kept thinking about Emily being attacked and killed, everything and everyone around him started to become nonexistent... All forms of sound were seemingly blocked off completely, his sight became dark and shaky, his friends unrecognizable to him...

"Get back!" shouted Thomas, with a dark aura starting to form and burn fiercely all around his body. "Get away from me! All of you!"

"Billinton?" gasped Spencer, running over to his friend/rival. "What in the world has-?"

Before Spencer could finish speaking, Thomas turned around, grabbed him by the collar of his coat, and viciously threw him into the wall.

"Spencer!" cried Mavis, before looking towards Thomas. "Thomas, you have to stop this, right now!"

Her words fell upon deaf ears. With the only audible thing in Thomas's mind being the unrelenting vision of Emily, lying on the ground badly injuried, being incinerated alive by the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's powerful Inferno Fire Blast, and the unrelenting cries and screams of agony, torture, and pleas for Thomas to help her relentlessly echoing full volume non-stop inside the blue-haired boy's head.

" ** _Thomas! Thomas! Help me_**!" The voice of poor Emily echoed throughout, before the cries and pleas for help turned into agonizing screams of death.

That was torture as what it was; pure, agonizing, torture. Nearby with Maiden of the Aqua, slowly getting back onto her feet again, she knew that she had to do something to try and calm Thomas down...

"Thomas, please, you have to calm down!" The female blue-haired monster begged, walking over to her friend.

Kuriboh and Kuribon were both huddled together watching the scene in complete fear and worry for the blue-haired boy's well being. Meanwhile, once Maiden of the Aqua had gotten close enough, she managed to lay a hand onto Thomas's shoulder, hoping it would be enough to calm him down. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that only seemed to have set him off like a ticking time bomb...

" **BEGONE**!"

Thomas, with a great amount of strength and monstrous roar, seemingly unleashed a powerful shockwave that knocked Maiden of the Aqua away, along with everyone else—besides Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Gozaburo—into the nearby wall and damaging the room significantly.

"Thomas!" called Dark Magician, reaching out in protest.

"My, this is going better than I originally thought!" laughed Gozaburo in sick amusement.

The purple-haired, male spellcaster quickly looked back and glared in pure hatred.

"You... You've planned for this to happen, didn't you?!" he demanded angrily. "Answer me, now!"

"You saw that burned card." The evil man shrugged uncaringly.

"Yes-" acknowledged Dark Magician, but then added... "-but I'm beginning to believe that card wasn't really Emily's. You made a counterfeit of Wingweaver to trick Thomas, didn't you?"

"Hm hm hm... Perhaps I did, but perhaps I didn't?"

"AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Thomas suddenly screamed in pain, with more and more darkness beginning to form all around him.

"Oh no, he's getting worse!" cried Dark Magician Girl. "If we don't do something to calm him down soon, Diablon could take permanent control of Thomas's body."

Deciding to give it a try after Maiden of the Aqua had failed, the female spellcaster-type monster slowly started to approach Thomas. Although some bits of the dark aura managed to bring harm to Dark Magician Girl, she manage to resist it enough to finally get in close enough to her blue-haired friend/master.

"Thomas!" The female spellcaster begged. "You have to calm down! The darkness is manipulating you! Please, you must listen to me!"

Unfortunately, Thomas only gripped his head and continued to scream in agonizing pain as his darkness continued to grow in power, and the torturous vision of Emily being incinerated alive playing in his mind.

"Make it stop!" The blue-haired boy wailed helplessly, with the pain in his head growing worse by the second. "MAKE IT STOP!"

Poor Thomas's eye color began to change into a crimson red, and his skin began to become all demonic-like. He was starting to transform into Diablon once more, and that was NOT a good thing at all. Despite the darkness from the boy bringing harm to her being, Dark Magician Girl did the first thing that came to her mind...

"Thomas! Stop!"

...she wrapped her arms around the blue-haired boy and hugged him close to her tightly.

"D-Dark...Magician...Girl?" whispered Thomas, his eyes still all crimson red—yet began to calm down.

"Shhh, it's okay, Thomas..." hushed Dark Magician Girl. "Everything will be okay..."

Thomas remained motionless for a few seconds. At last, he put his arms around Dark Magician Girl and collapsed in exhaustion and despair as the darkness started to fade away from him.

"I've... I've lost Emily forever... I... I..."

"Oh, Thomas..." whispered Dark Magician Girl, doing everything she could to comfort her friend.

She wished there was a way she could help Thomas feel better... There had to be a way to know if Emily was out there and still alive... but how? Dark Magician, meanwhile, was glaring at Gozaburo in pure anger.

"You will pay..." he hissed, carefully laying his scepter against the wall.

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow as a Duel Disk appeared on the purple-haired, male spellcaster-type monster's left arm.

"You've used Thomas's feelings for Emily into allowing this pain and suffering to take over him! I shall NOT allow your actions to go unpunished!"

"What?!" snorted Gozaburo. "You think you can take me on?"

"I'm at least willing to try." said Dark Magican, drawing his opening hand while full of bravery. "I will defeat you in the name of the Pharaoh!"

Chuckling deviously, Gozaburo made a Duel Disk appear on his left arm and drew an own opening hand in response.

"So be it."

With that said, the duel began (LP: 4000) x2...

"DUEL!" The two duelists exclaimed at once.

"Master..." whispered Dark Magician Girl, still holding onto Thomas (who had now fallen unconscious) in her arms. "Please win... for Thomas's sake."

Meanwhile, back in the duel field...

"As the visitor, I shall take the first move." insisted Gozaburo, drawing a card. "Here I go!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Ancient Gear Beast, Ancient Gear Spark Shot, Ancient Gear Reborn, Ancient Gear Booster, Metaverse, and Ancient Gear Soldier

* * *

"Hmm... My last deck was to merely test Spencer, but now is where I show everyone my true deck and power."

His hand contained Ancient Gear Beast, Ancient Gear Spark Shot, Ancient Gear Reborn, Ancient Gear Booster, Metaverse, and Ancient Gear Soldier. Gozaburo soon looked up at Dark Magician with studying eyes...

"I think I'll take it easy on you for now." he joked, taking and readying a card from his hand. "Now watching as I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode!"

Appearingon to the field was a large soldier made out of gears (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1300).

"Ancient Gear Soldier?" blinked Dark Magician.

"What's that?" came from a puzzled Dark Magician Girl.

"A rather rare archetype." explained Gozaburo, slotting three cards into separate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk. "An army crafted of antiquated technology that will ensure that my plans are accomplished by any means necessary."

Three facedown cards materialized behind Ancient Gear Soldier.

"I end my turn by placing these three facedown cards."

Dark Magician glared. The Ancient Gear archtype was something he had never seen or heard of before, but dwelling on it now wasn't going to help...

"Get ready, Gozaburo!" The purple-haired, male spellcaster declared, drawing a card of his own. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Dark Magician (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Mage's Fortress, Legion the Fiend Jester, Miracle Flipper, Secret Village of the Spellcasters, Dark Magician Girl, and Secret Sanctuary of the Spellcasters

* * *

His hand contained Mage's Fortress, Legion the Fiend Jester, Miracle Flipper, Secret Village of the Spellcasters, Dark Magician Girl, and the drawn Secret Sanctuary of the Spellcasters.

"I'll fight your machines with sorcerery."

"You will?" quizzed Gozaburo curiously.

"Yes." confirmed Dark Magician, taking a card from his hand. "I summon Legion the Fiend Jester in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the purple-haired, male spellcaster's side of the field was the jester with yellow skin (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1500).

"Our monsters tie in attack points." Gozaburo pointed out.

"Which is why my turn isn't over yet." continued Dark Magician, holding out another card. "I now play a Field Spell card - Secret Village of the Spellcasters!"

The Field Spell zone opened as Dark Magician slotted the card inside.

"Now, watch!"

The scenery in the whole room began to change into a mystic-looking village.

"What is this place?" asked Gozaburo, looking around.

"The village where many spellcasters hone their trade and are protected from the wicked." explained Dark Magician. "We shall destroy your machines and end your rein of terror, Gozaburo Gresley!"

"Just try it!"

Dark Magician nodded. "So long as my Field Spell card remains face-up, if I control a spellcaster-type monster you may not activate any Spell cards! ...but if I don't command a spellcaster-type monster, I cannot activate any Spell cards."

"Whatever." huffed Gozaburo. "Just finish up your turn so I can crush you with the power of my Ancient Gear monsters!"

On cue, a Spell card called Secret Sanctuary of the Spellcasters flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next I activate Secret Sanctuary of the Spellcasters." announced Dark Magician. "With this, I have completed my combo to lock you in place!"

"What?!" demanded Gozaburo. "How?"

"Whenever a non-spellcaster type monster is summoned to your side of the field while I have another face up Spell card on the field and you don't-" explained Dark Magician. "-that monster can't attack or activate its effect the turn its summoned."

Gozaburo cursed.

"And now, I'll play the effect of Legion The Fiend Jester!" Dark Magician went on some more. "I can perform a tribute summon for a spellcaster-type monster in addition to my normal summon."

Legion The Fiend Jester faded away in a blue streak.

"I offer Legion The Fiend Jester as a tribute to call forth my apprentice - Dark Magician Girl!"

The Duel Monsters version of the female spellcaster-type monster appeared in a battle ready pose (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700). Dark Magician then suddenly added a card from his deck to his hand...

"When Legion is sent from the field to the graveyard-" explained Dark Magician, taking and showing his opponent the card. "-I can add a normal spellcaster-type monster from the deck or graveyard to my hand." It was the Dark Magician monster card. "...like me, for instance."

Gozaburo frowned, but said nothing. He was watching as Dark Magician Girl charged a powerful blast from her wand.

"Now destroy Ancient Gear Soldier!"

The blast struck Ancient Gear solder, destroying it and causing Gozaburo to be pushed back and grunt (LP: 3300).

"Nice try-" he sneered. "-but now it's my turn to show you a good play." The evil man held his right hand out towards his three set cards. "I play three Continuous Trap cards!"

The three facedown cards flipped up and revealed themselvs to be...

"Ancient Gear Reborn, Ancient Gear Spark Shot, and Ancient Gear Booster!"

Within seconds, Ancient Gear Soldier returned to the field.

"First up is Ancient Gear Reborn!" began Gozaburo. "If I control no monsters when I activate this card, I can revive a fallen Ancient Gear monster from the graveyard and give it 200 additional attack points."

Ancient Gear Soldier's power grew (ATK: 1300 - 1500).

"Now comes the effect of Ancient Gear Spark Shot!" Gozaburo went on. "If an Ancient Gear monster has been special summoned from my graveyard while I controlled no monsters, I can inflict damage to the opponent equal to half of the Ancient Gear monster's attack points."

Suddenly, the face-up Ancient Gear Booster started glowing and activating.

"But, now, comes Ancient Gear Booster! Once per turn, if an Ancient Gear card I control inflicts damage to you, that damage is doubled!"

Ancient Gear Spark Shot fired a blast, striking and going through Dark Magician Girl (without destroying her) before finally striking and injuring Dark Magician (LP: 2500).

"Master!" called Dark Magician Girl (spirit version) in worry.

Despite wincing from the blow, Dark Magician took and slotted a card into his Duel Disk.

"I-I set a card and end my turn."

Gozaburo smirked. "It looks like I get to have twice the fun, now."

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 3300)  
 **Deck** : 53  
 **Current Hand** (3): Ancient Gear Beast, Metaverse, and Heavy Storm Duster

* * *

Ancient Gear Soldier suddenly crumbled into a pile of scrap. Was it destroyed? Nope, it was a tribute summon...

"I summon Ancient Gear Beast!" declared Gozaburo, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The pile of scrap suddenly rebuilt itself into a wolf-like Ancient Gear monster (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000). Finally, two set cards appeared beside the face-up Ancient Gear Spark Shot Trap card.

"With nothing else to do, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Dark Magician, not knowing what his opponent was planning, drew a card and begun his turn

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Dark Magician (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (4): Mage's Fortress, Miracle Flipper, Dark Magician, and Pot of Greed

* * *

All of a sudden...

"Facedown card, open!" shouted Gozaburo, just as one of his facedown cards flipped up and revealed itself. "Heavy Storm Duster!"

Dark Magician's eye widened. "Oh no!"

"Kiss your Spell cards goodbye!"

A large storm blew away all of Dark Magician's face-up Spell cards.

"With Secret Village of the Spellcasters now gone-" cackled Gozaburo. "-we're going back to the castle!"

True to his words, the scenery reverted back to normal.

"Now it's my turn to play a Field Spell card." The evil man continued, motioning his left hand to the final facedown card. "But first, I activate Metaverse!"

"Metaverse?" blinked Dark Magician.

"This Trap card allows me to activate any Field Spell card from my deck." explained Gozaburo, readying a card. "And it's one that will change the whole duel into my favor..."

"Oh no..." whispered Dark Magician Girl. She knew what was coming, now...

"The Field of Dark Graves!"

True to Gozaburo's words, the whole field started to evolve into something very new. In addition, an aura of darkness surrounded the evil man as his eyes turned all crimson red-like, and he laughed maniacally.

"Now you shall witness it's true might!" Gozaburo declared triumphantly. "My monsters now become stronger than ever before!"

Ancient Gear Beast's eyes started glowing crimson red as it grew more powerful (ATK: 2000 - 2500). Not about to be defeated, Dark Magician held out his drawn card (Pot of Greed).

"I activate Pot of Greed!" announced the purple-haired, male spellcaster, drawing two cards. "Now I draw two extra cards from my deck."

The two cards were Ancient Rules and Dark Magic Attack (both Spell cards).

"Next I play the Spell card Ancient Rules." Dark Magician continued, having slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Thanks to this, I can special summon one level 5 or higher normal monster from my hand."

On cue, the Duel Monsters version of Dark Magician appeared in a burst of light (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"I'll special summon ' _me_ ' to the field!"

"I really don't see what good that will do." sighed Gozaburo uncaringly. "Both him and my beast share the same attack points, meaning they'll both be destroyed if you declare an attack."

"Because with Dark Magician out-" explained Dark Magician, holding out another card. "-I can play this Spell card - Dark Magic Attack!"

"Dark Magic Attack?!"

The Duel Monsters version of Dark Magician raised his scepter and charged a blast.

"This will allow me to destroyed every Spell and Trap on your side of the field..." said Dark Magician. "Now attack, my magician!"

Dark Magician obeyed and let loose a powerful blast from his scepter. Almost immediately, all of Gozaburo's face-up Spell and Traps cards were wiped out! ...well, except for The Field of Dark Graves.

"What?!" gasped Dark Magician.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Gozaburo. "You've forgotten one very important detail about my card... The Field of Dark Graves can NEVER be destroyed or removed by anything!

Dark Magician scowled.

"While you did destroy my other cards, you've wasted your Spell card trying to take mine down!"

"No matter-" declared Dark Magician. "-I'll still take your monster down with mine!"

Dark Magician started twirling his scepter about.

"Dark Magic Attack!"

The black magic spell was fired.

"Fool!" shouted Gozaburo. "Fight back!"

Ancient Gear Beast charged at Dark Magician and struck, just as the black magic blast destroyed it as well.

"A double KO!" cried Dark Magician Girl.

"But I still have Dark Magician Girl..." Dark Magician pointed out. "And with Dark Magician in my graveyard, Dark Magician Girl grows 300 attack points stronger."

Dark Magician Girl's power rose (ATK: 2000 - 2300).

"Damn you...!" hissed Gozaburo, as he waited for the attack.

"Eat this, Gozaburo!" exclaimed Dark Magician. "Dark Burning Attack!"

Dark Magician Girl obeyed, charging and firing a blast from her wand at the evil man, striking and making him wince (LP: 1000).

"My turn!" Gozaburo yelled angrily, draw a card. "Draw card!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Card of Sanctity!" announced Gozaburo. "Now we must each draw from our decks until we hold six cards in our hands!"

Dark Magician drew five cards, while Gozaburo drew six cards. The hands were now as followed:  
-Dark Magician: Miracle Flipper, Thousand Knives, Magician's Valkyria, Magical Blast, Curse of Dragon, and Polymerization  
-Gozaburo: Ancient Gear, Magnet Circle LV2, Stonehenge Shield, Ancient Gear Golem, Unfinished Ancient Gear, and Pot of Greed

"Now, like you did earlier-" continued Gozaburo, taking and holding out another card. "-I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two cards of my own."

The evil man then drew two more cards. On cue, a Spell card called Magnet Circle LV2 flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I play Magnet Circle LV2!" declared the evil man. "This lets me special summon one level 2 or lower machine-type monster from my hand to the field in attack position."

Appearing onto the field was a rather small being made of gears (Level: 2/ATK: 100 - 600/DEF: 800).

"When this monster is summoned successfully-" continued Gozaburo, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can special summon copy of Ancient Gear and place it in attack position."

A second Ancient Gear appeared to the field.

"But neither of them will be out for long." Gozaburo went on still, taking a card from his hand and holding it out. "But before I show you my secret weapon, I'll activate Iron Draw!"

"Iron Draw?" quizzed Dark Magician.

"If I control exactly two machine-type monsters-" explained Gozuburo, drawing two cards. "-I can draw another two cards."

At that point, the two Ancient Gear monsters collapsed into a pile of junk.

"And now, I shall sacrifice both of my Ancient Gears!"

The pile of junk started to combine into a new monster. Dark Magician braced himself as the rebuilding of an Ancient Gear monster took effect.

"Master..." whispered Dark Magician Girl.

"I call forth - Ancient Gear Golem!" declared Gozaburo, raising his right hand into the sky. "Meet your demise, fools!"

Pretty soon, the Ancient Gear monster was shown to be...a giant soldier of a machine. It looked down and gazed at Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl (Duel Monsters version).

"Ancient Gear Golem..." murmured Dark Magician.

Ancient Gear Golem's eyes started glowing a crimson red as its attack stat went up (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 3000).

"Get ready to lose!" declared Gozaburo.

"It's not over!" retorted Dark Magician, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate Mage's Fortress!"

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow. "Mage's Fortress?"

"Now... watch what will happen!"

A huge fortress appeared in front of Dark Magician Girl.

"As long as I have a spellcaster monster on my field-" explained Dark Magician. "-you cannot declare an attack."

"You're gonna fall sooner or later." growled Gozaburo, taking and slotting two cards into his Duel Disk. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

Dark Magician said nothing and merely studied his hand carefully.

"Nothing I have at the moment will help me fend off that Ancient Gear Golem." he thought to himself. It was then a thought came to him... "And besides... Why is it that I've never seen or heard of most of his cards?" Finally, the purple-haired, male spellcster spoke aloud to his opponent... "Why is I've never heard of most of your cards? As I know, Discord J. Crawford never even created the Ancient Gear archtype!"

Gozaburo looked up and smirked. "The technology from Boxford Corp, combined with Discord making me The Field of Dark Graves, has given me access to many new cards I've actually created myself with help from the Court of Darkness."

"What?!" gasped Dark Magician Girl.

"You heard me loud and clear. I created this new archtype all for myself! ...along with a few additional cards."

Gozaburo erupted into laughter. Despite being outmatched in power at the moment, Dark Magician wasn't gonna give up just like that.

"My turn!" Dark Magician shouted with determination, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Dark Magician (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (6): Miracle Flipper, Thousand Knives, Magician's Valkyria, Magical Blast, Curse of Dragon, Polymerization, and Summoner's Art

* * *

His hand contained Miracle Flipper, Thousand Knives, Magician's Valkyria, Magical Blast, Curse of Dragon, Polymerization, and the drawn Summoner's Art.

"This could be my ticket to winning." The purple-haired, male spellcaster thought to himself. He then looked up at Gozaburo. "Get ready, Gozaburo... I play a Spell card - Summoner's Art!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This allows me to add one normal level 5 or higher monster card from my deck to the hand." As Dark Magician spoke, a card slipped from the deck and he added it to his hand. "And I choose to add a second copy of Dark Magician to my hand."

"A second copy?" blinked Gozaburo. "But why? Even if you do manage to summon it, it's not strong enough to punch through Ancient Gear Golem."

"Alone, perhaps not." acknowledged Dark Magician, taking another card from his hand. "But not if I play this!" He held out the card. "The Spell card Polymerization!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"With this card-" went on Dark Magician, holding two cards up. "-I shall fuse my Dark Magician with the Curse of Dragon in my hand!"

Dark Magician (Duel Monsters version) and Cursed of Dragon both appeared on the field briefly before fusing together. As the fusion took effect, Dark Magician performed a summon chant...

" ** _Ultimate wizard of attack and defense, take up arms and join together with the dragon that wields the wicked flames, and deliver justice upon the malicious! Fusion Summon! Take to the skies - Dark Magician the Dragon Knight_**!"

The fusion ended... Gozaburo looked up and saw something to his shock.

"Dark Magician the Dragon Knight!" he yelled in alarm.

Descending from the sky was Dark Magician, dressed in a knight's armor, riding a dragon similar to the one Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight rode (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500). And thanks to a second Dark Magician entering the graveyard, Dark Magician Girl grew stronger as well (ATK: 2300 - 2600).

"No matter-" recovered Gozaburo. "-your monster isn't powerful enough to stop my Ancient Gear Golem..."

"Which is why I shall depose of your monster another way." said Dark Magician, as the Thousand Knives Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Such as with the Spell card Thousand Knives!"

"What?! You can't play that though!"

"Yes, I can." The purple-haired, male spellcaster rebuffed. "As part of Dark Magician the Dragon Knight's effect, it's treated as a ' _Dark Magician_ ' so long as it remains face-up."

"No!" cried Gozaburo, watching as a surge of knives struck and destroyed Ancient Gear Golem in a massive explosion.

"With your golem gone-" continued Dark Magician, pointing his index finger forth. "-you're wide open for a direct attack!"

Over with Dark Magician Girl, she could feel something moving in her arms.

"Huh?"

She looked down to see Thomas stirring. When he opened his eyes, they were shown to be normal once more...

"Thomas!" cried Dark Magician Girl. "You're awake and back to normal!"

Nearby, Kuriboh and Kuribon both started to wake up.

"You're awake as well, little ones!"

Dark Magician and Gozaburo both took notice of the scene.

"Thank heaven..." whispered Dark Magician.

But Gozaburo wasn't happy. "He's returned to normal again..."

Weakly, the two Kuribohs floated over to see Thomas and Dark Magician Girl. Once there, Kuribon looked at the weakened blue-haired boy and said something in her ' **Kuriboh** ' language.

"Huh?" moaned Thomas softly. "W-What are you saying?"

"She's saying Emily has been recaptured, but is still alive." answered Dark Magician Girl, knowing what the female Kuriboh was saying. "Wingweaver had a vision-like dream about it before sending Kuribon here."

Thomas was surprised. "Emily's...still alive?"

"Yes, Thomas, she is."

Thomas could not believe his ears. It was as if an angel from heaven above had smiled on him and blessed him with a miracle. But then, he made a realization...

"That means Gozaburo Gresley lied to me..." he whispered to himself.

"So what if I did?!" snapped the voice of Gozaburo, causing Thomas to look in the direction of the voice. The evil man was seething that his plan had failed. "Even if I have failed to bring out Diablon, I'll still win this duel and show that nobody should ever mess with the likes of me!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" declared Dark Magician, entering the battle phase. "Dark Magician the Dragon Knight, attack Gozaburo's life points directly!"

Dark Magician the Dragon Knight obeyed and readied to attack and end the duel.

"I won't let you end the duel like this!" shouted Gozaburo, as his first facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Trap card, open - Stonehenge Shield!"

Suddenly, a Stonehenge appeared around Dark Magician the Dragon Knight.

"Thanks to this Continuous Trap card-" The evil man pointed out. "-your monster with 3000 attack points has its attack negated, its special effects rendered useless, and its attack points are reduced to zero."

Dark Magician the Dragon Knight's power was drained by a massive amount (ATK: 3000 - 0).

"I still have Dark Magician Girl!" insisted Dark Magician. "Attack Gozaburo's life points directly!"

Dark Magician Girl obeyed and leaped into the sky to begin her attack.

"You'll have to do better than that." sighed Gozaburo, as his final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Go, Unfinished Ancient Gear! Now, I'm able to special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my hand to the field in defense mode while ignoring summoning conditions along with half of its attack and defense points."

A second Ancient Gear Golem took to the field with half of its stats (Level: 8/DEF: 3000 - 2000).

"Take it down, Dark Magician Girl!" commanded Dark Magician.

Dark Magician Girl obeyed, firing a blast from her wand. It struck Ancient Gear Golem, but the machine-type monster...survived!

"What?! Ancient Gear Golem wasn't destroyed?!"

"Any monster revived with Unfinished Ancient Gear can't be destroyed in battle this turn." explained Gozaburo. "That means your attempts at finishing me off have ended in failure!"

Regardless, Dark Magician still wasn't finished with his turn just yet.

"I summon Magician's Valkyria in defense mode!" he announced, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

The teal armored female Magician appeared to the field in a defensive position (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800).

"More sorcerery..." mumbled Gozaburo.

Finally, a Spell card called Magical Blast materialized face-up on the field. With Thomas, Dark Magician Girl, Kuriboh, and Kuribon...

"That's Magical Blast!" exclaimed Thomas.

"Correct, Thomas." confirmed Dark Magician. "This Spell cards allows me to inflict 200 points of damage to the opponent for every spellcaster-type monster on my side of the field."

Dark Magician Girl (Duel Monsters version) and Magician's Valkyria both crossed their weapons together and began to charge a blast.

"Fire!"

The blast was fired and struck Gozaburo, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse to his knees (LP: 600).

"One more attack-" said Dark Magician Girl happily. "-and my master will win!"

Kuriboh and Kuribon both cheered in their language. Unfortunately, the celebration didn't last very long...

"If you're done wasting your time-" interrupted Gozaburo, getting back up and drawing a card. "-it's my turn, now!"

Dark Magician glared, but said nothing. In his thoughts...

"If I can hold out until my next turn, I can add Magical Blast back to my hand by skipping the next draw phase. From there, I'll summon Miracle Flipper and activate Magical Blast again, which will defeat Gozaburo."

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, Ancient Gear Fusion, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

The Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This is where I make my finishing move." said Gozaburo. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Mage's Fortress was destroyed. Dark Magician braced himself until the wind blast ceased.

"When Mage's Fortress is destroyed-" he declared, drawing a card. "-I draw one card from my deck."

"You won't get a chance to play it." Gozaburo pointed out, just as another Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself (Ancient Gear Fusion). "I activate Ancient Gear Fusion!"

"Ancient Gear Fusion?" blinked Dark Magician.

"This allows me to perform a fusion summon using my Ancient Gears." explained Gozaburo, drawing and readying another two cards. "And since one of them involves Ancient Gear Golem, the others can be used from my deck!"

A third Ancient Gear Golem, along with a monster called Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound, joined the one on the field in combining together.

"It's showtime..." The evil man whispered to himself.

Everyone (who was still conscious) watched as the pile of scrap began merging into one giant robot as Gozaburo began to speak a summon chant...

" ** _Giant machines of war, assemble into one being and unleash your fear upon the humans who resent you! Fusion Summon! Engage the enemy - Megaton Ancient Gear Golem_**!"

The construction of the new robot was completed, and it was gigantic!

"Meet the instrument of your demise!" cackled Gozaburo. "...Megaton Ancient Gear Golem!"

The new robotic monster had four large legs as well as many arms (Level: 9/ATK: 3300 - 3800/DEF: 3300).

"Before you say anything, I'll let you know that my new monster has a devastating special effect!"

Dark Magician frowned, but said nothing.

"Megaton Ancient Gear Golem can perform additional attacks when fusion summoned by using two or more Ancient Gear Golems and/or Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound as fusion materials!" explained Gozaburo, as his smile grew crueller and crueller. "And seeing as all three monsters I used involved them, that means Megaton Ancient Gear Golem can perform three attacks during my battle phase!"

Dark Magician Girl, Thomas, Kuriboh, and Kuribon all gasped in horror.

"This can't be!" winced Dark Magician, knowing that he had nothing to stop the incoming attacks.

"It's all over!" declared Gozaburo. "You were never a match for me!" Finally, the battle phase came... "Megaton Ancient Gear Golem, attack my opponent's monsters and end this duel!"

Megaton Ancient Gear Golem stood up and prepared to attack.

"MEGATON MECHANIZED MELEE!"

Megaton Ancient Gear Golem struck the ground with its many fists, causing a tremor that destroyed Dark Magician's monsters one-by-one (starting with Magician's Valkyria, followed by Dark Magician Girl, and finally Dark Magician the Dragon Knight) before the remaining fist hit Dark Magician himself, causing a massive explosion to cloud the field.

"Dark Magician!" called Thomas.

"MASTER!" screamed Dark Magician Girl.

Gozaburo Gresley laughed maniacally as the smoke cleared away. Once it did, there, laying on the ground badly injured, was Dark Magician (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Gozaburo Gresley wins!**

* * *

The wounded purple-haired, male spellcaster-type monster weakly opened his eyes and managed to lift his head to glare at Gozaburo hatefully.

"Curse...you..."

From there, the male spellcaster finally collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Master!" cried Dark Magician Girl, running over to Dark Magician.

Thomas and the two Kuribohs were speechless and could only watch the scene helplessly.

"That fool brought it on himself by challenging me." cackled Gozaburo. "No one can stop the power of my Ancient Gears!"

Thomas once again shook with anger. This man was indeed as monstrous as Spencer had described... Something had to be done about him! ...but what? Find out next time!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	72. Ancient Gears of War (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside a room of the Duel Monsters capital city, Megaton Ancient Gear Golem had struck the ground with its many fists, causing a tremor that destroyed Dark Magician's monsters one-by-one (starting with Magician's Valkyria, followed by Dark Magician Girl, and finally Dark Magician the Dragon Knight) before the remaining fist hit Dark Magician himself, causing a massive explosion to cloud the field.

"Dark Magician!" called Thomas.

"MASTER!" screamed Dark Magician Girl.

Gozaburo Gresley laughed maniacally as the smoke cleared away. Once it did, there, laying on the ground badly injured, was Dark Magician (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Gozaburo Gresley wins!**

* * *

The wounded purple-haired, male spellcaster-type monster weakly opened his eyes and managed to lift his head to glare at Gozaburo hatefully.

"Curse...you..."

From there, the male spellcaster finally collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Master!" cried Dark Magician Girl, running over to Dark Magician.

Thomas and the two Kuribohs were speechless and could only watch the scene helplessly.

"That fool brought it on himself by challenging me." cackled Gozaburo. "No one can stop the power of my Ancient Gears!"

Thomas once again shook with anger. This man was indeed as monstrous as Spencer had described... Something had to be done about him!

"You..." The blue-haired boy hissed with fury. "You really are as bad as Spencer described...!"

Gozaburo stopped his laughter and glared at Thomas silently. It looked like he wanted a piece of the fuming teenage boy...

"Oh, and what're you gonna do about it?"

Thomas responded by firing up his Duel Disk and getting into a dueling position.

"I challenge you to a duel!" Thomas declared boldly. "I'm going to make you pay for all that you've done!"

"Thomas?" gasped Dark Magician Girl.

"So how about it, old man?" dared Thomas, drawing five cards. "You game?"

After what seemed like forever, a cold, cruel smile appeared on Gozaburo's face as he drew five new cards of his own.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you to show respect to your elders." he said (LP: 4000). "Your Dark Magician friend wasn't a match for me, so what makes you think you'll do any better?"

"You haven't faced someone like me before." answered Thomas in a serious tone (LP: 4000).

Nearby, the spirit of Maiden with Eyes of Blue suddenly appeared and tried to awaken the unconscious Spencer.

"Spencer, wake up." she begged, trying to gently shake Spencer back to consciousness. "Thomas is about to engage your Grandfather in a duel!"

The silver-haired boy slowly started to come around.

"Ugh..." Spencer groaned, his eyes starting to open. "What...?"

True enough, the first thing Spencer saw was Thomas and Gozaburo getting ready to duel.

"Billinton?"

"Ah, Spencer, nice to see you're awake, now." teased Gozaburo. "Don't you worry, I promise you that you'll get your chance to be destroyed soon enough."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" argued Thomas.

Gozaburo snorted as he drew a card. "In that case, let the duel begin!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Ancient Gear Engineer, Crazy Summon Gear, Spell Gear, Mystical Space Typhoon, Unfinished Time Box, and Geartown

* * *

His hand contained Ancient Gear Engineer, Crazy Summon Gear, Spell Gear, Mystical Space Typhoon, Unfinished Time Box, and the drawn Geartown.

"Since you know all about The Field of Dark Graves in my deck-" The evil man said, taking and readying a card. "-I think I'll play a new Field Spell card for you to overcome."

A Field Spell card called Geartown materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Geartown! Now watch carefully..."

Suddenly, the scenery began to change into a mechanical city.

"Geartown..." Thomas whispered to himself. "This is a card I've never seen or heard of before..."

"This Field Spell card allows both players to summon Ancient Gear monsters with one less tribute." explained Gozaburo.

Suddenly...

"Ancient Gear monsters?" came from Spencer. "What are Ancient Gear monsters?"

"In addition to The Field of Dark Graves, the Ancient Gears and its support cards are a brand new archetype that Gozaburo had created especially for his deck." explained Dark Magician Girl. "He used them in his duel with my master and defeated him easily."

"How right you are!" confirmed Gozaburo. "That last deck you faced, Spencer, was just a random deck of cards I made and used to test your skill."

"What!?" Spencer gasped in shock.

* * *

 **Title: Ancient Gears of War, Part 2**

* * *

After a moment of silence around the duel field/room, Gozaburo took a card from his hand.

"But why bother telling you about it when I can show you instead?" The evil man went on. "Now I summon, without a tribute, Ancient Gear Engineer in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a large geared soldier with a drill on one of its arms (Level: 5/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500).

"Ancient Gear Engineer..." whispered Thomas. "Another of those monsters I've never seen before..."

Suddenly, the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And now I play the Spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Geartown." said Gozaburo. "I bet you never expected me to do that!"

The face-up Geartown card shattered into pieces of glass, returning the field to normal.

"But why do something like that?" demanded Spencer.

"Very easy..." continued Gozaburo, readying a card taken from his deck. "Now I am able to special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my deck to the field." He placed the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "And that monster is Ancient Gear Soldier in defense mode!"

The soldier of gears soon appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1300), which was also followed by a facedown card materializing behind it.

"I'll set this facedown and end my turn."

"Ancient Gear monsters..." thought Spencer to himself. "Such a powerful archtype I've never heard of until now..."

Meanwhile, Thomas had the same thought about the Ancient Gear monsters. Although he caught a glimps of the archtype earlier, they were still very much new to him...

"Gozaburo must have more up his sleeve." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "I have to be careful, unless I wanna end up like Dark Magician..." Finally, he drew a card while speaking aloud... "It's my turn, now!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (6): King of the Swamp, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Jack's Knight, King's Knight, Rainbow Blessing, and Polymerization

* * *

His current hand contained King of the Swamp, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Jack's Knight, King's Knight, Rainbow Blessing, and the drawn Polymerization.

"Yes! I have the cards I need to pull a quick win."

On cue, the Polymerization Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Polymerization and fuse the following monsters - King's Knight, Jack's Knight, and King of the Swamp—substituting for Queen's Knight!" said Thomas, readying three cards in his right hand. "Behold... the master of the ' **Three Musketeers of Face Cards** ' - Arcana Knight Joker!"

The three Poker Knights (with King of the Swamp briefly morphed as the female Poker Knight) briefly appeared on the field before fusing together into one. When the fusion sequence finished, there stood the mightiest of the Poker Knights (Level: 9/ATK: 3800/DEF: 2500).

"One of Billinton's strongest monsters on his first turn..." murmured Spencer. "I'm almost impressed he managed to pull it out."

"Next I shall summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" finished Thomas, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The retrained Elf Swordsman joined Arcana Knight Joker for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1200).

"BATTLE!"

Up first to attack was Arcana Knight Joker...

"Arcana Knight Joker, strike down Ancient Gear Engineer!" commanded Thomas.

Arcana Knight Joker obeyed, striking the mechanical engineer in half with his mighty blade.

"Your Ancient Gear Engineer has fallen!"

Despite losing tons of life points, Gozaburo wasn't worried in the slightest (LP: 1700).

"I activate a Trap card..." he mumbled.

Thomas was aghast. "What?! A Trap card?"

On cue, Gozaburo's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Unfinished Time Box!" announced Gozaburo. "My secret weapon!"

"That's another card I've never seen before!" exclaimed Spencer. "Where did he even get those cards, anyway?"

"Your Grandfather must have somehow used the technology purchased from your family's company to create cards nobody has ever seen or heard of before." said Maiden with Eyes of Blue.

"Combined with The Field of Dark Graves-" added Dark Magician Girl. "-he can be nearly impossible to defeat!"

Within seconds, a large box-like object appeared on the field and sucked Arcana Knight Joker inside of it.

"My monster!" cried Thomas, who then heard Gozaburo laughing wickedly. "What did you do to Arcana Knight Joker?!"

"Since a monster on my field has been destroyed in battle-" explained Gozaburo, drawing a card while not losing his smile (Ancient Gear Golem). "-this Trap card banishes the monster that destroyed it, and allows me to draw another card. The only way you'll get your monster back is by destroying my Trap card."

Thomas gave a small huff. "Destroy your Trap card? I'm afraid it'll have to be done later... Attack and destroy Ancient Gear Soldier, Celtic Guardian!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian obeyed, slicing Ancient Gear Soldier down the middle and causing the monster to explode into nothing.

"My turn has ended!" concluded Thomas.

"Nice try-" sneered Gozaburo, drawing a card. "-but you'll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me."

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (4): Crazy Summon Gear, Spell Gear, Ancient Gear Golem, and ?

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Crazy Summon Gear flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Crazy Summon Gear... This allows me to target one monster you control, and one monster in my graveyard with 1500 attack points or less. Afterwards, you must summon two monsters from your deck with the same type and level as the selected monster."

Thomas's deck suddenly started glowing all white.

"As you can see, I've chosen Obnoxious Celtic Guardian-" said Gozaburo, pointing at his opponent. "-so you must choose two monsters with the same type and level as it."

Thomas wasn't about to look through his deck. Why? Because he only had two warrior-type monsterss with levels of four...

"Queen's Knight and Big Shield Gardna, defense mode!" The blue-haired boy declared, just as two orbs of light emerged from the glowing deck.

From the orbs appeared the female poker knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600), and the warrior with the huge shield (Level: 4/ATK: 100/DEF: 2600).

"And now, it's time for the next effect of my Spell card." continued Gozaburo, as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "I must special summon the selected monster from my graveyard and all other monsters from my deck with the exact same name."

On cue, three Ancient Gear Soldiers materialized on the field in a battle ready position (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1300).

"But I'm not done." Gozaburo went on, reaching and grabbing another card from his hand. "I activate Spell Gear!"

"Spell Gear?" repeated Thomas.

"Yes... I can now send all three of my Ancient Gear Soldiers to the graveyard to special summon from my deck two Ancient Gear Golems, and one Ancient Gear Golem from my hand, to the field while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

The three Ancient Gear Soldiers faded away in blue streaks as Gozaburo readied three cards in his right hand.

"Come forth - Ancient Gear Golem!"

The three mighty geared giants soon appeared on the field in the place of the three Ancient Gear Soldiers (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000) x3.

"Ancient Gear Golem..." whispered Spencer in shock. "They're as powerful as my Blue-Eyes White Dragons..."

Back in the duel field, Thomas and his monsters watched fearfully the three Ancient Gear Goldems leered down upon them while Gozaburo was cackling madly.

"I had warned you not to mess with someone like me, boy!" scolded Gozaburo menacingly. "And now, you'll see what happens to those who do so!" He entered the battle phase. "Ancient Gear Golem, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian with Mechanized Melee!"

The first Ancient Gear Golem obeyed and punched at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, who withstood the attack due to his effect. Regardless, Thomas received life point damage because his monster was in attack position (LP: 2400).

"I know your Celtic Guardian has the ability to survive attacks with monsters that have 1900 or more." Gozaburo pointed out. "However, if your monster was in attack position when I attacked, which it is, then life point damage is still sustained."

The second Ancient Gear Golem then punched and destroyed Big Shield Gardna. Then, to Thomas's surprise, his life points decreased (LP: 2000).

"What's going on?!" he demanded. "My monster was in defense mode! Why did I lose life points from that attack?"

"Whenever Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defense mode-" explained Gozaburo. "-the difference comes out of your life points!"

Finally, the third Ancient Gear Golem punched and destroyed Queen's Knight, reducing Thomas's life points even further (LP: 600).

"No, Thomas!" cried Dark Magician Girl.

"Billinton only has 600 life points left." said Spencer in concern. "If Gozaburo manages to get another attack in with his Ancient Gear Golems, he'll defeat him!"

Thomas was in a tight spot; he needed a plan, or card, to stall for some time or he would lose the duel come Gozaburo's next turn. Suddenly, a realization came to him...

"You could have won if you'd attacked my Celtic Guardian with all three of your Golems." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "Why did you have them attack all three of my monsters?"

"My Grandfather likes to toy with his foes, Billinton!" Spencer called out. "It makes his victories all the more sweeter."

"He speaks the truth." chuckled Gozaburo. "If I had just defeated you in this one move, it would have been far too boring."

Thomas scowled.

"Oh, don't you frown, I'll still defeat you! ...just not right now."

"Not if my friends have anything to say about it." growled Thomas, referring to his cards.

"Oh, please!" snorted Gozaburo. "How could you call them friends after you had betrayed them...twice?"

By twice, the evil man was first referring to when Thomas had become Diablon and used Catapult Turtle to selfishly tribute his own monsters to win carelessly against Nathaniel. The second time it happened was when Thomas went berserk, due to Diesel playing a really cruel joke, and used Berserker Soul to send monster cards to the graveyard in an attempt to defeat his opponent viciously. Gozaburo had hoped that this comment would throw Thomas off his guard and make him mess up. But unfortunately...

"Shut up..." whispered Thomas angrily, drawing a card. "I will NOT let you talk trash about my cards! I did not betray them; Diablon did!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): Rainbow Blessing and One Day of Peace

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called One Day of Peace.

"This card will ensure either of us take no damage for the next turn." Thomas said aloud, slotting the card into his Duel Disk. "I play One Day of Peace!"

"One Day of Peace?" quizzed Gozaburo. "Isn't that-?"

"That's right." interrupted Thomas. "This Spell card not only allows us to draw an additional card, but prevents any of us from taking damage until the end of your next turn."

The two duelists drew a card from their respective decks. These were what they drew:  
-Thomas: Kuriboh  
-Gozaburo: Ancient Gear Fist

"I know you'll come in handy soon, Kuriboh." thought Thomas to only himself.

He then looked over to nearby and saw the spirit of Kuriboh standing nearby with Dark Magician Girl, Spencer, Maiden with Eyes of Blue, and Kuribon.

" ** _Kuribi_**!" squeaked Kuriboh.

Thomas smiled at the male Kuriboh and nodded, just before narrowing his eyes and turning back to face his opponent.

"It's your turn, Gozaburo."

"As you wish." sighed the evil man emotionlessly, drawing a card. "My turn, draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, Ancient Gear Fist, and Competition - Cross Dimension

* * *

"Now watch as I activate an Equip Spell card..." He held a card out. "Ancient Gear Fist!"

One of the Ancient Gear Golems' fists began to glow.

"I don't even give a damn if your monster cannot be destroyed, or if damage cannot be sustained at the moment, I'll still go and attack your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian with all THREE of my Ancient Gear Golems!"

The three Ancient Gear Golems stood up and prepared to attack.

"MECHANIZED MELEE!" ordered Gozaburo.

The Ancient Gear monsters obeyed, striking their fists at Thomas's monster. Although Obnoxious Celtic Guardian wasn't destroyed, he did get badly injured from the blows.

"GWAHHHH!" screamed Thomas, feeling the pain his monster was in.

"Thomas, no!" cried Dark Magician Girl.

Thomas gripped his arm in pain. "What was the point of attacking?" he grimaced. "No damage was dealt, and my Celtic Guard-"

Suddenly, the third Ancient Gear Golem fired off its fist, striking and destroying Obnoxious Celtic Guardian.

"My monster!"

"Whenever a monster does battle with one of my Ancient Gear monsters equipped with Ancient Gear Fist and my monster fails to destroy the opposing monster-" explained Gozaburo. "-that monster is destroyed at the end of the battle phase."

Thomas cursed.

"What?" asked Gozaburo in mock innocence. "Your monster couldn't be destroyed by battle. Nothing was said about Spell or Trap effects."

Still, Thomas said nothing.

"With that Celtic Guardian gone, you now have nothing to protect you from my other Ancient Gear Golems next turn. The smart thing to do would be to surrender and embrace your inner darkness."

"Never..." whispered Thomas at last.

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I will never surrender." insisted the blue-haired boy. "And I will never embrace the inner darkness! I HATE the darkness! It's brought innocent people nothing but pain and suffering, and I intend to destroy it for good!"

"Listen to yourself!" snapped Gozaburo. "You're saying you hate the darkness, but do you even realize it?"

Thomas stopped. "Huh?"

The evil man continued. "You know how you transformed into Diablon once before? Have you even realized it by now?"

"What are you trying to insinuate?" demanded Thomas.

And so, Gozaburo Gresley decided to drop the bombshell of a lifetime...

"You are the reincarnation of Diablon, Thomas Billinton!"

Thomas's eyes widened, while Dark Magician Girl, Spencer, Maiden with Eyes of Blue, and the two Kuribohs all gasped.

"W-What?!" spluttered Thomas. "I... I'm, what?!"

"You heard me correct." grinned Gozaburo deviously. "After all this time, you thought you were the reincarnation of this ' _Autraius_ ' hero meant to save the world, when the truth is that you're actually the reincarnation of Lord Diablon, destined to finish what he started by bringing both this world and the human one to complete ruination!"

Thomas began to feel sick to his stomach. This all had to be a lie, it just had to be!

"N-No... I don't believe you, you're lying!"

"Search your feelings!" insisted Gozaburo, taking and slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "You'll know it to be true!"

A facedown card materialized behind the Ancient Gear Golems.

"I set one card and end my turn."

Thomas didn't move or say anything.

"Hurry up, kid!" Gozaburo called out. "I haven't got all day."

"It can't be true..." whispered Thomas to himself. "I have nothing in common with Diablon..."

Despite his broken state, the blue-haired boy decided to just draw a card and take his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (3): Rainbow Blessing, Kuriboh, and Graceful Charity

* * *

On cue, the Graceful Charity Spell card materialized face-up.

"I play Graceful Charity." Thomas managed to blurt out, drawing three more cards. "Now I draw three more cards and send two to the graveyard."

He then drew three more cards. Looked at them, and sent two of the drawn cards to the graveyard. On cue, a monster card called Trap Enchanter(!) appeared face-up.

"I now summon Trap Enchanter in defense mode!"

"Trap Enchanter?" quizzed Spencer.

A male version of Dark Red Enchanter, but weaker, appeared on the field in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 2000).

"Fool! Do you realize what you're doing?" demanded Gozaburo, looking like he had been insulted. "When I attack next turn with one of my Ancient Gear Golems, you'll be defeated."

Thomas said nothing in response.

"Fine then... Be that way for all I care."

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Pot of Greed

* * *

Immediately, Gozaburo held out his drawn Pot of Greed card.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed; using it to draw two additional cards!" he said, drawing two cards and entering the battle phase immediately afterward. "Ancient Gear Golem, attack!"

The first Ancient Gear Golem obeyed and readied to punch the opponent to a pulp. Then fist got closer and closer, but then...

"Stop right there!" shouted Thomas.

Gozaburo froze. "Huh? What?!"

Ancient Gear Golem suddenly...punched a familiar mirror-like wall.

"What's going on?" demanded Gozaburo.

"Trap Enchanter's effect has activated, that's what." answered Thomas, as his Mirror Force Trap card slipped out of the graveyard before fading away. "When he is attacked by one of your monsters, I can banish it and a Trap card sleeping in my graveyard to activate said Trap card's effect."

Gozaburo gasped in realization. "And the Trap card you've chosen...was Mirror Force!"

"Correct... That means all of your Ancient Gear Golems will be wiped out!"

The barrier shattered into rays of light, striking and destroying every Ancient Gear Golem. Thomas now thought he was in the clearing...

"Your monsters have been wiped out." The blue-haired boy declared.

Unfortunately...

"Nice try." grinned Gozaburo, as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "I activate Competition - Cross Dimension!"

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"This banishes one of my Ancient Gear Golems until the next standby phase." explained Gozaburo. "Then, it returns to the field with, get this, doubled its original attack points!"

Thomas couldn't believe it; he thought he had seen the last of the Ancient Gear Golems, but now one of them was gonna return with doubled attack points.

"Now do you see how pointless it is to resist your destiny?" asked Gozaburo. "No matter what you do, you can't defeat me. Besides, by becoming one with the darkness, you could perchance gain the power to ensure your precious Emily is always protected."

Thomas remained stunned and speechless.

"That's right. I know all about your feelings for that girl... how you even once died to protect her. You'd do it again if you had the chance, wouldn't you?"

The dying part was as followed... in a flashback.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was during Thomas's frightening duel with Dark Marik in the final match of the Battle City tournament finals...

"Now, Bowganian!" commanded Dark Marik, with a look of pure excitement on his warped face. "Use your special effect! Fire a crossbow bolt at Thomas and make his pain more worse than it already is!"

Bowganian eagerly obeyed the command, raising and firing an energized arrow from its crossbow-like weapon. The arrow pierced through Gazelle (not destroying it) and struck Thomas through his chest.

"AUGH!" The blue-haired boy cried out, taking a stumble back from the slight damage (LP: 700).

"And now it's little Emily's turn to suffer from the Shadow Game!" Dark Marik cackled in sick amusement.

Emily screamed in pain as one of her eyes was erased into the shadows. Thomas, as soon as he was able to do so, placed a hand on his Millennium Puzzle. Right away, Emily knew what the blue-haired boy was going to do, and didn't want it to happen.

"Thomas, no..." The darkk green-haired girl begged. "Please don't! Don't give up any more of your life-force! You'll potentially kill yourself!"

But it was no good - Thomas screamed in extreme pain as the Millennium Puzzle's power, at the cost of more of his life-force energy, managed to replenish much of Emily's eye.

"Yes... YES!" yelled Dark Marik excitedly. "Keep it up!"

Poor Thomas could hardly stand. Every time he lost life points, Emily lost parts of her body to the darkness. Then Thomas had to give up parts of his life-force energy to try and keep her replenished and alive. But now it was taking its maximum toll on him. Worst of all, he was also down to 700 life points.

"Got to...keep going." Thomas said to himself weakly. "I can't...let Emily suffer...anymore!"

Dark Marik laughed sadistically. "Oh... feeling under the weather, are we? Well, much of that was by your own doing! Very soon, you'll be devoured by the darkness! ...along with poor, pathetic Emily, anyway!"

"No... I...won't..." Thomas managed to say, coughing up more blood in the process. "As long as...I keep...giving my life-force, Emily...will be...safe."

"Ha! You wish!"

Eventually, Thomas felt himself beginning to lose consciousness.

"No..." he mumbled quietly, struggling to stay awake. "Not now..."

But alas...because the blue-haired boy gave up TOO MUCH of his life-force energy to keep Emily from being devoured by the darkness, and the fact his life points were now dangerously low, the Shadow Game became more than he could ever hope to handle. Dropping the remaining cards in his hand, Thomas began clutching his chest in pain as though he were having...a heart attack.

"NO!" The blue-haired boy finally screamed out in intense agony, all thanks to his critically wounded heart. "Not...yet! Just...a little longer!"

But it was no use whatsoever; Thomas's heart soon stopped completely due to both the incredibly lethal injuries inflicted throughout the whole match and the lack of life-force energy he had given up to try and save Emily's life. From there, he finally closed his eyes and slowly began to fall to the ground.

"THOMAS!" cried out the blue-haired boy's friends.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed out the adults (Discord, Spencer and Skiff's parents, and Ishizu) in horror.

It was too late to prevent the inevitable from happening... Thomas collapsed to his knees and landed facedown on the platform, becoming completely motionless.

"Yes!" cackled Dark Marik in evil triumph. "What I've been waiting for has come at last... THOMAS BILLINTON'S DEATH!"

Silence filled the whole area for several seconds. While everyone off the platform was despairing over Thomas's death, a certain someone (who was still captured) was taking it far worse...

"Thomas! THOMAS!" screamed a crying Emily. "WAKE UP, PLEASE!"

But it did no good; Thomas didn't move a muscle and remained motionless. It would seem our blue-haired hero really was dead...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, just as Gozaburo took two cards from his hand and slotted them into separate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk.

"But incase you decide not to surrender-" he said, just as two facedown cards materialized (their art work could be seen briefly). "-I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn there."

Thomas was looking down at his feet, and he didn't say a single word.

"So, what's it going to be, boy? Will you become one with Lord Diablon and gain the power to keep the one you love save, or will you continue to resist and risk her own safety?"

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Thomas looked up with fires of determination his eyes.

"No, I will keep fighting..." The blue-haird boy whispered fiercely.

Gozaburo blinked. "Hmm?"

The Millennium Puzzle around Thomas's neck began to glow all gold as he stared long and hard at Gozaburo.

"Even if you say I'm the reincarnation of Diablon, I will continue to fight his power with everything I've got." continued Thomas, preparing to draw his next card. "In the name of those you and the Court of Darkness have hurt through out, I shall defeat you!"

"If that's the case-" sighed Gozaburo. "-then show me what you've got!"

"Gladly!"

With that said, Thomas then performed a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (3): Rainbow Blessing, Kuriboh, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

Just then...

"Because it's a new standby phase, my monster returns with doubled attack points!" declared Gozaburo. "Return to the field, Ancient Gear Golem!"

One of the destroyed Ancient Gear Golems returned to the field with doubled attack points (ATK: 3000 - 6000).

"Incase he succeeds in destroying this Ancient Gear Golem, I'll activate Ancient Gear Reverse Fusion and call forth one of my two ultimate monsters by using the Ancient Gear Golems as fusion material." The evil man thought to himself. He then spoke aloud... "Face it, there is NOTHING you can do to beat it!"

Thomas's hand contained Rainbow Blessing, Kuriboh, and Mystical Space Typhoon. As Gozaburo spoke on, the blue-haired boy looked over to the audience, but mainly Kuriboh. The brown, furry monster then gave a nod.

"Alright." thought Thomas, getting the message. He then looked back over to Gozaburo. "I summon Kuriboh in attack mode!"

"What?! Kuriboh?" gawked Gozaburo.

The little fluffy ball of adorableness appeared to the field (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200). Over with Spencer, Maiden with Eyes of Blue, Kuribon, and Dark Magician Girl; they noticed that Kuriboh wasn't present with them.

"Kuriboh?" blinked Dark Magician Girl.

Back in the duel field...

"Y-You wish to fight my Ancient Gear Golem with THAT?!" spluttered Gozaburo, wanting to either laugh or get angry. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"I'm not finished yet." Thomas rebuffed, holding out the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card. "First, I'll regain my Arcana Knight Joker with this!"

The Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Mystical Space Typhoon! With it, I'll destroy your Unfinished Time Box."

A large cyclone stormed from the card and made its way over to the face-up Unfinished Time Box Trap card, destroying it.

"With Unfinished Time Box destroyed-" continued Thomas. "-Arcana Knight Joker returns to my side of the field!"

He was right... Arcana Knight Joker soon rematerialized on Thomas's side of the field.

"Your monster only has 3800 attack points!" argued Gozaburo. "Ancient Gear Golem has 6000!"

Ancient Gear Golem (ATK: 6000) and Arcana Knight Joker (ATK: 3800) both stared each other down.

"I know that." Thomas acknowledged. "Which is why I'm gonna attack you directly this turn."

"How?"

Slotting the final card from his hand into a Spell/Trap Slot on his Duel Disk, Thomas decided to show him...

"I activate my final card-" The blue-haired boy began, just as a facedown card materialized. "-Rainbow Blessing!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Rainbow Blessing?" quizzed Spencer. "What kind of card is that?"

As if to answer Spencer's question, Kuriboh began to turn into the colors of the rainbow.

"Huh?!"

"W-What's going on?" gasped Gozaburo.

"Rainbow Blessing's ability." explained Thomas. "As I have Kuriboh on my side of the field, all of my monsters can now attack you directly!"

"Directly?!"

Thomas nodded. "Yes, directly. Once Arcana Knight Joker attacks, you'll lose!"

"No!" hissed Gozaburo in seeming horror. "This can't be how it ends!"

Arcana Knight Joker readied his sword.

"Arcana Knight Joker, it's time to end the duel!" called Thomas, entering the battle phase. "Attack Gozaburo Gresley directly!"

The powerful Poker Knight obeyed; leaping onto the rainbow road and making a run for the seemingly defenseless Gozaburo Gresley.

"No! STOP!" cried Gozaburo.

But it was no good... When Arcana Knight Joker was close enough, he slashed his blade forth with an almight battle cry and sent out a powerful blade beam towards the evil man. Upon striking, a massive explosion clouded the whole field.

"Thomas!" cried Dark Magician Girl.

"Did he get him?" asked Spencer, upon recovering from feeling the force of the powerful blast.

When the smoke cleared, Thomas was still standing.

"I've...won." he mumbled.

Just then, as the remainder of the smoke started to clear away, there was the sound of...laughter?

"Huh?"

As the smoke finally cleared away, Thomas looked over to see that the laughter was coming from Gozaburo Gresley, who's life points had hit zero (LP: 0).

"This duel is not over... Not by a longshot, kid." The evil man murmured.

"Your life points are at zero!" objected Thomas. "That means I win the match!"

To prove his point, one of Gozaburo's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Take a good look, boy." The evil man commanded. "You'll change your tune once you see my final weapon..."

The card was revealed to be...

"Atomic Meltdown(!)!"

"Atomic Meltdown?" asked Thomas.

"This is a Trap card that activates whenever I take life point damage and control an Ancient Gear monster." explained Gozaburo, now smiling rather cruelly. "Even if my life points are reduced to zero, I can still play this card. Now I can tribute my Ancient Gear-related monster and inflict damage to your life points equal to the sacrificed Ancient Gear monster's current attack points!"

With that said, Ancient Gear Golem's eyes started flashing all red like it was all set to self-destruct.

"Even if I can't defeat you like this, I can at the very least end the duel in a draw!"

Finally, Ancient Gear Golem exploded massively and destroyed every card Thomas controlled (Kuriboh, Rainbow Blessing, and Arcana Knight Joker) and send the screaming blue-haired boy flying back as his own life points dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: This duel is a draw!**

* * *

When the smoke cleared away, Gozaburo...was nowhere to be seen in the room.

"Gozaburo!" shouted Spencer.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" The voice cackled wickedly. "We'll see each other again soon, Spencer! When we do, you and your family's company will both die!"

Spencer scowled in anger. The laughter soon died down as everything soon became quiet in the room. Kuribon immediately, and frantically, looked around for any sign of Kuriboh (who had disappeared when Thomas played the card version), and soon found the male Kuriboh lying on the ground beside Thomas.

" **KURIBI**!" screamed Kuribon in her ' _Kuriboh_ ' language, quickly floating over.

Kuriboh, looking dirty and injured, slowly began to open his eyes.

" **Kuribi**?"

Kuribon was so happy that her friend was alive and awake that she tackled and started nuzzling him. Kuriboh blushed slightly, but immediately accepted the affection the female Kuriboh was giving him.

"Ugh..." grunted the voice of Thomas, catching Kuriboh and Kuribon's attention.

The blue-haired boy soon started to get back to his feet. He wasn't badly hurt, but that last attack did knock the wind out of him slightly.

"Thomas!" cried Dark Magician Girl, rushing to her friend's side.

"Billinton!" added Spencer, following as Maiden with Eyes of Blue faded away.

"Where'd...Gozaburo go?" coughed Thomas weakly, just as Dark Magician Girl and Spencer both got close enough.

"He somehow escaped." answered Dark Magician Girl.

Just then, before Thomas could say anything else...

"T-Thomas?" came the voice of Maiden of the Aqua.

Thomas looked over to see Maiden of the Aqua waking up. In addition, Percy and everyone else started to awaken as well.

"Man... What exactly hit us?" groaned James. rubbing the top of his head.

"My head hurts." added Henry.

"Everyone!" gasped Thomas. "You're awake!"

"Duh, little Thomas." replied Gordon, getting back up weakly.

"Where did that man go?" asked Rosie, speaking about Gozaburo.

"He's gone." answered Dark Magician Girl. "Before he left, however, he defeated my master in a duel and then tied with Thomas in another duel shortly after."

"Not only that-" added Thomas quietly. "-but he says that...I'm Diablon's reincarnation."

Silence...

"Um... could you repeat that?" asked Percy.

"Don't you all get it?" continued Thomas. "That's why Diablon keeps taking control over me when I get to a certain degree of anger. I'm not Autraius's descendant, I'm Diablon's reincarnation!"

Silence...

"That's...impossible!" whispered Maiden of the Aqua in denial. "Gozaburo... he has to have been lying!"

Thomas sighed heavily. "That's what I thought. I have more things in common with Autraius than Diablon... But after all that has happened to us in this world, I don't even know who to believe anymore!"

"Then we...must find out...the truth." came the voice of Dark Magician, causing Thomas and everyone else to look nearby.

The purple-haired, male spellcaster was shown to be conscious and back on his feet.

"Master!" exclaimed Dark Magician Girl. "You're awake!"

"Yes... but now we must find out how Thomas is connected with Diablon."

"But, master, how?" questioned Dark Magician Girl. "Our device has been destroyed!"

"Besides-" put in Thomas. "-what if I really am Diablon's reincarnation? I could be putting everyone, including you all, in great danger. It's better if I find these things out on my own."

"But, Thomas-" Edward spoke up. "-this is why we came here; to find the answers."

"I don't want you to risk throwing your lives away because of me."

Before anything more could be said, a gentle spell soon struck the blue-haired boy. He suddenly started to feel very sleepy...

"Wha..." Thomas yawned, his eyes beginning to droop. "What's happening...?"

His eyes closed, and he collapsed into a deep sleep. Turns out Dark Magician Girl was the culprit behind it...

"Sorry, Thomas, but it had to be done." she said seriously.

"Soooo... Now what?" asked James curiously.

Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both had serious looks on their faces, which was a sign that it was time to get to the bottom of this mystery of Diablon and Thomas. What was going to happen, you're asking by now? Well, that's a tale worth telling! ...next time.

* * *

Sadly, this will be the final chapter posted for the year... Expect more to comer hopefully in 2018.

Happy (early) New Years, everyone!


	73. Legacy of the Great One

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the hallway of the castle of the Duel Monsters spirit world, the sleeping Thomas was being placed onto a table by a serious looking Dark Magician Girl.

"But I don't understand." said Gordon earnestly. "How are we gonna get to the bottem of this Diablon mystery if the device that was to have helped us do it has been destroyed?"

"I can assure you that we have other ways of finding out." answered Dark Magician, before looking towards his apprentice. "Don't we, Dark Magician Girl?

"Agreed." added Dark Magician Girl, understanding her master's look. "I'm going to use my powers to look deep into Thomas's mind."

Nearby, Maiden of the Aqua was typing away on a keyboard connected to a large computer screen.

"And I will monitor everything we see here." she added.

Edward had a thought... "Will this be dangerous for Thomas?"

"Not to worry." reassured Dark Magician. "We've done this before."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any less uneasy about the whole thing." sighed James.

"We have to trust them." insisted Percy. "If they say they know what they're doing, then we have to believe that they do know what they're doing."

Once it was time to begin, Dark Magician Girl slowly approached the sleeping Thomas and braced both hands onto the sides of his head.

"Here we go..."

The female spellcaster-type monster started mumbling words in a weird language, just before she started to glow with a pink-colored aura all around her body.

"Now...what?" asked Stanley slowly.

Suddenly, light began to flood the room as the big flashback commenced. What was going to happen? Well, you're all about to find out...

* * *

 **Title: Legacy of the Great One**

* * *

It was a very, very longtime ago... One part of the Duel Monsters spirit world was experiencing a raging storm in the middle of the night, and a human woman was currently on the run. She was being hunted down by an unknown party, and there wasn't anywhere she would be found and be forced to escape once more. Unfortunately, the woman wasn't alone either...

"Don't worry, little one." she said to a bundle in her arms. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

In the woman's arms was a newborn baby with blue hair with blackish highlights. Suspecting that the party chasing after her was really after the baby, the young woman had been on the run to try and find a safe sanctuary so that the baby can at least be kept safe and sound.

(new location...)

The woman's long and tiring travels eventually lead her to the capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"Will this place be safe enough for my son?" The woman thought to herself.

Suddenly...

"She must've come this way!" echoed a voice (male).

No time to dwell on the thought. The woman raced towards the gate leading to the city, but found that the gate was shut tight.

"Oh no! No, no..." The woman panicked, banging on the massive, thick, wooden doors. "Hello?! Help! Someone please!"

Unfortunately, there were no guards around, so nobody could hear her. But someone else sure did...

"This way!" called another voice (male).

It would look like this would be the end for the woman and her baby! ...well, had the young woman not decided to try and scale the walls at that time.

"Hold onto me carefully, little one." she advised her son.

The baby didn't have to be told twice. From there, the woman slowly began to scale the wall... just as a number of Vorse Raiders, Gil Garths, and Lizard Soldiers showed up.

"Where did they go?" asked one Gil Garth, looking around.

A Lizard Soldier looked up at the wall. "Up there!"

"Don't let her escape!" bellowed a Vorse Raider.

"I don't care what you do to me-" shouted the woman "-but leave my baby alone!"

Very quickly, the Vorse Raiders began hurling their weapons at the young woman with sharp aim. Thankfully, the weapons were missing their target, and the woman managed to reach the top safely.

"Stop her! STOP HER!" roared another Gil Garth.

But it was too late; for the woman began climbing down on the other side. They couldn't reach her now, but they could still give chase by climbing over the walls...

(elsewhere...)

As she hastily explored the city with the storm still going on, the woman had to find SOME building with which she could leave her baby to live and survive.

"Please, oh please, let there be some place suitable..."

At last, the woman noticed a light in one of the houses. That meant someone there HAD to be awake.

"Oh, thank heaven." she sighed, before looking down to the baby in her arms. "You're gonna be okay now."

The young woman quickly approached the house, took a basket and warm blanket out of her bag, placed the baby into the basket and tucked the blanket over the baby's body, and knocked on the door before looking to her son in sadness and regret.

"Goodbye..."

She kissed the baby on the forehead and ran off into the stormy night (to escape the Court of Darkness's minions). Before long, the door opened and revealed a Mystical Elf.

"Huh? Hello?" quizzed the female elf-like monster. "Who's there?"

She looked around to see if she could notice anyone, before looking at the ground after hearing the sound of crying.

"Hmm? Who do we have here?"

She picked up the basket and noticed the baby inside. The baby was crying from being alone and left out in the cold.

"You poor thing..." The Mystical Elf soothed. "Who left you out here all alone in this storm?"

With that said, the elf-like monster kindly brought the child into her home and closed the door.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the house, the Mystical Elf carried the basket into the living room where three more Mystical Elves were waiting.

"Oh, who's that?" asked one of the three Mystical Elves, noticing the baby in the basket.

"I don't know." said first Mystical Elf, still carrying the basket. "I found this little one alone outside in the storm."

The third Mystical Elf stood up and looked into the basket to stare at the crying baby and give him a kind smile. Suddenly, like magic, the baby stopped crying.

"Oh, the poor little thing." whimpered the forth Mystical Elf. She then sawe something on a side of the basket. "Look there! A note..."

The leader of the Mystical Elves placed the basket down onto the table carefully, and took hold of the note. This is what it said:

' _To whomever finds my child, we were being hunted down by followers of the Court of Darkness. My husband held them off long enough for me to make it all the way to this city, but I fear he has been slain. Please, take good care of my baby and raise him as your own child. His name is Autraius_.'

"Court of Darkness?" blinked the second Mystical Elf.

"Autraius?" added the fourth Mystical Elf.

They looked at the baby, who was now feeling safer and happy.

"What do you think, girls?" asked the third Mystical Elf.

"We shall keep Autraius and raise him as our own." said leader of the Mystical Elves. She then looked down at the cooing baby and tickled his nose with her finger. "Welcome to the family, my child."

Yup, it looked like things were gonna get much better for the child.

(new scene...)

The years passed, and Autraius soon became a boy of 10-years old. In addition to doing very well in school, he started training to become a warrior under the apprentice-ship of Sir Gilford the Lightning. The young blue/black-haired boy was so skilled in what he did, that he could shoot an apple off someone's head without even looking.

"Bulls-eye!"

"Hello, Autraius." greeted a female voice.

Young Autraius turned around to the source of the voice, smiling at who it belonged tp. It was his friend Maiden of the Aqua (who was shown to be a child in this flashback).

"Hi, Maiden of the Aqua." The young blue/black-haired boy greeted kindly. "Did you see me? I shot that arrow through that apple without even looking."

"You've really gotten better." Young Maiden of the Aqua commented.

"Heh! Yeah right." scoffed an oily voice (male).

The two friends looked over to the nearby stand. Standing there was a smug-looking 11-year old boy with jetblack hair.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback suddenly ended.

"Who is that guy?" asked Henry, having seen the young boy approaching Young Autraius and Young Maiden of the Aqua in the flashback on the monitor.

"His name was Damien." explained Maiden of the Aqua, sounding rather unhappy. "He was a bully at the school Autraius and I both attended... He was always acting like a nuisance and causing trouble for Autraius both in and outside of school.

"How so?" questioned Rosie, dreading the answer.

Sighing wearily, Maiden of the Aqua gazed back at the monitor. "You'll see."

The flashback resumed.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The boy Damien continued to look at Young Autraius with his arms folded and a positively smug look on his face.

"I bet I can pull off more bulls-eyes than you." he said cockily.

"Prove it." dared Young Autraius. "I won't be surprised if you make a fool of yourself in the trying."

Snorting, Young Damien took the bow from his rival before barking an order...

"Well? Go set the apples up!"

Frowning, Young Autraius then set up a few apples for Damien to try shooting.

"Three apples should be a good start." said the young blue/black-haired boy.

"Pshaw! That'll be too easy to hit!" scoffed Young Damien. "...but, whatever, watch and weep!"

The young black-haired boy loaded the bow with an arrow and fired, hitting and splitting the apple in two.

"That's one." teased Young Damien.

He loaded and fired again at the second apple. Like the first one, the arrow split the apple in two.

"Oh..." groaned Young Maiden of the Aqua, looking away unhappily.

"One more to go." grinned Young Damien, aiming his bow once more.

Young Autraius didn't say a word... He only watched as the bully fired his arrow and split the apple in two.

"Bulls-eye!"

Just then, there was the loud shatter of glass. Young Damien didn't pay any attention to it because he was too busy being happy he had ' **beaten** ' Young Autraius at something.

"What was that?" asked Young Autraius.

"Who cares?" bragged Young Damien. "What matters is that I've beaten you, you loser!"

Just then...

"Excuse me!" came a voice (male).

The three kids turned and saw a cross-looking man glaring at them with his arms folded.

"Did any of you happen to be firing arrows?" he demanded.

"That would be me." grinned Young Damien. "I'm the best archer in the world."

That was a big mistake on his part...

"Oh, really?" asked the man sarcastically. "Then were you the one who happened to shatter the window of my store?"

Young Damien's eyes bugged out.

"It was him." Young Maiden of the Aqua confirmed. "Autraius and I saw the whole thing."

"Wait! Wait! I-I can explain everything!" The young black-haired boy wailed.

"Why explain?" asked Young Autraius in a cheeky way. "You said it yourself; you're the best archer in the world."

As punishment, Young Damien was forced to pay for the broken window out of all the money in his allowance.

"Way to teach Damien a lesson." praised Young Maiden of the Aqua.

"Thanks." said Young Autraius. "A professional archer has to keep aware of his surroundings. Had Damien not been so over-confident, he would have been careful on his aim."

All of a sudden...

"Omigosh, girls!" squealed a female voice. "There's Autraius!"

Young Autraius looked around. "Here we go again..." he sighed upon seeing something up ahead.

Before long, several of Young Autraius and Young Maiden of the Aqua's classmates (around seven females) started approaching the former while pushing the latter out of the way.

"Oh, Autraius, you're so cool!" swooned one young girl.

"Oh, um... Thank you." Young Autraius replied, sweatdropping.

"Forget cool." interrupted another young girl. "He's positively cute!"

This caused the blue/black-haired boy to blush brightly. What was it about him that made the girls like him so much? He wasn't even trying to win their affection! ...not that they knew that little detail.

"Aww, he looks even cuter while blushing!" gushed another young girl.

"Give him some room!" cried Young Maiden of the Aqua, trying to step in. "You're making him feel embarrassed."

"Oh, butt out, why don't you!" snapped another young girl.

Young Maiden of the Aqua sighed in annoyance as she took out her staff.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

With that said, the young blue-haired female monster began to glow all blue. Suddenly, it started to rain.

"It's raining!" cried one of the young girls.

"Mommy!" whined another young girl.

The schoolgirls all quickly ran away crying because of the rain. Pretty soon, Young Maiden of the Aqua ceased glowing all blue, causing the rain to stop.

"That'll teach 'em, but good." she sighed.

"Gee, thanks for the save." said Young Autraius gratefully. "I've always wondered what is it that girls like about me so much."

"Think nothing of it." smiled Young Maiden of the Aqua. "Being part of a group who specializes in the water element is always helpful."

(new scene...)

Later on at school, a visitor in form of Dark Magician had come to talk to the class about something...

"Good morning, class." The purple-haired, male spellcaster greeted.

"Hello, Dark Magician." The class said in unison.

"Today-" continued Dark Magician. "-I have been asked by your teacher to talk to all of you about the balance of light and darkness."

"Balance of light and darkness?" quizzed one student.

"Yes... You see, everyone has both light and darkness in their hearts. For every good deed they perform, their light grows stronger. But for every moment of malice, their darkness grows instead."

Another student raised his hand.

"Yes?" asked Dark Magician.

"What would happen if the darkness in our hearts grew greater than the light?" asked the student.

The rest of the class gasped. Young Autraius especially seemed interested in knowing.

"Should the darkness outgrow the light in one's heart..." said Dark Magician thoughtfully. "Hmm... If I recall... that person will eventually be led down the path of chaos, eventually putting innocent lives, as well as their own, in grave danger."

"Danger?" A female student asked curiously.

"Yes, danger."

"Ooooh... How horrible." Another female student shuddered.

Hearing this made Young Autraius begin to worry about possibly having darkness in his own heart.

"Is it possible I can go down a dark path?" he thought to himself. "Can someone like me possibly fall from grace?"

Meanwhile, Dark Magician then took out a pendant and showed it to the class. It was a circle with half of it dark with a white spot, and the other half white with a black spot.

"This Ying-Yang symbol represents the duality of light and darkness." explained Dark Magician.

"Oh, wow..." breathed the whole class.

"As shown, one cannot exist without the other."

The teacher then spoke up. "Well, Dark Magician, thank you for your lecture about the balance of twilight."

"It was my pleasure." bowed the purple-haired, male spellcaster with a smile on his face. He then looked back towards the class. "But before I leave, I'd like to perform a quick test of the balance of light and dark in your class's hearts. Is it okay with you?"

The teacher nodded.

"But, umm..." A female student spoke up. "How exactly will you do it?"

Dark Magician's answer came in the form of a scale.

"Excuse me-" Young Maiden of the Aqua began. "-but what is that thing?"

"A scale enchanted to measure the light and darkness in one's heart." explained Dark Magician. "One side of the scale represents your light. The other represents your darkness. All you have to do is place your hand upon the scale's top, and your heart will be weighed."

"It looks rather familiar." said yet another male student.

"It looks like that item from Egypt in the real world." added another student.

But Young Autraius wasn't listening. He was worrying about what Dark Magician had said in his lecture. What if he couldn't control his darkness, and everyone perished because of it. He really didn't want that to happen...

"Now, who would like come up and start us off?" asked the teacher.

"I do." offered Young Maiden of the Aqua.

Dark Magician smiled. "Then come on up, young lady."

Young Maiden of the Aqua approached the scale and put her on of the top of it.

"Now let's see the results."

After a few seconds, one side of the scale began to rise.

"Well?" asked Young Maiden of the Aqua asked nervously. "What does it mean?"

"It would seem that the light in your heart outweighs your darkness." said Dark Magician. "You don't have to ever worry about going down a dark path."

Young Maiden of the Aqua felt relieved. The test went on and on until...

"Autraius, it's your turn." The teacher kindly pointed out.

Young Autraius gulped. "Umm... alright..."

Slowly, the boy made his way to the scale.

"It'll be alright." reassured Dark Magician. "This won't hurt."

Young Autraius put his hand on the scale, and waited for the results...

"Look!" cried a student. "The scale...!"

It looked like both sides of the scale where going up and down, out of control.

"W-What's happening?" asked Young Maiden of the Aqua in shock.

"Hmm..." mused Dark Magician. "I've never seen anything like this..."

Poor Young Autraius, not knowing what was happening, was beginning to feel scared.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked. "Why is the scale going out of control like that?"

"It seems your heart...is out of balance." answered Dark Magician. "I can't be sure of it, but if it's okay with your teacher I wish for you to come with me."

"Where to?"

"To my studies-" The purple-haired, male spellcaster answered. "-at the castle."

Young Autraius's eyes widened. "C-Castle?!"

No one had ever been given to privilege to enter the castle of the capital city except for formal events.

"Man, is Autraius ever lucky!" admired a male student.

Young Autraius, however, still felt worried with himself.

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the young blue/black-haired boy found himself in a room of some sort at the castle. Present was not only Dark Magician, but a number of adult Maiden of the Aquas and Skilled Dark Magician, as well.

"Whoa..." whispered Young Autraius.

"You see, we're trying to come up with ways to rid the darkness in one's heart using the combination of magic and alchemy." explained Dark Magician. "So far, we haven't succeeded, but we're not giving up."

"Master?" came a voice (female). "What's going on in there?"

Entering the room was...Dark Magician Girl.

"Hey, isn't that Dark Magician Girl?" asked Young Autraius.

"Yes." nodded Dark Magician. "She is my apprentice."

Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl noticed Young Autraius and gasped in excitement.

"Oh my goodness!" she cried in delight, rushing over to the blue/black-haired boy. "Who's this little guy?"

Young Autraius felt flustered. "Oh, umm..."

"This is Autraius." explained Dark Magician. "He's visiting us for the time being."

"He's so cute!" Dark Magician Girl gushed, bringing Young Autraius into a tight hug.

The poor boy turned redder in the face than ever before as the well-endowed female spellcaster hugged him close to her chest. Before long, Dark Magician gave a quick cough to get his apprentice's attention.

"Ahem! Sorry to interrupt, but right now we have an experiement to undertake."

"You won't hurt him, will you?" Dark Magician Girl asked in a worried tone, finally letting Young Autraius go.

"At this point, we're not even sure if it will be painful or not." said Dark Magician seriously.

Young Autraius frowned. "Hmm..."

Before long, everything was ready.

"Before we begin-" Dark Magician said to Young Autraius seriously. "-we'd like to ask you this only once; are you in or not?"

"I'm in." answered Young Autraius in an instant. "Anything to rid my heart of darkness. I don't want to risk those I love suffering or being killed because of me."

"Autraius..." whispered Dark Magician Girl.

After a moment of silence, Dark Magician, admiring the young boy's courage, finally gave a nod of approval.

"Very well... Let's get started."

"So... what do I need to do?" asked Young Autraius.

Two Skilled Dark Magicians lead the blue/black-haired boy to a large circle in the middle of the floor.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback suddenly came to an end once more.

"Magical circle?" blinked Percy. "That sounds rather familiar..."

"To be honest-" said Maiden of the Aqua. "-it should. It's the same type of alchemy me and several members of my kind used to accidentally create Gorz the Emissary of Darkness and Kaien the Emissary of Darkness shortly after I had grown up."

"Really?" quizzed Edward.

The female blue-haired monster nodded. "Indeed..."

"This is getting pretty epic." commented James with interest. "So, what happened next?"

Dark Magician Girl continued to mumble words in an unknown language as the flashback resumed.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside the circle, Young Autraius watched as three Maiden of the Aquas were using some chalk to draw a weird circle with patterns all around the table.

"What do I do?" The young boy asked curiously.

"Just stand in the middle of this circle once we have finished it." advised one of the Maidens of the Aqua.

Suddenly, a Skilled Dark Magician approached with a special suit of purple armor.

"Also wear this."

Young Autraius looked at the armor. "What is it?"

"The armor of Dark Flare Knight." answered the Skilled Dark Magician.

Not knowing what to think, Autraius put the armor on. Surprisingly, it seemed to fit him perfectly.

"We're almost done drawing the circle." reported another Maiden of the Aqua.

"Okay." said Young Autraius. He had hoped that the spellcaster-type monsters knew what they were doing.

Finally, all was ready to begin...

"Places, everyone." ordered Dark Magician.

Everyone took their places.

"Begin!"

The spellcaster-type monsters raised their staffs and the circle began to glow.

"W-What's happening?" gasped Young Autraius. Suddenly, he began to glow as well. "Huh!? What?!"

The young blue/black-haired boy felt as though something was leaving his body and his legs began to feel weaker.

"Easy does it..." whispered Dark Magician softly.

"I...don't feel so good." Young Autraius said suddenly. It looked as though he was going to pass out.

All of a sudden...

"Autraius, no!" A new voice suddenly echoed, coming from a shocked Young Maiden of the Aqua who had suddenly burst into the chamber so suddenly.

"How did she...get here?" murmured Young Autraius.

All of a sudden, something went horribly wrong with the experiment...

"GWAAAAAAHH!"

"NO!" screamed Young Maiden of the Aqua.

Because there was an interruption in the casting of the spell, the circle began to go all crazy and cause Young Autraius extreme amounts of pain.

"What's happening?!" demanded Dark Magician Girl.

"I think when this young girl barged in on us-" said one Skilled Dark Magician. "-it threw us off on casting the spell."

"How did she even get in here in the first place?" asked a second Skilled Dark Magician.

"I'm sorry." apologized Young Maiden of the Aqua. "When Autraius was escorted out of the school, I got so worried that I snuck out and followed."

Poor Young Autraius's screams were growing worse! If nothing was done to stop the circle, then young blue/black-haired boy could...

"We have to stop the spell!" protested Dark Magician Girl. "He could die!"

Swearing in frustration, Dark Magician knew he there wasn't any way to stop the circle from potentially destroying the young boy. However, there was one last hope to saving his life...

"The Ying-Yang pendant..." he said aloud, grabbing hold of the nearby pendant. "This could stop it!"

"How is that going to save Autraius?" asked Young Maiden of the Aqua.

Without answering the question, the purple-haired, male spellcaster hurled the pendant into the unstable circle.

"Everyone get back, now!" shouted Dark Magician.

Everyone present got out of the way.

"What? What's gonna happen?" asked a frightened Young Maiden of the Aqua.

"Just watch." answered Dark Magician. "If my instincts were correct, then this will save your friend from dying."

Suddenly, the Ying-Yang pendant began to glow as a purple light was extracted from Young Autraius into it, causing the circle to calm down and cease glowing.

"Autraius!" cried Young Maiden of the Aqua, running towards the circle.

At last, the glow of the circle died down completely, and revealed something rather...remarkable...about Young Autraius.

"Autraius?"

The black highlights in the young boy's hair were gone, leaving it completely blue. Not only that, but his armor had changed shape and color as well.

"W-What happened?" asked a very surprised Dark Magician Girl.

"The pendant appears to have altered the spell and thus properly drained Autraius of his darkness." said Dark Magician, looking just as surprised. "As for the new armor... I'll admit I've never seen anything quite like it."

Soon, Young Autraius began to stir...

"He's coming around." gasped one of the adult Maiden of the Aquas.

Indeed so... The young now blue-haired boy opened his eyes weakly, seeing almost everyone gazing at him in concern.

"Wha... what happened?" he asked weakly. "Did the spell...work?"

"See for yourself." suggested Dark Magician Girl, handing Young Autraius a mirror.

When the young now blue-haired boy saw his reflection, he could not believe what he was seeing about him.

"Is this... is this...me?"

"It is, indeed." confirmed Dark Magician.

The armor Young Autraius was wearing was all gold. Suddenly, it faded away and put the boy back into his old clothes.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know-" mused Dark Magician. "-but I'm relieved you're not hurt."

"So am I." agreed Dark Magician Girl, going back to hugging Young Autraius much to Young Maiden of the Aqua's discomfort.

"But what about the pendant?" asked one of the Skilled Dark Magician.

"As well as this experiment?" added one of the adult Maiden of the Aquas.

"It would be best to seal the Ying-Yang pendant away." advised Dark Magician. "With so much darkness within it, who knows what would happen if it were to fall into the wrong hands?" He then finished with... "In addition, an experiment like what we did is just too dangerous. We must never attempt something like it again."

"I agree." agreed Young Autraius. "It's just too hazardous."

The pendant was soon the locked away in a small crate, never to be used by anyone ever again. Seems to be a happy ending, right?

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"So the experiment almost killed Autraius?" asked Gordon.

"From what we remember, yes." confirmed Dark Magician Girl.

"Was the darkness in Autraius's heart the reason the Court of Darkness were after him and his Mother?" asked Molly.

"It's a possibility..." replied Dark Magician thoughtfully. Just then, something began to happen... "What?!"

Thomas was beginning to wince in his sleep along with Dark Magician Girl, who still had her hands placed on the blue-haired boy's head, all while new footage was starting to show on the monitor.

"What's going on now?" gasped Toby.

"It looks like we're being shown more of the past." said Maiden of the Aqua, looking just as shocked.

Indeed we were. Let's go and see it... shall we?

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside a vault within the castle years later, the Ying Yang pendant was being kept there for safe keeping. All seemed to be well and dandy in the Duel Monsters spirit world once again, right? Weeeellll... not really, no. Why's that you could be asking? Suddenly, a figure slid into the room the vault was located in.

"Okay, let's see..."

Taking out his tools, the intruder began to tinker with the lock. With some careful timing, he managed to get the lock picked and opened. Without wasting another second, the mysterious monster opened the vault door and looked inside.

"Now then... where could you?" quizzed the intruder to himself.

His question was answered when he saw the small crate hitting nearby.

"Jackpot!" The intruder grabbed hold the crate. "Something pretty valuable must be in here..."

The intruder was revealed to be a humanoid Duel Monsters spirit named Flash Assailant. This treasure thief must've come for the Ying-Yang pendant for a reason. What could it be? No time to answer it!

"Someone's broken into the vault!" echoed a voice (male).

"Uh-oh..." muttered Flash Assailant. "Time to make a run for it."

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the assassin-like monster had escaped into the hallway outside the room with the vault, just as three Blade Knights stormed into the room. Their voices could be heard coming from inside.

"The Ying-Yang pendant!" cried the first Blade Knight's voice. "It's gone!"

"Quick, find that intruder!" ordered the second Blade Knight's voice. "That pendant must not fall into the wrong hands!"

The Blade Knights emerged from the room and spread out to cover ground.

(elsewhere...)

Before long, the Flash Assaliant had successfully escaped from the city with the crate in his hands.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" chortled the intruder. "This is gonna make me rich... Filthy rich!"

However...

"Stop right there!"

The Flash Assailent halted. "On the other hand..."

To his surprise, and amusement, the person who had stopped him...was but a mere young boy with bright blue hair (Young Autraius).

"Return that crate at once!" Young Autraius demanded, sounding hostile.

"Oh, it's just a kid." sighed Flash Assailent. "Nothing to worry about."

Young Autraius merely narrowed his eyes. "Either return that crate, or suffer the consequences!"

"Kid, you clearly have no idea who you're dealing with." The intruder scoffed. "Now, run along home before you get hurt."

"Very well." sighed Young Autraius. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

Suddenly, the boy's whole body began to glow, causing Flash Assailent to recoil in surprise.

"What the-?!"

Within seconds, Young Autraius was now in his bright armor from earlier.

"W-What is that armor?" stuttered the intruder in shock. "I-I've never seen the likes of it before."

"This is armor has been granted to me after the darkness has been extracted from my heart into the pendant inside that crate." answered Young Autraius. "I call it... the armor of Mirage Knight."

"Wait, what?" interrupted Flash Assailent. "Are you saying that there's something in here with your darkness trapped inside?"

"Yes." confirmed Young Autraius. "Either give it back peacefully, or I will take it back by force!"

But Flash Assailant didn't seem to believe Young Autraius. He thought the boy was making this up just to keep the supposed treasure to himself. So, rather than give it back, a small, creepy smile appeared on Flash Assailent's face.

"Alright." he said at last. "I'll surrender it to you."

Young Autraius was very surprised. Oh, if only the assassin-like monster had even stopped there...

"However, try to catch it...if YOU CAN!"

He threw the crate into the air. Crying out, Young Autraius tried to go and catch it, but failed because the crate fell down the edge of the cliff to who knows where.

"NO!" screamed Young Autraius. "Why did you do that?!"

"If I can't have the treasure inside that crate-" shrugged Flash Assailant in an uncaring way. "-then neither can you."

Young Autraius merely glared and prepared for battle.

(elsewhere...)

Soon enough, the crate fell into the moving river down below and merely floated away.

(elsewhere...)

Slowly, but surely, the crate containing the Ying-Yang pendant went down stream for many, many miles until, by chance, it was discovered by someone fishing in the river.

"What on Earth?"

Without wasting a second, the human fisherman pulled the crate out of the water and placed it on dry land.

"Where did this come from?" he asked. "And could be inside it?"

Curious, the man decided to open the crate and see what's inside it. In his hands, after taking it out, was the darkness-filled Ying-Yang pendant.

"A necklace?"

Suddenly, the pendant started to react to being in the man's hands, startling him greatly.

"WHOA!" The fisherman cried out, dropping the pendant.

The Ying Yang pendant landed on the ground and broke, causing purple smoke to surround the shattered glass and grow...

"Get me out of here!" The man wailed, deciding to just beat it.

When the purple smoke had finally died down, the Ying-Yang pendant was no more... But now, there, laying on the ground with no clothes on, was a young boy about Autraius's age. A boy with pure black hair, and even a face and body very similar to Autraius's.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end once more.

"Oh my..." whispered Molly in shock.

"That boy must have been Anakin." added Henry.

"The question now-" came from Edward. "-is what happened next?"

"I don't think I want to know." shivered Rosie.

"At this point-" disagreed Dark Magician, looking towards the sleeping Thomas on the table. "-we have no other choice but to continue. We must know more about the mystery between Thomas and Diablon."

And finding out more about it, we shall! ...next time.

* * *

And here we are; the first posted chapter of 2018! Things are beginning to look up, eh?


	74. The Love Between an Angel and Demon (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: As of now, the story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside a tower of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Emily was seated alone within one of the dungeons, this time with no way to escape. She had been recaptured by the Court of Darkness, and this time the evil group were gonna make absolute SURE that their prey did not escape.

"What am I going to do?" The dark green-haired girl thought to herself. "The Court of Darkness took my Duel Disk and placed it somewhere in this castle... Even then, I can't get out of this dungeon without risking any failure..." Emily began to shed some tears over the tragic thought. "I'll never see my friends again..."

Just then...

"Emily, never give up hope!" echoed a familiar voice (female).

Emily blinked. "Huh?"

"There will come a time where you will be freed!" continued the voice (female). "Trust me on it."

"That voice..." whispered Emily to herself. She then spoke aloud... "I remember you! You were the one who appeared before me in my duel with Airknight Parshath."

Slowly appearing near the prison door...was the spirit of the same brunette-haired young woman who helped Emily in that duel... Or rather, Anastasia.

"I knew it... It is you!"

The young woman smiled. "That's right. Actually, I don't think I've properly introduced myself to you... My name is Princess Anastasia."

"Princess Anastasia?" repeated Emily.

"Yes, I'm the former princess of one of the biggest kingdoms of this world."

"You were also the one who spoke to me during my duel with Knight of Dark Dragon." continued Emily. "Why have you been helping me all this time?"

Anastasia was now silent.

"W-What's the matter?"

"I first wish to apologize." apologized Anastasia. "It was my fault you were recaptured. If I had not talked you into changing your strategies, then perhaps you would have won, and ultimately been reunited with your friends."

"I had the one chance to see my friends again..." Emily realized, growing upset. "But you took it away from me! Why?!"

"You have to understand, Emily-" Anastasia tried to explain. "-being recaptured is the next step on your quest to saving Thomas from the darkness."

"What?! What do you mean by that?"

Anastasia sat down next to Emily. "This will be a long story, so please try to pay close attention."

(elsewhere...)

Inside a room within the castle of the Duel Monsters capital city, a big story about Diablon and Anakin was about to take place when...

"Hold up." James spoke up. "Before you show us more, I have a question..."

Dark Magician nodded. "Proceed."

"How does time pass in this world exactly? I've been curious to know since we arrived."

"So have I." agreed Edward.

"Make that three." put in Rosie.

Practically all of the Sudrian humans were curious to know.

"Okay, this may sound very confusing to you-" began Maiden of the Aqua. "-but while time passes normally in the real world... In this world, however..."

"For ever minute passing in the real world, one second passes in this world." added Dark Magician. "A month goes by in the real world, that equals almost whole week in this world."

"Not only that, but in this world, many of the inhabitants are, in a way, immortal." put in Dark Magician Girl, having stopped her chanting to speak. "Certain humans can even age at different speeds and rates if they wished to."

"Fizzling Fireplaces..." whispered Henry, sounding amazed.

"That's so cool." added Gordon.

"So in this world-" came from Stanley "-you can basically never get old if you don't want to?"

"In a sense... that's correct." Dark Magician answered.

"But, right now, there isn't any time to chat about it." Dark Magician Girl pointed out. "We must find out more about this Anakin."

She put her hands back onto Thomas's head and continued her chant. Finally, the story resumed...

* * *

 **Title: The Love Between an Angel and Demon, Part 1**

* * *

Within the forest one sunny morning, a pair of horses were pulling a carriage. A stern-sounding voice could be heard grumbling from inside...

"Bah! Why did you have to drag me out here, anyway?"

"We've received an unusual report, sire." said another other voice (male).

Inside the carriage, a rather grumpy-looking King was seated beside a Blade Knight, who was giving him a report.

"This all sounds like a waste of my time." The man huffed. "I would rather be back home going over war plans for our next conquest."

"Please, Daddy, just listen." begged the 12-year old princess (a younger Anastasia), sitting on the other end of the carriage.

The King sighed dejectedly. "Alright... proceed." he said, speaking to the Blade Knight next to him.

"The report mentions a pulse of dark energy somewhere along the river, sire." explained the Blade Knight.

Before the King could answer, there was a rough stop that rocked everyone inside the carriage about.

"Why, the...!" snarled the King, getting back up. "I'll have the driver's head for this!"

Outside, the ruler poked his head out the window to scold the driver.

"What's the big idea stopping like that without warning me?!" The King demanded in anger. "You could have badly hurt my daughter and I, you bumbling oaf!"

"My apologies, sire, but we've discovered something lying in the middle of the road." apologized the carriage driver (Big Shield Gardna). "It could be the source of the dark energy we've been detecting."

Getting out of the carriage, the King, Blade Knight, and Young Anastasia each took a look. Young Anastasia was the first to see what it (or rather he) was...

"It's a boy!" she gasped, running over.

"P-Princess, wait!" exclaimed the Blade Knight, running after the young girl.

The King sighed to himself and followed. Lying in the middle of the road was, as Young Anastasia described, a naked 11-year old boy with black hair.

"O-Oh..." blushed Young Anastasia, getting an eyeful of the boy's body before looking away.

The King, however, snorted. "This is it? THIS is what you've dragged me all the way out here to find? You've completely wasted my time, dolt!"

"S-Sire-!" protested the Blade Knight. "I... I..."

"Be silent! Take me back to the castle, right now!"

"Can't we at least take the boy with us, Daddy?" asked Young Anastasia. "He could die out here on his own."

"Not my problem." said the King coldly, turning to leave.

"Then... then put him in my care!"

Anastasia's Father turned to glare at his daughter, but didn't say anything about it at first.

"Please, Father, show something of a heart, and let me take care of the poor boy." begged the brunette-haired young girl.

"Why should you show care or pity for urchins like this?" The King asked bluntly. "As my daughter, you are to eventually take the throne of the kingdom when your Mother and I are gone."

Young Anastasia only glared at her Father rather sternly. Eventually, the King looked away and gave a heavy sigh.

"If you wish to care for the boy, then I'll allow it."

With that said, the young boy was carefully wrapped in a blanket by Young Anastasia, and placed in the carriage to be taken back to the castle.

"Don't worry-" The young princess whispered to the young boy, stroking the top of his head. "-I promise to take good care of you."

(elsewhere...)

The carriage soon arrived at a large castle, which was bustling with life and activity.

"Sire! M'lady!" bowed another Blade Knight. "Welcome back!"

The King and Young Anastasia both got out with the unconscious young boy being carried in tow.

(elsewhere...)

Inside her private bed chambers, Young Anastasia had wet a piece of clothe in a bowl of heated water and immediately placed it over the young boy's forehead. Currently, the black-haired boy was asleep in the bed.

"Where did he come from?" Young Anastasia asked herself. "I've never seen the likes of him before..."

Before long, the black-haired boy's eyes started to slowly open, much to the young princess's surprise and relief.

"He's waking up... Maybe now, I can get some answers..."

"Whe-where I am?" asked the young boy, looking around. He then saw someone he never met before and freaked out. "AUGH! W-Who-?"

"Take it easy." soothed Young Anatasia, taking the boy's hand. "You're in a safe place, now."

The black-haired boy felt how soft the girl's hand was and felt at ease. He then looked at the brunette-haired young girl rather curiously.

"Are you...an angel?" he asked.

The young girl shook her head. "No... My name is Anastasia, and I'm the princess of this kingdom."

"P-Princess?"

Young Anastasia nodded. "Princess... Now tell me, what's your name?"

"My... my name?" The young black-haired boy repeated.

"Yes... your name. What is your name?"

"I... I don't seem to have one." sighed the young boy, looking away. "I have no idea who I am, or where I came from."

This surprised Young Anastasia completely. This young black-haired boy didn't seem to have a name or any idea where he even came from? Was he suffering from some form of amnesia or something?

"How strange..." murmured Young Anastasia.

The young boy turned to glare. "Huh?"

"You say you don't have a name." The young brunette-haired girl continued. "Maybe you're suffering from some form of amnesia or something?"

The black-haired boy groaned. "I don't have any of what you call...amnesia, and I don't know what the word even means... I really don't have a name or any place of birth. I don't know who or what I am..."

"You mean to say that you just showed up out of nowhere?"

The sad nod from the young boy confirmed it; and Young Anastasia felt very sorry for the poor soul. Just then, a knock on the door was heard...

"Enter." acknowledged Young Anastasia.

The door opened, revealing a Magician of Faith. She bowed apologetically for interrupting what the princess was trying to do.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry to interrupt, but your Father has requested that the boy be brought forth to him, immediately."

"Father?" quizzed the black-haired boy. "What's that?"

"Shhh!" hushed Young Anastasia, who then looked back to the servant. "Father wishes to see this boy? Why?"

Magician of Faith sighed. "Unfortunately, His Majesty would not tell me the reason; he just wants to see and speak to the young boy. Even then, you'd best bring the lad to the throne room, soon."

The female spellcaster-type monster then left the room. Quickly, Young Anastasia got up and started to search the room for something.

"What are you doing?" asked the young boy curiously.

"First, before we go see Father, you'll need some clothes." answered Young Anastasia. "You can't go anywhere without wearing anything."

"Why not?" The black-haired boy asked innocently.

Young Anastasia's face felt hot as she blushed brightly. "Because... because it's indecent."

Finally after spending a minute looking for suitable clothing, she found something for the black-haired boy to wear.

"Here, put this on."

It was a tunic and matching trousers. Smiling, the young boy started to get out of bed, but Young Anastasia blushed again and immediately looked away in embarrassment.

"H-Hey! W-Watch it..." she stammered, handing her new friend the clothes without trying to look at his naked body again. "Warn me next time."

Before long, the young black-haired boy was now properly dressed in the tunic and trousers he was given to wear.

"H-How do I look?" The young boy asked nervously.

Young Anastasia took one look at the black-haired boy's new appearance and smiled.

"You look wonderful... umm..." The burnette-haired young girl then tried to think of a name for her new friend, eventually coming up with one... "I know, I'll call you...Anakin."

The young boy blinked. "Ana...kin... Anakin." he repeated, trying to sound the name out. Finally, the black-haired boy seemed to smile with approval. "I... I like the name."

With that said, Young Anastasia took Young Anakin by the hand and started to lead him out of the room.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room, Young Anakin found himself standing before Anastasia's Father (King) and Mother (Queen). Anastasia was shown to be standing next to her Mother. There were many Blade Knights, Magician of Faiths, and several other human-like monsters gathered in the area.

"You...wanted to see me?" asked Young Anakin.

The King stood up from his throne and, with his arms folded, glared hard at the young black-haired boy.

"Because I've rescued you from being left in the cold-" he said sternly, harshly taking the credit for the boy's rescue from his own daughter. "-I herby make you apart of the royal family."

"But, Daddy-" objected Young Anastasia. "-you never rescued Anakin! In fact, you wanted to leave him behind when we-"

"Be silent, dearest!" snapped the princess's Father. "Do not interrupt me while I'm talking to someone."

Young Anastasia scowled as she held her tongue.

"Now, as I was saying..." continued the King, turning his attention back to Young Anakin. "If you're to be part of the family, then you must obey my orders at all cost. Am I clear, kid?"

"Yes, sir." Young Anakin nodded. "I understand."

"However..." The King went on still. "I want to see if you can serve me well..."

Taking out a sword, Anastasia's Father tossed it over to the young black-haired boy, who caught it and looked at it curiously.

"What am I to do with this?" asked Young Anakin.

The King snapped his fingers, and a Buster Blader stepped forth from the crowd.

"Daddy, what are you doing?!" cried Young Anastasia, looking alarmed.

"Testing his fighting skills." declared her Father uncaringly, turning his attention to the coming battle. "Begin!"

Young Anakin was scared. "Wait, what are-?!"

Without mercy, Buster Blader readied his sword and, with a loud battle cry, lunged forth towards the young black-haired boy. Without having to be told, Young Anakin blocked with his own sword. Several times he blocked Buster Blader's attacks while slowly backing away in fear.

"Stop!" begged Young Anakin. "Please! Leave me alone!"

"What are you doing?!" Anastasia's Father yelled out. "Fight back! FIGHT BACK!"

"Dear, this is going too far!" protested the Queen. "He's only a young boy! Stop the fight before he's killed!"

"This boy must prove to me he is capable of being a member of the family! And if he dies, then he just wasn't worthy enough."

Young Anakin, now feeling absolutely angry and terrified, suddenly felt something in his heart spark...

"NO!"

As Buster Blader raised his blade to deliver the killing blow, Young Anakin blocked it with his own again, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, they had turned a crimson red as an aura of darkness began to surround him.

"What?!" The Buster Blader gasped.

"Huh?!" The King also gasped.

Suddenly, Anakin began to push back against the dragon slaying swordsman, growling in great anger. With the Buster Blader unable to fight back any further, the young black-haired boy, with a cry of rage, began his own merciless attack; delivering a powerful slash attack on the Buster Blader.

 ***SLICE!***

Buster Blader, dropping his sword onto the ground, felt the top half of his body fall off the bottom half and leaving an extremely bloody mess behind. From there, the dead warrior collapsed and faded away into particles of light.

"Good heavens..." whispered the Queen, looking absolutely horrified at the sight.

"Amazing..." came from the King. "Such power, such skill..."

"Let this be a warning to all of you watching!" Young Anakin suddenly declared, the dark aura still burning brightly all-around him. "If any of you ever try to cross paths with me again, you will meet the same painful end as this swordsman!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of clapping.

"Huh?"

Young Anastasia and her Mother both saw that the King was the one doing the clapping, all while smiling.

"An excellent performance!" The man praised, walking towards Young Anakin (who's dark aura started fading away as he calmed down). "Lad, welcome to the royal family... ' _AND_ ' my army."

Young Anastasia couldn't believe what she saw; that boy...was nothing like the other children she knew of.

"Just what is he?" The brunette-haired young girl asked herself.

(new scene...)

Years later, Anakin, who had just turned 15-years old, had grow into a handsome teenage boy. Unfortunately, his life in the kingdom wasn't really heaven... While Anastasia (who was now a beautiful 16-year old teenage girl - puberty had been ' _way_ ' too kind to her) and her Mother both cared greatly for the black-haired boy and his mental health, the same amount of love couldn't be said for the princess's Father or the other soldiers... Anastasia's Father, once he had seen the potential in Anakin, immediately made the young boy a member of the royal army. From there, Anakin had fought in many long and tiring wars against many of the other kingdoms, but no matter how much land and treasures he won for His Majesty, the King was never satisfied with the results.

"I'm not impressed..." scoffed Anastasia's Father, after another kingdom had been conquered. "This wasn't challenging enough."

"But, sire..." Anakin began to argue.

"Be silent!" interrupted the King. "The next time we conquer a land, I want an enemy that at least has the nerve to put up an actual fight! And you..." He roughly poked a finger into the teenage boy's chest. "...had better not let me down. I've led my armies into combat for years, and humiliating losses are something I will NOT tolerate. Do I make myself clear?!"

Anakin wanted to argue, but the King's dangerous glare was enough to make the black-haired boy stop and sigh dejectedly.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty..."

(elsewhere...)

When the King, Anakin, and the rest of the troops returned to the kingdom, Anakin was immediately greeted by the teenaged Anastasia in one hallway.

"Welcome back, Anakin." she greeted brightly. "Did you, the troops, and Daddy win the war?"

Anakin didn't answer; he only walked sadly away.

"Anakin?"

(elsewhere...)

Later that night, Anakin was in his room asleep. However, he was tossing, turning, and wincing as he tried sleeping. Eventually...

"NO!" The black-haired boy screamed, waking up with a start. Breathing hard from his nightmare, Anakin looked around. He was alone in his private chambers... "A dream..."

"Anakin?" A familiar, gentle voice (female) called out. "Are...you alright?"

Looking at the doorway, Anakin saw that Anastasia was standing nearby and looking very worried.

"Anastasia?" blinked Anakin. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were okay." said the princess kindly. "You didn't say anything to me earlier, and I was worried about you."

Anakin looked down and started shaking hard from what he had just experienced.

"I... I had a nightmare."

Anastasia gasped. "A nightmare? What kind of one?"

"It involved you..." Anakin started. "You were dying, and I was trying to kill myself so I could die with you. But... you wouldn't let me." His breathing became shallow, and his eyes became wet with tears. "Y-Your Father... He... he... he killed you!"

The poor black-haired boy began weeping. Anastasia, feeling sorry for Anakin, walked over towards the bed.

"Shh, it's okay... You're safe, now..." The princess softly whispered. Then, she had an idea... "If it helps, why don't I sleep with you tonight?"

This surprised Anakin greatly; to the point he even stopped crying to look at his only friend.

"Y-You would do that? But what if-?"

"I insist it." The princess interrupted. "Besides, I'll tell you something interesting... I have a feeling that by tomorrow, my Father will have assigned you as my personal bodyguard."

"I doubt it." sulked Anakin sadly. "Your Father hates me. No matter what I do to make him happy, he's never satisfied. I bet that first thing in the morning, he's going to kill me for not living up to his expectations."

Before he could say anything more, Anastasia got into the bed, embraced, and smiled at the hurting black-haired boy.

"Just lie down and go to sleep."

Finally, the brunette-haired girl yawned and went to sleep. Anakin, with the princess embracing him, found himself smiling for the first time in a while. It would seem that Anastasia somehow had a very positive effect on the black-haired boy's damaged emotions, and he even felt something wonderful spark inside his heart.

"Good night, Anastasia..." whispered Anakin, managing to fall back asleep.

He wanted this feeling to last forever...

(elsewhere...)

The next morning, the King was speaking to Anakin in the throne room.

"I'm assigning you as Anastasia's personal bodyguard." Anastasia's Father said sternly. "And I will warn you now; do NOT let anything happen to my daughter."

Anakin was surprised. "Wait, you're what?"

"You heard me loud and clear." frowned the King. "You're to serve and protect my daughter by any means necessary, even if you have to die in the process. Do NOT let me down. Is that clear?!"

"Y-Yes, sire..."

But, secretly, Anakin was very happy about this arrangement... It was just as Anastasia had predicted last night.

(elsewhere...)

That night, as Anastasia's new bodyguard, he was to sleep in the guest quarters in the princess's private chambers. However, Anastasia had a far better idea on the matter...

"Why don't you sleep with me in my bed?" she asked kindly. "Nobody has to know about it."

(elsewhere...)

And that's what was agreed to... From this point on, Anakin and Anastasia, despite not being married or anything, both began sleeping together in the same bed. It also seemed to have a VERY positive effect on Anakin's unstable psyche, which had been severely damaged due to constant engagement in wars and much verbal abuse from the King. Slowly, however, it looked like Anakin was falling in-love with the beautiful princess.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, while Rosie smiled happily.

"Aww, it was so sweet of Anastasia to allow Anakin to sleep with her." The pink-haired girl gushed, bringing both hands and placing them on her chest (at the heart).

"Why did that King have to be such an abusive bully to him?" asked James, sounding very cross. "If I were there, I would have killed the son-of-a-"

"Anakin had sworn an oath to serve Anastasia's Father." interrupted Edward, cutting James off before he could complete his sentence. "Although, from what we were seeing, it slowly wrecked havoc with his mind."

Suddenly, the flashback scene continued...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside the throne room one day, the kingdom was being visited by a messanger and the son of the King of another country.

"What be your business here?" demanded Anastasia's Father. "And make it quick, because my patience is quite thin."

"I have come to suggest peace." said the visitor, who was a human. "I'm sure an alliance between our-"

"Alliance?! BAH!" snorted the King. "There will be no alliance! My army is the mightiest in this world, and we don't need the assistance of any other kingdom. Rather, only the strongest kingdom deserves to be the best!"

The royal prince then stepped forth to beg. "Aww, come on! You don't know how much I wanna be just like-"

"Quiet!" The King demanded, silencing the prince into submission. "I am not interested in listening to some maggot like you. Guards, take them away!"

Just as the Blade Knights started to approach...

"Stop!" cried Anastasia, stepping towards her Father. "Daddy, just hear them out."

"Hey!" called the prince, speaking directly to the brunette-haired girl once he heard her voice. "Are you, by any chance, the princess of this kingdom and daughter of this King?"

Silence...

"Yes... I am." confirmed Anastasia rather uneasily, watching the prince slowly move his eyes up and down. "Why do you ask?"

Suddenly, the 16-year old prince grinned in a highly perverted way. "Well, because I have to admit one thing..." He then pointed at the 16-year old Anastasia's chest. "Those tracks of land you have there are really big for a girl of your age; puberty must've been VERY kind to you. Are you sure you're not one of those sexy girls from a TV show I like watching in my spare time? I'm actually positive any guy would want you as a girlfriend, that way they can stare at your beauty and tracks all day long! I know I would."

Anastasia suddenly felt very repulsed by the prince's attitude towards her and walked over to slap him hard across the face. Did the slap even faze him? Not one bit. It made the prince grin with interest even moreso.

"Oooh, playing hard to get? I like that very much in a girl."

"You... you disgusting swine!" shouted Anastasia angrily. "How dare you speak to me in a manner such as that?" The brunette-haired girl turned to face her Father. "Daddy, banish him, this minute!"

"Before I do-" said the King in response. "-I wish to speak to him and his flunky alone."

The crowd was dismissed. As Anastasia began to leave the throne room, the prince looked towards the beautiful princess and winked at her before making a ' _ **call me**_ ' gesture with his right hand. The brunette-haired girl merely scowled in disgust as she left the area. Once they were alone, the King spoke to the messenger and perverted prince.

"Alright, here's the deal..." Anastasia's Father began. "I will agree to an alliance between our kingdoms on one, simple condition..."

"Name it, Your Majesty!" The messenger pleaded. "We will do anything to ensure us in becoming friends!"

"An arranged marriage between the prince and my daughter on the year where they turn 19-years old." answered the King. He then directed his attention towards the teenaged prince. "You, lad, are someone I sense with potential to become a great King like me."

The prince's eyes widened happily. "R-Really? Y-You mean it?"

"I do." smiled the King.

Suddenly the perverted prince started doing several cartwheels, flips, and cheers around the throne room. He was actually going to marrying a sexy-looking princess! It was a dream come true! The Queen, however, felt extremely unsure about all of this...

"Darling, are you sure this was a good idea?" she asked nervously.

"Nonsense!" insisted the King, still smiling proudly. "Someone like him will be most excellent for our daughter; perfect and powerful! ...someone who can help lead the kingdom well enough when we pass away."

"But what about Anastasia?" objected the Queen. "She positively HATES this prince. How is she going to feel about this?"

"Give them some time together. I'm sure she'll grow to love him..."

(elsewhere...)

Alas...

"You've WHAT?!" exclaimed a shocked and furious Anastasia.

During a royal dinner (which included the prince, but not Anakin), the brunette-haired girl's parents had informed their daughter of the marriage.

"You're going to be married shortly after you turn 19." repeated the King happily. "And, of course, your fiance is the prince from the other kingdom."

The prince smiled proudly. "I guess that means I get to see your beauty forever. Am I right, babe?" he flirted.

"No, you will not!" spat Anastasia, pushing the pervert away when he tried to approach her. "You even try anything with me, and I will personally see to it that I get your manhood removed with a spoon!" She turned to face her Father. "Father, how could you allow this to happen?!"

"I could sense a desire..." The King answered. "He has a desire to build an empire and rule it with an iron fist. He is exactly like me... and I like that."

Anastasia was further shocked. "How? What? That... that doesn't make any sense!"

"Makes sense to me." chuckled the prince, getting up from his table and approaching the fuming princess once more. "Once we're married, we can start a family of our very own. You know; a sexy daughter who looks like you, and a handsome son who looks like me." He then placed a hand onto Anastasia's lap. "What do you say to that? Good idea, ain't it?"

"Oooooooh!"

Rather than answer, Anastasia got up and stormed out of the dining room without a word.

"Geez, what's eating her?" quizzed the perverted prince innocently.

The Queen merely scowled in silence at her husband. If anything bad were to happen next, he would be the first one she would blame.

(elsewhere...)

Later one night after that ' _little_ ' dinner, Anakin was taking Anastasia somewhere in the forest on his horse.

"Where are you taking me, Anakin?" The princess asked curiously. "Even then, what have you been doing over the last couple of days?"

Anakin smiled. "Shh! It's a surprise."

(elsewhere...)

Inside the woods, after a long ride, the two friends arrived outside a cabin.

"Okay, here we are..." Anakin finally announced.

This was the cabin the two would sometimes sneak off to have some alone time. Anastasia couldn't believe how beautiful it looked, now...

"How did you-?"

"I'm just full of surprises." smiled Anakin. "I've been spending the last few days of my free time getting it all fixed up when no one was looking."

Anastasia felt delighted. "Oh, Ani, this is so wonderful!"

"A-Ani?" blushed the black-haired boy, being called a name he never heard of before.

"Don't you like my new nickname for you?" asked Anastasia sweetly.

Anakin stuttered. "B-But that's a girl's name."

"Oh, but I think it's cute." pouted Anastasia playfully.

This caused Anakin to blush even more. Eventually, both teenagers laughed and went inside the cabin to enjoy the evening. Soon, there was a beautiful moon in the night sky. The voices of Anakin and Anastasia were soon heard coming from inside the old building...

"It's such a beautiful night here, Anakin." came the voice of Anastasia.

"Not as beautiful as you, Princess Anastasia." added the voice of Anakin.

Inside the house, Anakin and Anastasia were seated at the table in the kitchen and looking out at the lovely nightsky.

"Anakin..." whispered the princess, looking to her friend as a worried look then appeared on her gorgeous face.

The black-haired boy looked to his friend. "Yes, Anastasia?"

"I... I have something I need to tell you." The brunette-haired girl confessed.

"What is it?"

Anastasia sighed as she tried her absolute hardest to admit she already had a special someone in her life...

"I..." Anastasia began slowly, before adding... "I already have someone special in my life."

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I have a fiance, Anakin." admitted Anastasia with heavy regret.

"A fiance?" blinked Anakin. He felt suprised, and slightly hurt, by the confession. "Oh, I see... G-Good for you. I bet he's...a wonderful prince..."

After a beat, the discussion grew grim...

"He's not." Anastasia sighed sadly. "He's a self-absorbed, perverted jerk who seems to like me only for my body and other selfish things."

"Selfish things?" asked Anakin. "Then why are you marrying him?"

"My Father had just arranged the marriage... Do you remember when that neighbouring kingdom's messanger came to our home to visit Father?"

The black-haired boy nodded. "Yes, I remember that time. What about him?"

"The prince of the kingdom caught Father's eye." The beautiful princess went on sadly. "He sensed a desire in him to build an empire as vast as our own kingdom... And when I tried to protest about it, the prince saw and made a few passes at me."

"That slime!" growled Anakin. "Why didn't you try running away?"

"Because-" answered Anastasia grimly. "-that was when Father thought the prince and I were made to be together... From there, he signed a peace treaty between the kingdoms, and the prince became my fiance..."

Anakin was very surprised. Never did he think that Anastasia's Father would not see the potential evil within the prince as Anastasia had told him.

"What about your Mother? What did she have to say about all of it?"

"Like me, she didn't like the idea of me being married with someone against my will." answered Anastasia sadly. "But my Father wouldn't listen... He merely retorted that there has to be someone in line who can rule with an iron fist."

Anakin felt very sorry for his only friend, and wanted to do something to help her.

"So... when will the royal wedding take place?" he asked.

Anastasia sighed heavily. "The good news is that since I'm only 16-years old, it won't be until shortly after I turn 19-years old."

"Oh... good..." Anakin said in relief.

"Even then..." Anastasia continued. "If I want to become a wife to a prince, I want to be loved by someone who loves me for who I am, and not by someone who is perverted and only wants me for sexual reasons..."

Anakin knelt down to his friend's level. "You've got me! Maybe I can try to convince your Father to-"

"You can't!" interrupted Anastasia. "I know you want to help me, Anakin, but my Father is King and a very stubborn man... Nothing you can say or do will convince him otherwise."

Anakin and Anastasia were both very close friends, but it was very clear that Anakin had feelings for the beautiful princess. And, although she tried to deny them, it was also clear that Anastasia had a very soft spot for her royal bodyguard. Alas...

"Either way, Anakin, I simply cannot be with you." continued Anastasia sadly, taking her friend's hands and placing them in hers. "The law says that only a prince can marry a princess."

"It's not fair!" protested Anakin, becoming very upset. "I won't let this happen to you! I won't let you marry that selfish pervert!"

"I'm sorry, but there isn't anything you can do!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily could not believe her ears.

"Your Father was actually willing to make you marry a manchild-like prince who is ever so perverted?" she asked in shock. "That is so... so..."

"I know what you're gonna say." interrupted Anastasia. "And my advice; there is no need to say it, because it's too vulgar."

"Anastasia, I'm so sorry that you were arranged to marry someone so disgusting like that."

"It's not your fault." reassured the brunette-haired young woman. "And now, I'll continue with the story..."

The flashback resumed.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Somewhere in the archery grounds, Anastasia was shown to be decked out in a modified version of her royal gown with added greaves, a fauld, gauntlets, pauldrons, and even a breastplate armor, while her long hair was tied back into a ponytail. Currently, the burnette-haired girl was practicing with the bow and arrow! ...wait, what, now? Princess Anastasia was practicing ' _ **archery**_ '? That was highly uncharacteristic of a princess to go and do...

"Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I have to be dainty and weak." said Anastasia only to herself, taking an arrow out of the quiver on her back. "I'll show that perverted prince I'm not a piece of meat he can take advantage of easily."

Raising the bow up, she let loose an arrow.

 ***WHOOSH!***

Anastasia got a bulls-eye.

"Alright!" The brunette-haired girl cheered, before raising the bow up with a fresh arrow. "Let's try again..."

She aimed, and let it loose.

 ***WHOOSH!***

And another...

 ***WHOOSH!***

And a fourth...

 ***WHOOSH!***

Anastasia got four bulls-eyes in a row, much to her happiness! Just then, there was the sound of clapping...

"Huh?" gasped Anastasia, looking around. "Who's there?"

The clapping was coming from...that manchild-like prince.

"Bravo, Anastasia." he congratulated genuinely, emerging from behind a nearby alleyway. "Quite an impressive display. I guess it would seem that you're not only a beautiful princess, but a dead sexy archer, too."

Anastasia scowled. "Go away, I'm busy."

"Sure, I'll leave you alone..." The perverted prince replied, walking closer to his ' _supposed_ ' love interest. Oh, but if only he had finished there... "But only if you have dinner with me tonight."

As soon as he laid a hand onto the princess's shoulder, Anastasia responded by punching the selfish prince in the gut and throwing him to the ground.

"Forget it! I'd rather rot in the dungeons for a whole year than have dinner with you!"

Then, there was trouble...

"Princess Anastasia!" snapped the voice of the King. "What the devil are you doing while wearing THAT outfit?!"

On cue, Anastasia's Father showed up with some Blade Knights by his side. Needless to say, the King was not too pleased with his daughter.

"I was practicing Archery, Daddy!" insisted Anastasia like nothing was wrong, just before glaring at the prince. "...but this leech was distracting my concentration."

"Anastasia, you are a princess." interrupted the King hotly. "And as princess, you are to be proper and covered up at all times. There's no time for wearing gear like that, nor will I allow you to be doing stuff like Archery."

"Not that I mind." muttered the prince, but only said it to himself.

"Ugh! Fine..." growled Anastasia, turning around and storming off. "But I'm not giving up my principles!"

The King sighed to himself. What was he gonna do with that daughter of his?

"Hey, daughters will be daughters." shrugged the prince innocently.

Suddenly, the manchild-like prince jumped in surprise as an arrow came and nearly struck him in the leg.

"Umm... Was it something I said?"

(new scene...)

It was now a few years later... Anakin and Anastasia were both now 18-years old (young adults). It was night-time, and the pair was in bed discussing the events that were to come soon for the latter.

"My wedding is coming in one year, Ani." said Anastasia quietly.

"I wish I could help you-" sighed Anakin. "-but you said it yourself - only a prince could marry you... And I'm not a prince..."

"I know you have feelings for me, but it just cannot be done. If it were up to me to decide, I'd gratefully choose you over that disgusting prince."

Anakin narrowed his eyes darkly. "I wish that prince were dead."

"Anakin!" scolded Anastasia sternly. "That was completely uncalled for."

(elsewhere...)

Outside the princess's private chambers, someone was listening in on the conversation. Who was it, you ask? Oh, a seething prince, that's who. The voices could still be heard coming from inside the room...

"You don't deserve to be with a disgusting piece of filth like him." said Anakin's voice. "You deserve to be wed to a NICE prince who doesn't care what you look like. It's too bad your Father doesn't care either way."

"He just wants what's best for the kingdom." Anastasia's voice pointed out. "Unfortunately, there are moments where he's too stubborn to realize when he's entirely in the wrong... Like he is with my fiance."

"So, that loser Anakin likes my fiance?" The prince thought to himself, having heard enough. Finally, something inside of his heart...snapped. "Okay, that does it... I don't care if she rejects my love for her, Anastasia WILL be all mine!"

And he stormed off to his bed chambers to think of a plan.

(elsewhere...)

The next day, all was peaceful. A circus had visited the castle, much to the servants joy and excitement (except the King, who was bored through out), and the show lasted deep into the night. Eventually, Anastasia yawned and started to leave the throne room.

"The show was fun, but I think I'll turn in now." she announced.

"Already?" asked Anakin. "But the show isn't over yet."

"I know, but I'm feeling a bit tired."

The black-haired boy nodded understandingly. "Alright... I'll join you once the show ends."

(elsewhere...)

Anastasia, humming a little tune, was walking down the dark, damp hallways leading to her private chambers. She was nearly there when suddenly...

 ***WHAM!***

The princess fell down flat onto the ground. Sitting atop of her was...a very miffed looking prince.

"H-Hey!" spluttered Anastasia. "W-What's the big idea jumping onto me in the dark?"

"I want you, Princess Anastasia." hissed the prince, with his right eye twitching madly. "I don't care if you hate me for who I am... You are my fiance, and you WILL be mine—whether you like it or not!"

Seeing the insanity in that perverted manchild's eyes made Anastasia feel very uncomfortable and afraid.

"W-What are you going to do to me?"

"If I can't win you over willingly, then I will ravish your land by force!" The prince continued, taking a knife out. "I'll start with how you really look..."

He motioned the knife down until was over Anastasia's clothed chest. Snickering sinisterly, the prince proceeded to cut and tear a portion of the princess's top off (although not all the way) until she was sporting tons of breast cleavage. The sight of Anastasia's bust size made the perverted prince's eyes widen with excitement at how well-developed she truly was for her age.

"Oh... Oh, yes... NOW I can see your tracks of land more clearly!" drooled the prince greedily, staring at Anastasia's slightly exposed bust as he began to reach and grab hold of them. "Yes... YESSSSS! They look so large and soft, that I could just grab and squeeze them with my own two hands..."

"Get off me, you disgusting pig!" screamed Anastasia, trying to struggle out of the prince's strong grip and weight. Unfortunately, she was failing to break free from his powerful hold, leaving her forced to do one other thing about it... "HELP! SOMEBODY! RAPE! **RAPE**!"

The prince was then just about to tear off more of the princess's gown and sexually assault her (by thrusting into between her legs, and NOT with a knife) when...

 ***SMASH!***

Anakin suddenly appeared from the shadows and tackled the pervert viciously, freeing Anastasia from his clutches.

"A-Anakin?!" The princess gasped.

"HOW FRIGGIN' DARE YOU!" roared Anakin, just as he dragged the prince to his feet and punched him real hard.

The prince stumbled about until he collided with the wall, but didn't get a chance to recover in time. This was because Anakin had then swiftly grabbed the vile prince by his tunic collar, pulled him closer, and backhanded him powerfully across the face. The perverted prince smashed into the door leading to Anastasia's private chambers and destroyed it, sending him flying into said chambers.

"S-So, y-y-you wanna fight?" stuttered the prince, getting back up while trying to act brave (when he was truly terrified). "Then l-let's fight here and now, bastard!"

"Fine by me." hissed Anakin, with his eyes beginning to flush all red from his dark influence (an aura of darkness also was forming around him). "The gloves are off!"

The prince and black-haired boy both began to fight more brutally than ever before, but Anakin, being so much physically stronger than the prince (especially with his unstable mind), had the upperhand throughout the entire brawl. Meanwhile, all Anastasia, with her clothes still torn, could do was watch the scene in complete terror. Finally, after fighting for a bit longer, the prince, battered and bloodied, was thrown near the fireplace and ready to surrender to the physically imposing Anakin.

"I give! I give!" he wailed. "I surrender! Please don't kill me!"

Anakin, with his eyes still shining all crimson red-like, ignored the begging and instead grabbed the prince by the throat and lifted him up. With his shattered mind closing in on falling into complete insanity, it looked like the black-haired boy was ready to kill that pervert when...

"Stop, Anakin!" begged Anastasia, trying to get her friend's attention. "Don't do something you'll forever regret! Please!"

Anakin's face softened. "Anastasia?" The black-haired boy whispered.

Seeing this distraction as a chance to break free and save himself, the prince grabbed for the spare knife inside his boot.

"Take this, ya heap of trash!" The perverted prince yelled out, bringing the weapon down onto his opponent.

 ***SLASH!***

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

The prince had slashed Anakin down the side of his face, causing the black-haired boy to drop him and fall to the ground writhing in extreme pain.

"Anakin!" cried Anastasia.

But the prince wasn't done just yet... While Anakin was down and unable to fight back, he delivered another attack with the knife.

 ***SLASH!***

This time, the prince cut the black-haired boy across the chest, leaving a strong wound with more and more blood pouring out. However, before the prince could kill Anakin, the sounds of footsteps was heard.

"The guards!" exclaimed Anastasia.

On cue, seven Blade Knights stormed into the room and apprehended the perverted manchild.

"H-Hey! Let me go!" demanded the prince pathetically.

From there, the King and Queen both arrived while looking none too happy with the sounds of commotion.

"What in blue blazes is going on in here?!" demanded the very angry King.

"That monster tried to rape me!" exclaimed Anastasia, pointing angrily at the prince.

The prince then got defensive. "Anakin here tried to kill me!"

"SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!" bellowed the King, quieting down everyone else. He then turned his attention to the wounded Anakin. "Anakin, I want an explaination from you, right this minute."

"I... I heard Anastasia scream while I was heading for my chambers, and came to see what the matter was." explained Anakin, struggling to stand up due to him still bleeding heavily. "When I got here, I saw this brute trying to rape her, and I tried to protect her like you've wanted me to do. The prince and I fought and, suddenly, he pulled out a knife and attacked me with it. If you and the guards hadn't arrived in time, I would have died, and Anastasia would have unwillingly lost her virginity."

When the Queen heard of this, she was beyond furious with the prince for trying to bring harm to her daughter.

"YOU LITTLE WEASEL!" she shrieked, slapping the perverted young man across his swollen face—which hurt.

The King was likewise angry! ...but for a whole different reason. What reason was that? Oh, let's find out...

"Did you try to kill Anastasia's fiance?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, but it was only to protect your-"

"How dare you?!" roared the King, interrupting the black-haired boy. "Do you have any idea how much trouble we would have been in if you had killed him?! His kingdom would have declared war on ours!"

"Leave him alone, you big bully!" snapped the Queen, attempting to stand up to her husband. "Anakin was only doing what was necessary to protect our daughter!" She then grabbed the prince by the ear (also swollen), causing him to yell in pain. "It's this heathen who deserves punishment!"

" **SHUT UP**!"

Without warning, the King backhanded his own wife across the face, knocking her down and silencing her into submission. Still seething, Anastasia's Father turned back to face his daughter.

"While I don't approve of what this prince tried to do to you, Anastasia-" he said harshly. "-he will STILL marry you. But, to show that I will not tolerate what he did, I will have him sentenced to our dungeons for a full day."

"I can live with that." The prince accepted hastily, clutching his sore ear.

"I don't!" argued Anastasia. "He deserves to be punished LONGER than that!"

"My word is final!" exclaimed the King, turning to leave. "Anastasia, you will tend to Anakin's wounds. And, Anakin, should there be anymore failures on your part, there will be serious consequences."

And Anastasia's Father exited the room, the Blade Knights then followed with a triumphant-looking prince still in their hands.

"Well, how do you like that?" he taunted poor Anakin. "In the end, I always get what I want—unlike you, you loser."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Percy and the others were absolutely furious!

"Disgraceful!" said Gordon.

"Disgusting!" put in James.

"Despicable!" finished Henry.

"Why didn't that jackass of a ruler call the wedding off after what that manchild did?" asked Stanley angrily.

"Who knows what could have happened to Anastasia if Anakin didn't intervene in time." agreed Mavis.

"I don't want to see anymore..." whimpered Molly, looking away.

Dark Magician shook his head. "I know this hasn't been easy... But unless we watch more of the footage from the past, we'll never get to the bottem of the connection between Thomas and Diablon."

"But-!" The black-haired girl tried to protest.

"He's right." interrupted Edward, speaking to Molly. "We HAVE to know what happened next."

The intelligent, blue-haired boy was right; the group had no other choice but to move on with the footage. And this was what was shown...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Anakin and Anastasia were both alone in the former's private chambers (with the latter's currently being under repair). The brunette-haired young woman was wetting a piece of cloth in a bowl of hot water.

"Alright, this may sting a bit." she warned.

Anakin winced as the hot, soaking cloth touched his face, but soon the pain slowly faded away and he eased up.

"Anastasia... I'm..."

"Hmm?" quizzed Anastasia.

"I'm so sorry." apologized Anakin sadly. "I almost murdered that scumbag. But not even he deserved a fate like that..."

Anastasia remained silent in the matter and just tried to clean her good friend's wounds. Soon, she was all done with cleaning the wounds her friend sustained...

"There, I'm all finished, now." said Anastasia, putting the bloodied piece of cloth down. "Thankfully, since we acted quickly enough, your eyesight will be just fine."

"I'm beginning to wish that you've never found me..." continued Anakin, berating himself some more. "Not only do I have no origin of hometown or birth, but I'm beyond dangerous when angered..."

"Anakin, don't talk like that!" Anastasia protested, trying to calm Anakin down without much success. "You've saved my life, after all..."

"Now, because of my actions, I truly am a freak..."

Suddenly, without any warning or anything, Anakin started to cry...right into Anastasia's exposed cleavage! This sexual-like gesture caused the brunette-haired young woman to yelp and blush a bright red.

"A-A-Anakin!" Anastasia stammered, feeling her breasts getting soaked from tears. "W-What do you think you are-?"

"The pain... It's too much for me..." weeped Anakin, with his face buried into the princess's chest. "I'm so sorry!"

Despite her friend doing something somewhat perverted towards her and wanting to scold him for doing it, Anastasia knew that Anakin was badly hurting right now, and only wanted to be comforted. Not only that, she felt something in her heart spark; like it was something she should have realized over a course of two years ago. And so, Anastasia went and said the best thing she could try to say to the black-haired boy...

"No, Anakin." The brunette-haired young woman finally said aloud. "I truly don't think you're a freak."

Anakin slowly lifted his head up slowly. "Y-You don't?" he sniffled.

Anastasia smiled warmly. "No, I do not think that. You saved my life, after all. And, now that I think about it, I really should have seen or realized it sooner, but I... I really do have feelings for...you..."

To prove her point, she slowly moved in...and passionately kissed Anakin on the lips. Surprised at first, the black-haired boy soon eased up and enjoyed the kiss from the princess.

(new scene...)

Before long, Anakin and Anastasia had removed all of their clothing, were on top of the bed, fully naked, and making love for the first time in their lives. Anakin could be seen laying atop of the princess (with both of the black-haired boy's hands gripping onto the brunette-haired young woman's exposed breasts) and thrusting the lower half of his body into between her legs, while Anastasia was moaning softly and enjoying the feeling very much.

"Oh... Oh! Ahhh... That feels...wonderful!"

"Ugh..." groaned Anakin in pain. "Anastasia, can we stop, now? I'm... I'm hurting all over..."

"Shh, don't stop, Ani..." hushed Anastasia softly, smiling in a sexy way. She forced her new lover to resume the thrusting. "I want this night to be unforgettable for the both of us..."

From there, the new couple continued to make love into the beautiful night...

* * *

 **To be Continued.**


	75. The Love Between an Angel and Demon (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside inside the hallway within the castle of the capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world, some voices could be heard coming from one of the rooms.

"Oookay..."

Inside one of the rooms, Percy and everyone else, namely who was not named Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, nor Maiden of the Aqua, had many different looks on their faces from seeing such an intimate memory. The emotions ranged from embarrassment, widened eyes, to even blushes. Of course, there was also certain comments on the shown memories, too...

"So, Anakin and Anastasia...basically were in a sexual relationship..." mumbled James, who was one of the few to have widened eyes.

"Dear God..." mumbled Rosie, who was blushing.

Gordon face faulted. "Oh, the indignity..." he groaned in embarrassment.

"Somehow, I'm so glad Thomas isn't awake to have seen this." Percy remarked.

"Anyway..." Edward coughed, trying to rid everyone of their varied reactions to the earlier scene. "Now, we know how Anakin and Anastasia got together. What about Diablon? Where does he come into play?"

"We'll have to check it out." answered Maiden of the Aqua, just before looking back at the monitor. "We should be getting an answer soon..."

The big flashback resumed...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Ever since Anakin and Anastasia became a couple and made love that fateful night, they began to do many things together (like Anakin started helping Anastasia train to become a very skilled warrior in battle, etc.) without telling the King or Queen, out of fear that they could violate a certain decree.

(elsewhere...)

Sometimes, they would sneak out in the middle of the night to visit their little hideout in the woods in order to enjoy each other's company... and even to sometimes make love there, too.

(elsewhere...)

Eventually, one day, Anastasia's Father was stricken with a terrible illness and had to be bedridden for the next while. The prince was out hunting at that time, and so the Queen decided it was time to do something about all the the relations with the other kingdoms. To do so, she had to pay Anakin and Anastasia both a visit...

(elsewhere...)

Inside Anastasia's private chambers, the princess was happily brushing her hair when a knock on the door was heard.

"Come in." she called.

The door opened and revealed the Queen, much to the brunette-haired young woman's surprise (she saw the reflection in her mirror).

"Mother?" Anastasia gasped, turning around to face her Mother. "What...brings you here?"

"Do you know where Anakin is?" Anastasia's Mother asked simply. "I need to speak to him in addition to you."

On cue, the black-haired boy emerged from the nearby bathroom drying his hair with a towel. He became surprised like Anastasia when he saw the Queen in the room.

"Y-Your Highness! W-What brings you here?"

The Queen became very serious. "We need to talk."

The two young adults seemed a bit worried. Had their new relationship been found out? However, as the three sat down at the table, Anakin and Anastasia's fears were thankfully not found...

"Anastasia, your Father has taken ill." The Queen began speaking.

Anastasia gasped. "M-My Father?"

"He was supposed to leave on a full one year journey to each of the kingdoms in the Duel Monsters spirit world to arrange peace treaties." explained the Queen. "However, knowing your Father, he would have outright declines to do such a task."

"Indeed so." agreed Anakin, seeing where this was going. "His Majesty would want to conquer and add them to his ever growing empire."

"So, until my husband becomes well again-" continued the Queen. "-I want you both to go to the outlying kingdoms in his place and arrange those peace treaties. And while you're gone, I will ensure that nobody knows of your whereabouts."

"Mother..." whispered Anastasia.

"Your Majesty, are you sure about this?" asked a worried Anakin.

"Do not fear, I have faith in both of you." Anastasia's Mother smiled warmly, before turning to only her daughter. "And, Anastasia, I completely approve of you wanting to become a warrior like Anakin here."

The brunette-haired young woman was surprised. "Y-You do?"

"Yes." nodded the Queen. "I don't care what your Father says; you have the right to do whatever you want with your life." She then winked. "After all, seeing you pull off archery so well makes me smile."

"But what about the prince of that other kingdom?" asked Anakin. "Surely he will try to find out where we have gone."

"I assure you that I will make sure you are never found out... Especially if he tries anything to do it..."

"Thank you, Mother." nodded Anastasia, hugging her Mother.

The Queen then turned and planted a small kiss on Anakin's forehead. "Anakin, my boy, I know you can protect my daughter from the dangers ahead." she said kindly. "Although you were only adopted and never treated right by my husband or the other soldiers, know that I've always loved you as if you were my own son."

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty." bowed Anakin, feeling very touched.

It was then the Queen stood up from the table. "It's getting late, you two. You both should get some sleep and be ready for tomorrow."

The two young adults nodded in agreement, and the Queen left the room.

"May the spirits watch over you both..." she thought to herself.

Indeed, this journey would be quite possibly the biggest life changer for the young couple...

* * *

 **Title: The Love Between an Angel and Demon, Part 2**

* * *

The next day, Anakin and Anastasia were both on their way to the stables to get their horse when...

"Hey! Where are you two going?" demanded the voice of...the prince.

Anakin groaned. "Oh great..."

"What do you want?" hissed Anastasia, who hadn't forgotten that fateful night.

"Oh, nothing..." said the prince, smiling at the beautiful princess. "Except I got curious as to where you two are going so early in the morning."

"What we do is none of your business." growled Anakin. "Now, get lost!"

The prince smirked. "Oh, hey, Anakin, how's your bruises? Have they healed, yet? No? What a drag..."

"What's going on here?!"

The three young adults looked back, and saw the Queen standing nearby with her arms folded and a stern look on her usually kind face.

"J-J-Just leaving." stuttered the prince nervously, turning around. "I... I have some hunting to do, so I'll see you guys later."

With that said, the perverted manchild-like prince took off.

"Thanks, Your Majesty." sighed Anakin. "That was too close for comfort."

"Think nothing of it." smiled the Queen, just before narrowing her eyes. "After what happened that night, I don't trust him."

(elsewhere...)

Finally, Anakin and Anastasia, joined by the latter's Mother, arrived at the stables to get the horse.

"Well..." sighed Anastasia, looking at her Mother. "I guess it's time..."

"Take good care, you two." prayed the Queen. "By the time you return in a year's time, things will hopefully have changed around the kingdom for the better."

"Okay." acknowledged Anakin. "Goodbye..."

With that said, the black-haired boy and Anastasia both boarded the horse, and took off. The Queen, meanwhile, watched from one of the towers until the animal was out of sight.

"Please be safe..."

(elsewhere...)

It was a beautiful night in the woods. Once more, all was quiet around the area with no danger or anything. But, just then...

"The Queen is really asking a lot for us to do this." commented the voice of Anakin.

"Mother says it's for the best." added the voice of Anastasia.

As shown, the two young adults were still riding the horse to wherever it was they were going in the woods. Thankfully, they seemed to know where they were going...

"Oh, my Ani..." gushed Anastasia, cuddling up close to the black-haired boy. "This is such a wonderful night."

"It is indeed." agreed Anakin, but then suddenly gave a yawn. "Oh! Excuse me..."

Anastasia giggled. "Thankfully we're near that cottage. You know, our old hangout?"

"Oh yeah! We can spend the night there, and prepare for our big journey in the morning."

Before long, the couple had arrived at their old cottage. Anakin quickly jumped off the horse and helped Anastasia down.

"Why, thank you." complimented the beautiful princess.

Anakin smiled and then spoke to the pair's horse...

"Rest up for a bit." he said softly, patting the animal's head gently while it neighed softly. "We have a long journey ahead of us in the morning."

(later...)

Later that evening, aside from the horse quietly and peacefully eating some hay that Anakin set for the animal, it was, as said before, very quiet.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the cottage, the lights were out... But it still wasn't exactly as quiet as you expected it to be. Why? Oh, that's because there were some soft moans coming from nearby...

"Oh, Ani... Please don't stop now..." came Anastasia's voice in a tired, sexy tone. It was like she was getting something from her lover, and was enjoying it greatly.

As it turns out, Anakin and Anastasia were both on the bed, naked, and making love once more. This was, what, the sixth time they did it in a span of three-to-four weeks. This time it was different; they were going on a long and tiring journey to build a peaceful relationship with the other kingdoms. There would likely be little-to-no time for any romantic moments between the two young adults.

(later...)

Eventually, the morning sun pierced through the windows. And in the bed were both Anakin and Anastasia (and their clothing were shown to be lying on the floor next to the bed)...

"Ugh..." winced Anakin, as the sunlight shined onto his face. "M-Morning already?"

Anastasia's eyes opened, and she smiled softly. "Oh, Anakin, let's give this moment just five more minutes..."

"We really must get going." insisted Anakin, smiling and putting his arm around his friend/lover. "The other kingdoms await us."

(elsewhere...)

Unfortunately, the effect from when the young couple made love last night would soon come back to greet them in a special way... Why's that, you could be asking? Because deep inside Anastasia's body, something was...coming alive.

(elsewhere...)

"HYA!" cried Anakin, slashing and destroying a Gil Garth with his sword.

"Take this!" exclaimed Anastasia, aiming and firing an arrow from her bow. The arrow pierced into a Lizard Soldier and killed it.

The young couple, before barely a month into traveling, had soon found themselves within some hostile territory, and were currently battling minions belonging to an evil organization known as the Court of Darkness.

"Destroy them!" ordered a Vorse Raider (leader of an attack squad). "Let no one forget who we are soldiers of!"

But despite being outnumbered, the two young adults would not give up on the fight. Unknowingly, they were being spied on...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Emily realized something.

"You and Anakin were being spied on by the Court of Darkness!"

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia. "But we were unaware of it... At the time, anyway."

"I see... So, what was your first visit to one of the kingdoms like?" asked Emily, changing the subject.

"It was wonderful! The inhabitants were very kind and welcoming towards us."

The flashback resumed.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Another month later, Anakin and Anastasia were both in one of the big cities of the Duel Monsters spirit world.

"Welcome, young warriors, to our fair kingdom!" greeted a Jack's Knight. "We've been expecting your arrival."

"We thank you for the greetings." bowed Anastasia.

"We shall take you to our ruler, Arcana Knight Joker." said a Queen's Knight, gesturing into a direction. "Right this way, please..."

The young couple followed the knights down the road through the city to the castle in the back.

(elsewhere...)

Two weeks later, Anakin and Anastasia both left the city feeling pleased.

"Our first stop has been successful." smiled Anastasia. "That leaves us seven more kingdoms to visit."

"Right." agreed Anakin. "I've been enjoying this time together, Anastasia."

The brunette-haired young woman was about to agree with her friend/lover when suddenly...

"Oooh... What's-?"

"Anastasia, are you okay?" Anakin asked, growing concerned.

"It's my stomach." groaned Anastasia, clutching her stomach. "It suddenly feels like it's in pain."

"A stomach ace... Could it have been something you ate at the feast?"

The brunette-haired young woman winced. "M-Maybe..." she hoped.

Before long, Anastasia gagged and threw up. Watching the scene, Anakin hoped that it was just a quick stomach virus and nothing very serious.

(elsewhere...)

Unfortunately, minions belonging to the Court of Darkness had tracked down Anakin and Anastasia once again, forcing the duo to fight their way through if they wanted to reach the next kingdom.

"How do they keep finding us?" asked Anakin, fighting off three Lord Poisons. "What is their deal, anyway?"

Anastasia, thankfully, seemed to be doing much better, now, after a few days of stomach sickness thanks to some fresh food and rest. She was able to fight off a large number of Legion The Fiend Jesters without collapsing in pain due to her stomach.

"Back off!" The princess snapped, slicing and dicing with her sword. "Leave us alone!"

Before long, the Legion The Fiend Jesters fell back. Anastasia started to feel triumphant over her little victory when...

"No... Oh, no, not now!"

The princess's stomach pains were suddenly back again (worse than from before), causing her to collapse onto her knees once more. This allowed the evil monsters to resume their attack on the seemingly defenseless Anastasia.

"NO!" Anastasia screamed in horror, looking up and seeing a Legion The Fiend Jester about to attack her.

Fortunately, Anakin was able to step in and block the attack before it could hurt the ill princess or worse.

(elsewhere...)

An hour later, after setting up camp for the night, the young couple was finally in the clearing from the enemy.

"Ani..." winced Anastasia, clutching onto her aching stomach.

"I know." said Anakin, placing a comforting hand onto his friend/lover's back. "Don't worry. When we arrive in the next city, we'll find a doctor soon to check you over."

"I seriously hope...that's... that's the...case..."

(elsewhere...)

Thankfully, the couple had arrived at their next destination only a few days later...

"Our next stop..." breathed Anakin, admiring the setting.

(elsewhere...)

While riding into town, they soon found a clinic and a doctor to try and find out what was wrong with Anastasia.

"These tests will take a little bit." said the doctor. "Why not go pay the castle a visit while you wait for the results?"

"I'll be okay, Ani." reassured Anastasia, being lead into another room. "Go on."

"Are you sure?" Anakin started to ask, but was too late. "Guess I have no other choice."

(elsewhere...)

Ultimately, Anakin visited the castle and found himself meeting with the ruler of the kingdom; Magician of Black Chaos.

"Sire..." Anakin knelt down respectfully.

"I take it you have come to make peace, am I correct?" asked the blue-skinned, male spellcaster sternly. "You are part of that kingdom's royal guard, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, sir... I am."

"Hmm..." Magician of Black Chaos mused. "You seem to speak the truth, but I need to be certain that it will be kept."

"His Majesty was actually suppose to have come instead of me and his daughter." Anakin pointed out. "But on the day before he was suppose to leave, he fell badly ill with a fever. That's why I'm here in his place."

"I see... And where is his daughter?"

Anakin became nervous. "P-Princess Anastasia is currently seeing a doctor in this city... She's been having stomach problems recently..."

The blue-skinned, male spellcaster said nothing. Then, to the black-haired boy's surprise, and discomfort, Magician of Black Chaos approached with his scepter.

"W-What's going on?" asked Anakin uneasily. He was worried that he was going to be attacked.

"Just keep still." said Magician of Black Chaos, calmly readying his weapon.

Twirling his scepter about, the blue-skinned, male spellcaster seemed ready to attack with a Chaos Scepter Blast attack. Anakin shut his eyes, bracing for the attack. Finally, Magician of Black Chaos unleashed his attack and struck the black-haired boy! ...but instead of harming Anakin, it instead made him glow all...orange? What was going on?

"Huh?" blinked Anakin. "What is happening to me?"

A glowing purple Magician of Black Chaos didn't answer; he had his eyes close and seemed to be focusing.

"What did you do?"

"It's a pact spell." explained Magician of Black Chaos.

"Pact spell?" repeated Anakin. "What does... what does it do?"

The blue-skinned, male spellcaster closed his eyes. "I'm using it to see if you are truly being truthful in what you're telling me."

Before long, the spell had ended. Anakin and Magician of Black Chaos both returned to normal from there. Finally, the blue-skinned, male spellcaster opened his eyes and seemed to smile.

"I believe you." he said at last.

Anakin felt very relieved. "Great... What a relief."

And with that said and confirmed, the peace treaty was officially signed.

(elsewhere...)

With the visit coming to an end, Anakin returned to the clinic to see how Anastasia was doing with her appointment. Inside the waiting room, Anakin was waiting (duh!) for the results to get back to him.

"Anakin." called a nurse, walking into the waiting room.

Anakin stood up. "Yes, that's me."

"The tests on Princess Anastasia are done. We would like you to come into the office, please."

With that said, the black-haired boy followed the nurse to one of the rooms. Inside the room, Anastasia was hitting on the table and had a look on her face that was very difficult to read.

"I... I can't be..." she seemed to be whispering.

"Anastasia?" asked Anakin, upon entering the room. "Anastasia, what's the matter?" When no answer was given, he looked to the doctor to ask him what happened. "Sir, what's wrong with her?"

The doctor sighed. "It's very simple. Your friend here... She's... she's..."

"She's what?" Anakin pressured. "Out with it! What's wrong with Anastasia?"

"I'm pregnant!" Anastasia finally blurted out.

Silence...

"What?" Anakin whispered in shock.

"She said she's pregnant." said the doctor firmly. "And, from what I can tell, has been for the last two months."

No response came... for Anakin, the young black-haired warrior boy, had fainted on the spot due to the overwhelming news.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and the spirit of Anastasia closed her eyes and allowed a teardrop to fall.

"That bit of news had changed our lives forever." she admitted solemnly.

"Did Anakin ask you to marry him?" asked Emily curiously. "If it's too personal of a question, you don't have to answer."

"You'll know the answer soon enough." replied Anastasia, before resuming the story. "Now, this is what happened to us next..."

The flashback resumed.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Five months had passed since the news had been given that Anastasia had become pregnant. In addition, they had visited four other kingdoms and signed peace treaties with them. Slowly, in addition to morning sickness and food cravings, Anastasia's stomach had started to enlarge and become quite swollen and noticeable. This also prevented her from going into battle to help Anakin, lest it put her and the child in grave danger.

"I can't believe I'm pregnant." sighed Anastasia for the uptenth time. "Especially since I'm suppose to marry that prince soon enough..."

Anakin looked worried. "Anastasia?"

"How will Mother and Father both react?" The brunette-haired young woman continued, especially fearing her Father's reaction. "What will they say when they learn that their daughter, princess of their kingdom, who is set to marry the prince of another kingdom has become pregnant from another man? My Father will be most outraged if he ever discovered it..."

"Anastasia, we are in-love, aren't we?" asked Anakin, taking his friend/lover by the hands and looking into her eyes.

"Y-Yes..."

"Then let's get married." The black-haired boy offered.

Anastasia's eyes widened. "Married? Me to you?"

"Yes." insisted Anakin. "I don't care what happens in the end; I love you with all my heart. You're the angel that shines light onto my darkness, and you've saved my life back when I had no life at all."

"Oh, Ani..." whispered Anastasia, feeling very touched by those words.

"So, do you say yes?" Anakin asked once more. He then stopped to correct himself with something new... "I-I mean... Princess Anastasia... will you...marry me?"

The black-haired boy then dropped to one knee like he was proposing to his one true love (which he was).

"Yes..." smiled Anastasia, tearfully accepting the proposal. "Yes! Of course, I will!"

With that said, the two young adults embraced with a passionate kiss.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a church in another kingdom (possibly a month later), Anakin and Anastasia both continued to kiss as the whole audience cheered loudly for the newly weddied couple (and peace treaty signed).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended once more.

"Oh, how romantic." sighed Emily happily.

"It was easily the happiest time of my life." agreed Anastasia, smiling. Suddenly, she looked very sad. "Unfortunately, it was not meant to last. Once Anakin and I made our last stop, we were to return home."

"I know where it was to." The dark green-haired girl cut in, remembering Airknight Parshath's story. "Do you remember a monster named Airknight Parshath, by any chance?"

"Of course." confirmed Anastasia. "He's an old friend of ours who visited the kingdom years before the big journey."

"Well, if I remember correctly enough from what Parshath told me during our duel, at that point you were eight months into your pregnancy and had received a beautiful royal gown to try and conceil it."

The brunette-haired young woman was very surprised. "Y-Yes, that's correct."

"And... if I remember correctly from what else I heard from Parshath, you and Anakin were both killed shortly after."

There was a long silence...

"Weren't you?" continued Emily, trying to get an answer. "I mean... you are dead, aren't you?"

Finally, Anastasia gave a heavy sigh. "Yes, it's true."

"But how did it happen?"

"Allow me to explain." said Anastasia, sounding more and more grim. "But I will warn you; it won't be pretty."

And, thus, the flashback resumed itself.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

After another month and two weeks from forging a peace treaty with the Sanctuary in the Sky, Anakin and Anastasia (who was now almost nine months pregnant) were both ready to return home and resume their normal lives.

"And I say our baby will be a daughter!" Anakin argued playfully. "And her name will be Iris."

"I say the baby will be a son!" pouted Anastasia jokingly.

(elsewhere...)

They continued to argue playfully about the baby's name and gender until they finally arrived in the woods, where the mood became more distressful for the princess.

"What will we do?" asked Anastasia for the uptenth time. "When we return home, Father will be wondering where we were. Mother has probably tried the best she could to prevent us from being discovered, but if he were to ever find out..."

"We're not going home." interrupted Anakin.

"What?! Why not?"

"Why SHOULD we go back?" asked the black-haired boy harshly. "The moment we return to the castle, your Father is going to force you into marrying that perverted, manchild-like prince no matter what you say to him. Not to mention if he and your Mother even find out that you're pregnant, who knows what they'll do. This means we have no reason to return home."

Anastasia became worried. "So, where shall we go? Daddy will likely send out a search party to try and find us."

"Not if he thinks we're dead."

"What?" blinked Anastasia.

"We're going to fake our deaths." explained Anakin confidently. "That way, everyone will think we're dead, and we can runaway together. We'll find another land to call home, and raise our new family in a quiet, peaceful life. What do you say?"

The brunette-haired young woman wasn't so sure. There was still her Mother, who was one of the only few who truly cared for her and Anakin...

"What about my Mother?" Anastasia asked at last.

Anakin didn't answer; he was looking into the sky and noticed it was getting dark out.

"It's getting late." The black-haired boy commented. "The cabin is up ahead, so we'll stay there for the night and plan out our escape in the morning."

Sighing, Anastasia decided to agree. "You're right... But I still just can't help but worry about my Mother. She would likely be the only one to approve of our romance, along with us having a baby..."

"It'll be okay." reassured Anakin. "We'll somehow find a way to bring her with us."

Just then...

"Hold it right there!" shouted the voice of a Blade Knight.

The two young adults turned around in shock. More than thirteen Blade Knights had gathered around to attack their targets.

"Those Blade Knights belong to my Father!" gasped Anastasia.

Suddenly, the horse began to panic and flail about.

"Steady, boy!" cried Anakin.

Too late... The black-haired boy, along with the pregnant Anastasia, got knocked from the animal as it escaped into the distance.

"We've got you, now." hissed the Blade Knight leader, as he and his squad closed in. "We knew you'd eventually return..."

"Do what you want with me-" said Anakin. "-but leave Anastasia out of this."

"What?!" snorted another Blade Knight. "You thought we were gonna kill you two? Fool! We're merely here to escort you back to the castle to stand trial for your betrayal."

"Betrayal?" asked Anastasia.

"You both know what you did." growled another Blade Knight harshly. "Now, come along quietly. We're taking you home, this instant."

Alas, there was nothing the young couple could do now, they were captured...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room, the King and Queen both awaited the prisoners to be brought to them. Eventually, the former began to speak...

"I am...deeply displeased with both of you." Anastasia's Father said as calmly as possible, despite being absolutely incensed with his daughter and adopted son.

The two Blade Knights pushed Anakin and Anastasia forward.

"Father!" exclaimed Anastasia. "This isn't what it looks like! We-"

"Silence!" ordered the King, turning around. "How dare you both attempt to forge peace treaties with the nearby kingdoms?! Do you realize what you've done?!"

"It had to be done!" protested Anakin. "Those kingdoms have done nothing to-"

"Keep quiet, fool!" snapped a Blade Knight, kicking the black-haired boy in the back of his leg.

Poor Anakin fell to a knee in pain, and his wife placed both hands onto his shoulders in worry for his health just now. Anastasia's Father then approached his daughter and adopted son.

"Those kingdoms could have been mine to rule!" he complained. "Our kingdom could have been expanded tenfold! But now, that's never going to happen!" He then glared at Anakin. "You... this was all your doing. You manipulated my daughter and wife and turned them both against me!"

Anastasia's Mother remained quiet on the matter. She started to regret asking her daughter and adopted son to do this job, because if her husband found out about it, the results would have been disasterous (as shown now).

"I did no such thing! The Queen was fed up with your ruthless rulings and wanted to make this world a better place by asking me and Anastasia to journey to the other kingdoms to forge peace treaties!"

"What's more, is that I love Anakin with all my heart!" Anastasia added. "To the point I'm..."

"You're what?" snapped the King, interrupting the young woman. He approached more closely, and, with some very sharp eyes, noticed that there was something odd with his daughter's clothed stomach. Sneering, the man went and forcefully tore off part of Anastasia's formal gown and gave an angry gasp at what he saw was wrong. "No... you're...!"

Anastasia's stomach was greatly swollen and much larger than normal (nine months pregnant). Yes, she was going to become a Mother (with Anakin as the Father). The King's fury had reached a new height as he turned back to Anakin.

"How dare you!" Anastasia's Father screamed in rage, violently back-handing the boy hard across the face. "You dare to defile my daughter in such a scandalous manner out of wedlock?!"

"Dear, you must stop!" begged the Queen, finally speaking up. "This could be a-"

"ENOUGH!" The King boomed in further anger, silencing his wife into complete submission once more. He then turned back to gaze at the young couple in even greater rage towards them. "Anastasia, I want you to explain yourself! You dare to allow this...mere soldier...to get you pregnant?! You, the princess of my kingdom? Especially after I had worked so hard to arrange for you to marry that wonderful prince!"

"Father, I love Anakin more than life itself." protested the brunette-haired young woman. "While we were away, we even got married!"

"You both did WHAT?!"

"You heard her, Your Majesty!" confirmed Anakin. "Anastasia told me about how you had arranged her for marriage towards someone she didn't like and had tried to rape her at one point ALL BECAUSE she continuously rejected him, and I was NOT gonna let her do something she didn't want to do! ...so we got married while on our journey."

Anastasia's Mother was most shocked. "You both...got married?" she whispered.

"Yes, Your Highness, married."

If you thought Anastasia's Father was royally pissed off about his daughter getting pregnant by Anakin... Well, you should see him when he was told about how Anastasia outright refused to marry the prince he had arranged her to marry, and had instead wedded to a mere soldier. Even then, the King tried his best to remain calm about it...

"I see, now..." he mumbled quietly, despite his face still twisted with anger. "Well then... based on what you've told me, I have now arranged different punishments for the both of you for your treasons!" The King turned his attention to his daughter first... "Anastasia, you will spend the next little while of your pregnancy rotting in the dungeons until your child is ready to be born. Once born, it will be sent away to an Orphanage... and you WILL marry the prince as arranged."

The pregnant Anastasia couldn't believe this was happening, and neither could Anakin. Unfortunately, it was going to get much worse from here...

"And as for you, Anakin..." The King drew out his sword. "This is your punishment for betraying your KING!"

"Father! NO!" pleaded Anastasia, knowing what her Father was about to do to Anakin, started struggling to break free from the strong grips of the two Blade Knights. "Don't do this! You can't!"

The King merely ignored his daughter and lunged forth just as Anakin broke free and drew his own sword. The King and his adopted son began to sword fight to the death, but the former soon overpowered the latter and knocked him down and rendered him weaponless.

"Now die!" bellowed Anastasia's Father in pure hatred.

With a battle cry, the ruler of the land charged towards Anakin, raised his sword, and delivered a sharp thrust. Anakin shut his eyes and braced for the impact...

 ***SLASH!***

...except it never came. Anakin wasn't stabbed, but he did hear the King's shocked voice.

"Anastasia!"

When the black-haired boy opened his eyes, he got the shock of his whole life... His only friend and lover had gotten in the way of the attack, and was fatally impaled through her heart.

"Anastasia!" screamed Anakin.

"An-a-kin..." spluttered the brunette-haired young woman, finally collapsing onto the ground and slowly formed a pool of blood from the wound. Anakin knelt down, turned over, and held the princess in his arms.

"Anastasia..." The black-haired boy peeped in shock. "Why did you do that? Why did you take the blow for me?"

"I...can't live...without you." said Anastasia weakly, coughing. "You mean...the world to me."

"But I cannot live without you either!" protested Anakin, unsheathing a dagger and putting it to his throat. "If you die, then I will die with you, so we may always be together!"

Before the black-haired boy could slit his own throat...

"NO!"

...Anastasia managed to grab onto her husband's wrist, stopping him from committing suicide.

"Please!" The brunette-haired young woman begged, coughing a bit. "I want you to live... live for the both of us!"

"I can't!" protested Anakin, trying to pull his wrist free from Anastasia's grasp. "I won't!"

"You have to!" insisted Anastasia, refusing to let go. "You're too young, Anakin. I won't let you throw your life away just because of me! Our child wouldn't have wanted it to end for you like this!"

Dropping the dagger, Anakin's eyes began flooding with tears. He loved Anastasia more than anything, and living without her was going to be nothing but misery.

"I know...it will hurt... but you have...to be strong." smiled Anastasia. "Find another lover... raise a family with her... live your life the best as you can." She took Anakin's hand and placed it on her pregnant stomach (although the pregnancy had ended in a tragic miscarriage). "I'm sure our child...would have been wonderful. We'll both be...waiting for you when...your time comes."

"Don't go! You can't leave me!" sobbed Anakin. "You're the only friend I've ever had!"

Anastasia didn't say anything back right away. When she finally did speak, it was this that was said...

"I...love...you... my Ani... and I...will always...be with...you..."

With that said, the brunette-haired young woman finally closed her eyes and died peacefully in her friend/lover's arms. Poor Anakin was beyond devastated when he felt no more life in the beautiful princess...

"Anastasia! ANASTASIA!" The black-haired boy screamed repeatedly, crying in his great despair as Anastasia finally turned to light and vanished.

Anastasia's Mother was also weeping over her daughter's death. As for Anastasia's Father... he looked both shocked and upset with what he had done.

"Anastasia..." whispered the King. "What have I-?" His face then twisted into great rage as he immediately blamed someone else. "You... This was all your doing, Anakin! YOU were the one who got my daughter killed!"

Silence filled the whole throne room from that claim. After a few seconds, Anakin, with his hands now stained in Anastasia's blood, stood back up with his back turned. But what the King saw when the black-haired boy had finally turned back around had shocked him (Anastasia's Father) greatly. Anakin's eyes were now shining blood red, and his face was now that of nothing but pure fury. Whatever sanity Anakin had left when Anastasia was alive was now completely gone.

"No, I didn't..." he mumbled darkly. The black-haired boy gazed at his ' _King_ ' in blind rage. " **YOU** did! If it hadn't been for your tyranny, Anastasia and I could have had a wonderful life together! Now it will never happen, and it's all your fault!" Immediately, Anakin's anger had reached its breaking point as he fell into insanity. "YOU WILL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!"

Anastasia's Father reeled back in shock, but anger then burned in his blood and he tried to kill Anakin once more. However, Anakin easily dodged the blow and instead fatally impaled the King through the throat with a sword, killing him.

"My husband!" screamed the Queen, watching helplessly as Anakin immediately pulled the weapon out, and the King, with a dying gargle as he got choked full with blood, collapsed facedown on the floor before turning to light...and vanishing.

"W-What have I been doing?!" Anakin asked aloud, like his vision had become clear once more. "What have I done?!"

The Blade Knights recovered from their shock and angrily were prepared to avenge their King when the Queen's voice stopped them.

"Stop!"

The Blade Knights did as they were told as Anastasia's Mother ran towards Anakin, who was seemingly filled with remorse over what he did.

"Oh, Your Majesty, I'm so sorry!" The black-haired boy seemed to cry from shame and guilt. "I didn't mean to go this far! I... I..."

"Shh, it wasn't your fault, Anakin." said the Queen softly, hugging the poor boy. "Everything will be okay."

Suddenly...

 ***SLASH!***

The Queen's eyes widened from the agonizing pain she was feeling. Anakin...had used a knife he had hidden inside his tunic's sleeve to secretly stab the Queen fatally. Anastasia's Mother let go of Anakin and collapsed onto the floor, now dead, fading to light as well. Anakin was shown to be no longer crying, he was now...smiling at what he did.

"At least now you'll always be with your family..." The insane boy said in the darkest of tones.

Before long, Anakin was on a rampage throughout the whole castle, killing everyone bloodily, messily, and laughing dementedly at doing the deeds.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback suddenly came to an eerie end.

"Oh my God..." whispered Emily in horror. "That... that must have been so horrible..."

"Indeed, it was." sighed Anastasia quietly. She looked very ashamed. "Ever since that day, Anakin's heart had been filled with nothing but endless amounts of pain."

Emily stayed quiet.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the room Percy and everyone else was in at the moment, they, too, were feeling very shocked by what they saw.

"Good Lord..." mumbled Mavis in stunned silence.

"Whoa..." whispered Gordon, also stunned.

"So, if I remember correctly, Anastasia was killed, and Anakin went mad as a result?" asked Stanley, not looking any better for wear.

"Years of pain, abuse, and such pushed him to that point." Dark Magician pointed out. "But now, we can see where else it lead to..."

Maiden of the Aqua nodded and looked back to the monitor as one final sequence commenced...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

After what seemed like forever from his bloody rampage (and moments of failed suicide attempts), Anakin found himself all alone somewhere in the mountains far away from the kingdom. Before leaving the castle, he had found a book in the library that caught his interest.

"Is this the place?"

Walking forth into the cave, Anakin read one of the pages from the book.

"Inside the Mystical Cave of the Darkness, you will find the resting tomb of the three Sacred Beasts." The black-haired boy spoke aloud. "Once they have been unlocked, eternal power, and great darkness will be unleashed... and you would be granted all the power you want." Anakin looked back up at the carvings. "All the power I want? Maybe even to..."

Anakin thought that with that given power, he could potential bring Anastasia and their unborn baby back to life. At this point, he was so insane and desperate that he was willing to do anything to bring his friend/lover back... even if what he did was completely wrong.

"I must do this! Nothing will stop me from bringing Anastasia back!"

Anakin then began to read the inscriptions on the wall with which to awaken the beasts. The language he was speaking in was almost similar to how one must speak in to activate the powers of the Winged Dragon of Ra. Once the black-haired boy was all finished, the tombs started glowing.

"I've done it!" smiled Anakin. Suddenly, his look of triumph turned to confusion. "Huh? What's-?"

The glowing tombs then fired beams of energy all around the whole cavern, releasing many, many, MANY forces of darkness. Anakin was very worried; did he make the right choice on the matter? Quickly, however, he started to greatly regret it...

"What have I done?"

One final beam struck the black-haired boy, causing him to scream loudly.

(elsewhere...)

Many, MANY ghostly orbs were flying from the mountains to who knows where... just before...

 ***BOOM!***

A large explosion sounded, shaking the entire mountainside. When the smoke had cleared away, all was quiet at first... Just then, there were a pair of glowing eyes to where the mountains originally were.

"Darkness... How I've long awaited for you to come..." spoke a new voice through the cloud of dust. "With your powers under my command, we will conquer all who stand against me!"

The smoke cleared as a familiar figure stood. It looked like Anakin (including scars), but with crimson red eyes and a body and face that looked much more demonic.

(elsewhere...)

In the heat of battle at one of the kingdoms, a Blade Knight was slayed by the new Anakin.

"Anakin...?" he whispered, just before dying. "Why would you do this-?"

"Anakin? Anakin is dead, my friend." The demonic boy corrected, watching as the killed monster faded away into light. There was no sign of any kind of remorse on his smiling face. "From now on, you can call me...Diablon. And, as you can see, I'm a lot happier!"

This... this was not good... Diablon...was really Anakin!


	76. Reign of the Supreme King

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

James was cross. "So, it was all because of Anastasia allowing herself to die at the hands of her own Father that Anakin went mentally insane and eventually found those Sacred Beasts, releasing them, AND becoming that demon Diablon? Huh! Can't believe I ever thought of her as hotter-looking than even Emily."

Opening up inside one chamber within the castle of the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, Percy and everyone else had witnessed the truth of it all; Diablon, the demon king, was none other than the tortured Anakin!

"Anastasia is a total bitch!"

"Just disgraceful!" huffed Gordon, who was also looking very unhappy.

"Poor Anakin..." Rosie merely said, who was looking rather sorry and miserable over what happened to Anakin. "First being born with no memories of his own past, being abused by his adopted Father and King, earning some scars from a jealous rival, and THEN losing his pregnant wife and unborn child..."

"How could Anastasia do something so cruel like that?" asked Henry. "Anakin loved her with all his heart, and she decided to let her own Father KILL her?!"

"More like she sacrificed herself to protect him-" argued Mavis. "-because she loved him dearly."

"He was suffering without her!" James pointd out. "If she really DID love him, she would have let Anakin die so that his pain would end, and they could always be together. It's far better to die than to live without the one you love. I mean, take me for example... If Molly were to be killed, I would waste no time killing myself so I could always be with her."

"This all just doesn't add up though." came from Percy. He clutched the sides of his head. "I'm getting confused by all we've seen thus far."

Maiden of the Aqua spoke up. "Well, at least we now know how Diablon came to be."

Indeed so...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the dungeon tower within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Emily finally spoke up to Anastasia once more with another question.

"There's one thing I do not understand."

"What is it?" questioned Anastasia.

And so Emily spoke on... "Why... why did you allow yourself to die? You knew it would devastate Anakin beyond belief, especially with his emotionally unstable mind. And why didn't you let him die with you so you could always be together?"

Silence...

"Well?" The dark green-haired girl pressured. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

At last, Anastasia gave her answer...

"It's because I loved him." she said quietly. "Sometimes, people do outrageous things to protect the ones they love, even if it means breaking their hearts in the process."

"But he was so miserable without you." protested Emily. "He was emotionally suffering. He actually wanted to die so as to end his pain. Didn't you care how he felt?"

"Of course... I did care for how he felt."

"Then why did you let him live on suffering?" Emily went on, looking upset. "What you're telling me makes no sense."

"Allow me to explain." began Anastasia.

And this is what she told Emily...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Shortly after Anakin's blood-filled rampage in the castle, the unstable black-haired boy escaped away from his old home without looking back. Unknowingly, the spirit of the deceased Anastasia was shown floating high in the sky.

"After I had died, I became a roaming spirit." Present Day-Anastasia narrated. "I kept a close watch on Anakin day and night."

"Why's that?" asked Emily's voice.

"Why I became a roaming spirit-" quizzed Present Day-Anastasia "-or why I kept a close watch on Anakin?"

"Umm... About why you kept a close eye on Anakin."

"I wanted to watch over him and protect him." explained Present Day-Anastasia. "My death had allowed me to become Anakin's own, personal guardian angel. I tried everything I could to let Anakin know that I was still with him, even in death, but he couldn't see nor hear my voice."

(new scene...)

Past Anakin slowly turned around and extended his arms, as though he was intending to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff. But...

(elsewhere...)

At the bottom of the cliff, a farmer and his horse were taking a cart full of hay to market. Unknown to either of them, the hitch to the cart came undone and began rolling backwards.

(elsewhere)

Back atop the cliff, Past Anakin slowly leaned backwards.

"Anastasia... we will be together again soon, my love..." he whispered, falling off the cliff to his seeming death.

But just before the depressed warrior could hit the bottom and break every bone in his body, he landed safely in the cart full of hay.

"What the hell?!" cried Anakin when he realized what had happened, and was not happy about it. "Where did this bloody cart come from?!"

"I did not want Anakin to throw his life away like this." continued Present Day-Anastasia. "I wanted him to live for the both of us, as well as for Iris, our unborn child."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"Wait, Iris?" questioned Emily.

"Yes." nodded Anastasia. "Our child was a baby girl."

"But if you and the child were killed, how could the unborn baby have been given a name?"

The brunette-haired young woman went on some more. "Because she was given another chance at a life... as the daughter of another couple. But after a storm had claimed the parents' lives, Iris was found by the rest of your friends, and she became very emotionally attached to Thomas—or rather Anakin."

"She found Thomas?" asked Emily.

"Yes. When that storm destroyed the raft she and her parents were riding, the parents drowned. But before Iris herself died, I saved her life and lead her to Thomas. I wanted her to grow a bond with her real Father, like how I wanted Iris to grow a bond with you if you both were ever to meet."

"M-Me?" stuttered Emily. "But, why me?"

"So she could meet her real Mother."

Silence...

"What?" whispered Emily.

"So Iris could meet the reincarnation of her Mother." answered Anastasia. "Just like how she had met the reincarnation of her Father."

Silence...

"WHAT?!"

Emily was most shocked of what she was hearing. But, it... it just couldn't be... it wasn't even...

"Y-You mean that Thomas and I are-!" she spluttered.

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia, cutting the dark green-haired girl off. "You two are the reincarnations of Anakin and myself."

"But... but how? Why are we...you and Anakin respectively?"

"You will know when the time comes." The brunette-haired young woman reassured. "This is something Thomas will need to know, especially."

Okay, just...whoa...

* * *

 **Title: Reign of the Supreme King**

* * *

Back with Percy and everyone else inside the capital city's castle...

"Is there anything else we need to know about Diablon?" Edward asked Dark Magician.

"I don't want to know anymore." said Rosie.

"Neither do I." added Molly.

Sadly...

"Hold on." interrupted Mavis, looking at Dark Magician Girl. "Something seems to be wrong with Dark Magician Girl."

The blonde-haired girl was right; the female spellcaster-type monster, with her hands still on Thomas's head, was beginning to wince in pain as her magic started to go out of control.

"Something's going wrong." worried Maiden of the Aqua, just before seeing new footage. "And we're about to see more memories."

And indeed they were...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside his bed chambers, the same perverted prince was wailing away on his chair in agony over the loss of Anastasia.

"My beautiful Anastasia!" he screamed in an overly dramatic tone. "Gone! She was too beautiful to die!"

"We are so sorry for your loss, sire." said one of the subjects sympathetically. "Truly, we are."

"Now what am I going to do with my life?" asked the prince, slumping in his chair. "Shortly after Anastasia turned 19, we were gonna be married! ...and I would have finally become King of my home." He then sighed dejectedly. "Now, I'll never have a sexy-looking princess for a wife."

"You're still gonna be King." The subject reminded. "Just...in a different manner, that's all."

Before the prince could even retort to the subject...

"SIRE!" panicked a voice (male).

Another of the prince's servants came busting into the room.

"Good Lord, man!" The prince scolded. "Whatever is the matter with you?"

The servant, after taking a few seconds to catch his breath, had bad news to report...

"According to one of our scouts, an army is approaching our kingdom!"

"Army?" scoffed the prince. "What army?"

Suddenly, the sky outside had turned dark, with clouds forming and rain beginning to fall. The prince, growing curious, approached and looked out the window of his tower chambers.

"Strange, it was beautiful just seconds ago..."

Before he could finish, a bolt of red lightning struck the ground a good distance from the castle.

"Gwaaah!" squealed the prince, backing away from the window and falling onto his rear end.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the castle, the smoke cleared and revealed...Diablon. From there, a massive army of evil creatures also materialized behind the demon.

"Ruler of this castle!" called out Diablon. "I have come to destroy your great kingdom! Unless your greatest soldier can best me in combat, all of you will die at my army's hands!"

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the tower chambers...

"Greatest soldier?" blinked the prince. "Die?!"

"Sire-" spoke one of the two servants. "-isn't the greatest warrior of our kingdom supposed to be you?"

The prince gulped nervously, but then realized something...

"Wait... what am I supposed to be scared of? I'm the greatest warrior of this whole land, and nothing can scare me! Me, scared? Pah! I'm not afraid of that so-called demon... I'll go down there and show him what happens when someone tries to mess with my kingdom."

With that said, the perverted prince arrogantly grabbed his gear and marched towards the door.

"Yeah, you go, sire!" cheered the other servant. Once his future ruler was out of ear shot... "He's dead meat."

"Oh, big time." agreed the first servant, nodding slowly. "Want to escape while we still can?"

"I'm with you, brother."

(elsewhere...)

Outside the castle, the drawbridge lowered. Diablon, sensing that someone was coming forth to challenge him, was delighted.

"Looks like I'll actually get a fight, after all." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' said to himself. His smirk soon became a frown as he struggled to see who it was. "Hmm?"

From Diablon's point of view, the person looked faintly familiar to him.

"Hey, demon!" called the prince to the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', who was wearing armor and wielding a sword and shield. "You don't scare me one little bit. I'll beat the crap outta you so bad, that your Momma would see it and cry like a baby!"

Diablon said nothing in response.

"What, did my entrance frighten you into silence? Ha! Guess it's a reason why I am the best of the best!"

Finally...

"I know who you are..." hissed Diablon angrily. "However, you don't know who I am."

"Am I really suppose to care?" snorted the arrogant prince. "Let's just get this over with!"

Diablon readied himself; he was going to enjoy this very much.

"GWAAAAH!" The prince bellowed a battle cry, charging forth with his weapon.

Diablon...merely stood in his spot, waiting for the opponent to come to him. When the prince was within a foot of striking the demon...

"You're dead!" declared the perverted prince, bringing his weapon down.

...Diablon merely grabbed the blade of the sword with his bare hand, and...shattered it into shards of metal without effort.

"Huh?"

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' began violently beating the prince around like a ragdoll. Eventually, just like what happened last time (when the prince fought Anakin), the prince was lifted up by the throat. His eyes were no longer filled with confidence, they were filled with fear and panic of dying.

"Uncle! UNCLE! **UNCLE**!" wailed the manchild-like prince in terror.

"Worthless little maggots like you are the reason I exist." Diablon growled fiercely.

Now that they were seeing eye-to-eye, the prince got a good look at the demon's face, and, upon seeing the scar on the side of the face, wished he thought that it wasn't...him...

"A... Anakin...?" whispered the prince in horror.

Those were the last words he ever said, because...

 ***SNAP!***

...Diablon snapped the prince's neck with an extremely strong grip, killing him in an instant.

"After all this time-" said Diablon in a deadly tone, releasing the dead prince's body. "-you've finally gotten what you deserve."

From there, the Court of Darkness and the rest of the army stormed past their supreme leader and destroyed the kingdom.

(new scene...)

Much later, Diablon was watching as his new Coliseum was being built by his loyal subjects.

"Productions going as smoothly as I hoped." The demon smiled.

"Indeed, m'lord." agreed Vampire Lord. "This was an excellent idea... Lots of prisoners to torture and amuse you."

"I will make them feel the same pain and suffering I myself was forced to go through before I was finally released." Diablon then muttered in a dark tone. "If I can't live with happiness, then why should they?"

"Sire?" questioned the Court of Darkness leader.

Diablon turned around. "It's nothing. Carry on with the construction..."

He walked away.

(new scene...)

Just as fast as the Coliseum was built, it was also conquered just as quickly. On the balcony, Diablon was watching the fight going on, and was pretty furious with Autraius and his troops.

"Stop them!" he screamed. "For heaven's sake, stop those rebels!"

The Army of Darkness tried its hardest to fight back, but to no avail. Eventually, Diablon decided to try and call on his secret weapon.

"Chaos Sorcerer!" thundered the ' _ **Evil One**_ '. "It's time! Awaken Gladiator Beast Spartacus, and get him to destroy those fools!"

"Yes, my lord!" obeyed Chaos Sorcerer.

(elsewhere...)

Rushing into the chamber where Gladiator Beast Spartacus was sleeping, Chaos Sorcerer reached the coffin just in time.

"The time has come, Spartacus!" announced the spellcaster-type monster, readying his weapon. "Lord Diablon is in need of you!"

His weapon began glowing as the spell began. But before Chaos Sorcerer could even finish the spell, a scythe of light came soaring in and striking the staff out of the monster's hands.

"WHAT?!"

He looked quickly around, wondering who threw the weapon. Very soon, Autraius arrived in the chamber...as Mirage Knight.

"Attempting to revive someone to stop our rebellion?" taunted Autraius. "Sorry, not on my account!"

"You!" scowled Chaos Sorcerer.

Suddenly, the whole chamber started to rumble.

"Oh, did I forget to mention my boys have destroyed enough pillars to collapse the whole building and ensure that this place is never used for evil again?"

Chaos Sorcerer's eyes widened. "You did what?!"

"You heard me loud and clear." teased Autraius. "Say goodbye to this building!"

(elsewhere...)

In the arena, the whole area was shaking itself to pieces. Diablon was dismayed that his coliseum was about to fall to the rebels.

"This can't be possible!" he shouted in horror. The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' then called out from the balcony... "Everyone, retreat!"

The evil monsters, along with the Court of Darkness members taking part in the battle, all obeyed the command and raced towards the exits. They were hoping to get away from the rebel army as fast as possible.

"We are victorious!" cried a Blade Knight, raising his sword up in triumph.

The rebel army immediately cheered at their work. On the balcony, Diablon merely fumed at his loss... The next time he and Autraius faced each other in combat, Diablon would be sure to kill him.

(new scene...)

Inside a tent of the enemy camp, Diablon was plotting on where to strike next. And he couldn't stop thinking about Autraius...

"This Autraius..." The demon thought to himself. "What is he like? And why does his face look similar to mine?"

"M'lord!" called the voice of Vampire Lord.

Diablon turned and saw his most loyal commander entering the tent.

"What is it?"

"When shall we strike?" asked Vampire Lord. "It's been days since we set up camp outside the capital city, and the troops are itching to begin the seige."

"We will strike-" replied Diablon firmly. "-when we are ready."

Just then...

"Sire!" cried the voice of Witty Phantom, who came storming into the tent.

"What is it now?" The demon sighed in annoyance.

"Someone is approaching our camp!" Witty Phantom reported, out of breath. "It's a warrior with blue hair-"

"Autraius?!"

Diablon immediately stood up in anger and stormed past Vampire Lord and Witty Phantom and out of the tent.

"I'm going after him myself!" roared the ' _ **Evil One**_ '.

"Master?!" protested Witty Phantom.

"You heard me loud and clear! I want nobody to follow me!"

Vampire Lord frowned, but obeyed the command out of respect for his leader's power.

(elsewhere...)

Within the encampment, various evil monsters (and the other Court of Darkness members) were roaming around when Diablon walked passed everyone.

"Master?" blinked The Earl of Demise.

"Where's he going?" added Darkbishop Archfiend.

"This time, Autraius is mine!" thundered Diablon. "Everyone stay back!"

"Autraius? Autraius? Autraius?"

"Anyone who tries to come and help me will face serious consequences." The demon continued harshly. "Do I make myself absolutely clear?!"

The army reluctantly obeyed the command.

(elsewhere...)

Slowly approaching the enemy camp was a now 18-year old Autraius. He was decked out in the Mirage Knight armor, and ready to put an end to the army of darkness.

"This whole mess was my fault." said Autriaus to himself. "I'm the reason Diablon stands to this day, so I'll do whatever it takes to set things right. Why did I have to be such a coward about my darkness?"

Words from Dark Magician's lecture years ago echoed within his head...

" _ **One cannot exist without the other**_."

Autraius closed his eyes. "I will make things right again, or die in the trying."

With that said, he continued to set out and find his darker half, and hopefully destroy it for good.

(elsewhere...)

Exiting the camp, Diablon was on his way to confront Autraius.

"This time-" he mumbled darkly. "-it's personal."

Fading images of previous battles were being shown to him in memory.

" _ **I will kill you, Autraius. Anyone who attempts to interfere and/or stop my plans for this world will suffer my wrath**_."

Before long, the two opponents met face-to-face in the middle of the meadow.

"Diablon..." greeted Autraius.

"Autraius..." replied Diablon.

"The time has come for us to settle this." said the blue-haired boy. "You will never hurt anyone in our fair land ever again!"

Diablon snorted. "You think you can beat me in a fight? I've conquered many kingdoms, much faster than how my old man was ever able to do it."

"The bigger they are-" retorted Autraius. "-the harder they fall. If I do fall in this battle, I'll be sure to take you down with me."

"Heh, whatever you say-" Diablon ended his sentence with this... "-brother."

Autraius raised an eyebrow. "Brother?"

"We're not so different, you and I." said Diablonn teasingly. "Actually, I'll tell you this... That Ying-Yang pendant, when it was destroyed, created my vessal, Anakin."

"Anakin..." mumbled Autraius. "That name sounds so..."

"Familiar?"

The blue-haired boy nodded, but said nothing in response. Regardless, he was determined not to be manipulated by Diablon.

"The boy, Anakin, looked so much like you." continued Diablon. "Sorta how like I do."

"That doesn't mean we are brothers." argued Autraius. "You and Anakin are nothing more than the physical manifestation of my inner darkness, which I plan to destroy."

"Destroy?" The demon laughed. "You would dare harm your own flesh and blood? How pathetic!"

"You are not my brother." growled Autraius, narrowing his eyes.

"Hmph! I guess there is no reasoning with you... Let us just settle this feud once and for all."

With that agreed to, the two look-a-likes began to fight to the death; Autraius vs. Diablon.

(elsewhere...)

Standing atop the walls of the capital city were a number of monsters and humans, but especially a certain one...

"Autraius!" cried a now young adult Maiden of the Aqua.

"Our savior is finally confronting that menace." whispered a Magician of Faith. "May the Gods aid him well..."

(elsewhere...)

As the fight continued, it was time for Autraius to get serious...

"It's time to bring in some serious firepower."

The blue-haired boy threw his arm to the sky and began uttering a mysterious chant of some sorts.

"What?!" gasped Diablon, watching as his enemy started glowing all gold from chanting. "What is he-?"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble like an earthquake.

" ** _By the powers of the Earth and spirits of Ancient Egypt_** -" chanted Autraius. "- ** _I call upon the saviors of this land_**!"

Emerging from the ground was a very familiar blue giant of a warrior.

" _ **Obelisk the Tormentor**_!"

Emerging from the dark cloud-filled sku was a familiar red serpent-like dragon.

" _ **Slifer the Sky Dragon**_!" continued Autraius dramatically.

The dark cloud-filled sky suddenly faded away as a huge golden dragon seemingly lowered from the sun.

" _ **The Winged Dragon of Ra**_!"

The three Egyptian God monsters gathered and gazed at their enemy.

" ** _The three Gods of Egypt have been summoned_**!" finished Autraius in a dramatic tone.

But was Diablon afraid of the three legendary beasts? Certainly not. He had a secret weapon (or weapons) of his own.

"Two can play at that game!" The demon declared, crossing both arms to his chest. "Now watch!"

While chanting in an ancient language of his own, something began to happen to the three Egyptian God monsters...

"W-What's happening?" demanded Autraius.

The Winged Dragon of Ra, Obelisk the Tormentor, and Slifer the Sky Dragon each roared in agony as they began glowing all purple.

"Every being of light has a dark half deep within." laughed Diablon. "Now it's time for the Egyptian Gods to meet their own dark halves... The Sacred Beasts!"

The purple aura around the three injured Egyptian God monsters and into the opened hand of the demon.

"Now... The time has come...to RISE!"

The ground began to shake in an earthquake yet again.

(elsewhere...)

Up on the walls of the capital city...

"Look!" cried Maiden of the Aqua.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the enemy camp, many of the evil monsters were feeling the quake.

"W-What is our master trying t-to d-do?!" quivered Earl of Demise, due to the ground shaking about.

"He is awakening the Sacred Beasts!" exclaimed Vampire Lord.

"The Sacred Beasts?!" came from Darkbishop Archfiend.

(elsewhere...)

Back with Diablon, the ground opened up...

"Come forth, creatures of ultimate darkness!" declared Diablon, slamming his glowing hand onto the ground. " _ **Raviel, Lord of Phantasms**_!"

A giant blue warrior-like God emerged from the ground. It looked almost like Obelisk the Tormentor, except with a few modifications. A pool of fire/lava then started to form from the exact same hole as something started to rise from it...

" _ **Uria, Lord of Searing Flames**_!"

Appearing in a pool of fire was a large red serpent-like dragon. It looked similar to Slifer the Sky Dragon, but with a few modifications. The sky then turned all dark with thunder clouds as something started to lower from them...

"And finally, _**Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder**_!" finished Diablon.

Lowering from the sky came a large golden dragon. Like the other two monsters, it seemed to resemble one of the Egyptian God monsters (in this case, The Winged Dragon of Ra), but with a few mild modifications in appearance.

"The Sacred...Beasts?" breathed Autraius.

"Yes." confirmed Diablon. "They each possess great power of their own, and, what I will tell you, are far more powerful than even the Egyptian Gods!"

"That can't be true!"

"Accept it!" Diablon went on. "The darkness will always overpower the light! ...just as it overpowered my weaker self, Anakin!"

And so, the battle of Egyptian God and Sacred Beast (as well as Autraius vs. Diablon) began... They fought for a good number of hours, good vs. evil, light vs. dark. Mountains crumbled and the whole Duel Monsters spirit world shook at their power and rage.

"Surrender!" taunted Diablon.

"NEVER!" screamed Autraius defiantly.

Eventually, as the fighting grew fiercer and fiercer...

"Obelisk, Slifer, Ra!" Autraius commanded with such force. "Attack the Sacred Beasts with all your might!"

Obelisk the Tormentor charged and threw a punch with its fist crackling with bluish energy.

"FIST OF FATE!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon opened its mouth and fired a powerful blast of thunder.

"THUNDER FORCE!" commanded Autraius.

Finally, The Winged Dragon of Ra charged and fired an extremely powerful blast of fire.

"GOD BLAZE CANNON!" The blue-haired boy finally finished.

The three attacks approached, but then...

"Ha! Two can play at that game!" sneered Diablon, before calling out to his own monsters. "Hamon, Raviel, Uria... I command you to show those three Egyptian Gods that you are each superior to them!"

The Sacred Beasts obeyed and fought back with attacks of their own. The two sides were just evenly matched...

"Evenly matched strength..." thought Autraius, just before looking ahead and gasping. "Huh?"

Armed with a spear, Diablon cried out in rage and charged directly for his hated enemy.

"DIE!" he roared.

Readying his sword, Autraius gave a war cry of his own and charged towards the vile demon. Closer and closer and closer the two enemies got. Who was going to win? The answer was simple; it was going to be...

 ***BOOM!***

The combined power of the Egyptian Gods and Sacred Beasts was so great that a massive explosion clouded the whole meadowy field.

(elsewhere...)

Atop the capital city walls...

"Such power!" exclaimed Dark Magician.

(elsewhere...)

Within the enemy encampment...

"The combined powers of both groups of great beasts was too much." breathed Vampire Lord. "It's a chain reaction!"

(elsewhere...)

When the smoke faded away, it was revealed that both the Egyptian Gods and Sacred Beasts were all destroyed by the combined attacks, while Autraius and Diablon...both had impaled each other right through their respective chests fatally.

"I...told you..." coughed Autraius. "I'm taking you...down with me. Even if...you'd struck me first... you would still die..." He shivered like a leaf. "All because our life forces...are linked."

Diablon cursed weakly. "S-So...be...it..."

With that said, Autraius and Diablon both fell to the ground, dying.

(elsewhere...)

Atop the great walls of the capital city, nobody could believe that the legendary hero of their world was about to die. A certain someone, however, had managed to make it outside the city.

"NO!" screamed Maiden of the Aqua, racing to her friend's side. "Autraius! AUTRAIUS! Please don't die!"

"I... I...have to go on." coughed the blue-haired boy. "Don't you see, Maiden of the Aqua? So long...as I live... Diablon lives... as well. That means if I die... then so does he."

Beginning to cry, Maiden of the Aqua fell to her knees before grabbing and holding her mortally wounded friend in her arms.

"It's just not fair..." she weeped with tears streaming down her cheek. "I love you."

Despite dying, Diablon managed to look up enough and, in a quick hallucination, briefly saw Maiden of the Aqua...as Anastasia.

"Ana-stasi-a..." Diablon whispered slowly...with Anakin's voice.

He then, after a dying gurgle, fell back to the ground, unmoving. From there, both the hero and demon...died and faded away.

(elsewhere...)

With their leader dead, the army of darkness was on the run.

"He's dead!" wailed a Slate Warrior. "Lord Diablon is dead!"

"Retreat!" cried a Gil Garth.

"Retreat!" added a Vorse Raider.

Before long, the whole army of darkness was running for their lives (which also included the Court of Darkness).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback finally came to an end.

"Cinders and Ashes..." whispered Percy. "What a battle..."

"And those creatures fighting the Egyptian Gods are the Sacred Beasts." added Rosie.

"And as it turns out-" put in Edward. "-Anakin, who eventually turned into Diablon, is really the physical manifestation of Autraius's dark side. That would mean that they're both one in the same person."

"I know that's good and all-" scoffed James. "-but that still doesn't answer the very big question."

"And what's that, James?" asked Toby.

"Why in the world is Diablon inside Thomas's heart?!"

"James's right for a change." agreed Spencer. "We still have no idea how Billinton got a piece of that demon in the first place."

"I also still say this whole mess was Anastasia's fault, though." James added, folding his arms.

All of a sudden...

"I know the answer!" Dark Magician Girl blurted out, surprising everyone.

"Umm... What did you say, now?" questioned Percy, recovering from the outburst.

"I know why Diablon is in Thomas's heart." said Dark Magician Girl, releasing her hands from Thomas's head.

"What is it?" asked Edward. "How did it happen?"

And so Dark Magician Girl spoke about it...

"I believe that Thomas is... Thomas is Anakin's reincarnation."

Silence...

"W-W-What?" whispered Gordon. "C-Could you rewind a bit, please?"

"Thomas is Anakin's reincarnation." explained Dark Magician Girl more slowly. "And if that's so, then Emily has to be Anastasia's reincarnation."

Silence...

"Well..." said Toby after a few seconds. "That would explain a lot."

"But it makes very little sense!" objected James. "How in the hell did it even come into play? Why is Thomas the reincarnation of the villain instead of the hero?"

No one had an answer. But then there was a loud and angry voice...

" _ **She was an innocent girl**_!" The voice of Thomas shouted. The monitor showed an image of the blue-haired boy with tears streaming down his face. " _ **AND YOU'VE KILLED HER**_!"

"Thomas?" gasped Percy.

"He must be remembering Iris's death." remarked Stanley.

Edward looked to the monitor and gasped...

"No, he isn't." The intelligent blue-haired boy pointed out. "See that person in the monitor?"

"Sailor John!" exclaimed Spencer.

"This was when Thomas faced him in the San Francisco Tournament!" cried Henry. "And we also sensed something minutes after that Shadow Game had begun... It must've been this scene!"

Indeed so...

"So? It's not my fault she was foolish enough to jump in where she didn't belong." said Sailor John, not feeling bad over what had happened. "If you ask me, she got what she deserved. But don't worry, you'll soon be joining her, laddie buck!"

Thomas was beyond angry. Sailor John had done many unforgivable things in the past. But now, he had gone too far... The same look of rage Thomas had when his duel with Spencer ended in near disaster had now returned... Only now, the anger was so much stronger than from ever before. It was fueled by Thomas's sadness over the loss of Emily, and his hatred for the pirate leader.

"SAILOR JOHN!" he roared in rage, a powerful dark aura surrounding the boy. "THIS TIME YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!"

Sailor John was actually taken aback by Thomas's fury... but not by too much.

"In the name of all the people who's lives you have ruined, Spencer, his parents, Discord, my friends, and especially Emily Sterling..." Thomas pointed forth dramatically. "I WILL DEFEAT YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL DEFEAT YOU!"

Finally, the monitor turned itself off.

"Man, was he infuriated." shivered Gordon.

"That dark aura..." mused Edward. "Do you guys think-?"

"When Thomas was pushed too far, Diablon, or maybe Anakin, had awoken in his heart?" finished Henry. "Yup, I think I follow."

"And remember his duel against Marik's dark half?" asked Percy.

"Oh, I remember that." nodded James. "And don't forget that when you were put into a coma from that Shadow Game, and Marik laughed and even mocked Thomas about it." The red-haired boy then shuddered. "Thomas really got pissed off from it."

"Diablon... He was using that rage to slowly build his power back up." said Molly thoughtfully.

"Yes, but we still don't know why Anakin was reincarnated into Thomas, and not Autraius." reminded Mavis.

Yeah, nobody had an answer regarding that question, indeed.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the dungeon tower within the Castle of Dark Illusions, Emily and Anastasia were both still talking.

"Anastasia, I have a question." said Emily. "How is it that I'm the reincarnation of you? How did it even happen?"

"I wanted to make sure that not only would my life and legacy always live on, but I would also make sure that Diablon never returned." explained Anastasia. "To do it, I had visited the real world in secret years ago and watched over your parents like a guardian angel. When your Mother became pregnant, I used a part of my spirit to enter the woman's body and fertilize the fetus so that the baby born would be reincarnated into a future version of me... Namely, you, Emily."

"But what about Thomas?" Emily questioned. "I highly doubt the spirit of Diablon would think of doing the same thing to Thomas's Mother when she was pregnant with him."

"You can thank me for that." smiled Anastasia. "I was somehow able to reclaim a part of Anakin's spirit before he fully died."

"But if Anakin's soul is a part of Thomas now, that also means Diablon is, too!"

"Indeed..." The brunette-haired young woman sighed, losing her smile. "That was something I didn't count on ever happening. But so long as you and Thomas were around, the light in your hearts would keep the demon at bay until he would eventually die off. But there was one thing that kept it from happening..."

"And what's that?" asked Emily curiously, but then gasped with a blush on her face when Anastasia placed her hand onto the dark green-haired girl's clothed breast (where the heart is). "Eh...?" In her mind... "What's with both people and Duel Monsters gropping my chest?"

"You had unintentionally acquired your own inner darkness when you were being bullied years ago."

The dark green-haired girl remembered that. "Yes... my past..."

"If it had not been for your eventual friends in James and Gordon-" said Anastasia seriously, releasing her hand from Emily's chest. "-the light within your heart would have eventually, and permanently, extinguished the darkness deep within Thomas's heart." Her looked then became even more serious. "But most importantly; it was your temporary death at the hands of Sailor John in that Duel Monsters tournament that awakened both Diablon AND Anakin."

"Sailor John?" blinked Emily.

The brunette-haired young woman nodded. "Yes."

"You mean... I actually died?" Emily was shocked. She then realized something... "Oh, right..."

"You went and protected Thomas from the power of Five-Headed Dragon, and then died from your injuries." reminded Anastasia. "Thankfully, after Thomas won that Shadow Game, you were revived."

"I... I think I'm beginning to understand." Emily said at last. "What you're telling me is making tons of sense."

Anastasia then smiled once more.

(elsewhere...)

"I've seen the memories... ALL of them." Thomas was saying to his friends.

Inside the room within the capital city's castle, Thomas was finally awake and being informed by his friends about the memories they saw earlier.

"So, I'm not the reincarnation of Autraius at all..."

"No, you're not..." Maiden of the Aqua confirmed, looking and sounding very upset.

"I honestly don't understand." groaned Thomas. "Autraius and I both have blue hair, we both use the Egyptian Gods, and we both fight against the darkness. So why was I reincarnated from Anakin AND Diablon, and NOT him?"

"At this point, we have no idea." sighed Spencer. "But either way, while it's very shocking, it's all very real and such. You, Billinton, are the reincarnation of a dark being with a troubled vessal from long ago."

"But-!"

"Look-" continued the silver-haired boy, looking deadly serious. "-as much as we don't wanna believe it, you gotta think about it... You and Anakin both have some similar traits; you're brave, you care for your friends, but also especially for your most important friend—Emily for you, and Anastasia for Anakin. In addition, you both have a hidden darker side when you're pushed too far or when the most important person in your life is put in danger. While you do have some similar traits to Autraius as well, you share FAR more in common with Anakin than you do with the legendary hero of this world."

"Sorry, little Thomas-" sighed Gordon. "-but my cousin is right—much as I don't want to believe him."

"Agreed." put in Edward. "You are the reincarnation of Anakin, and not Autraius."

Thomas soon looked to Maiden of the Aqua while feeling very guilty. "Maiden of the Aqua, I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault." said Maiden of the Aqua softly. "It's mine... I honestly thought you were Autraius when we first met, and I loved him with all my heart..."

Sensing the gloomy air in the room from the sad, frustrated, and confused teenagers and Maiden of the Aqua, Dark Magician Girl decided to speak up and try to cheer everyone up...

"Come on, guys." she reassured. "Let's not think too much on this."

"You're right." acknowledged Rosie. "Why don't we call it a night and think more about it in the morning?"

"Might as well." agreed Toby.

Everyone started to leave, but Thomas stayed behind for some reason.

"Thomas?" blinked Dark Magician.

"You coming?" asked Henry.

"I think I need some time to be alone." sighed Thomas.

"You sure?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "After seeing all those memories, even while sleep, as well as discovering more and more stuff about me, I need some time to think it over."

"Well, alright." sighed Percy, but then gave a friendly smile. "But if you do need someone to talk to, you'll know where to look."

"I know... Good night, everyone."

With that said, the others left the room to proceed to their rooms for the night.

(elsewhere...)

Later that night, Thomas was alone on the balcony with nothing but his thoughts as he looked through his cards.

"How am I the reincarnation of Anakin, a.k.a. Diablon?" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "It makes little-to-no sense. He and I are nothing alike. He's an evil psychopath who cares for no one but himself, and I'm willing to die just to keep my friends safe—no, that's only Diablon. Anakin was far more willing to put his life on the line."

Sadly, while all he wanted to do now was forever deny ever being the reincarnation of such an evil being, there was no way to ever deny it; Thomas Billinton was the reincarnation of Anakin, a.k.a. Diablon. For now, deciding to cease thinking about it, all Thomas could do now was stand on the balcony and look all around the beautiful city in the wonderful night.

"I have to admit, the city does look beautiful from up here... I can see many of the buildings and sights. Hey, I can even see Percy down in the streets... Wait, what...? Percy?!"

What on Earth was his friend doing out there? It was the middle of the night.

"Percy!" called Thomas. "Where are you going?"

(elsewhere...)

Down with Percy, the green-haired boy was making his way through the city streets to the exit. Apparently, some mystery opponent had just called the teenage boy somewhere for a duel or something. No matter what his friends might say about it (he never told them), Percy was gonna accept the match.

"It's time we settled the score." Percy thought to himself. "This time, it will be an absolute fight to the finish."

I think I have a feeling on who this mystery opponent might be... How about you?


	77. The True Red-Eyes Master (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up outside the city gates, Percy was looking at a card he had in his hands.

"This is it..."

The card was Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"The time has come for both of us to meet with Knight of Dark Dragon, and prove that you and I are better than he is." Percy throught to himself. "It will be a very dangerous battle, but it's one that I'm willing to see to the very end."

Just then...

"Percy?" came the voice of Thomas.

Percy turned and saw his blue-haired best friend standing nearby. It looked like he had heard everything.

"T-Thomas!" stuttered the green-haired boy. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Funny, I could be asking you the same thing." replied Thomas firmly. "Why are you about to leave this city? You should be at the castle in bed like the others are."

"Well, umm..."

Thomas walked closer. "What's...going on?"

Percy realized that it was pointless to try and lie to Thomas. So, he decided to tell him the truth...

"I'm going to fight Knight of Dark Dragon." confessed the green-haired boy. "Before I went to bed, I found a note from him on the dresser in my room."

"A note?" quizzed Thomas, raising an eyebrow.

Percy nodded and took said note out of his pocket, handing it to his best friend.

"Read it, if you wish."

So Thomas took the note and read it. This was what it said:

' _To Percy Avonside,_  
 _If you are reading this note, then you will also know that I challenge you to one final duel to decide which of us is the superior Red-Eyes Black Dragon user. Meet me atop the volcano located south of the capital city... Don't be late._

 _Signed, Knight of Dark Dragon_ '

"So that's where I'm heading." said Percy at last.

"Why didn't you come to us and tell us about this?" asked Thomas, sounding dismayed.

"This is my fight, Thomas. As much as I wanted to tell you guys, this feud is between me and Knight of Dark Dragon. To that matter, I don't want any of you to come with me."

Thomas was alarmed. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do on my own." insisted Percy, sounding very serious. "Unless I do this on my own, I'll never become a True Duelist."

"The last time you fought him, you were knocked unconscious after it ended." protested Thomas. "What if this time, you actually die?"

Percy never answered the question; he instead raised his card and said the words...

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, come forth!"

Within seconds, Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared with a roar and allowed Percy to climb onto its back.

"We're going to the volcano located south of this city." The green-haired boy coached. "Knight of Dark Dragon has issued a challenge to us, and we need to accept it."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon roared in agreement and began to take off. Thomas immediately tried to stop them from going...

"No, wait!" he cried out.

Too late; Red-Eyes Black Dragon flew into the distance. The green-haired boy and his ace monster were both long gone... thus leaving Thomas all alone.

"Percy..."

The blue-haired boy could not believe that his best friend was actually going to risk throwing his own life away just to meet a challenge. How would this little (yeah, right) duel go? Well, only one way to find out...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in another part of the Duel Monsters spirit world, there was what seemed like a dormant volcano. Standing on the middle a make-shift platform high above an empty inside (no lava) was Knight of Dark Dragon, arms crossed, and a neutral-look on his face.

"This is it..." he thought to himself. "Our clash will soon commence... When it happens, I will show the Avonside-boy that I am the one true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

Very soon, it would commence...

* * *

 **Title: The True Red-Eyes Master, Part 1**

* * *

Back in the capital city, Thomas, after doing some big time thinking over what Percy had said to him, was racing back towards the castle.

"I've gotta warn the others." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "I don't care what Percy says. No friend of mine is throwing his life away!"

Unfortunately, he was so busy thinking about the reckless action that Percy was going to do, that Thomas wasn't watching where he was going...

 ***CRASH!***

...and had collided with someone.

"Ow..." groaned Thomas, sitting on the ground rubbing the top of his head. Once he recovered, he saw that the person he bumped into was... "Spencer?"

"What are you doing up, Billinton?" asked the silver-haired boy, still standing. "I've heard that you and Percy were both out of bed, so I left the castle to try and find you two."

"Percy's gone to fight against Knight of Dark Dragon again." explained Thomas, sounding frantic. "Alone!"

"What?! Why would he-?"

"Knight of Dark Dragon challenged him to a final duel to decide who was the best." continued Thomas. "Percy says that if we go after him, he'll never be a True Duelist. He's actually going to risk throwing his life away just to protect his pride!"

Spencer started to leave. "Then why are we wasting time? Let's go after him!"

"But what about telling the others? We need to let them know first."

"Do you want to reach your best friend before it's too late?" Spencer asked harshly.

After a few moments of thinking, Thomas sighed and nodded in agreement.

"You're right." The blue-haired boy acknowledged. "Let's hurry after Percy."

With that said, Spencer drew a card from his deck and held it up.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The mighty blue and white-scaled dragon appeared immediately in a burst of light.

"Alright, so where did Percy say he was going to find Knight of Dark Dragon?" asked Spencer quickly.

"Atop the volcano located south of the city." answered Thomas, getting onto Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back.

Nodding, Spencer climbed aboard also. "Go, Blue-Eyes!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon gave a mighty roar and took off into the sky in the direction Percy and Red-Eyes Black Dragon both had taken.

"We're on our way, Percy." thought Thomas to himself. "Hang on..."

(elsewhere...)

Back atop the volcano, Knight of Dark Dragon was standing motionless, eyes closed, and not even breathing! ...at least until there came a familiar roaring sound in the distance, which caused the Dragon Knight's eyes to open and reveal them to be crimson red...

"He's here..."

Sure enough, Percy and his Red-Eyes Black Dragon flew into the area. A small, cruel smile appeared on Knight of Dark Dragon's face as the opposing dragon landed on the rocky platform and allowed its master off before fading away back into the card.

"I see you got my message." The Dragon Knight remarked coolly.

Percy didn't say a word; he only walked over to his end of the platform. Eventually, the green-haired boy did speak up...

"Yes, I'm here to settle this score with you once and for all."

Knight of Dark Dragon chuckled. "And I see you didn't bring your little audience with you."

"Because they aren't part of our feud." retorted Percy hotly. "It's between you and me."

"I know-" agreed Knight of Dark Dragon "-but let me ask you this... What if this would have been the last time you would have seen them?"

"It won't be the last time I see them."

Knight of Dark Dragon narrowed his eyes. "And why's that? What makes you think you won't possibly perish in this duel?"

Percy bravely got into a dueling stance and activated his Duel Disk.

"That's easy-" said the green-haired boy at last. "-it's because Red-Eyes and I are gonna win against you."

"We'll see about that." Knight of Dark Dragon activated his own Duel Disk. "It's time to see who the superior Red-Eyes wielder is... You...or me!"

Both duelists gazed at each other as the duel commenced (LP: 4000) x2.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the tower dungeon within the Castle of Dark Illusions...

"I just feel so bad for Anakin." Emily was saying to Anastasia. "He was put through so much pain and suffering that it became too much for him and he turned evil... And watching you die must have been the worse thing to ever witness."

"Which is why we have to do something." agreed Anastasia. "The darkness in my husband's heart must be destroyed someway and somehow."

"We cannot kill Thomas, if that's what you're thinking."

Without any workable ideas, the two look-alikes remained silent for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Anastasia had an idea...

"There may be only one way." she said. "But you might not like it..."

Emily immediately looked to the brunette-haired young woman curiously.

"It involves you and I...becoming one and the same."

Emily gasped. "Become...one? You and I?"

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia. "You must allow my spirit to merge with you."

"But how would I not like it?" asked Emily in confusion. "It makes no sense to me."

"Because-" went on Anastasia. "-you will have make Thomas relieve the worst moment of Anakin's life."

Emily, without uttering another word, carefully listened on to the princess's explanation.

(elsewhere...)

Back atop the volcano, Percy drew his first card.

"The first turn will go to me... Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Blue Flame Swordsman, Reinforcement of the Army, Vow of Tribe, Double Summon, Tribute Ticket, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon

* * *

Immediately, the green-haired boy took and held out a card.

"Go, Reinforcement of the Army! This lets me add one level 4 or lower warrior-type monster card from my deck into the hand!"

Quickly, Percy took his deck out of the Duel Disk, searched through it, took a card, shuffled the deck, and placed it back into the device.

"And this monster I will play!" announced Percy, placing it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Marauding Captain, attack position!"

The armored soldier with blonde hair appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 400).

"Because I have normal summoned him-" continued Percy, taking and readying another card from his hand. "-his special effect activates; letting me special summon a warrior-type monster from my hand to the field to join him!"

On cue, the Blue Flame Swordsman monster card materialized face-up.

"And what better monster than Blue Flame Swordsman!"

The black-armored version of Flame Swordsman with the blue sword appeared (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"A good opening move." admitted Knight of Dark Dragon. "You have gotten better since we last faced each other."

"You haven't seen anything yet-" retorted Percy. "-and my turn isn't over, either." He then took another card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk. "I now activate this Continuous Spell card - Tribute Ticket!"

The Dragon Knight frowned. "Tribute Ticket?"

The mentioned Spell card immediately materialized face-up.

"Thanks to this-" said Percy. "-all of my single monsters can now be used as two tributes for a tribute summon."

"Too bad you've already normal summoned this turn."

"Tell that this this next card..." The green-haired boy rebuffed, holding yet out another card. "Double Summon!"

"What?!" winced Knight of Dark Dragon. "Double Summon?"

Marauding Captain faded away in a blue streak.

"Thanks to Double Summon, I can make another normal summon this turn." declared Percy, readying yet another card. "So I tribute Marauding Captain to summon my ace monster - Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

In a burst of purple light came Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000), much to Knight of Dark Dragon's shock.

"The boy summoned his Red-Eyes before I could!" he thought to himself, looking at his hand. "He HAS gotten even better than last time."

Finally, a facedown card materialized behind Blue Flame Swordsman as Percy entered his end phase.

"As much as I want to attack you right now-" joked Percy. "-I cannot do so, due to this being the first turn of the whole duel. So, I'll just set this bad boy facedown and end my turn." He then smirked at his opponent. "Well, how about that? I have Red-Eyes out, and you don't. What are the odds of that happenin'?"

"Huh! I'm not worried." huffed Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "Just because you have your dragon out, doesn't mean I'll be far behind..."

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cards of the Red Stone, Return of the Red-Eyes, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, The Black Stone of Legend, Burst Breath, and Red-Eyes Retro Dragon

* * *

The Dragon Knight's hand consisted of Cards of the Red Stone, Return of the Red-Eyes, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, The Black Stone of Legend, Burst Breath, and the added Red-Eyes Retro Dragon.

"And even then, your Red-Eyes is not a match for my own."

Percy yawned. "Are you done yet? Your rambling is boring me to tears."

On cue, a Spell card called Cards of the Red Stone flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"If you say so... I activate Cards of the Red Stone!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, with two fingers pressed onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "With this, I can send one level 7 ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster from my hand to the graveyard to allow myself to draw two cards from my deck."

He discarded Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon from his hand to the graveyard and drew two additional cards from his deck. Just then...

"Now I must send a level 7 ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster from my deck to the graveyard." continued the Dragon Knight, sending another card from his deck to the graveyard. "And don't think my turn ends here..."

"I never said it did." shrugged Percy.

"Good, because now I summon The Black Stone of Legend in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a large blackish rock-shaped egg (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"This monster is weak, yes, but it has an effect that will help me greatly." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "I can tribute it to special summon one level 7 or lower ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster from my deck to the field."

The rock-shaped egg started to shake itself apart.

"Watch... as I summon MY Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

In a burst of fire, the egg vanished... and in its place was the other Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"They're tied!" exclaimed Percy.

"Correct." acknowledged Knight of Dark Dragon, before shifting his gaze to another spot on the field. "But I can still take out your Blue Flame Swordsman right here and now!"

Percy cringed.

"INFERNO FIRE BLAST!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired a powerful blast of fire towards Blue Flame Swordsman.

"Sorry, Charlie-" smirked Percy, recovering and poking a button on his Duel Disk and causing his set card to flip face-up and reveal itself. "-but you'll have to do much better than that... Go Vow of Tribe!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack started to fizzle out before it could reach its target.

"What is the meaning of this?!" demanded Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Your attack's been cancelled out, that's what." replied Percy smugly. "You see, if you declare an attack while I control a monster with the same name as yours, I can activate this card and negate your attack."

The Dragon Knight scowled. "My turn is not over yet."

Three facedown cards materialized behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"I set three cards facedown and activate the effect of The Black Stone of Legend in my graveyard. This lets me target one level 7 or lower ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster in the graveyard and shuffle it into my deck while adding The Black Stone of Legend to my hand."

Two cards slipped out of the graveyard.

"As you can see, I'll add to the deck another copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and then I'll add The Black Stone of Legend to my hand." taunted Knight of Dark Dragon, adding a card to his hand. "And that, my friend, shall be all for this turn."

"He's as good as before..." Percy thought to himself. "But that still doesn't mean he'll beat me this time around." He drew a card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (1): Red-Eyes Spirit

* * *

His drawn card was a Trap card called Red-Eyes Spirit.

"I'll place one card facedown and activate the effect of Blue Flame Swordsman."

Blue Flame Swordsman started to glow and grow weaker (ATK: 1800 - 1000).

"By giving up a portion of his attack points-" explained Percy. "-I can transfer it to one other monster on the field!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Percy's) grew stronger (ATK: 2400 - 3200).

"Alright, Red-Eyes Black Dragon-" The green-haired boy commanded. "-attack with Inferno Fire Blast!"

Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed and began to charge an attack, but...

"I'm afraid you've dug yourself a deep hole!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon, just as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Trap card, open - Burst Breath!"

"What?!" cried Percy.

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon charged a blast of its own.

"By sacrificing my Red-Eyes-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, not looking worried about losing his only monster. "-I can destroy all monsters on the field whose defense is less than or equal to its own."

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon open fired.

"NOW ROAST THE FIELD OF ALL MONSTERS!"

Within seconds, the entire field was covered in fire. Blue Flame Swordsman was the first to be destroyed, while Percy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a final roar before shattering into pieces of glass.

"R-Red...Eyes!" winced Percy, feeling the flames of the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack.

"How do you like them apples?" taunted Knight of Dark Dragon, just as he then motion his hand to one of his second set cards. "Now, watch carefully, as I activate another Trap card - Red-Eyes Spirit!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself... just before the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared from the flames with a fearsome roar.

"This Trap card allows me to bring my Red-Eyes back to the field." explained the Dragon Knight.

"Well, I have a surprise of my own!" said Percy, as his deck started glowing all white. "When Blue Flame Swordsman is destroyed, I can special summon the original Flame Swordsman in his place!"

In a flash of fire, the original Flame Swordsman appeared kneeling in a defensive stance (Level: 5/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"Makes little difference to me." scoffed Knight of Dark Dragon. "My monster is far stronger than your own."

With that said, he drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (3): The Black Stone of Legend, ?, and Stop Defense

* * *

Just then, the Dragon Knight's remaining facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Continuous Trap - Return of the Red-Eyes!"

"What does that do?" asked Percy.

"What it does-" began Knight of Dark Dragon. "-is when I control a ' _Red-Eyes_ ' monster, I can special summon one normal monster from my graveyard to the field."

A surge of fire began to erupt from the graveyard on Knight of Dark Dragon's Duel Disk.

"Come forth - Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!"

Appearing was what looked like a tougher version of Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"But that's an effect monster!" protested Percy.

"Hm hm hm hm hm hm... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy flinched. "W-What's so funny?"

"So, you really HAVEN'T heard of the ' ** _Gemini_** ' monsters, have you?"

"Gemini monsters?" repeated Percy. "What ARE they?"

"Gemini Monsters are monsters that are treated as normal monsters." explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "However, they can also still use their effects when appropriate."

Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon started...morphing?

"I will now normal summon my monster into an effect monster. You what this is called? It's referred to as a gemini summon."

"Man, this is confusing me." groaned Percy, bringing a hand to his forehead wearily. "How much more advanced is this game?"

"Hmm..." Knight of Dark Dragon mused to only himself. "Then perhaps you haven't gotten any better..."

On cue, the Stop Defense Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Stop Defense! With this, one of your monsters gets switched into the vulnerable attack position."

Suddenly, Flame Swordsman was forced into attack mode.

"Black Flare Dragon-" commanded the Dragon Knight. "-attack."

Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon obeyed, firing a blast at Flame Swordsman, destroying him in an instant.

"There goes your Flame Swordsman." teased Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy grunted as he took damage (LP: 3400). Unfortunately, it wasn't over just yet...

"Your turn, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes obeyed, charging a blast. Just then...

"Trap card, open!" cried Percy. "Red-Eyes Spirit!"

The green-haired boy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, just before Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared with a roar.

"Welcome back, Red-Eyes!"

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, cease your attack!" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon to his monster. Just then... "And now for my Black Flare Dragon's ability!"

Suddenly, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon turned to charge an attack on Percy.

"At the end of the battle phase, if damage calculation was performed involving this card, my monster can then inflict its original attack points as life point damage to you, Percy!"

"Uh-oh..." gulped Percy.

"Attack!" ordered Knight of Dark Dragon.

Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon obeyed and fired off a blast of fire towards Percy.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the tower dungeon, Anastasia had finished explaining to Emily what she had in mind.

"You mean you... you want me to die right in front of Thomas?" asked Emily in partial shock.

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia. "I know it's hard, but it's the only way."

"No!" protested Emily, shaking her head out of refusal. "No, I won't do it! Don't you remember how your death traumatized Anakin to the point of insanity?"

"Emily, you have to trust my words."

"I don't know if I can!" The dark green-haired girl shouted. "I thought I could trust you at first, but now I find out you want me to break Thomas's heart the same way you broke Anakin's?! Forget it! I'll never go back to how I was when I was bullied years-"

"Emily!" Anastasia interrupted loudly, silencing Emily into submission. "Just listen to my words, please."

Still upset, Emily reluctantly nodded and allowed the brunette-haired young woman to continue.

"We all have to make sacrifices for the ones we love, even if it hurts them in the process." continued Anastasia. "If I hadn't intervened, Anakin would have died at the hands of my Father."

"I know that-" acknowledged Emily. "-but-!"

"Besides-" The brunette-haired young woman interrupted, continuing to speak some more. "-you had no problem throwing your life away before."

She was of course talking about how Emily died during Thomas's duel against Sailor John.

"Y-Yes..." Emily recalled quietly. "I remember..."

"So how is it any different doing it this time?"

Once again, Emily stayed silent on the matter. Dare she allow herself to become one with Anastasia, or not?

(elsewhere...)

Back atop the volcano, the ball of fire from Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon finally struck Percy, causing him to scream in pain as his life points dropped to low levels (LP: 1000).

"Had enough?" asked Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy's body was smoking from the powerful fire attack from the enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but his eyes remained full of determination to win the duel.

"Never!"

"Tch! More stubborn than I thought..." sighed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Fine, my turn is over now... Make your move!"

Scowling, Percy complied and drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (1): Cardcar D

* * *

His drawn card was a monster card called Cardcar D.

"Cardcar D?" thought Percy unhappily. "This won't help me! ...well, maybe it can help me draw something helpful, I hope."

On cue, the Cardcar D monster card materialized face-up.

"I summon Cardcar D in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a blue car with a red D on the hood (Level: 2/ATK: 800/DEF: 400).

"Cardcar D?" blinked Knight of Dark Dragon, just before sneering. "You dare to fight my dragons with THAT?"

"It won't be out for long." retorted Percy. "By sacrificing my Cardcar D, I can draw two more cards."

On cue, Cardcar D faded away in a blue streak... but not before little particles floated over and sprinkled onto Percy's deck. The green-haired boy then drew his two cards, hoping they would help him out.

"Come on..."

He opened his eyes at the two cards, and smirked to himself. From there, two facedown cards materialized behind Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"I place these two cards facedown and end my turn." he said.

Just then, a familiar roar echoed throughout the top of the volcano...

"Huh?"

Knight of Dark Dragon knew it. "The roar of the Blue-Eyes Dragon..."

In an instant, Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew closer and closer to the volcano where the duel was taking place.

"That has to be the volcano!" cried Thomas.

"Hurry, Blue-Eyes!" commanded Spencer.

The dragon finally got close enough to the volcano and landed at the top of the mountain.

"Percy!" called Thomas, jumping off Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back and running forth.

Percy turned around. "Thomas?"

"Percy!" called Thomas, running some more. "Percy!"

He eventually stopped near the edge leading into the volcano.

"I thought I told you not to follow me here!" exclaimed Percy.

"I know that!" returned Thomas, looking down slightly. "But I..."

"He didn't want you to throw your life away for the sake of pride, you idiot!" interrupted Spencer, approaching while looking slightly upset.

"Spencer?!"

"That's right, I was the one who brought Billinton here." The silver-haired boy continued. "And-" He turned his attention to Knight of Dark Dragon. "-we meet again."

"I had a feeling we would." said Knight of Dark Dragon calmly.

Just then...

"You were the one who attacked Emily and got her recaptured!" cried Thomas, becoming greatly infuriated upon seeing the Dragon Knight.

"Hold on there... While it's true that we dueled-" confirmed Knight of Dark Dragon. "-but I did not recapture her willingly. I had even promised to reunite her with you if she had won! She had the chance to defeat me, but for some reason she let the duel end in a tie."

"You were ordered by the Court of Darkness to do the deed, right?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." sighed the Dragon Knight. "But after I returned to the Castle of Dark Illusions, I decided to end my partnership with them."

Thomas didn't believe him. "What a load of bull-"

"In addition, I was the one who rescued you after your fall from that cliff." interrupted Knight of Dark Dragon. Seeing Thomas's look of shock allowed him to continue. "I know you may not believe me, but this is the truth... I've cut ties with the Court of Darkness, and I'm now on my own!"

"Then why are you here dueling with Percy?" questioned Spencer.

"To show once and for all who the true ' **Master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon** ' is." answered Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "And I assure you that it will be me."

"Percy only has 1000 life points left." Thomas thought to himself. "If those facedown cards he has don't help him, he'll lose!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (3): The Black Stone of Legend, ?, and Negate Attack

* * *

The Dragon Knight's drawn card was the Negate Attack Spell card. Almost immediately, the battle phase began...

"Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon-" ordered Knight of Dark Dragon. "-unleash your rage and put the opponent's Red-Eyes Black Dragon out of its misery!"

"But they'll both be destroyed!" protested Percy.

"But remember that I also have a Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my side of the field. Once your lone dragon falls, I'll attack you directly with my other dragon and win the duel!"

Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon charged a blast.

"Sorry, but that isn't gonna happen." retorted Percy, just as one of his set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Go, Scapegoat!"

Suddenly, the four sheep tokens appeared in an instant.

"Since I now have enough monsters-" The green-haired boy went on, as he motioned his right hand to his remaining facedown card—which flipped up and revealed itself. "-I'll play my other facedown card - Double Magical Arm Bind!"

All of a sudden, two of the sheep tokens vanished. In addition, two seperate tongs came out of the face-up Trap card.

"Double Magical Arm Bind?" quizzed Knight of Dark Dragon. He then gasped at what he was seeing. "W-What?!"

The tongs went over and grabbed hold of Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, putting them onto Percy's side of the field.

"By tributing two monsters of my own-" explained Percy "-I can take control of two monsters on your side of the field for the rest of the turn!"

With his attack rendered a failure, Knight of Dark Dragon instead took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"In that case, I set one card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized. Since it was now the end phase...

"Since it's now the end phase-" said the Dragon Knight. "-both monsters return to me!"

The face-up Double Magical Arm Bind Trap card shattered into pieces of glass, causing Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to return to their master's side of the field.

"You've managed to buy yourself a spare turn-" Knight of Dark Dragon continued. "-but next time you won't get out of this mess so easily."

Percy stared on defiantly. "I bought myself some time, but if I don't think of a solution on my turn... I can kiss this duel goodbye..."

After a few moments, he drew his next card.

"Come on, Percy..." thought Thomas.

"Show us the that you are a True Duelist..." thought Spencer.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (1): Roll of Fate

* * *

Percy, with his eyes shut tightly, turned to look at his card.

"Please, let this be the one..." he thought with all his might. "PLEASE let this be the card..."

Percy opened his eyes and smiled when he saw what card was.

"This is it..."

Knight of Dark Dragon raised an eyebrow when he heard his opponent beginning to laugh.

"Well now..." chuckled Percy, armed with his drawn card. "Looks like the Goddess of Luck is on my side, this time."

"Goddess of Luck?" scoffed Knight of Dark Dragon.

On cue, the Roll of Fate Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Got that right." confirmed Percy. "And I'll begin by activating Roll of Fate!"

A die was tossed into the sky. Everyone on the platform, including the audience, looked up anxiously while waiting for the die to finally come down.

"If Percy doesn't get the number he needs, it'll be all over!" Thomas thought to himself.

Can Percy win the duel and show Knight of Dark Dragon that he is a worthy Red-Eyes master? Or will Roll of Fate blow up in his face? Stay tuned for the answer!

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the tower dungeon, Emily finally came to a decision on her new ally's idea...

"Anastasia-" she began. "-I... I accept your plan. I want you and I to become one."

"Thank you." smiled Anastasia. "You are a very brave girl to be doing something like this, Emily."

"But-" Emily went on. "-I still don't like the idea of making Thomas suffer."

"Your friend HAS to suffer." The brunette-haired young woman insisted gently. "I don't like having to do it myself, but it's the only way Thomas will understand and learn the lesson he has ignored his whole life."

Despite still feeling very uneasy about the plan, Emily nodded in agreement. From there, Anastasia held her hands out, and the dark green-haired girl took hold of them. Suddenly, both females closed their eyes and started to speak in unison...

" **Goddesses of Light, together, will become one... Goddesses of Light, together, will become one... Goddesses of Light, together, will become one**..."

As the two look-alikes spoke on, they both started to glow all golden yellow as the spirit of Anastasia...slowly started to merge into Emily's body. Eventually, after a few more chants of ' _ **Goddesses of Light, together, will become one**_...', Emily stopped speaking for a few seconds and opened her eyes... They were now shining all blue (a gentle blue, that is).

" **We have become one**..." The dark green-haired girl said...in two voices at once.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	78. The True Red-Eyes Master (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up atop of a dormant volcano, Percy was not only locked in the middle of a final battle with the feared mercenary Knight of Dark Dragon, but he was also looking into the sky as the dice from his Roll of Fate Spell card was starting to come down.

"Come on..." The green-haired boy thought to himself.

On the other end of the platform, Knight of Dark Dragon did not said a word. Nearby, Thomas and Spencer were both looking upward, as well.

"The dice is coming down." murmurered Thomas.

The die landed, rolled about, and finally landed on...

"It's a SIX!" cheered Percy, drawing six cards for his hand before drawing six more and allowing them to be banished from the game.

With a new hand, Percy was (hopefully) back in the game. His new hand contained Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, Hyper Quick!, Emergency Provisions, Cyber-Tech Alligator, Kunai with Chain, and Dice Re-Roll.

"This baby should do nicely." Percy thought to himself with a smile. He then took three cards from his hand and spoke to his opponent. "Alright, first I place three cards facedown..."

Three facedown cards materialized. This was followed by a monster card called Red-Eyes Baby Dragon flipping face-up and revealing itself.

"Next I summon Red-Eyes Baby Dragon in attack mode! Yes, you heard me... Attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was what looked like an infant version of Red-Eyes Black Dragon (Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 700).

"Red-Eyes Baby Dragon?" quizzed Spencer. "Has Percy lost it?"

"Percy..." muttered Thomas.

Meanwhile, Knight of Dark Dragon, feeling like he was being insulted, was very quick to criticize his opponent's seemingly weak move.

"You dare to play a weak monster like that?!" he demanded angrily. "When I get my next turn, I'll roast it alive and finish you off."

Percy only kept his smirked and said two simple words...

"Attack, now!"

Red-Eyes Baby Dragon obeyed, firing a blast.

"Percy, no!" called Thomas.

"You'll be defeated if you attack that stronger monster, you fool!" came from Spencer.

* * *

 **Title: The True Red-Eyes Master, Part 2**

* * *

Just then, when it looked like Percy was about to commit duelist suicide...

"I'll chain my attack with the Emergency Provisions Quick-Play Spell card!" announced Percy, holding a card (Emergency Provisions) out. "I'll send all three of my set cards to the graveyard to gain 1000 life points per card."

All three facedown cards faded away in blue streaks, causing Percy to recover 3000 life points (LP: 4000).

"Your attack was still foolish!" snapped Knight of Dark Dragon. "Counterattack now, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The enemy Red-Eyes Black Dragon obeyed, firing a counter fire-like blast. It easily punched through the weaker monster's attack until it reached and struck Red-Eyes Baby Dragon itself, causing a massive explosion to fill the platform. Percy braced himself as he took damage (LP: 2800)...

"Your Red-Eyes Baby Dragon is no more!"

Upon recovering, Percy grinned big. "I play my Baby Dragon's effect."

"Hmm?" mused Knight of Dark Dragon, raising an eyebrow.

"When it's destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard-" explained Percy. "-I can summon a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster from my deck in his place!"

On cue, Gearfried the Iron Knight appeared in a battle ready position (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"Gearfried the Iron Knight? But that isn't a ' _Red-Eyes_ '-related monster!" objected Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy chuckled. "Of course, it is!"

"How?!"

"This version is called Gearfried the **RED-EYES** Iron Knight!" corrected Percy. "And this bad boy's gonna be the start of my counterattack."

Suddenly, the spirit of Red-Eyes Baby Dragon appeared and became one with Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight.

"What's going on with your monster?!" asked Knight of Dark Dragon. "The destroyed Red-Eyes Baby Dragon is merging with it!"

"That's another ability of his." explained Percy. "My Red-Eyes Baby Dragon can equip himself to the newly summoned Red-Eyes monster and increase its attack by 300... BUT! I have something much better in mind."

Suddenly Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight started to get ready to attack.

"Whenever Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight is equipped with an equipment card, I can destroy it so that he can go and wipe out a single Spell or Trap card you have on the field."

Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight launched into the air towards Knight of Dark Dragon's facedown card. The set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Negate Attack, eh?" teased Percy. He then turned his attention to his monster. "Take it away, Gearfried!"

Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight obeyed, slashing the face-up Quick-Play Spell card to pieces.

"With that taken care of-" Percy went on, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "-I can play the effect of my Hyper Quick! Trap card from the graveyard!"

Knight of Dark Dragon raised an eyebrow. "Hyper Quick! ?"

"When this card is sent from the hand or field to the graveyard-" explained Percy, drawing a card. "-I can draw another card. If it's a Spell card, I can activate and treat it like a Quick-Play Spell card!"

His drawn card was the Polymerization Spell card. Smirking still, the green-haired boy readied his newly drawn card.

"And lookie here... I play the Spell card Polymerization!"

On cue, the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and began to activate.

"I'll use it to fuse Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight and Red-Eyes Baby Dragon both together!" announced Percy, just as the two monsters began to merge.

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled; he knew what monster was coming...

"Come forth - Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

The newly armored Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400).

"Red-Eyes Slash Dragon?" quizzed Spencer, looking up at the new monster.

"Percy had used that Red-Eyes monster against Knight of Dark Dragon once before." explained Thomas. "It also almost won him that duel..."

Back in the middle of the platform, Red-Eyes Slash Dragon took to the skies as Percy activated its effect.

"When attacking, I can equip one warrior monster onto my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon and raise its attack points by 200!"

The spirit of Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight merged with Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, raising its attack points slightly (ATK: 2800 - 3000). From therem it turned its attention of Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon...

"Attack Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!" commanded Percy.

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon obeyed, charging and firing off a blast of fire towards the defenseless Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon.

"Damn! I can't stop this attack..." thought Knight of Dark Dragon furiously.

Within seconds, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon was hit and destroyed. The Dragon Knight grunted and braced himself from the force of the destruction of his monster (LP: 3400). Upon recovering...

"I activate the effect of the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon in my hand!"

Percy's look of triumph melted into a look of puzzleness. "Huh?"

"When a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard-" explained the Dragon Knight, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "-I can special summon this monster in defense mode!"

The familiar red and black dragon materialized with a roar in a defensive position (Level: 4/DEF: 1600). Just then, Knight of Dark Dragon's graveyard started glowing all white.

"But that's not all..." he continued. "I can also special summon as many destroyed Red-Eyes monsters that were taken down in the same turn. Meaning... Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon returns to the field in attack position!"

In a blast of fire, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon returned.

"Ugh! These guys don't know when to stay down..." Percy complained to himself. With nothing else to do... "I end my turn now!"

"Back to me." said Knight of dark Dragion, drawing a card and beginning his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 3400)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (2): The Black Stone of Legend and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."

His two drawn cards were shown to be Red-Eyes Insight (Spell card) and Red-Eyes Baby Dragon (Monster card). Knight of Dark Dragon then placed two fingers onto the sideways card on his Duel Disk and switched it forth.

"I switch Red-Eyes Retro Dragon into attack mode!"

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon rose up and gave a roar. Percy didn't look worried at first, but soon he would be...

"And now... it's time to fight fusion with fusion." The Dragon Knight remarked, holding out the drawn Spell card (Red-Eyes Insight). "But first, I activate Red-Eyes Insight to add one 'Red-Eyes'-related Spell or Trap card to my hand by sending one 'Red-Eyes' monster from my hand to the graveyard."

He discarded Red-Eyes Baby Dragon to the graveyard to draw Red-Eyes Fusion (Spell card). All of a sudden, the dormant volcano started rumbling...

"W-What's happening?" stammered Percy, feeling the activity ensuring.

"It's time to show you my secret weapon..." hissed Knight of Dark Dragon, slotting his card into a Spell/Trap Slot on his Duel Disk. Suddenly, the Red-Eyes Fusion Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate the Spell card Red-Eyes Fusion!"

"Red-Eyes Fusion?"

"What this does-" began the Dragon Knight, drawing and discarding Meteor Dragon to the graveyard. "-is it allows me to fusion summon one fusion monster from the extra deck using at least one ' _Red-Eyes_ '-named monster either in my hand or on the field, along with one monster from the hand, deck, or field. The fusion summoned monster's name then becomes ' _Red-Eyes_ '."

Meteor Dragon briefly appeared before it and Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon faded away in red-hot streaks.

"Uh-oh..." whispered Percy.

The tremors got even worse around here. Down below the platform, lava began hissing and bubbling about.

"I call forth - Meteor Black Comet Dragon!"

Something emerged from the lava and shot like a fireball out of the volcano and into the sky, much to Percy, Spencer, and Thomas's respective shock.

"Meteor..." began Percy.

"Black..." put in Thomas.

"Comet Dragon?" finished Spencer.

The object soon lowered itself onto the platform and revealed itself to be the very same dragon that Knight of Dark Dragon had used to defeat Vampire Lord (Level: 8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000). It looked like the Meteor Black Dragon monster Spencer had to defeat in his duel with the Dragon Knight, but it was actually a retrained version of the monster...

"This monster may look like the same Meteor Black Dragon I used in my duel with Spencer over there-" smirked Knight of Dark Dragon. "-but this new beast has a few tricks of its own."

"New tricks?" repeated Percy. "New tricks like what?"

"As I fusion summoned this monster-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon, discarding another card from his deck to the graveyard. "-I can send one Red-Eyes monster from my deck to the graveyard, and hit you with half its attack as life point damage!"

All of a sudden, another Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared on the field briefly before turning into a ball of fire.

"I'll send another copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon to the graveyard and hit you with 1200 points of damage!"

With a powerful roar, Meteor Black Comet Dragon sent the blast of fire straight at Percy. Striking him and setting the other end of the platform ablaze.

"YYYYAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" screamed Percy, feeling the flames scorching his body (LP: 1600).

"Percy!" cried Thomas.

"Such a powerful beast..." thought Spencer with bloodshot eyes.

The fire died down, and Percy had collapsed to a knee.

"My turn isn't over yet." said Knight of Dark Dragon coldly, entering the battle phase. "Attack Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, my Meteor Black Comet Dragon!"

Meteor Black Comet Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of fire of its own, striking and destroying Red-Eyes Slash Dragon. Percy winced as more damage was inflicted (LP: 1100).

"Red-Eyes Slash Dragon's...effect activates!" The green-haired boy struggled to say.

Knight of Dark Dragon frowned, but said nothing in response.

"When it's destroyed-" explained Percy, managing to get back to his feet. "-I can special summon as many monsters equipped to him as possible."

On cue, Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight materialized in a defensive stance.

"It matters not!" shouted Knight of Dark Dragon. "Destroy Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight, my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to charge a ball of fire in its mouth.

" **INFERNO FIRE BLAST**!"

The blast of fire was unleashed, striking and shattering Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight into pieces of glass.

"Your turn, Red-Eyes Retro Dragon... Take down a sheep token!"

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of fire of its own, destroying one of the remaining sheep tokens.

"My field has been nearly wiped out..." thought Percy worriedly (LP: 1100).

"It's not too late to surrender and save yourself the humiliation." suggested Knight of Dark Dragon. "You've lost your dragon, have 1100 life points left, and are left with a lone sheep token."

Instead of surrendering, Percy instead...drew a card.

"The fool..." The Dragon Knight sighed to himself.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (2): Cyber-Tech Alligator and Fiber Jar

* * *

On cue, a facedown card (sideways) materialized.

"I place a monster in defense mode!" announced Percy, with two fingers braced on the card. "That's all for my turn!"

Over on the other end of the volcano...

"Percy..." mumbled Thomas.

"If that's all you got-" retorted Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card and sneering. "-then this will be where it all ends."

Percy merely kept himself calm.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 3400)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (2): The Black Stone of Legend and Interdimensional Matter Transporter

* * *

The Dragon Knight's drawn card was the Interdimensional Matter Transporter Spell card.

"The first to fall will be your final sheep token!"

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon charged and fired a blast of fire, striking and roasting the poor sheep token.

"And now, Meteor Black Dragon-" commanded Knight of Dark Dragon. "-attack the facedown monster!"

Meteor Black Comet Dragon obeyed, following suit in charging and firing a blast of fire at the opponent's field. The ball of fire got closer and closer...

"If Percy loses his last monster-" exclaimed Spencer. "-he'll have nothing to protect his life points!"

The blast finally struck the card and caused another massive explosion to cloud the platform. When the dust settled, in the card's place was a large jar that looked like a tree. Knight of Dark Dragon was most shocked to see it...

"Is that-?!"

Percy suddenly began to laugh. This was what he had been waiting for... The right moment to strike back!

"You've attacked my Fiber Jar!" The green-haired boy declared. "Now both of us are gonna restart the duel by combining our hands and graveyards together with our decks."

Over on the other side of the volcano...

"Then both players will draw five new cards." Spencer finished explaining to Thomas about Fiber Jar's effect. "Cards removed from the game are not added back to the decks, however."

"Pretty clever..." admitted Thomas. "Since Meteor Black Comet Dragon was summoned from the extra deck, it'll return to it."

Back on the platform...

"Say bye-bye to your Meteor Black Comet Dragon!" taunted Percy.

Sadly...

"I don't think so!" boomed Knight of Dark Dragon.

Suddenly, the powerful dragon faded away in a blue streak.

"Huh?!" gasped Percy.

Thomas and Spencer were both equally surprised.

"What happened to your dragon? Didn't it return to the extra deck?"

"It would have-" agreed Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and holding out his drawn card. "-if it hadn't been for the Interdimensional Matter Transporter card I just activated!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"As you know, this banishes my monster from the game until the end of the battle."

Percy was dismayed. "I was SO close to getting rid of that Meteor Black Comet Dragon..."

Alas, all the green-haired boy could do now was shuffle his cards together and draw his new hand. Knight of Dark Dragon did the same thing with his cards.

"With a new hand comes new opportunies." remarked the Dragon Knight, having drawn his new hand. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Looking at one of the cards in his hand, Percy looked up and nodded in agreement.

"Now I have a chance to turn this duel around." he said, taking one of the cards from his hand. "And this one will be a good start."

A face-up monster card called Scouting Warrior materialized face-up.

"Say hello to Scouting Warrior!"

"Scouting Warrior?" quizzed Knight of Dark Dragon.

Appearing to the field was a warrior-type monster dressed in an army outfit or sorts (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000).

"If he's added to my hand by way of a card effect-" explained Percy. "-then I can automatically summon him!"

The Dragon Knight growled and took a card from his new hand. "It's still very weak!"

On cue, Cards of the Red Stone materialized face-up once more.

"I shall reactivate Cards of the Red Stone!"

Discarding the Red-Eyes Black Dragon monster card from his hand to the graveyard, Knight of Dark Dragon drew two more cards before sending Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon from the deck also to the graveyard. Not finished with his turn still, the Dragon Knight slotted a card into his Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Knight of Dark Dragon.

Within seconds, as it was now the end phase, Meteor Black Comet Dragon reappeared with a roar.

"You have bought yourself an extra turn." remarked Knight of Dark Dragon. "Best to make it work... or else."

Now that it was Percy's turn, he drew a card... and prayed it would be something that could help him somehow...

"Here goes something..."

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (5): Knight of Dark Dragon, Monster Reborn, Dark Dragon Ritual, Polymerization, and Pot of Greed

* * *

The green-haired boy's new hand contained Knight of Dark Dragon, Monster Reborn, Dark Dragon Ritual, Polymerization, and the added Pot of Greed.

"Just a little bit more..." thought Percy, taking and slotting a card into a Spel/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I play my own copy of Pot of Greed to draw two cards!"

He drew his two cards, and got ready to make a big play.

"I sacrifice Scouting Warrior to call upon a monster I like to call... Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!"

Scouting Warrior vanished in a blue streak as a Red-Eyes Blakc Dragon version of Summoned Skull appeared in his place (Level: 6/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1200).

"But now I'm gonna do something..." continued Percy. "It's called...a gemini summon."

Knight of Dark Dragon was shocked. "A gemini summon?! But I thought-!"

"That I didn't know anything about gemini summons?" asked Percy, beginning to smile at his opponent in a cheeky way. "Man, I really got you good there... I actually KNEW all along about it! ...I only pretended to not know just to mess with ya."

"WHAT?!"

Still laughing, Percy took another card from his hand and readied it.

"With my new monster now an effect monster, I can play its truly powerful effect... Once per turn, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field with defense points lower than my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning's attack points!" The green-haired boy explained, grinning even more widely. "Say goodbye to Meteor Black Comet Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightining fired a blast of red lighting at Meteor Black Comet Dragon, but Knight of Dark Dragon wasn't gonna let his monster go down like that.

"I play a Quick-Play Spell card!" The Dragon Knight bellowed, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Forbidden Dress!"

"Ah, no!" winced Percy. "Not that!"

"By decreasing the attack of my monster by 600-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "-I can prevent it from being destroyed by other card effects!"

Meteor Black Comet Dragon grew weaker (ATK: 3500 - 2900). The lightning attack struck the dragon, but the monster shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"You'll have to try better than that."

On the other side of the volcano...

"That isn't all Percy can do." Spencer said to Thomas. "There's a monster that will aid him greatly... he just needs to play the right cards to call it out."

Back on the platform, Percy's turn wasn't finished just yet...

"Looks like it's time to call forth the heavy artillery." The green-haired boy remarked, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "First I activate the Ritual Spell card Dark Dragon Ritual!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"For this to work, I have to sacrifice a monster from my hand or side of the field with a level of 4 or higher." explained Percy. "So I offer my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning as a tribute!"

The Summoned Skull-like monster gave a growl as it faded away in a blue streak.

"Now I can call forth MY Knight of Dark Dragon!"

In a burst of fire came the Duel Monsters version of Knight of Dark Dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900).

"Now, I can bet you know what's coming next, can't you?" joked Percy.

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled. "Yes... I know what will happen next."

The Dragon Knight got surrounded more fire as Percy made yet another grand play...

"I can trade him in for my own Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Reappearing on the platform was the green-haired boy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon... It was mad, and ready to get payback on the opponent. But first, the Monster Reborn Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next I activate Monster Reborn and revive Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!" continued Percy, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Welcome back, my Archfiend!"

Within seconds, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning returned.

"That's the way." thought Spencer to himself. "Does Percy have that one card in his hand?"

Back on the platform, Knight of Dark Dragon spat spitefully at his opponent's seemingly weak play. However, Percy wasn't quite finished yet...

"Now I play the one card that will grant me a monster powerful enough to trump over your Meteor Black Comet Dragon." he said, readying and holding his card out. "I play Polymerization!"

Knight of Dark Dragon was alarmed. "P-Polymerization, you say?!"

"That's right!" confirmed Percy, just before turning his attention to both his monsters. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lighting, combine yourselves into one!"

The two monsters obeyed and began fusing together using the power of the face-up Polymerization Spell card.

"Get ready for one of the strongest dragons in the history of Red-Eyes Black Dragons..." The green-haired boy boomed. "I fusion summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!"

The fusion soon ended... but there was nothing in the place of the two monsters.

"Where is it?" asked Spencer, anxiously looking around for sign of the new monster.

Suddenly, the lava found far below the platform began to hiss and bubble once more.

"Here we go again..." Thomas thought to himself, watching in surprise at the lava bubbled ever so fiercely.

Finally, an undead-like dragon emerged from the molton rock and flew up to the platform, landing on it and letting loose a demonic roar. This beast looked almost _exactly_ like Black Skull Dragon, except it looked WAY meaner than the original (Level: 9/ATK: 3200/DEF: 2500).

"Archfiend...Black Skull Dragon..." stammered Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Like it?" teased Percy. "This is the beast that's gonna roast your Meteor Black Comet Dragon into nothingness!"

Archfiend Black Skull Dragon (ATK: 3200) and Meteor Black Comet Dragon (ATK: 2900) both stared each other down.

"Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!" cried Percy. "Attack!"

Archfiend Black Skull Dragon obeyed and took to the sky in preperation to lay waste to the opposition.

"METEOR FIREBALL ATTACK!"

The undead-like dragon fired an extremely powerful blast of fire towards the defenseless Meteor Black Comet Dragon.

"My monster also has an effect-" continued Percy. "-which prevents you from using cards and effects until after the damage step!"

The powerful blast of fire struck Meteor Black Comet Dragon and caused yet another massive explosion to cloud, and even violently rock, the platform.

"What power!" cried Thomas.

When the smoke cleared, Meteor Black Comet Dragon was gone.

"Son-of-a-bitch...!" Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself bitterly (LP: 3100).

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news-" Percy went on still. "-but there's still one more effect my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon still has to perform."

He took a card out from his deck.

"When Archfiend Black Skull Dragon inflicts battle damage-" The green-haired boy explained. "-I can target one normal Red-Eyes monster in my graveyard, and hit you with damage equal to its attack points and shuffle the monster back into my deck!"

A card slipped out of the graveyard, and Percy took hold of and showed it to his opponent.

"I think I'll choose Red-Eyes Black Dragon... This will inflict a hefty 2400 points of damage to your life points!"

A spirit of Red-Eyes Black Dragon briefly appeared and fired off an Inferno Fire Blast attack at Knight of Dark Dragon, striking and causing him to cry out in further pain (LP: 700).

"Alright, Percy!" cheered Thomas.

"Not bad for an amateur." smirked Spencer.

All Percy needed to do was make one more attack next turn, and he would win the duel. Back on the platform, the whole platform was smoking from the powerful fire attack from Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, and Knight of Dark Dragon had been through to his knees.

"I activate...Meteor Black Comet Dragon's...final effect!"

Once again, the mercenary's Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared with a roar (Level: 7/ATK: 2400).

"Again?" questioned Percy.

"When Meteor Black Comet Dragon is destroyed and sent to the graveyard-" explained the Dragon Knight weakly. "-I can special summon a normal ' _ **Red-Eyes**_ ' monster from the graveyard and place it in attack mode!"

"Talk about perseverance." Percy commented, whilst taking another card and slotting it into his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized. Knight of Dark Dragon was still huffing and puffing from the last battle phase. That Percy Avonside was pushing the Dragon Knight to his limit... Even moreso than when he dueled Spencer.

"The boy really HAS gotten better." Knight of Dark Dragon admitted to himself. "I push him to the limit, and he pushes ME to the limit... Even so, I will be the one to emerge triumph in this great battle!"

He then drew a card and took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (4): Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Dragon Heart, Super Rejuvenation, and Forbidden Chalice

* * *

The Dragon Knight's hand currently consisted of Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Dragon Heart, Super Rejuvenation, and the added Forbidden Chalice.

"Since you're pushing me to my limit-" said Knight of Dark Dragon, taking a card from his hand. "-I'll push you to your limit."

"Bring it on!" challenged Percy.

"I shall now evolve my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The Dragon Knight declared, holding a Spell card out. "But before I do so, I think I'll equip this to your Black Skull Dragon!"

The Forbidden Chalice Spell card materialized face-up.

"Forbidden Chalice!"

"Forbidden Chalice?" asked Percy.

"Consider it a double-edged sword." answered the Dragon Knight. "It grants your monster 400 additional attack points."

Archfiend Black Skull Dragon grew more powerful (ATK: 3200 - 3600).

"But why make it stronger?" asked Percy.

"I told you, it's a double-edged sword." replied Knight of Dark Dragon. "While your monster has gotten a power boost, it can no longer use any of its effects for the remainder of the turn."

Percy didn't like the sound of that. To make matters worse, Red-Eyes Black Dragon started to growl deeply as fire started to surround it whole...

"And now-" went on Knight of Dark Dragon, as the flames grew thicker and stronger. "-I shall evolve my Red-Eyes Black Dragon into its most powerful form of all... Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

The flames soon died down and revealed the powerful black and red dragon, which gave off a menacing roar at the opposition (Level: 9/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Somehow, I knew I'd face this creature again sooner or later..." mumbled Percy.

Knight of Dark Dragon smiled menacingly. "As you know, it gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard. I currently have three of them there, so Red-Eyes receives a 900 attack point boost."

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon grew even stronger (ATK: 2400 - 3300). Far from finished, however, the Dragon Knight took and held out another card.

"Now, I'm well aware that your own dragon is currently stronger, so I'll add in Dragon Heart to send three dragons from my deck to the graveyard and increase Red-Eyes's attack by 1000 points."

The following cards were senf to the graveyard one-by-one:  
-Decoy Dragon  
-Infernal Dragon  
-Exploder Dragon

"With the offerings met, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's attack goes up to 4300-" explained Knight of Dark Dragon. "-but adding the three remaining dragons to Red-Eyes's effect gives my monster 5200 attack points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon grew in power even further (ATK: 3300 - 5200).

"Your dragon is finished, and when it falls you will be defeated, as well!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon. "Prepare to lose this duel and call me the one true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Percy Avonside!"

Archfiend Black Skull Dragon and Percy both stared down Knight of Dark Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon. Can Percy keep up the pace and win the duel while being called the master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, or will he end up being defeated? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	79. The True Red-Eyes Master (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up atop the volcano, Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon were both still dueling hard on the platform over a boiling lake of lava. These were the standings:  
-Percy (LP: 1100) had a set card and Archfiend Black Skull Dragon (Level: 9/ATK: 3800) on his side of the field  
-Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700) had Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (Level: 9/ATK: 5200) on his side of the field.

"Your Archfiend Black Skull Dragon is no longer a match for my monster." taunted Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Dang it..." thought Percy bitterly.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon soon gave a roar and took to the skies to begin charging its signature attack.

"INFERNAL DARKNESS!" The Dragon knight commanded.

The blast was then fired off. If Percy didn't do something about it quickly, it would be game over for him.

"You've put up a worthy battle-" admitted Knight of Dark Dragon, as his eyes flashed all red. "-but it looks like we have a winner... ME!"

The attack struck and yet again caused a massive explosion to cloud the whole platform.

"PERCY!" screamed Thomas in horror.

"This battle's over!" thought Spencer with bloodshot eyes.

Back on the platform, a thick cloud of smoke had covered the whole field.

"Hm hm hm hm..." snickered Knight of Dark Dragon, thinking he had won. "I've finally won my pride back... I truly AM the master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The smoke soon cleared awake and revealed a badly weakened Percy... with his life points NOT at zero (LP: 400).

"WHAT?!" gasped the Dragon Knight, feeling like someone had belted him in the stomach. "How in the... Grrr! How the hell did you survive?!"

Percy was breathing hard still as the smoke soon cleared away. When it did, there was a face-up Trap card... one that Knight of Dark Dragon recognized very well...

"D-Damage Diet?!"

"That's right." confirmed Percy, still breathing hard while struggling to stay on his feet. "This Trap card...cuts all damage I take...in half...for this turn."

"$*#%!" cursed Knight of Dark Dragon, clenching his fist furiously. "I was so close! SO CLOSE!"

"Which is...too bad." The green-haired boy chuckled weakly, managing to gain some of his strength back. "I'm...still in...the game."

"It doesn't even matter!" The Dragon Knight raged on. "You barely have the strength to stand!"

Still not done with his turn, he then took and slotted a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, a Spell card called Super Rejuvenation flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I'll now play the Spell card Super Rejuvenation! This allows me to draw a number of cards from my deck based on the number of dragon-type monsters that were tributed or discarded this turn."

"That's four...dragons!" wheezed Percy.

"How right you are." nodded Knight of Dark Dragon in agreement, just as he drew four cards. "That means I draw four cards from my deck."

Since it was the end phase, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's attack power dropped down to its original amount (ATK: 5200 - 4200). Even then, it was not looking good for Percy at the moment...

"I've just lost possibly my strongest fusion monster..." he thought to himself. "And I'm barely hanging onto 400 life points. I'm beginning to wonder if I was in over my head when I agreed to this challenge..."

"Percy!" called the voices of Thomas and Spencer.

Percy looked back to the other end of the mountain.

"Don't you dare give up on this battle!" warned Spencer. "You've come too far to surrender to someone like him, you deadbeat!"

"Spencer..." whispered Percy.

"Percy, never give up!" called Thomas. "Believe in yourself and the Heart of the Cards!"

"Thomas..." Percy thought to himself. He then spoke aloud... "But didn't you two both come to stop me from dueling this guy?!"

"Yes, we did at first-" acknowledged Thomas. "-but now... now..."

"Now, what? What are you two trying to tell me?"

"Now I understand how important it is for you to face him..." Thomas continued. "It's to prove that you are a True Duelist."

"As much as I've insulted you in the past, Percy-" added Spencer. "-I now do see you as a worthy duelist like Billinton and myself, especially when you managed to defeat me in that battle for third place during Battle City."

"You have to keep fighting, Percy." Thomas threw in. "Fulfill the promise you made to yourself!"

Percy gazed at the two duelists silently for what seemed like forever. It was then Knight of Dark Dragon had some words to say, as well! ...but they weren't what anyone was expecting him to say...

"I agree with your comrades."

Percy, Thomas, and Spencer were surprised. "HUH?!"

"What's with the change of heart?" asked Percy.

"Do you want an answer or not?" retorted the Dragon Knight.

And so, Percy kept quiet and allowed his opponent to speak on...

"While it's true I had suggested you surrender at first-" Knight of Dark Dragon went on. "-but as the duel continued I noticed how determined you were to keep going no matter what was being thrown at you. It rather reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger."

"When you were younger?" repeated Percy.

"Yes."

With his confidence renewed, Percy was ready to continue with the duel. He would see to it until the very end...

"Alright!" declared Percy, putting his fingers on his deck. "It's my turn!"

With that said, he performed the ever popular game-changing Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (1): Aura Armor

* * *

Almost immediately, a facedown card materialized on the field.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

"That's all he did?" asked Spencer.

"But why?" came from Thomas, looking surprised.

Knight of Dark Dragon sighed. "I was expecting more from you, Percy... but it looks like you've disappointed me greatly once again."

With that said, the Dragon Knight drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (5): Red-Eyes Spirit, Armed Protector Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, Dragon's Rebirth, and Metal Plus

* * *

His hand contained Red-Eyes Spirit, Armed Protector Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, Dragon's Rebirth, and the drawn Metal Plus.

"It's time for me to end this..." declared Knight of Dark Dragon, just as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon opened its mouth and charged a blast of fire. "Red-Eyes... end this duel!"

The blast of dark flame was fired right at Percy.

"Percy, no!" called Thomas.

"Stop screwing around and do something!" demanded Spencer.

Indeed, Percy did do something... "I activate-!"

Cue yet another massive explosion clouding the whole platform.

* * *

 **Title: The True Red-Eyes Master, Part 3**

* * *

Down below within the volcano, the lava was shown to be bubbling even more fiercely than before.

"Looks like Percy wasted his turn." sighed Spencer.

Thomas was upset. "Percy..."

Back on the platform, the smoke started to clear. Knight of Dark Dragon gazed at his opponent with disappointment, but then gave a gasp at what was behind the fading smoke.

"What?!"

Percy was seemingly nowhere to be seen. In his place was someone decked out in red and white armor. The being raised its visor up to reveal who it was...

"Surprise!" smirked Percy.

"You!" gasped Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Percy?!" came from Spencer.

"How did-!?" began Thomas, but never finished.

Back on the platform, Percy had begun to explain his little surprise...

"When you commenced your direct attack on me, I activated my Aura Armor Trap card."

The clearing smoke revealed a face-up Trap card (Aura Armor).

"Aura Armor?" quizzed Knight of Dark Dragon.

"This is a Trap card that activates when I have under 2000 life points." began Percy (LP: 200). "Once activated, I paid one-half of my life points to special summon something called a Player Token to the field."

The Dragon Knight blinked thrice. "Player Token?"

"That's right... Now, with the damage I would have taken negated, I'm literally in the game!"

"But will it be enough?" demanded Knight of Dark Dragon, taking and slotting two cards into his Duel Disk. "Your Player Token only has 400 attack and defense points, meaning it can't stand up to my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's attack."

Two facedown cards (Red-Eyes Spirit and Metal Plus) materialized on the Dragon Knight's side of the field.

"I set two cards and end my turn!"

"It's my turn then!" shouted Percy, drawing a card. "DRAW!"

Thomas and Spencer were both surprised by the rough tone in Percy's voice. This was something new about the green-haired boy...

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (1): Roll of Fate

* * *

On cue, the Roll of Fate Spell card rematerialized face-up.

"And I'll play that one Spell card I'm sure you remember well." Percy went on, motioning his hand forth. "Roll of Fate!"

Another die rolled along the ground until it landed on...

"And it's a five!"

Percy drew five more cards, then drew and banished five more. All of a sudden, the tremor around the area became stronger.

"W-What's happening?!" quivered Thomas.

Back on the platform, Percy, not paying any attention to the tremors, took and held out one of his drawn cards.

"I activate another Ritual Spell card..." he declared, just as a Spell card called Red-Eyes Transmigration flipped face-up and revealed itself... "Red-Eyes Transmigration!"

Just then, Red-Eyes Black Dragon briefly appeared to the field.

"Red-Eyes Transmigration?" quizzed Knight of Dark Dragon. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon? What's going on?"

"This Ritual Spell card allows me to tribute Red-Eyes and one warrior monster." explained Percy. "And in doing so, I can call forth something extremely powerful...!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a roar before breathing fire all around Percy's side of the field.

"W-What?!" winced Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Red-Eyes and I are about to become one!" thundered Percy.

Before long, Red-Eyes Black Dragon was gone... but Percy was soon covered by the flames. Eventually, with his armor flaring all red, Percy gave one huge roar of a battle cry as the flames died down and the armor cooled itself into black armor. Down below the platform, on the other hand, the lava was pounding the rocks ever so fiercely.

"What's happening with this volcano?!" demanded Spencer, finally wanting to know what was happening. "It was suppose to be dormant, right?"

"I... I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on." said Thomas slowly. "It must be because of the duel..."

Spencer glared. "The duel?"

"The intense actions of the duel is what has been causing these violent tremors." The blue-haired boy explained. "And those tremors are making the volcano react accordingly. If they don't settle down, it could lead to an eruption!"

"An eruption?!"

Back on the platform...

"This new armor is something I'd like to call...Lord of the Red!" said Percy confidently.

Knight of Dark Dragon scowled. "Lord of the Red?" He then spoke aloud... "Even if you summoned something like that, it cannot touch Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

"Patience." insisted Percy, taking and slotting two cards into his Duel Disk. "I set these two cards and end my turn."

Two facedown cards materialized on the field.

"Alright... show me what you've got!"

With that said, Knight of Dark Dragon nodded and drew his next card.

"It's my turn..." The Dragon Knight announced, adding the drawn card to his hand. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (5): Armed Protector Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, Dragon's Rebirth, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Card of Sanctity!" announced Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing three cards. "We both are required to draw until we hold six cards in our hands!"

Percy (Lord of the Red) nodded and drew six new cards. Just then...

"Before you play anything else-" The green-haired boy spoke up. "-I'd like to activate this Quick-Play Spell card."

"Huh?!" gasped Knight of Dark Dragon.

Percy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Scapegoat!"

The four Sheep Tokens materialized from the card and onto the field.

"Why'd you do something like that?" Knight of Dark Dragon questioned.

"Because-" grinned Percy. "-two Spell cards have been played just now!"

"Two Spe... NO! Your Lord of the Red, it must-!"

"Have a special ability?" interrupted Percy, his armor beginning to get surrounded by blue flames. "You're so right! When two Spell cards are played at the same time, Lord of the Red can destroy all other monsters on the field!"

Knight of Dark Dragon winced. "This can't be!"

"Oh, but it is!"

Upon rising high into the sky, before giving an almighty scream, Percy charged down and punched the ground right before Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, causing the blue flame to shoot all around the field. The Sheep Tokens were all destroyed, and this was immediately followed by Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.

"Trap card, open!" exclaimed Knight of Dark Dragon.

His first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Eventually, the flames died down as Percy found himself back on his end of the platform, greatly worn out.

"There goes...your...Red-Eyes Darkness...Dragon..." he panted. "I have this duel...in...the bag!"

"Do you, now?" echoed the voice of Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Huh?"

The smoke began to clear.

"What?!" gasped Percy.

Thomas and Spencer both gasped, as well. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon...had survived!

"But how? Your monster should have been destroyed!" Percy protested.

"It was destroyed." retorted Knight of Dark Dragon. "But I activated Red-Eyes Spirit to special summon it to the field once the effect of your armor came to an end."

"Oh, for crying out loud..." groaned Percy, dismayed that Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon was still standing.

The blast was fired and soared towards Percy.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon has 4200 attack points..." The green-haired boy thought to himself. "If I can lower them now, I can defeat it!" Finally, his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I play Skull Dice!"

However...

"I'm afraid that won't help you!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon, just as his own facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "I activate Metal Plus!"

"Metal Plus? What does that do?"

"This Continuous Trap card negates any Spell cards that target my monster and destroy it." explained the Dragon Knight, before pointing forth. "Such as, for example, your Skull Dice card!"

The face-up Skull Dice Quick-Play Spell card shattered into pieces of glass.

"NO!" wailed Percy.

"Looks like this game is all mine!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon continued its attack. Thinking quick, however, Percy poked a button on his Duel Disk once more...

"I activate Rival Arrival!" The green-haired boy announced, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Using it, I'll special summon, in defense mode, Card Blocker!"

A small soldier-like monster appeared to the field in defense mode (Level: 3/ATK: 400/DEF: 400).

"Using my monster's effect-" continued Percy, just as the Infernal Darkness attack got closer and closer. "-Card Blocker will now intercept and take the hit instead!"

Just like that, Card Blocker moved in front of Percy, and took the hit.

"He saved himself again!" thought Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Thanks for taking one for the team, little guy." Percy said to his monster card, as he slid it into the graveyard. "Your sacrifice won't be forgotten..."

All of a sudden, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gave a loud roar as its whole body started to transform into something completely new.

"H-Hey! What's happening to your monster?"

"It's evolving even further." explained Knight of Dark Dragon.

On the other end of the volcano...

"Evolving further?" questioned Thomas. "What else is there to evolve into?"

"Looks like we're about to find out." commented Spencer.

Back on the platform, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon was soon finished transforming into a new form...

"Say hello... to the Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" declared Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon?" repeated Percy. "First there's Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, and now there's Red-Eyes Darkness METAL Dragon?"

"Yes, you are correct."

The new monster stood tall, and let out a powerful roar. It looked similar to Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, but its body also had some metallic parts all around (Level: 10/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400).

"My new monster has an ability very similar to Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon." said Knight of Dark Dragon. "The difference is that instead of gaining 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard, it gains 400 points instead!"

"400?!" gasped Percy. He started to do calculations, and then grew even more worried. "You have seven dragon-type monsters in your graveyard, and 7 times 400 equals 2800 extra attack points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's attack went up even further (ATK: 2800 - 5600).

"5600 attack points?!" winced Thomas.

"Great... How's Percy going to beat that thing, now?" asked Spencer.

Suddenly, the tremors started happening again.

"There it goes again!" Thomas cried out.

"What's going on?!" quivered Percy, finally feeling the tremors ensuring.

"The intensity of the duel is awakening this volcano from being dormant!" called Spencer. "Unless you both stop the duel soon, it will erupt and we'll all be barbecued!"

"This duel WILL go on!" insisted Knight of Dark Dragon hotly, before turning his attention to his opponent. "Percy, it's your turn, now!"

Percy nodded in agreement and drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Percy Avonside (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Quick Booster

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Quick Booster.

"This could help me out." The green-haired boy thought to himself. With that thought on hand, he slotted the card into a Spell/Trap Slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate Quick Booster!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"This lets me add a Quick-Play Spell card from the graveyard to my hand!"

"Which won't happen!" interrupted Knight of Dark Dragon, discarding the Red-Eyes Wyvern monster card to the graveyard. "I use Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's next effect to send a card from my hand to the graveyard to allow my monster negate and destroy your activated Spell card!"

"What?!" winced Percy, watching as Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon fired a ball of fire at his face-up Spell card. "No! Not my Quick Booster!"

"Too bad for you." grinned Knight of Dark Dragon.

Suddenly, Percy grinned right back. "Oh well... NOW I get to add a Quick-Play Spell card from my deck to my hand."

"Huh?!"

"That's Quick Booster's other effect." explained Percy, drawing a card from his deck. It was the Ultimate Fusion Quick-Play Spell card... "With that said, I'll set three cards facedown..." Three facedown cards materialized on the field. "...and call it a turn!"

Geysers of steam and lava started emerging from the lake of lava below the platform.

"It's getting closer and closer to erupting!" cried Thomas.

"I wouldn't worry!" boasted Knight of Dark Dragon, drawing a card. "This duel will end long before it happens!"

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (5): Armed Protector Dragon, Knight of Dark Dragon, Dragon's Rebirth, ?, and ?

* * *

"Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, go and attack Lord of the Red, now!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon obeyed, charging a blast of fire.

"Trap card, open!" shouted Percy, as his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "Graverobber!"

"Graverobber?" blinked Knight of Dark Dragon. "Why use that?"

"This Trap card lets me take a card from your graveyard and use it as my own." explained Percy, he then pointed forth. "And I think I'll take... one of your Red-Eyes Black Dragons!"

A stream of fire erupted from the Dragon Knight's graveyard, soared over to Percy's side of the field, and died down to reveal Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"With one less dragon in your graveyard-" Percy went on. "-your monster loses 400 attack points!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon grew weaker (ATK: 6000 - 5600).

"And now, it's time top activate my own secret weapon!"

"Which is...?" questioned Knight of Dark Dragon.

"Ultimate Fusion!" cried Percy, as his second facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"The fool..." scowled Knight of Dark Dragon when he saw the activated Spell card. He then spoke aloud... "I discard one card from my hand to the graveyard in order to negate the activation of your Spell card and destroy it!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon fired another ball of fire at the face-up Spell card. The attack struck its target, causing an explosion. But when the smoke cleared, the Ultimate Fusion Spell card was...revealed to still be standing!

"What?! Your card wasn't destroyed?! Explain yourself!"

"Ultimate Fusion's activation and effect can't be cancelled out by anything." taunted Percy. "You know what that means, don't you?"

When no answer came, Red-Eyes Black Dragon began to merge with the face-up Ultimate Fusion Spell card.

"It means I can send both cards to the graveyard and fusion summon a monster from my extra deck while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

"What could he be calling out this time?" Knight of Dark Dragon thought to himself. He then gasped at what was ahead. "What?!"

Soon enough, the fusion sequence ended... revealing a Red-Eyes Black Dragon-like weapon. Percy took hold of it and, raising it into the air, gave a great yell as the tremors grew more worse...

"RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON SWORD!"

It was the same blade that helped him defeat Dennis. Because of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon being present, Lord of the Red grew stronger (ATK: 2400 - 2900).

"My weapon grants my Lord of the Red armor 500 extra attack points for every dragon on the field, plus a default 1000 point bonus." explained Percy. "This puts me at a total of 3900 attack points!"

Lord of the Red grew even stronger (ATK: 2900 - 3900).

"But it isn't enough!" argued Knight of Dark Dragon. "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is still stronger!"

"Hold on!" interrupted Percy. "I've still got one facedown card left to activate, you know!"

As he said those words, the tremors grew more violent, and more lava geysers shot out from below.

"Whatever it is-" called Spencer. "-hurry and activate it!"

The final facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"I activate Soul Strike!" announced Percy.

Knight of Dark Dragon was alarmed. "What?! Soul Strike?"

"That's right." confirmed Percy, taking a life point hit (LP: 100). "As my Life Points are lower than 4000, by cutting my life points in half, I can increase the attack of one monster on my field by the difference between my final life points and 4000."

"The difference?" quizzed Thomas. He then realized... "That's 3900 extra attack points!"

"It will put Lord of the Red at 7800 attack points!" came from Spencer.

Lord of the Red grew unbelievably strong (ATK: 3900 - 7800).

"Well, Mr. Red-Eyes master?" boasted Percy, raising his weapon up. "I now have 7800 attack points, which is enough to slay your dragon!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon was, indeed, now the weaker beast (ATK: 6000). Percy then used his blade to stop the blast from the enemy dragon and charged into battle.

"Time for the final strike!" The green-haired boy roared.

Knight of Dark Dragon (LP: 700) could not believe it; he was about to be defeated by his greatest rival! ...and there was nothing he could do about it, now.

"I... I'm about to lose..." The Dragon Knight whispered in defeat.

Within seconds, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon was sliced in two, and exploded in fire. Knight of Dark only stared in disbelief as his life points finally reduced to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Percy Avonside wins!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away at that very moment. Percy didn't cheer for his victory or anything; he instead walked over to see the defeated Dragon Knight.

"That was a great match." he said pleasantly.

Knight of Dark Dragon looked up at his rival. "You've defeated me... The one true master of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon..."

"Hey, it's alright if you lost the duel." interrupted Percy, going into a brief lecture. "It just gives you a reason to train or practice harder."

"Really?"

Percy nodded. "I've had my share of victories, but also my share of losses." he continued. "Those losses only modivated me to try harder for later duels."

"You two can chat later!" called Spencer, interrupting the discussion. "We have to leave, now!"

Just before Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon could even think of escaping, the tremors grew worse and worse. But that wasn't even the worse bit; the platform found itself beginning to crumble.

"Percy!" called Thomas. "Get off of there, now!"

Before Percy could move, it happened...

 ***CRUMBLE!***

The platform finally collapsed, and both Percy and Knight of Dark Dragon fell down towards the bubbling lava while screaming in dread.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Thomas, watching his best friend fall to his death.

He ran to the edge of the volcano, desperately searching to see if Percy had been lucky enough to grab onto something in the nick of time. Unfortunately... the green-haired boy was no where to be seen, and Knight of Dark Dragon was not down there, either.

"Percy..." peeped Thomas. "You can't be-!"

The volcano was shaking itself to pieces at that point. Thick black smoke was coming from the top of the mountain, and it was a sign it was ready to erupt.

"Billintion, let's go!" called Spencer to his friend/rival. "We have to get out of here before the volcano blows!"

"I'm not leaving!" protested Thomas. "Percy and I are best friends. We ride together, we die together!"

Before the blue-haired boy could do something foolish (like commiting suicide by jumping into the volcano), he was suddenly grabbed by a Vorse Raider and Blade Knight. It was Spencer who had summoned those two monsters just to make sure Thomas didn't go and do something stupid.

"Don't be foolish!" he snapped, pocketing his two monster cards. "Let's get the hell out of here, now!"

Thomas had to be dragged away screaming and objecting by the silver-haired boy's two monsters.

(elsewhere...)

Just as the volcano finally exploded, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon quickly flew away from the mountain. Spencer and Thomas were both riding on the dragon's back.

"That was too close for comfort." sighed Spencer.

Thomas said nothing in response. He just kept his head down in sadness.

(elsewhere...)

After that narrowing escape, Thomas and Spencer both finally arrived back at the capital city's castle.

"I guess we'd better tell the others about, Percy, eh?" asked Spencer.

"Tell us what?" cut in the voice of Toby.

Toby and the rest of the gang, including Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Maiden of the Aqua, showed up.

"Where were you two?" questioned Henry.

"We've been searching for you for most of the night." put in James.

"And where's Percy?" added Molly.

Spencer, not saying another word, looked to Thomas, who looked like he was about to cry any second.

"Percy..."

The blue-haired boy then collapsed to his knees as he began sobbing really hard.

"HE'S DEAD!" Thomas barely managed to blurt out.

Everyone else in the group gave a collective gasp. Looks like this will be quite the tale to tell about Percy Avonside's last duel of his life, am I right?


	80. Duel of the Fates (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up outside the castle gate in the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, with Thomas too busy crying in despair over the loss of his best friend, Spencer was the one who had to explain all that happened not too long ago (namely a final duel between Knight of Dark Dragon against Percy atop a volcano).

"No... Percy..." whispered Rosie, bursting into tears.

"He can't be gone!" argued Gordon, feeling devastated that the green-haired boy was really dead.

"As much as I want to reprimand him for doing this, Percy had died an honorable death..." admitted Spencer sadly. "He died as a True Duelist..."

"Yes... he did..." agreed Edward, closing his eyes out of sadness and grief. "We'll never forget him."

Dark Magician kept his head bowed out of respect for both Percy AND Knight of Dark Dragon. Dark Magician Girl and Maiden of the Aqua both, however, went over to comfort the devastated Thomas.

"Oh, Thomas... we're so sorry your best friend is gone..." soothed Dark Magician Girl.

"Truly we are." added Maiden of the Aqua

Thomas only continued to cry and sob. He also then started to remember the words Amazoness Sage told him before he and the others left that village...

" _You must be strong, Thomas, you have to endure the upcoming moments of suffering so that you will be mentally prepared to destroy the ' **Evil One** '._"

"I'm not strong enough..." The poor blue-haired boy finally spoke up.

"Thomas?" questioned Maiden of the Aqua.

"I can't do it!" weeped Thomas. "I cannot become prepared to fight Diablon... Not if it means I have to suffer by losing my friends..."

Dark Magician Girl hugged the suffering boy tighter. "Easy, Thomas, everything will be okay..."

Unfortunately, things were not gonna get any better. Why? Oh...

"M-Master...!" called a weakened voice (male).

Dark Magician turned. "What's-?"

To his surprise, a Skilled Dark Magician slowly limped into the area. The male spellcaster-type monster looked to be badly wounded from a fight he seemed to have gotten into.

"Skilled Dark Magician!" gasped Dark Magician Girl upon seeing the monster's appearance. She stood up and placed both hands on Skilled Dark Magician's shoulders. "Are you alright?! Stay with us!"

"We were..." coughed Skilled Dark Magician.

"We were...?" The female spellcaster-type monster repeated.

"We...were..."

Unable to finish his sentence, Skilled Dark Magician collapsed onto the ground facedown, dead, turning into particles of light and fading away.

"Oh dear..." whispered Molly, looking highly frightened.

"Who could have-?" began James.

"Another intruder must be in the castle!" figured Dark Magician, looking quite angered. "That must be it!"

"The Court of Darkness?" asked Toby.

"No doubt about it."

"Then we have to stop whoever came here!" declared Spencer, clenching his fist. "I'll duel that member and make sure-"

"NO!"

Everyone froze. Thomas, now standing up and shrugging Maiden of the Aqua off of him, looked positively infuriated.

"Thomas?!" gasped Mavis.

"I'll take this opponent on..." hissed the blue-haired boy. "I have lost my best friend thanks to the Court of Darkness, and I will NEVER forgive them for it!"

With that said, Thomas made a dash into the castle.

"Billinton, wait!" called Spencer, but was sadly ignored.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

"Should we follow him?" asked James. " You know... to make sure he doesn't doing anything rash?"

"Oh, yes, a good idea." nodded Gordon, beginning to run into the castle. "Besides, that's your job, James."

"HEY!"

Either way... With that agreed to, everyone else entered the great palace to try and catch up to the enraged blue-haired boy before something terrible happened.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the castle's hallway, Thomas was still on the run to find a way to where this Court of Darkness member was currently stationed. He eventually decided to try checking the rooftop of the castle, and soon discovered an elevator that lead to the top of the castle.

"This Court of Darkness member must be on the rooftop." Thomas thought to himself. As the elevator door opened, some mist emerged as the blue-haired boy gave a gasp. "Huh?"

Two Blade Knights suddenly emerged and fell forth onto the ground, face-down, turning into particles of light and fading away near Thomas's feet (signalling that they were dead).

"These two Blade Knights were killed, too..."

To his surprise, a feather seemed to drop from inside the elevator.

"Is that a Harpie Lady's feather?" Thomas asked himself, but then realized that it wasn't a Harpie Lady's feather. "No... it's from something else..."

With the mist still emerging, the blue-haired boy entered the elevator... just as his friends came running up.

"Stop, Thomas!" called Stanley.

Too late, the elevator door closed before the gray-haired boy and everyone else could approach.

"Darn it..." groaned Gordon. "We were a second too late."

(elsewhere...)

Inside the elevator, as it started to move upward, Thomas took his deck out of the card holder on his belt and began to look through it.

"Whoever is waiting for me at the top of this castle-" he thought to himself. "-I must be ready for the fight of my life."

After spending a full minute of riding the elevator and making some modifications to the deck, the blue-haired boy inserted it into his Duel Disk and got into a dueling stance as his ride finally reached the rooftop.

"Let's finish this, Court of Darkness... You will all pay here and now for all of your evil deeds!"

The elevator doors opened, and Thomas exited hoping to find Vampire Lord waiting for him. As he walked around the arena, the blue-haired boy found, to his surprise, Nathaniel waiting for him.

* * *

 **Title: Duel of the Fates, Part 1**

* * *

Thomas was rather surprised to see the familiar Guardian from The Sanctuary in the Sky standing nearby.

"Nathaniel?" quizzed the blue-haired boy.

The black-haired young man did not speak. Instead, two large white angel-like wings grew from his upperback as he glared coldly at his soon-to-be opponent.

"Why did you come here uninvited?" Thomas continued. "What is the meaning of this?"

Finally, Nathaniel spoke... "I've been waiting for you, Thomas Billinton... No, Diablon."

"Tell me what's going on!" demanded Thomas angrily. "Why were several monsters in this castle found dead or dying?"

"They tried to stop me from reaching you." explained Nathaniel, pacing about. "So, I had to teach them some manners."

"Huh?"

This was a surprising thing to hear from the black-haired young man. He actually did kill those monsters while here? What was going on?

"Even then, they were not my targets." Nathaniel went on, before pointing forth at Thomas. "YOU are! Since Diablon hasn't been defeated after all, I'm here to ensure he does get defeated...forever!"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" shouted Thomas, shaking hard from disbelief and anger. "What about your beliefs? Your ties to the Guardians? Your allies here in this city? Why would you ever betray your own expectations just to get rid to me? Don't you even feel bad for your actions?!"

"Sometimes we have to make sacrifices." retorted Nathaniel. "For the sake of riding this world of the most evil being to ever live, I had to do what I did. That is why destiny exists!"

Thomas scowled, but said nothing.

"And in order for you to understand your destiny-" The black-haired young man went on. "-you can only accept it and offer yourself." He closed his eyes. "I also want the answers my destiny offers." Nathaniel opened his eyes and clenched his fist. "That's why I won't hesitate to offer my life on the line to destroy evil."

"But why?" demanded Thomas. "Why would a duelist of your caliber kill your own allies just to accomplish your goals of getting rid of Diablon? Isn't that the purpose of having souls unique to ourselves?"

Nathaniel sneered. "Destiny has already begun to move... The pages of this era have already begun flipping into the next chapter. No one can stop the wheels of time..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The great doors of destiny will soon be opened..." answered Nathaniel. "Only then will our answers reveal themselves before us. For the sake of that day, Diablon, I will fight against you once more!"

Thomas remained silent-but stern looking.

"I did defeat you that day." The black-haired young man reminded. "Even if you did use The Field of Dark Graves..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The final play of the duel ensured...

"Guardian Eatos!" Nathaniel called to the monster version of his adopted Mother. "Destroy Diablon's monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising and slashing a great light from her sword with a great yell. A devastating wave of energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field.

"You fool!" snarled the voice of Diablon, with one of Thomas's eyes shut as the other was crimson red, watching as Catapult Turtle got destroyed. "If you don't use that Trap card and save yourself, we'll both die!"

He then shut his eye and opened the other one, which was blue.

"I don't care if I die from this attack, ' _ **Evil One**_ '!" Thomas exclaimed, just as Kuribabylon was destroyed. "If I have to die, then I'll make sure to take you down with MEEEEE!"

With that said, the blast finally struck Thomas, overwhelming and causing him to scream in pain and dread as his life points finally dropped to zero (LP: 0).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"I don't know why destiny let the both of you survive-" Nathaniel went on. "-but compared to the destiny my master speaks of... it becomes insignificant." He looked down at his Duel Disk. "In simpler terms, you will never defeat me. I will prove, right now, that is what destiny has determined to happen!"

"Nathaniel!" shouted Thomas at last. "Why must we be bounded by destiny?! I, too, would like to duel with you again! But it's only because I acknowledge you as a True Duelist... It has absolutely nothing to do with destiny!"

"Our rematch has been arranged by destiny." insisted Nathaniel, reaching into his coat pocket. "But this time, only one of us will make it out of the fight alive..."

He unveiled...another copy of the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card.

"The Field of Dark Graves!" gasped Thomas. "But how did he get another copy of it? Last I remenber, James had told me he had torn it up once it was found within my deck."

Rather than answer the question (if he was asked it), Nathaniel added the familiar Field Spell card into his deck and walked over to his opponent.

"Your destiny lies here... Let your hands decide your own fate."

With that said, the two duelists shuffled their decks.

"I won't let you trick me into using that card again." said Thomas firmly, shuffling Nathaniel's deck. "Even if I somehow get the card added to my hand, I will never play it again."

"There won't be a need to do that." retorted Nathaniel, shuffling Thomas's deck. "I have no intentions of even doing so, this time."

"This time-" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "-I want him to use his own hands... Namely to destroy The Field of Dark Graves."

Once they were both done shuffling, Nathaniel took his deck back and handed Thomas his deck back before walking back to his side of the field. As both players activated their Duel Disks, dark clouds began to gather in the sky as the fated rematch of destiny soon commenced.

"Let's duel!" Thomas and Nathaniel exclaimed at once (LP: 4000) x2.

With a strike of lightning, the duel began...

"As the defending champion-" called Nathaniel, drawing a card. "I'll start things off!"

Thomas nodded and braced himself for a big play already.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, Guardian Shield, ?, ?, and Guardian Treasure

* * *

Nathaniel looked at his card for a second before casting a glance at Thomas.

"Look out, Thomas Billinton, I will now unleash my battle tactics onto you."

With that thought on hand, the black-haired young man slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I play a Continuous Spell card - Guardian Treasure!" announced Nathaniel, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "As you remember. this lets me discard my whole hand to the graveyard and draw two more cards."

"And, if I'm not mistaken, you will then be allowed to draw two cards instead of one during the draw phase." finished Thomas, now fully aware of Guardian Treasure. "I know how powerful it is; you've used it against me in our last duel."

Nathaniel ignored the comment and discarded his hand, drew two more cards, and and placed one of them onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

"I summon Backup Gardna in defense mode!" he announced.

The spiky purple-skinned warrior appeared on the field in defense mode (Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 2200). Almost immediately, this was followed by a facedown card materializing behind the monster.

"Finally, I set this facedown and end my turn."

Thomas took his turn... "My turn, draw!" The blue-haired boy announced, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, Queen's Knight, ?, ?, ?, and King's Knight

* * *

His drawn card was the King's Knight monster card.

"For my play-" continued Thomas, adding the card to his hand and taking another from his hand. "-I summon Queen's Knight in defense mode!"

The female Poker Knight appeared on the field in a defensive stance (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600).

"I end my turn!" The blue-haired boy finisheds, before going into his thoughts... "Does he plan to use The Field of Dark Graves this time around? If he does, when will he play it?"

Meanwhile, Nathaniel drew two cards and began his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (2): Gravity Axe - Grarl and Guardian Grarl

* * *

After looking at his cards, the black-haired young man looked at his opponent with a teasing smile on his face.

"Allow me to reunite you with a friend from our last duel." he said, just as a familiar Equip Spell card materialized face-up on the field (Gravity Axe - Grarl. "First, I'll equip Backup Gardna with Gravity Axe - Grarl!"

An axe-like weapon appeared in said-monster's hands.

"And with that done-" Nathaniel continued, placing the last card in his hand onto a monster field slot. "-I play Guardian Grarl!"

The familiar dinosaur-like Guardian appeared (Level: 6/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1000).

"The same strategy he used last time." Thomas thought to himself.

Suddenly, the weapon transferred from Backup Gardna to the hands of Guardian Grarl.

"And now, by using the special effect of Backup Gardna, I can transfer the effect of Gravity Axe over to Guardian Grarl!" continued Nathaniel. "With the weapon now equipped to Guardian Grarl once more, the monster receives a 500 attack point bonus!"

Guardian Grarl grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Now attack Diablon's Queen's Knight!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed, slicing the female Poker Knight across the chest with the Gravity Axe weapon, causing her to shatter into pieces of glass.

"Queen's Knight!" cried Thomas.

Guardian Grarl quickly leaped back to Nathaniel's side of the field.

"I end my turn!" The black-haired young man finished.

"It's my turn!" announced Thomas, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 53  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, King's Knight, and Monster Reborn

* * *

Without looking at what he drew, Thomas held the card out.

"I activate the Spell card Monster Reborn!" he declared. "Using it, I will revive Queen's Knight in attack position!"

Queen's Knight returned to the field in a flash.

"Next I summon King's Knight in attack mode!" continued Thomas, placing the mentioned monster card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The familiar male Poker Knight joined the female Poker Knight (LeveL: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400).

"With these two Poker Knights in play-" explained Thomas, taking a card from his deck. "-I can automatically summon Jack's Knight!"

The third Poker Knight joined his comrades (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000).

"Finally-" The blue-haired boy went on still, taking and holding another card out. "-I activate another Spell card - Brave Attack!"

"Brave Attack?" questioned Nathaniel.

"Yes... Brave Attack combines the power of all my monsters into one massive attack. If the total is high enough, it will destroy your monster... THIS is the chance I've been waiting for!"

Nathaniel smirked smugly. "Have you forgotten already?"

"Hmm?" Thomas raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else.

"In our last duel-" continued Nathaniel. "-you selfishly sacrificed your monsters just for the sake of defeating me. Now that you're trying to do it again, it only furthers my point on how you have no respect for your own cards."

"Nathaniel-" Thomas began in a calm tone, not even getting remotely angry. "-I won't be swayed by your words any longer."

The three Poker Knights glared at Nathaniel fiercely, making the black-haired young man a little worried.

"I believe in the bond I have with my monsters!" The blue-haired boy continued. "We share both pain and joy!" From there, he gave the command. "Go forth, my Poker Knights!"

Nathaniel looked rather surprised, watching as the three Poker Knights crossed their blades together and charged into battle.

" **TRIPLE MAJESTIC SWORD SWIPE**!"

Just before Guardian Grarl could feel the wrath of Thomas's three monsters...

"Facedown card, open!" shouted Nathaniel, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Counter Trap - Guardian Force! This can only be activated when I have no Guardian monster cards in my graveyard... After activation, it destroys an activated Spell card on your side of the field!"

Guardian Force shot a beam of light, striking Thomas's side of the field and taking down the face-up Brave Attack Spell card.

"Ugh..." winced Thomas, looking over to his three monsters.

With Brave Attack's effect stopped, the Poker Knights (who had their swords inches from impaling Guardian Grarl's face) had no other choice but to return to their master/friend's side of the field.

"I can easily repel low level tricks like that." boasted Nathaniel.

With nothing else to do, Thomas was forced to end his turn.

"I end my turn..." In his thoughts... "As I expected; Nathaniel's tactics are as clever and impregnable. If he decides to activate The Field of Dark Graves..."

"It's my turn, now." declared Nathaniel drawing two cards.

"But I cannot imagine someone like him using a card that Spencer's own Grandfather had created." Thomas thought to himself. "Although I didn't know it was an evil card at the time, I would have thought it would given him such a huge advantage in our last duel if he did play it."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (2): Butterfly Dagger - Elma and Guardian Elma

* * *

Nathaniel slotted a card onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate the Equip Spell card Butterfly Dagger!" The black-haired young man announced.

A colorful butterfly-like dagger materialized and landed in the hands of Backup Gardna.

"This raises my Backup Gardna's attack by 300 points." explained Nathaniel, placing yet another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "But, like my other Equipment cards, it allows me to also special summon a Guardian monster!"

A monster card called Guardian Elma materialized face-up.

"I summon Guardian Elma in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a red-haired, human female-like monster (Level: 3/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200).

"That's a new one." commented Thomas.

"Next I activate Guardian Elma's effect!" Nathaniel went on, taking a card from his graveyard. "...I can move one Equip Spell card from my graveyard and equip it to my Guardian."

A butterfly-like shield materialized in Guardian Elma's left hand as her defense points went up by 300 points (DEF: 1200 - 1500).

"I equip Guardian Shield!" Alas, Nathaniel wasn't done yet... "Furthermore, I use the effect of Backup Gardna to transfer..."

The weapon left Backup Gardna's hand.

"...the effect of Butterfly Dagger to Guardian Elma!"

The Butterfly Dagger was transferred over to Guardian Elma, making her 300 attack points stronger (ATK: 1300 - 1600).

"BATTLE!" shouted Nathaniel, entering the battle phase. "Guardian Elma, attack and destroy Queen's Knight!"

Guardian Elma obeyed, diving into the air and slashing Queen's Knight with her dagger, slicing her clean in two and destroying her.

"Next, Guardian Grarl! Attack King's Knight with Gravity Axe Swipe!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed, slashing King's Knight with his axe, slicing the male Poker Knight's shield in half before destroying him. Thomas grimaced and braced himself from the force of the attack before his life points took a hit (LP: 2500).

"I end my turn." Nathaniel concluded.

"He's strong..." thought Thomas to himself. "Nathaniel is strong enough to fight me even without the use of The Field of Dark Graves."

Finally, the blue-haired boy drew a card and took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, Five Star Twilight, ?, and ?

* * *

"All I have is the level 5 Jack's Knight on my field..." With that thought on hand, Thomas took and held out another card. "I activate Five Star Twilight!"

Jack's Knight faded away in a blue streak.

"As you already know, this Spell card allows me to tribute my level 5 Jack's Knight and special summon the Five Kuriboh Brothers from my deck!"

The five colorful Kuribohs appear with a cry of ' **Kuribi**!' (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"Your little circus crew again..." scowled Nathaniel.

Thomas then discarded the Chain Destruction Trap card from his hand to the graveyard.

"By discarding one Trap card from my hand to the graveyard-" he explained. "-I can activate Kuriboo's effect."

"What effect?" demanded Nathaniel.

"See for yourself."

Kuriboo then began to gobble his siblings up, growing into a large ball.

"What in the world?" gasped Nathaniel.

The giant Kuriboo crashed into Guardian Grarl, injuring the beast and causing the five Kuribohs to scatter around and return to Thomas's side of the field in triumph. Guardian Grarl, as a result of the attack, lost 1500 attack points (ATK: 3000 - 1500).

"The attack of Guardian Grarl has dropped!" Nathaniel exclaimed in surprise.

"That's Kuriboo's ability." explained Thomas. "By discarding one Trap card, I can weaken your monster by 1500 attack points for the rest of this turn." He then pointing forth. "Now I play the effect of Kuribah, and merge the five Kuribohs together into..."

The five Kuriboh Brothers merged together into...

"KURIBABYLON!"

The mighty Kuribabylon stood in the place of the five colorful Kuribohs (Level: 5/ATK: 1500/DEF: 200).

"Nothing scary..." smirked Nathaniel, thinking he was still safe and sound. "Kuribabylon shares the exact same attack points as Guardian Grarl."

"Unfortunately, preparations for the battle phase have not yet been completed." interrupted Thomas, taking and readying a card from his hand (Mystical Space Typhoon). "Next I activate the Spell card Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Nathaniel was worried. "What?!"

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card materialized face-up.

"This destroys one Spell or Trap card one the field, so say goodbye to your Gravity Axe!"

A cyclone shot out of the face-up Spell card, striking and destroying Gravity Axe. This resulted in a further power drop in Guardian Grarl's attack (ATK: 1500 - 1000).

"Kuribabylon-" commanded Thomas. "-attack Guardian Grarl with Horn of Destruction!"

Kuribabylon obeyed. charging towards the defenseless Guardian Grarl.

"Guardian Elma!" called Nathaniel.

Suddenly, Guardian Elma jumped in front of Guardian Grarl as if to take the hit.

"What?!" exclaimed Thomas.

Kuribabylon struck the Guardian Shield on Guardian Elma's arm. The shield was destroyed, but Guardian Elma and Guardian Grarl were both spared from destruction.

"The effect of Guardian Shield allows itself to be destroyed to protect my Guardians from being destroyed in battle." explained Nathaniel, before grimacing as he took slight battle damage (LP: 3500). "But... I still take damage as per the enemy's strike."

"He protects his own monsters even at the expense of his life points..." thought Thomas, before taking a card from his hand and slotting it into his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized on the field, and Guardian Grarl's attack returned to its original amount due to the end phase (ATK: 1000 - 2500).

"That's right... That's how you fight, Nathaniel... The determination to not send any monsters to your graveyard... The monsters and their respective player's mutual bonds to protect each other... It goes to prove that you're not that kind of duelist who would activate The Field of Dark Graves!"

Nathaniel merely glared as Thomas spoke aloud once more...

"Your ideals regarding dueling-" The blue-haired boy exclaimed. "-is surely not in line with The Field of Dark Graves! For the sake of protecting your own monsters, you cannot fall into darkness! ...but there is still one thing that alludes me; it's why you willingly killed several monsters, who were also your allies, at this very castle just to try and find me. Tell me why you did it!"

Without saying a word, Nathaniel drew two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Nathaniel (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

The black-haired young man looked at his two cards for a brief second before looking back up at Thomas.

"Thomas Billinton, what you've said is correct-" he admitted. "-but..."

A flashback ensured.

 **FLASHBACK**

* * *

"GGGGGUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!" Flashback Nathaniel screamed in unmatched agony as the tortures he was being put under started to take their toll on him.

"Even if that is correct-" Nathaniel narrated slowly. "-it's not sufficient to understand the answer to destiny!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

"Once you accept the darkness in your heart-" continued Nathaniel. "-and it becomes part of you when you give up everything..."

Another flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Flashback Nathaniel, seething in fiery rage as his eyes started to turn all red while a dark aura began to form around him, glared at whoever was before him.

"Light appears in the darkness for the first time."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The second flashback came to an end.

"And a much larger destiny is born as a result." Nathaniel finally finished.

"Nathaniel..." whispered Thomas, the look on his face softening. "Just answer my question... Why would you kill your own allies...just to get me to come after you?"

"You and I are similar." said Nathaniel, ignoring the question still. "But we've chosen different paths. I killed my own allies to send a message... Without evil, good cannot ever exist."

To prove his point, the black-haired boy took and raised one of his drawn cards high into the air.

"Rather than tell you anything more, I'll just show you... MY TRUE ANSWER!"

Thomas took a quick look and gasped in horror when he saw what the card was...

"The Field of Dark Graves?!" he cried out. "NO, DON'T PLAY IT, NATHANIEL!"

Lightning started thundering down as the Field Spell zone on Nathaniel's Duel Disk opened up.

"As of now-" boomed the black-haired young man, still holding his card up. "-I will activate The Field of Dark Graves!"

He then slid the card into his opened Field Spell zone and closed it as the card began to activate. From one of the nearby towers...

"Thomas!" called the voice of James.

Thomas looked back and saw his remaining friends rush in.

"Everyone!" he cried. "Stay back!"

Over with Nathaniel, the black-haired young man was grimacing in pain as a dark aura started to form all around him.

"Who is that guy?" questioned Rosie.

"That's Guardian Nathaniel of the Sanctuary in the Sky!" gasped Dark Magician Girl. "My teacher and I both know him!"

"He's the also the guy that almost killed Thomas when he defeated him!" added Gordon, still remembering the last time Thomas dueled Nathaniel.

"What's happening to him?" questioned Molly.

"Nathaniel has just activated The Field of Dark Graves!" explained Thomas, looking very worried for the well-being of the black-haired young man.

Then there was the sound of cruel laughter...

"Quite right..."

Everyone looked over to Nathaniel and became just as worried as Thomas was... The once Guardian of the Sanctuary in the Sky was quietly laughing as the dark aura around him thickened. The black-haired young man soon raised his head up and opened his eyes to show that they had turned crimson red, adding in the fact he was also smiling evilly. Oh, and a raging storm had started to happen, as well... This means the rematch duel had basically become (yet again) a fight to the death...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**

* * *

This is the 200th chapter of the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles series!


	81. Duel of the Fates (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up atop the capital city's castle citadel, things were not well at all... Thomas was currently in the middle of a rematch with the same person who had managed to defeat him not long ago, and this time around... the same person (Nathaniel) had actually played the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card! Now the rematch had basically turned into a fight to the death (again), and this was something Thomas did not need, right now. In addition, rain had started to come down in form of a very bad storm.

"Nathaniel... why?" Thomas whispered with dismay (LP: 2500). "Why would a duelist like you do something like this?"

Nathaniel merely cackled quietly and slowly (LP: 3500). "I want to show you what I am capable of... And that's to defeat you!"

"Nathaniel..."

Back over with the rest of the gang...

"That guy actually played such an evil and deadly card?!" asked James.

"If what Billinton said is true, then it must be." replied Spencer.

"Why would he do this?" asked Dark Magician Girl sadly. "Dark Magician and I both know Nathaniel, and we know he would never do something like this."

"Indeed." agreed Dark Magician. "I don't know what changed him, but there has to be a reason for it... I just wish I knew what the reason was."

Back in the duel field...

"Thomas Billinton, I will show you...the true power of this card." said Nathaniel coldly. "The power to allow yourself to fight alongside the darkness in your heart!"

From there, all of the black-haired young man's monsters received power boosts:  
-Backup Gardna's eyes turned red as his attack went up (ATK: 500 - 1000).  
-Guardian Grarl's face and eyes turned savage and red respectively as his attack went up (ATK: 2500 - 3000).  
-Guardian Elma's eyes turned red as a cruel smile appeared on her face and her attack went up (ATK: 1600 - 2100).

To make matters worse, a dark aura began to surround each of the three monsters, much to Thomas's concern.

"The darkness of the heart..." he thought to himself. "Will you keep the bond your have with your monsters inside this field of death, Nathaniel? Will you keep the true you around?"

Only one way to find out...

* * *

 **Title: Duel of the Fates, Part 2**

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like forever...

"Here I come!" shouted Nathaniel, entering the battle phase. "Guardian Grarl, attack Kuribabylon with Resolute Assault!"

Giving a dinosaur-like roar, Guardian Grarl obeyed and punched at Kuribabylon, causing the monster to turn back into the five Kuriboh Brothers before shattering into pieces of glass. The destruction of Kuribabylon caused Thomas to scowl and take major damage to his life points (LP: 1000).

"I activate my Trap card!" The blue-haired boy announced, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "Death's Anguish!"

"Huh?!" gasped Nathaniel.

"When a monster has been sent to the graveyard due to battle-" explained Thomas. "-I can revive my fallen monster with an additional 800 attack points." The face-up Trap card began to activate. "However, if my monster were to be sent to the graveyard again by any means, then it would be removed from the game. Now watch, as I special summon Kuribabylon back to the field!"

Kuribabylon returned to the field much stronger (ATK: 1500 - 2300). Since Guardian Elma was now weaker than Kuribabylon, Nathaniel ceased his battle phase and went to the main phase 2...

"I set one card facedown-" he sighed, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "-and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

"Will Thomas be alright?" asked Maiden of the Aqua. "He only has 1000 life points left..."

"Considering how good this Nathaniel is-" added Toby. "-it will be a difficult struggle for Thomas."

"1000 life points should be enough." remarked James. "I believe he can win this duel!"

But Spencer wasn't so sure... "The Field of Dark Graves is a very dangerous card when played in the correct hands." he thought to himself, but then put a small smile onto his face. "Even then, I have a feeling that Billinton will find a way to fight it... Thomas, can you win the fight and earn your title as Duel King back?"

All of a sudden, the silver-haired boy was paid a private visit by Maiden with Eyes of Blue.

"You're correct, Spencer..." The white-haired female monster spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, looking to his spirit guide.

"Thomas will find a way to fight this card..." replied Maiden with Eyes of Blue, closing her eyes. "I can feel it in my heart."

Spencer said nothing else and resumed watching the duel.

"It's my turn, Nathaniel!" announced Thomas, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Dark Magic Curtain

* * *

"I remove Kuribabylon from the game to special summon the five Kuriboh Brothers!"

Kuribabylon, in a surge of green smoke, broke apart into the five Kuriboh Brothers once more.

"Next I'll activate Kuribeh's effect!" continued Thomas.

Kuribeh started knocking his siblings about, causing them to bounce around on many of the walls.

"What kind of circus act is this?" demanded Nathaniel.

"Now merge again, my Kuribohs!" declared Thomas. "This time, to summon Kuribandit!"

Eventually, all five Kuribohs combining into a new Kuriboh called, as Thomas named it, Kuribandit (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 700). Nathaniel couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful sight of his opponent.

"So, now you're trying to face my powerful Guardians with a fur-ball pirate?" he taunted, and added as a quick, tasteless joke... "What's he gonna do, make me walk the plank?"

"That ends my turn." said Thomas firmly.

Everyone else gawked when they heard that sentence.

"End your turn?!" exclaimed Gordon.

"You'll be wide open!" objected James.

"Don't do it, Thomas!" finished Henry.

Nathaniel laughed again while drawing two cards. "Then it looks like it's game over for you."

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Nathaniel (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and ?

* * *

"Guardian Grarl, attack Kuribandit, and end this duel!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed and charged forth to punch Kuribandit. Just when it looked like it was all over...

"I activate the second effect of the Death's Anguish in my graveyard!" shouted Thomas, just as a magical barrier surrounded his side of the field.

"What?!" exclaimed Nathaniel, watching as Guardian Grarl punched the barrier and got thrown back. "What's going on?"

"When you declare an attack on one of my monsters-" The blue-haired boy explained, as a card slipped out of his graveyard and faded away into oblivion. "-I can banish my Death's Anguish card, skipping my next draw phase to prevent all of my monsters from being destroyed and reducing all battle damage to zero for the rest of the turn." He then pointed forth. "In addition, you must also send both your drawn cards to the graveyard!"

Nathaniel nodded. "So be it."

The black-haired young man discarded both his drawn cards to the graveyard. From there, Thomas, without drawing a card (due him having to skipping the draw phase as per the effect of Death's Anguish), began his turn...

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Dark Magic Curtain

* * *

Almost immediately, the blue-haired boy slotted the only remaining card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate Dark Magic Curtain!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"To use the effect of this Spell card, I must pay one-half of my life points." explained Thomas, taking a life point halving hit (LP: 500). "Upon doing so, I'm able to special summon one Dark Magician-related monster from my deck in attack position!"

The card got covered in purple smoke. When it faded away, the face-up Dark Magic Curtain Spell card was gone—and the DUel Monsters version of Dark Magician was in its place (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"Alright!" cheered Mavis.

"Looks like Thomas finally has a comeback in the brewing!" added James.

Edward frowned. "Unfortunately, playing Dark Magic Curtain cost Thomas half of his life points!"

James immediately panicked. Back in the duel field...

"I use Dark Magician to attack Guardian Elma!" announced Thomas, entering the battle phase. "Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician obeyed, aiming and firing a blast of black magic from his scepter at Guardian Elma.

"Trap card, open!" cried Nathaniel, as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Guardian Formation!"

Guardian Elma started glowing all gold, and, just as the blast of black magic got closer to striking, performed a backflip through the air to dodge the attack and end up in the Spell/Trap zone.

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"When a Guardian monster is targeted for an attack-" explained Nathaniel. "-I can negate the attack and move her to another zone. And, as I'm sure you remember, The Field of Dark Graves allows me to use any of my remaining Spell and Trap zones as spare monster zones. In addition, monster in the back row can only be attacked once the monsters in the front row are destroyed!"

"Yes, I remember..."

With the audience...

"That cheater..." grumbled Gordon, even though it was a perfectly legal play.

"His deck has been made to take advantage of The Field of Dark Graves' effect." said Spencer. "I'll admit it was a decent strategy..."

Just then, Nathaniel drew and added a card to his hand (shown to be a shadowed Spell card).

"That's not all-" he went on. "-I can also activate one Equipment Spell card from my deck immediately!"

On cue, the familiar Celestial Sword - Eatos appeared in the hands of Backup Gardna (ATK: 1000 - 1300).

"Is that...?" began Molly, looking shocked.

"...Eatos's sword?" finished Rosie.

"Oh boy..." James gulped fearfully. "That can't be a good sign..."

"I end my turn." sighed Thomas. He had a nasty feeling of what was coming next, and hoped Nathaniel wouldn't draw that card on his upcoming turn. "Is he gonna summon her so soon?"

"Get ready, Diablon!" declared Nathaniel, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Nathaniel (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 41  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Guardian Eatos

* * *

Upon seeing one of his drawn cards, the black-haired young man gave his enemy a very menacing smile.

"Well now-" he went on. "-I think it's time I introduced you to an old friend from our last fight..."

Thomas braced himself as Nathaniel took and raised his ace card into the sky as lightning and thunder struck and boomed about.

"COME FORTH - GUARDIAN EATOS!"

A white bird flew from the card into the cloudy sky. Lightning struck around as a familiar female monster began to appear from the ground in a surge of light.

"Guardian Eatos..." mumbled Thomas weakly.

That's right... It was Nathaniel's adopted Mother, Guardian Eatos (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000). Soon, she was fully materialized, and solid, and as real as can be.

"When I have no monsters in my graveyard-" explained Nathaniel. "-Eatos can be special summoned onto the field without a tribute."

Spencer scowled. "So that's Guardian Eatos... The one monster that defeated Billinton the first time. Such a powerful being who has seeming control over everything!"

Thomas glared at the newly summoned monster before giving a surprised gasp.

"Huh?" The blue-haired boy blinked.

Guardian Eatos was shown to be screaming in pain as she gripped her head while trying to resist the darkness. That wasn't lost with the audience, either...

"What's going on with Eatos?!" asked Maiden of the Aqua in shock.

"It looks like she's...in pain?" whispered Dark Magician Girl.

Back in the duel field...

"Nathaniel..." Guardian Eatos winced, before giving one final scream. "NATHANIEL!"

Her wings then turned from white to black. When Guardian Eatos brought her head back up, her eyes had turned red, and she had an evil, crazed smile on her face (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"What have you done to your own monster, Nathaniel?!" demanded Thomas in anger. "Eatos is your Mother, and this is what you do to her?!"

"I have made her more powerful." insisted Nathaniel. "She should be thanking me!"

"I can't stand to see her in so much pain..." retorted the blue-haired boy. "She shouldn't be used like this!"

Guardian Eatos soon took hold of the Celestial Sword, causing her attacking strength to go up (ATK: 3000 - 3300).

"This is bad!" cried James. "Now Eatos can absorb all of the monsters in Thomas's graveyard to power herself up!"

"If Thomas doesn't do something about that, he'll lose!" wailed Rosie.

Fortunately, Thomas DID have a plan...

"I play Kuribandit's special ability!" he declared, just as Kuribandit destroyed itself. "By sacrificing him, I can pick up the top five cards of my deck, look at them, and discard all monster cards picked up while the rest are added to my hand."

The blue-haired boy drew five cards, saw that they were the following (Gamma The Magnet Warrior, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Magical Hats, Magical Pigeon, and Electromagnetic Turtle). Immediately, he sent all three monsters to the graveyard one-by-one.

"But doing that will only make Eatos more powerful!" protested Toby.

"Your friend is right." agreed Nathaniel, before finally turning to his Mother... "Eatos, it's time to finish things with Diablon... Activate your special ability, now!"

"This is my last gamble..." thought Thomas, watching as Guardian Eatos raised her sword into the air. "Will it be enough?"

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy felt his arm (with the Duel Disk) being raised into the air.

"Time to absorb monsters from your graveyard until we reach a Spell or Trap card!"

Gamma The Magnet Warrior, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, and Kuribandit each flew out from Thomas's graveyard (banishing them) and into Guardian Eatos's sword.

"Yes..." grinned Nathaniel. "Those will do quite nicely..."

Guardian Eatos got into a battle ready pose as her attack stat changed for the better (ATK: 3300 - 7000).

"7-7000 attack points?!" winced Mavis.

"That's enough to finish Thomas off!" panicked Henry.

Thomas was finally able to get feeling back into his arm.

"Ha! It looks like you weren't able to draw what you needed." taunted Nathaniel. "I guess destiny says you MUST lose!"

Thomas scowled, but remained absolutely silent.

"Guardian Eatos!" The black-haired young man finally commanded, entering the battle phase. "Attack Dark Magician with Forbidden Gospel!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, raising her sword and charging towards Dark Magician with a roar of rage.

"There is no escape for you this time, Diablon! Your head will be all mine!"

"THOMAS!" screamed Edward, James, Rosie, and Stanley all at once.

Spencer, with his eyes bloodshot, could only watch in horror as his friend/rival was about to lose the duel.

"GO TO HELL, LORD DIABLON!" roared Nathaniel.

Suddenly, just as the Celestial Sword touched Dark Magician's shoulder, it...shattered into dust.

"WHAT?!"

Guardian Eatos's attack then returned to its original amount (ATK: 7000 - 3000).

"Tis a pity, Nathaniel-" teased Thomas. "-I didn't draw a Spell or Trap card to stop Eatos... But your attack has failed to beat me, anyway."

"But how?" demanded Nathaniel.

"One of the cards I've discarded was Electromagnetic Turtle." explained Thomas, taking a card from his graveyard and showing his opponent it. "As you can see, it has zero attack points... This means it wasn't absorbed into Guardian Eatos's weapon."

"But how could my attack be cancelled out?!"

"By banishing the turtle from my graveyard-" The blue-haired boy went on. "-I was able to end the battle phase."

"Absurd!" Nathaniel reeled back. "So you DID draw what you needed to stop my attack?!"

"Correct."

"Alright, Thomas!" cheered James. "Way to show that witch!"

Nathaniel seethed. "What is going on?! Does fate want me to continue with this battle?" He then spoke aloud... "My turn has ended!"

Thomas glared at the possessed Guardian Eatos. Despite the monster smirking with malicious intent, the blue-haired boy couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"I will find a way to set you free from the darkness." Thomas thought to himself. "Mark my word..." He then spoke aloud. "You were wrong to play such an evil card, and I will prove it."

"Only someone like you who half-heartedly believes in the darkness in your heart would think that!" retorted Nathaniel.

Growling, Thomas drew a card and took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (3): Magical Hats, Magical Pigeon, and Big Shield Gardna

* * *

On cue, the Big Shield Gardna monster card materialized face-up (sideways).

"I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!" announced Thomas.

The warrior with the massive shield appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 100/DEF: 2600).

"Next-" said Thomas, continuing with his play. "-I'll place one card facedown and switch Dark Magician to defense mode."

A facedown card materialized, while Dark Magician went into a defensive stance.

"My turn has finished!"

"Then it's my turn, now!" announced Nathaniel, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Nathaniel (LP: 3500)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (2): ?, Rod of Silence - Kay'est, and Guardian Kay'est

* * *

"Even if you change your monster's position to defense, it's no use... My monsters will still crush your own!"

"Thomas has two monsters-" said Henry. "-but Nathaniel has four..."

"If Thomas takes a direct attack from any of them, he'll be defeated!" came from Toby.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua.

Pretty soon, Guardian Eatos took to the sky in preparation to attack.

"Attack Dark Magician, now!" ordered Nathaniel dementedly. "Spirit Opera!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed, taking in a deep breath and letting lose a blast of vocalized light.

"Hold it right there!" shouted Thomas, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Go, Magical Hats!"

Big Shield Gardna and Dark Magician were both shuffled into four magician-like hats.

"What's this, a circus performance?" demanded Nathaniel.

"This card conceals both my monsters inside separate hats." explained Thomas. "If you want to destroy my Dark Magician, then you have to destroy the right hat."

Guardian Eatos's attack struck one of the hats. Big Shield Gardna was revealed before being destroyed, as well.

"Alright!" cheered Gordon. "Now Thomas is safe from being attacked directly!"

"He's not out of danger just yet." Dark Magician Girl reminded. "Nathaniel still has a chance to get the spirit of my teacher with his remaining monsters."

Back in the duel field...

"So, Nathaniel, continue with your battle phase..." said Thomas calmly. "If this fate you speak of really is guiding you, then all you have to do is guess where my Dark Magician is hiding. You have a one-in-three chance of finding him."

"A one-in-three chance..." Nathaniel thought to himself. "Which hat is Dark Magician hiding in?" Then, he had an idea... "I'll make sure I get the odds with this attack! Guardian Elma, attack the hat on the far right!"

Guardian Elma obeyed, throwing her dagger at the hat, destroying it.

"There... Now there's a one-in-two chance." smirked Nathaniel, before giving the command... "Attack the right hat, Guardian Grarl!"

Guardian Grarl obeyed, punching the hat and destroying it. Suddenly, the Dark Magician emerged safely from the remaining hat and gave a taunting smile.

"But, why?!" complained the shocked Nathaniel.

"Looks like fate hasn't made a decision just yet." retorted Thomas.

The black-haired young man remained in shock. "How can this be? Can fate be wavering or something?" He then narrowed his eyes. "There is no way...!" Finally, Nathaniel readied a card and spoke aloud in anger. "My turn has not ended yet!"

On cue, the Rod of Silence - Kay'est Equip Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Rod of Silence - Kay'est!" continued Nathaniel. "With it on the field and equipped to Backup Gardna, I can now summon Guardian Kay'est to join her fellow Guardians!"

The familiar rod emerged in a block of ice, and Backup Gardna punched and shattered the ice to free the rod. Nathaniel then took and placed another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Come forth - Guardian Kay'est!"

The mermaid-like Guardian appeared on the field to join her fellow monsters. Thanks to the influence from the The Field of Dark Graves Field Spell card, her kind face then became mean as her eyes turned red (Level: 4/ATK: 1000 - 1500/DEF: 1800).

"My turn has finished!" Nathaniel concluded.

Guardian Eatos, Guardian Grarl, Guardian Elma, Backup Gardna, and Guardian Kay'est all stared both Thomas and Dark Magician down. Even then, with the black-haired young man's turn over, James and Henry both let out a sigh of relief.

"He's out of danger for the moment..." sighed James.

Toby spoke up... "But for how long?"

"Although it looks unfavorable now-" said Spencer to the others. "-Billinton is actually forcing Nathaniel into a desperate state."

"Huh?" quizzed Mavis, looking to the silver-haired boy.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Edward.

"Nathaniel keeps trying to swarm his field with more and more monsters, hoping to overwhelm Billinton." explained Spencer. "But he's starting to lose his cool as he keeps believing each turn that he'll win. If Billinton can hold out for a little longer, he may be able to gain a lead."

Back in the duel field, Thomas drew a card and finally took his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (2): Magical Pigeon and Dark Magician's Beckoning(!)

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Dark Magician's Beckoning materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Dark Magician's Beckoning!" announced Thomas, drawing five cards. "Since I control a Dark Magician on the field, I draw five cards... HOWEVER, I can only keep one of those cards. The other four are sent to the graveyard..."

The blue-haired boy looked at his drawn cards, with one of them catching his eye. Nathaniel frowned when he saw his opponent beginning to smile.

"Sorry to disappoint you..." grinned Thomas, as he sent the other four to the graveyard.

Nathaniel's eyes widened. "D-Don't tell me-?!"

"I activate the Spell card..." Thomas then held his drawn card out. "...Dragon's Calling!"

The black-haired young man cringed in shock, watching as the Dragon's Calling Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Not that!" cried Nathaniel. "Anything but that!"

"Dragon's Calling?" quizzed Henry.

Everyone else hadn't seen that card, so they didn't know what to make of it. And so, Thomas began to explain what it did...

"This allows me to perform a fusion summon with one Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on my field, plus by also banishing one dragon-type monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard." explained Thomas, drawing and holding up another card. "So, now, I will banish Seiyaryu from my deck to have it combine with Dark Magician!"

Seiyaryu briefly appeared on the field before combining with Dark Magician.

"COME FORTH - AMULET DRAGON!"

Once the fusion sequence was over, standing before Nathaniel and his group of Guardians was Dark Magician standing atop a dragon with many magic symbols along its body (Level: 8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2500).

"A-Amulet Dragon?" spluttered Nathaniel.

"Now I activate my monster's special ability!" continued Thomas. "As soon as Amulet Dragon is summoned, it can absorb a Spell card in my graveyard, receiving 300 attack points per Spell card that is banished." Eight cards ejected from Thomas's graveyard, and he took hold of them to show them opponent before they faded away into oblivion. "I count eight Spell cards in my graveyard."

"What?! Eight Spell cards?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "Yes, and that means Amulet Dragon's attack will rise by 2400 points all the way to 5300!"

Amulet Dragon's attack rose to great heights (ATK: 2900 - 5300).

"Alright!" cheered James. "Now that thing's strong enough to take out Guardian Eatos and take a big bite out of Nathaniel's life points!"

Suddenly, before anything could be said or done, a familiar fiend-type monster appeared behind Guardian Eatos and grabbed hold of her.

"What's going on?!" demanded Nathaniel. "What's happening to Guardian Eatos?!"

"One of the cards I discarded earlier from Dark Magician's Beckoning was the monster card Archfiend of Gilfer." explained Thomas. "When sent to the graveyard by any means, it equips himself to one monster on your side of the field, weakening it by 500 attack points."

Guardian Eatos, struggling to break free, got weaker than from before (ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"BATTLE!" declared Thomas, entering the battle phase. He pointed forth dramatically. "Amulet Dragon, attack Guardian Eatos with Magic Distortion!"

Amulet Dragon obeyed, with Dark Magician charging a powerful blast from his scepter and firing it forth. The dragon, meanwhile, breathed a powerful blast of magic energy at Nathaniel's side of the field. Guardian Eatos gave a scream as the combined blast struck and overwhelmed her, much to Nathaniel's horror.

"EATOS!" The black-haired young man screamed in grief, watching his Mother be destroyed just like that. "NNNNNNOOOOOO!"

A bright light enveloped Nathaniel's side of the field as he began to suffer from a hallucination of some sort. From there, a spirit of Guardian Eatos appeared before the black-haired young man.

"M-Mother... P-Please don't leave me again..."

The monster only smiled kindly and slowly moved in to embrace her adopted son. Just then...

 ***SLASH!***

Guardian Eatos's eyes widened as a blade came sticking out of her chest. Someone had stabbed her fatally from behind...

"Mother!" cried Nathaniel, catching the female Guardian-type monster in his arms.

Just then, he saw Thomas standing nearby with blood stained on his hands.

"You...!"

The blue-haired boy, looking to his hands, then suddenly licked the blood and started to laugh maniacally before he...suddenly transformed into Diablon right before the despairing Nathaniel.

"Aw, what's the matter, Nathan?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' asked in a mocking tone. "Sad because you lost your Mommy again?"

He started to laugh once more at his enemy's suffering as Guardian Eatos faded away in particles of light. Meanwhile, Nathaniel, devastated by the loss of his adopted Mother, was now shaking violently as he became, and I mean what I say about it too, royally **pissed** off...

" **DIABLON**!" The black-haired young man screamed in rage, just as the forming aura of darkness around him exploded with great power.

Outside the hallucination, everyone watching became shocked at what they were seeing was wrong with Nathaniel.

"What's going on?" asked Mavis.

"You... You've killed my Mother, Diablon..." hissed Nathaniel, as the dark aura around him intensified. "I will NEVER forgive you for this!"

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"Mother?" asked James in a confused tone.

"Guardian Eatos!" gasped Dark Magician Girl. "I remember, now! Nathaniel's real parents were killed in a car crash long ago before he came to this world. When he was adopted by the monster spirits at the Santuary in the Sky, Guardian Eatos became his adopted parent."

"Yes..." agreed Nathaniel, with his eyes glowing further crimson red as his anger reached its limit. "When Eatos was alive, I was happy... But then they came... Those godforsaken members of the Court of Darkness along with their supreme leader, Diablon... You and your minions took my Mother away from me, and now you will pay for it!"

"But... Nathaniel-!" Thomas tried to protest, but got cut off very quickly.

"But Eatos won't be gone for much longer..." Nathaniel continued, as his eyes suddenly flashed both crimson red and golden yellow repeatedly. "While she now sleeps in the graveyard, her corpse will return as a brand new soul... Eatos is immortal!"

Suddenly, one of the graves created by the Field Spell card began to shake in tremors.

"I-Immortal?!" peeped Thomas, suddenly getting a look of shock at what was happening on his opponent's side of the field. "W-What in the-?!"

A wrapped hand shot out from the grave as more of the body began to come out.

"When Eatos is destroyed in battle-" explained Nathaniel, with his eyes still flashing colors repeatedly. "-I can special summon this new Guardian from my deck in her place in defense mode... Guardian Dreadscythe!"

A zombified corpse of the female Guardian-like monster started to emerge from the grave until she was now on the field.

"Guardian Dreadscythe, meet Diablon... Diablon, meet your angel of death!"

"Hello-" said Thomas dryly. "-and goodbye! Even she is not a match for Amulet Dragon."

Guardian Dreadscythe's eyes started glowing golden yellow (which symbolized pure madness) instead of crimson red (which symbolized rage and hatred) as her attack went up (Level: 8/ATK: 2500 - 3000/DEF: 2000).

"Not for long." retorted Nathaniel, taking a card from his deck. "When Dreadscythe is special summoned, I can equip her with the Equip Spell card Reaper Scythe - Dreadscythe."

A large scythe-like weapon materialized in Guardian Dreadscythe's hands.

"For every monster in my graveyard-" explained Nathaniel. "-Dreadscythe will gain 500 extra attack points."

Guardian Dreadscythe grew stronger (ATK: 3000 - 3500).

"But why?" asked a surprised Thomas. "Didn't you say you hated having your own monsters in your graveyard?"

"Not as much as I hate you, Diablon!" spat Nathaniel. "With Eatos in the graveyard, Dreadscythe can now become a saint... And, as long as she remains on the field, I can't normal summon or special summon anymore monsters."

"Nathaniel, you-!" Thomas spluttered in complete shock.

"Don't bother saying anything... It's still too early for an ending speech."

With nothing else to do, Thomas ended his turn.

"It's my turn!" said Nathaniel at last, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Nathaniel (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and ?

* * *

"From here, I change Guardian Dreadscythe into attack mode!"

Guardian Dreadscythe immediately went into the attack position. Alas, Nathaniel wasn't even close to being done...

"I now activate Guardian Dreadscythe's next special ability..." The black-haired young man continued. "Now all other monsters I control, except for her, will be destroyed!"

Thomas's eyes widened in horror. "You're sending your monsters to the graveyard just like that?!" he demanded.

Backup Gardna and Guardian Grarl both shattered into pieces of glass.

"Stop it, Nathaniel! It's not like you to do something like that!"

Too late; Guardian Elma and Guardian Kay'est both shattered into pieces of glass, as well.

"With those four additional monsters added to my graveyard-" smirked Nathaniel. "-Dreadscythe will gain an additional 2000 attack points."

Guardian Dreadscythe received 2000 more attack points as she let loose a frightening cackle (ATK: 3500 - 5500). From there, she (ATK: 5500) and Amulet Dragon (ATK: 5300) both faced off.

"Dreadscythe's attack... It's now higher than Amulet Dragon's attack." whispered Rosie.

"Oh dear..." added Molly.

Nathaniel smiled in a crazed way as his eyes glowed golden yellow (again, meaning pure madness).

"I'm able to surpass the darkness in my heart." he remarked sadistically. "This is the all the power I will ever need!"

"Nathaniel..." whispered Thomas.

Finally, the battle phase...

"Guardian Dreadscythe!" commanded Nathaniel. "Attack Amulet Dragon with all your fury..."

Guardian Dreadscythe obeyed and readied her Reaper Scythe.

" **FORBIDDEN REQUIEM**!"

With an almighty swing, Guardian Dreadscythe sliced off Amulet Dragon's head as the dragon shattered into pieces of glass, while Dark Magician cried out in pain before landing on the ground and shattering into pieces of glass, also. Thomas grunted as he withstood the force of the attack and took minor damage (LP: 300).

"You've managed to dodge a fatal wound..." teased Nathaniel. "I'm almost impressed!" He entered the end phase... "I end my turn, now!"

"Thomas... isn't there anything you can do to get out of this mess?" asked a dismayed James.

After a pause of silence...

"It's my turn!" declared Thomas, drawing a card.

"Good! he hasn't given up." praised Mavis.

"Can you figure a way out of this situation, Billinton?" Spencer thought to himself.

Dark Magician Girl closed her eyes. "Allow my power to help you..."

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (2): Magical Pigeon and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Card of Sanctity!" announced Thomas, drawing five more cards. "We are both required to draw until we hold six cards in our hands."

Nathaniel nodded and drew three cards of his own. Thomas then took one of the drawn cards and readied it.

"Since I've drawn Watapon by the use of Spell card-" he said, placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "-I special summon it to the field in defense mode!"

The white fluffball appeared on the field with a cute-toned ' _Watapon_!' (Level: 1/ATK: 200/DEF: 300).

"Next, I'll sacrifice him to summon Dark Magician Girl!"

Almost immediately, Watapon faded away in a blue streak before revealing the Duel Monsters version of the female spellcaster-type monster (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700). Finally, Thomas slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"Finally, I set one card facedown and end my turn!" The blue-haired boy finished.

A facedown card materialized behind Dark Magician Girl.

"A pointless struggle!" commented Nathaniel, drawing two cards. "This time, I will put an end to this charade and claim your head!"

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Nathaniel (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 30  
 **Current Hand** (8): Purity of the Cemetery, My Body as a Shield, Kishido Spirit, Obedience, Spell of Pain, Dimension Distortion, Dark Sword of Sealing(!), and Spirit Hunting

* * *

The black-haired young man's current hand consisted of Purity of the Cemetery, My Body as a Shield, Kishido Spirit, Obedience, Spell of Pain, Dimension Distortion, Dark Sword of Sealing, and Spirit Hunting (the final two were drawn during the draw phase).

"From my hand-" continued Nathaniel, taking a card from his hand. "-I activate the Spell card Obedience!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized.

"This is bad news..." frowned Spencer. "Now when Guardian Dreadscythe attacks a defense position monster this turn, the defending monster is automatically changed into attack position."

"How right you are!" exclaimed Nathaniel, getting a slasher smile on his face. "Like so..."

Suddenly, the Duel Monsters version of Dark Magician Girl found herself standing up into a battle position against her will. The spirit version in the audience, meanwhile, collapsed to her knees as she felt her whole body growing numb from something.

"Dark Magician Girl!" cried Rosie. "What's happening?"

"M-My...body...!" Dark Magician Girl winced in pain. "It feels...numb!"

Nathaniel, meanwhile, had said these following words...

"This is the last battle of your life!" he declared. "Then it shall be the conclusion of both our fates!"

Guardian Dreadscythe lunged for the defenseless Dark Magician Girl.

" **FORBIDDEN REQUIEM**!"

"I won't let you hurt her!" snapped Thomas, before turning to his set card. "Facedown card, open - Magical Pigeon!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl was covered by a large magician hat. Guardian Dreadscythe, unfazed by the trickery, swung her scythe and sliced the hat in two. All that was there was red smoke and a pair of pigeons flying away from the sliced hate while all safe and sound.

"What?!" gasped Nathaniel.

"Magical Pigeon is a Spell card that only works when Dark Magician Girl is present on the field." explained Thomas. "It turns her into two pigeon tokens for the remainder of this turn, safely in defense mode while unaffected by the opponent's card effects."

Scowling, Nathaniel took two of the cards in his hand and placed them into separate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk.

"I set two cards facedown-" he said unhappily. "-and end my turn."

Two facedown cards materialized. Since it was the end phase now, the two pigeons flew into the face-up Dark Magician Girl card before turning back into the female spellcaster-type monster.

"Why?" complained Nathaniel. "Why is fate always playing around with me? Why is it always helping you?"

"I believe that before this duel is over-" said Thomas, with his eyes closed. "-fate will change the both of us for the better." He opened them to glare at the black-haired young man. "In order to make sure that happens, I will do my best to keep dueling! That is all there is to it."

Nathaniel smirked smugly. "I'll change? You think my destiny is THAT strange? Ha! What a joke!"

"It's no joke." The blue-haired boy replied sternly. "Something has happened to you, Nathaniel. When we first dueled atop that cliff, you really were a True Duelist. Now? Something changed you between our encounters, and I aim to find out what it was that did it."

Finally, he drew his card and began his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Underworld Circle

* * *

Upon seeing the drawn card, Thomas smiled grimly as he looked to his opponent.

"Nathaniel." Thomas seemed to say. "I can finally hear your anguished cries."

"Cries?" quizzed Nathaniel.

"Yes. When Eatos was destroyed... when you were sacrificing your Guardians... your heart was crying sadly. Am I right?"

Nathaniel snorted. "Heh! Whatever are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"It's what I've learned from this journey so far." explained Thomas. "If you don't intend to share the burden of darkness in others, you won't be able to understand the pain and suffering within them. I will shoulder the darkness in your heart alongside you!"

"What complete nonsense!" shouted Nathaniel, motioning his right arm about. "How could you ever know what pain and suffering someone else has endured?!"

Thomas held up a card. "I'll use this card to wipe away the cries echoing in your heart..."

"What are you trying to do?"

"I'm going to activate this Continuous Spell card-" replied Thomas, turning his card over to show the black-haired young man what it was. "-Underworld Circle!"

"What on Earth does that do?!" demanded Nathaniel.

"It will force you to take a closer look at yourself..." Thomas answered, now holding the card up as lightning struck all around. "And especially show you the monsters you've sent to the graveyard!"

From there, he slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk, causing the Spell card to materialize face-up and activate. Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl and Guardian Dreadscythe both faded away from the field.

"You bastard!" grimaced Nathaniel, shocked to see that his only monster had disappeared. "What have you done to my monster?!"

No answer came from Thomas. Why? Oh, because the whole duel field started to go crazy as purple fog of the Shadow Realm started to form all around.

"What's going on?" asked Molly. "I don't like this."

"Me neither..." agreed Rosie.

"Whatever is happening-" came from James. "-I hope Thomas is okay..."

"Nathaniel!" declared the voice of Thomas from inside the forming purple fog. "It's time for you to witness your true darkness!"

What will Thomas and Nathaniel both learn while stuck in that Spell card? Stay tuned to find out!

(elsewhere...)

Emily's eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Huh?!"

The dark green-haired girl found herself still inside the dungeons within the Castle of Dark Illusions.

"Emily, what do you sense?" asked the voice of Anastasia.

"I have sensed Thomas..." replied Emily. "He's about to learn something about Nathaniel..."

"I see..."

Emily then closed her eyes once more. "I only hope that he'll be alright..."

So do we, Emily... So do we...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	82. Duel of the Fates (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up atop the castle of the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, the raging storm was still going on, and there was a purple sphere of fog all around the part of the rooftop Thomas and Nathaniel were dueling in.

"Thomas..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua, worried.

"Thomas..." came from Rosie.

"What do you think happened?" asked Henry.

"When Billinton played Underworld Circle-" answered Spencer. "-this purple sphere of some sort appeared."

Nobody else said a word, and only gazed at the purple sphere, hoping that Thomas would be okay.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the purple fog formed by the Underworld Circle Spell card, Thomas seemingly found himself all alone...

"Where am I?" he asked himself.

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy found himself in a castle of some sort.

"Am I inside...a castle?"

Walking down the hallway, Thomas eventually found himself at a doorway leading to a room.

"I wonder where this leads to?" Thomas asked himself, starting to turn the door handle. "Only one way to find out..."

Upon opening the door...

"Is this-?"

(new location...)

The blue-haired boy found himself inside a lab of some sort. There were Slate Warriors, Vorse Raiders, Lizard Soldiers, and Gil Garths everywhere...

"Can this a lab of some sort?" Thomas again asked himself, walking inside. "If it is, where do I start?"

Just then, he heard a familiar voice.

"With what we have planned for this young man, it will ensure that we are unstoppable until we get Diablon back onto our side."

"Gozaburo!" cried Thomas.

Surprisingly, nobody could see or hear him. This had to be a special flashback created by Underworld Circle to reflect what seemed to happen to Nathaniel shortly after he defeated Thomas.

"What's he up to?" Thomas, for a third time, asked himself. "I might as well find out..."

With that said, he slowly moved through the lab, seeing all sorts of gizmos, gadgets, and experiments going on. Eventually, Thomas found Nathaniel standing beside a window leading into another room.

"Nathaniel?"

The black-haired young man overheard his opponent's voice and turned to face him.

"Thomas?" he quizzed. "You're here, too?"

"Yes." said Thomas. "Underworld Circle must be showing us what happened to you after our first duel."

"You're right... It's the day my whole life changed...for the better."

The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "For the better?"

"Why not just watch and see for yourself?" suggested Nathaniel, looking to the window.

Thomas decided to look out the window at what Nathaniel was talking about.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the room, the unconscious Flashback Nathaniel was being strapped to a table by a pair of Makyura the Destructors, and Gozaburo was watching.

"Now to begin the project." The evil man said. "If this works, we will have the absolute perfect fighting machine."

One of the two Makyura the Destructors placed a tube connected helmet onto the head of Flashback Nathaniel, who suddenly started to regain consciousness...

"Ngh... my head..."

His vision was a bit blurry, but he it was back he saw Gozaburo—the black-haired young man's Mother's killer—standing nearby.

"What's going on?" Flashback Nathaniel demanded, realizing he was strapped to a table. "Where am I?"

"Nice of you to finally be awake, Guardian Nathaniel-" greeted Flashback Gozaburo. "-I welcome you to my lab..."

"Your lab?" asked Flashback Nathaniel.

"You're inside the Castle of Dark Illusions." came the voice of Flashback Vampire Lord, who had entered the room from another door. "This is our stronghold in our quest to bring Lord Diablon back."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Make you an addition to our army, of course." grinned Flashback Vampire Lord. "With the use of the device that Professor Melvin—or rather Gozaburo Gresley—has built, you'll receive such trama that your heart will openly accept the darkness."

"Best of all-" added Flashback Gozaburo. "-your Mother, or your godforsaken allies at that godforsaken sanctuary, won't be able to help you."

Flashback Nathaniel growled in anger. "You're going to pay for what everything you've done!" he snarled.

"Oh, and who's gonna stop us?" taunted Flashback Gozaburo. "You? The killer of the great hero of this land?"

The black-haired young man remained cringed and silent on the matter. It was clear he still harbored great regret over his supposed murder of Thomas. From there, Flashback Gozaburo, Flashback Vampire Lord, and the monsters left the room and started to operate the controls to the device.

"Now enough talk!" declared Flashback Vampire Lord. "Begin the process of bringing this lad to our side!"

Flashback Vorse Raider obeyed and flipped the nearby switch. From there, liquids started moving through the tubes and into the helmet Flashback Nathaniel was wearing.

"Ugh! ...y-you won't get me...to join!" he hissed in pain.

"Oh yes, we will." Flashback Gozaburo grinned evilly. He then looked to a Gil Garth. "Turn it up..."

The Gil Garth obeyed and flipped another switch. Stronger doses of liquid began pumping into Flashback Nathaniel's brain... but he still resisted the best he could.

"Stronger than I thought." noted Flashback Gozaburo. "Higher!"

Another Vorse Raider flipped a third and fourth switch. Flashback Nathaniel groaned in pain as greater liquids flowed through the tubes and into his brain. While he was a strong individual, even this was becoming more than he could take... and Flashback Gozaburo knew of this.

"Once you were a Guardian of Light..." The evil man commented to himself. "And now, you will be reborn as a follower of darkness!"

With that said, he turned the power of the machine to the limit. Inside the room, Flashback Nathaniel was no longer groaning or wincing... Oh no, he was now SCREAMING from the stronger dosage of liquid being injected into his brain and resulting shock torture every few seconds. Flashback Gozaburo merely smiled cruelly at the pain and suffering this young man was being forced through.

"Keep it going." he ordered to the nearby monsters. "Make it last until he accepts the darkness."

(elsewhere...)

"My...God!" Thomas whispered, watching this cruel scene with absolute horror.

Nathaniel said nothing.

(elsewhere...)

Eventually, Flashback Gozaburo ordered that the machine be stopped. Once it was, the evil man entered the little room and released Flashback Nathaniel.

"Well?" he asked. "How are you?"

Flashback Nathaniel, breathing hard, soon answered. "W-Where am...I?"

"You're inside this lab." answered the evil man. "Do you remember anything that has happened?"

Flashback Nathaniel struggled to remember what had happened. Eventually, he said this...

"I remember...being involved in a...car crash."

"Correct." nodded Flashback Gozaburo. "You were in a crash. Fortunately, you survived."

Flashback Vampire Lord smiled. "Mr. Gresley, your knowledge of torture and manipulation never ceases to amaze me..." he thought to himself.

"And what of my parents?" asked Flashback Nathaniel. "Are they safe? Are they alright?"

Flashback Gozaburo sighed. "Come with me..."

"Why?"

"I have something to show you." answered the evil man, gently taking the black-haired young man away from the room.

"Should we follow?" asked Thomas.

"Whatever." replied Nathaniel, already following the pair.

* * *

 **Title: Duel of the Fates, Part 3**

* * *

Before long, the trek took Thomas and Nathaniel to a cemetery of some sort.

"A cemetery?" blinked Thomas, looking around. "Why here?"

"Again, it would be better to see for yourself." answered Nathaniel, before spotting the flashback version of himself.

Thomas watched carefully at what was going on, listening to the conversation between Flashback Gozaburo and Flashback Nathaniel.

"Life is cruel." said Flashback Gozaburo. "The sooner you learn that, the sooner you can start over. It's always the same. No matter where many run, they come back here in the end."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Flashback Nathaniel.

"Let me ask you something instead... Do you think your parents were safely rescued from that car crash?"

The black-haired young man thought for a moment. "Y-Yes?"

Eventually, Flashback Gozaburo motioned his hand to one of the graves.

"Dig." he said simply.

Flashback Nathaniel was puzzled. "What? Why?"

"You must throw yourself into fate to see fate's answer." answered Flashback Gozaburo. "It's the only way to see for sure if your family is still alive. If you want to get away from this place, you must affirm it with your own hands."

With that said, Flashback Nathaniel fell to his knees and dug and dug. It took him well over an hour to dig such a deep hole, and it had begun to rain, as well. Finally, the black-haired young man reached something.

"What's this?" asked Flashback Nathaniel. He pulled away more of the dirt to see what it was he had hit.

As more and more dirt was dug away, it eventually revealed that Flashback Nathaniel had dug up...a pair of skulls. They were skulls belonging to...

"M-Mom... D-Dad..."

Thanks to Flashback Gozaburo and Flashback Vampire Lord's efforts in torturing and brainwashing him, Flashback Nathaniel had forgotten his future role as a Guardian and had become who he was before meeting with Wingweaver and Guardian Eatos in the Duel Monsters spirit world... And that was a normal teenage boy who's parents were killed in a tragic car crash. Full of grief from learning of his parents death (again), Flashback Nathaniel gazed upward and let loose a scream of anguish as thunder and lightning struck.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss, my boy..." said Flashback Gozaburo with sympathy... False sympathy. "Just because you've survived the crash, you think your family should have too, right? I'm afraid destiny has chosen only you to survive and come to this world..."

Just then...

"Nathaniel... Nathaniel..." echoed a soft, feminine voice (female).

Flashback Nathaniel raised his head up. There, floating down from the sky, was a female humanoid monster with two large white wings on her back and wore tribal-like clothing (with an exposed midriff) along with an eagle-like headdress and some red facial painting.

"Y-You're-!" Flashback Nathaniel gasped.

Smiling sadly, Flashback Guardian Eatos silently held her arms out, signalling the despairing young man to give her the skulls, and, quite obviously, he did. It was a sign Flashback Guardian Eatos would share Flashback Nathaniel's pain. However, something else soon happened...

 ***SLASH!***

To Flashback Nathaniel's horror, Flashback Guardian Eatos's head rolled into hole where he was.

"Uhh... E-Eatos...?" he spluttered, feeling sick over seeing his favorite monster get beheaded like that. "Wh-what's going on?"

As Flashback Guardian Eatos's lifeless body collapsed onto the ground, it was revealed that the deed had been performed by...Thomas?

"So much for her and your parents, Nathan!" The ' _blue-haired boy_ ' teased. just before suddenly turning into Diablon.

"You!" cried Flashback Nathaniel in anger. "How...dare you?!"

The laughter of the ' ** _Evil One_** ' echoed through out, further fueling his anger and bloodlust for revenge.

"Shut up... SHUT UP!"

Too late; Flashback Diablon faded away, laughing, before the black-haired young man could try and attack. Gozaburo soon approached the edge of the hole and spoke to the despairing black-haired young man.

"Now do you see?" he asked. "That creature we saw just now... His name is Thomas Billinton, but his real identity is the ' ** _Evil One_** ', or Diablon... HE was the one who did this killing deed to your favorite monster, and also caused the car crash in the real world."

Of course, that was all a lie... But Flashback Nathaniel, full of anger, grief, and wanting of revenge, was too blinded to reason.

"I'll get him for this..." growled Flashback Nathaniel, clutching his fist in anger so hard that it began to bleed. "I'll get even with him if it's the last thing I do!"

"If you want to make this your destiny-" continued Flashback Gozaburo, handing the black-haired young man a card. "-then use this to do it."

Flashback Nathaniel took hold and looked at the card, gasping at what he saw.

"The Field of Dark Graves?"

"Yes." confirmed Flashback Gozaburo, also handing over a Duel Disk. "Play it now, and a miracle will happen."

Flashback Nathaniel, climbing out of the hole, felt rather uneasy. But again, his anger and hatred towards to Diablon blinded him from common sense. So, he put the Duel Disk on, activated it, and...played the card.

"NO! STOP!" cried Thomas, but it was no use.

Flashback Nathaniel cried out in pain as a dark aura overtook him, but that wasn't all that was being affected... The corpse of Flashback Guardian Eatos inside the hole began to burn into flames.

"That's it, boy..." whispered Flashback Gozaburo, watching the scene. "Unlock the darkness in your heart, and allow a new ally to fight alongside you..."

From the flames arose a new figure... It looked like an undead version of Guardian Eatos, but her face... It was completely white, zombified, and many other words... Her eyes... they were glowing a golden yellow...

"This is your new guardian angel, Nathaniel." Flashback Gozaburo pointed out. "She was created out of the anger and darkness in your heart. Her name...is Guardian Dreadscythe."

Flashback Nathaniel blinked. "Guardian...Dreadscythe..."

"You will never be alone again..."

Back over with Thomas and Nathaniel...

"Yes..." murmured Nathaniel. "My destiny was decided that day... Assimilating myself to the darkness of my heart, and then giving myself to my fate is what saved me."

"If you ARE saved-" said Thomas harshly. "-then why do you feel sad when you send your monsters to the graveyard? If you've thrown yourself to fate, then you shouldn't have felt anything."

Without saying anything, Nathaniel closed his eyes and smiled smugly.

"What do you know?" The black-haired young man shrugged uncaringly.

"What I do know is that you don't want your monsters to meet the same fate as your parents. That's why you do whatever is possible to keep them out of the graveyard... THAT is the real you!"

"I..." mumbled Nathaniel.

Thomas awaited a response from his opponent. Eventually, he got one... and a shocking one, at that...

"I have surpassed the darkness in my heart..." Nathaniel continued. "I can't turn back, now."

(new location...)

Suddenly, Thomas and Nathaniel both found themselves back atop the castle's rooftop, much to the relief of James and everyone else.

"We can finally see them again!" exclaimed James.

"Oh, Thomas..." Dark Magician Girl sighed in relief.

Unfortunately, there was something else everyone could see again, too...

"Huh?!" gawked Toby.

Guardian Dreadscythe was back on the field (Level: 8/ATK: 5500)!

"Underworld Circle banishes all monsters in our decks." explained Thomas. "But during each of our turns, we're allowed to summon monsters from our graveyards ignoring the summoning conditions. Once the monsters summoned this way are destroyed, they are banished. Not only that, but this Spell card also destroys all monsters on the field when activated. My Dark Magician Girl was destroyed, so why not Dreadscythe, too?"

Nathaniel responded by showing his hand, just as a card faded away to the graveyard.

"By sending one card to the graveyard-" began Nathaniel. "-Dreadscythe is revived! But the one who decides that is not me..."

"What do you mean?" demanded Thomas, as Guardian Dreadscythe let loose another evil cackle.

"Dreadscythe is revived by her own will!" The black-haired young man answered." Even I can no longer remove her from the field."

"Even you cannot remove her?!"

"A monster that cannot be destroyed just like that?" blinked Molly. "Is there even such a monster?"

"Looks like we're seeing one with our own two eyes." remarked Edward.

"And it's NOT a good thing." put in Toby.

"As long as Guardian Dreadscythe is on the field-" said Thomas. "-you cannot summon a new monster. So, you're saying it isn't possible to bring any of your monsters back from the graveyard?"

"That's why I told you before that I can no longer return." Nathaniel pointed out. "My destiny now lies with Dreadscythe! I will leave myself with this destiny."

Thomas started to realize something about Guardian Dreadscythe...

"Dreadscythe... Was this Gozaburo's plan to bring Nathaniel to the Court of Darkness's side, all along?" The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "If I don't defeat this thing, Nathaniel will..."

Either way, the duel was still on:  
-Nathaniel (LP: 700) had the lead in life points and monster.  
-Thomas (LP: 300) was still trailing behind, fortunately...

"I activate the effect of Underworld Circle to revive my Dark Magician in attack position!" declared Thomas, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard.

The purple-haired, male spellcaster reappeared on the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"He's revived the dead..." whispered Spencer.

"Thomas still has a chance if he can summon monsters from the graveyard." said Stanley.

Back around the duel field, a facedown card materialized before Thomas.

"I place a card facedown and end my turn!" finished the blue-haired boy.

"Then it's my turn, now!" announced Nathaniel, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Nineteen** : Nathaniel (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 28  
 **Current Hand** (6): Purity of the Cemetery, Kishido Spirit, Spell of Pain, Dark Sword of Sealing, ?, and ?

* * *

"I will activate Underworld Circle again!" Thomas suddenly declared, just as a card shot out from his graveyard. "This time to revive Jack's Knight!"

The tall, male Poker Knight joined his comrade on the field (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200).

"He can even special summon monsters during the opponent's turn!" whooped Rosie.

"But will it be enough?" questioned Mavis.

"Hopefully so."

Back on the dueling field, Nathaniel wasn't fazed one bit by the fact the opponent summoned two monsters very quickly...

"Thomas Billinton!" he shouted. "Engrave the power of darkness into your soul!" The black-haired young man then entered the battle phase. "Guardian Dreadscythe, attack Dark Magician with Forbidden Requiem, now!"

Guardian Dreadscythe obeyed, lunging forward while wielding her Reaper Scythe.

"Trap card...open!" shouted Thomas, motioning to his set card. "Zero Gravity!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself before glowing and activating, suddenly causing not only Jack's Knight (DEF: 1000) and Dark Magician (DEF: 2100) to both kneel into a defensive stance, but Guardian Dreadscythe, as well (DEF: 2000).

"This Trap card changes the battle positions of all monsters on the field from attack mode into defense mode."

"Alright!" cheered Henry. "There can't be any battle if there's no monsters in attack mode."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." grinned Nathaniel, ruining the good mood atmosphere. "I activate my own Trap card - Spirit Hunting!"

The black-haired young man's first facedown flipped up and revealed itself.

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

Guardian Dreadscythe suddenly switched herself back into attack mode.

"This changes the battle positions of one of my monsters on the field into attack position." explained Nathaniel. "But that isn't all... With one almighty swing of the Reaper Scythe, Guardian Dreadscythe will then attack and destroy all defense position monsters you control, Thomas!"

"No way!" gasped Stanley, while Spencer grimaced with shock.

With a powerful swipe of her scythe, Guardian Dreadscythe destroyed both Dark Magician AND Jack's Knight in a single blow.

"Botheration..." grumbled Thomas.

"H-He destroyed both monsters in one blow!" stuttered Gordon in fright.

"I don't even know if Thomas can win, now..." added Toby.

Fortunately, Nathaniel's turn was over, now...

"It's my turn!" cried Thomas, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Twenty** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 16  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and Altar of Restoration

* * *

On cue, the Dark Magician Girl monster card slipped out of his graveyard.

"I use the effect of Underworld Circle to revive Dark Magician Girl!"

The female spellcaster-type monster reappeared on the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700). Thomas then held out his drawn card...

"Next I activate Altar of Restoration!" The blue-haired boy continued, drawing two cards and allowing them to fade away into oblivion as another card slipped out of the graveyard. "By banishing the top two cards of my deck, I am able to add one card from the graveyard to my hand." He held the retrieved card for his opponent to see. "The card I've chosen...is Dragon's Calling!"

"Here comes another fusion..." Toby said to the rest of the gang.

"I use Dragon's Calling to fuse my Dark Magician Girl with the Curse of Dragon I had discarded earlier with Dark Magician's Beckoning!" announced Thomas, just as another card slipped out of his graveyard before fading away into oblivion.

Curse of Dragon briefly appeared on the field before it and Dark Magician Girl both combined together into...

"DARK MAGICIAN GIRL THE DRAGON KNIGHT!"

Within seconds, Dark Magician Girl was once again atop her dragon in her armor (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1700).

"Since Dark Magician Girl was used for a fusion summon-" said Rosie "-does this mean she isn't banished from the game?"

"We don't know for certain." Mavis shrugged.

Back in the duel field, Nathaniel wasn't too pleased with having to go up against Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight once more.

"Her special effect holds the power to destroy one of the opponent's monsters by discarding a card from the hand..." thought Nathaniel.

A flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

During Nathaniel's first duel with Thomas...

"Look closely, Nathaniel!" shouted Thomas, readying his card. "THIS is one of my ultimate trump cards!" He held it out. "Dragon's Calling!"

"Dragon's Calling?" asked Nathaniel, looking uneasy.

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Its artwork looked almost like from a card called ' ** _Eye of Timaeus_** '.

"To invoke the power of this card-" began Thomas, drawing and allowing a card to fade away into oblivion. "-I must control either Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field. By banishing one dragon-type monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and also sending my required Dark Magician-related monster to the graveyard, I can call forth something VERY powerful from the extra deck!"

The large, pink dragon known as Seiyaryu appeared with a roar.

"So watch as I fuse Dark Magician Girl with Seiyaryu!"

The two monsters floated into the sky. Nathaniel watched as the fusion took place. Eventually, Dark Magician Girl, now wearing medieval armor and wielding a sword and shied, was riding a giant dragon and lowering down onto the duel field (Level: 7/ATK: 2600).

"Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!" announced Thomas.

"Such a legendary being...!" whispered Nathaniel in shock.

Thomas smirked. "And you'll see that being take action, now! Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, attack Guardian Grarl!"

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight obeyed the command and started her attack.

"But my monster has 3000 attack points!" protested Nathaniel. "Yours only has 2600 attack points!"

"And now, I activate the special effect of my new monster!" announced Thomas, selecting a card from his hand. "It calls for me to send one card from my hand to the graveyard. Now, during the damage step, all damage I would have taken is reduced to zero, and the monster I'm battling is destroyed!"

"W-What?!"

"Go forth!" commanded the blue-haired boy. "Black Dragon Burst!"

Dark Magician Girl fired a blast from her sword while the dragon added with a blast of its own. It struck and destroyed Guardian Grarl in a massive explosion.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end, with Nathaniel recovering when he remembered something...

"Your monster's effect won't work on Guardian Dreadscythe!" The black-haired young man reminded.

Thomas discarded a card and ignored the objection. "I discard a card to send Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight to attack Guardian Dreadscythe!"

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight took to the sky and got ready to make an attack.

"BLACK DRAGON BURST!"

The dragon fired a blast while Dark Magician Girl let lose a blast from her sword. The two intertwined and struck Guardian Dreadscythe, causing a massive explosion to cover the whole field.

"Did it work?" asked Henry hopefully.

When the smoke cleared, Guardian Dreadscythe was still standing...

"Not a scratch!" groaned James.

"You cannot defeat Guardian Dreadscythe!" criticized Nathaniel, as a card from his hand faded away to the graveyard. "Your attack was a complete waste of time!"

Spencer cast a glance at his friend/rival. "Why, Billinton? Why would you attack even though you knew it was futile?"

Back in the duel field, a facedown card materialized behind Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!" finished Thomas, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"If you're set on stupid things like trying to change the heart of your opponent-" Spencer thought to himself. "-you'll end up losing!"

Finally, Nathaniel drew two cards. "It's my turn, now!"

* * *

 **Turn Twenty-One** : Nathaniel (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 26  
 **Current Hand** (7): Purity of the Cemetery, Kishido Spirit, Spell of Pain, Dark Sword of Sealing, Monster Reborn, and ?

* * *

On cue...

"I use Underworld Circle to revive Queen's Knight!" declared Thomas.

On cue, the female Poker Knight returned to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600). Not fazed by the action, Nathaniel simply took a card from his hand and started to discard it to the graveyard.

"I'm going to discard one of the cards I've drawn this turn to activate an Equip Spell card from my hand."

Thomas's eye caught a glimpse of the discarded card. It was shown to be...

"Monster Reborn..." he murmured quietly.

On cue, a Spell card called Dark Sword of Sealing materialized face-up.

"Go - Dark Sword of Sealing!" called Nathaniel.

Suddenly, a sword with a glowing purple blade fell from the sky and pierced the dragon's foot, causing it to roar in pain.

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"This Equip Spell card will nullify your dragon's effect." explained Nathaniel, before entering the battle phase. "Guardian Dreadscythe, attack Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!"

Guardian Dreadscythe obeyed and got ready to swing her weapon.

" **FORBIDDEN REQUIEM**!"

The Reaper Scythe struck the ground. A powerful wave of red energy surged towards Thomas's side of the field.

"Thomas!" cried the blue-haired boy's friends.

"This finishes it!" declared Nathaniel, with his eyes again flashing between crimson red and golden yellow. "Nothing can save you this time!"

The wave struck and destroyed Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight. Thomas cried out as he felt his monster get destroyed by the wave, and braced himself to be hit by the remained of the energy and get defeated once more. But the wave never seemed to reach to him...

"Huh?" Thomas looked up and gasped.

Jumping in front of the blue-haired boy, using her shield to stop the energy wave from reaching him...was Queen's Knight. She was protecting her friend/master from getting hurt or killed.

"Queen's Knight..." murmured Thomas in surprise.

Unfortunately, the blast began to be too much for the female Poker Knight and she got thrown back by the sheer force of the almighty attack, crashing into Thomas and sending both the human and Duel Monster to the ground as the blast completely overwhelmed them.

"It's all over..." smirked Nathaniel. "Victory has blessed me..."

The smoke soon cleared away, and revealed an injured Thomas, and Queen's Knight was laying atop of him. The blue-haired boy's life points then dropped themselves...to 10 (LP: 10)?

"What?! Your life points are not fully depleted?"

"I've activated...my Reduction Barrier...Trap card." explained Thomas weakly, revealing a face-up Trap card as the smoke fully cleared away. "This reduces all...of the...damage taken...to 10%."

"I get it!" said Edward to the others. "When Dark Magician Girl was destroyed, Thomas was to have taken 2900 points of damage! ...but by activating Reduction Barrier, he reduced the damage all the way to 290, leaving him with 10 life points left."

Thomas and Queen's Knight both slowly started to return to their feet.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked his Queen's Knight, once they were both standing back up.

The female Poker Knight silently looked to her friend/master and gave a nod of confirmation. Thomas smiled at his monster before turning his attention back to Nathaniel.

"It's not over, Nathaniel!" he declared. "I'll fight on until my last life points are gone. That's a prom- GRRAAH!"

Suddenly, Thomas gripped his right arm in pain.

"Thomas!" cried Dark Magician, seeing that his master was bleeding.

"Guardian Dreadscythe's attack must've injured him!" came from Maiden of the Aqua.

And indeed it had... Thomas's arm hadn't fully healed from his encounter with Gozaburo, and Guardian Dreadscythe's attack had only worsened it.

"Well now, this is an interesting sight." smirked Nathaniel. "My monster's attack actually drew blood on you... It would have been better if it was your head that got cut off, but I guess beggers can't be choosers."

Thomas scowled as Nathaniel continued speaking...

"Can't you see it, Thomas Billintion... No, Lord Diablon?" The black-haired young man went on. "The game has already been settled. Like I thought, destiny has been determined!"

Despite his arm being in great pain, Thomas struggled to stay on his feet while holding on his injured limb.

"That destiny... along with the darkness in your heart..." The blue-haired boy winced, but managed to point at his opponent. "I'm going to purify your heart when I take down Guardian Dreadscythe!"

Nathaniel remained quiet, but Guardian Dreadscythe instead let out a frightening hiss of anger. Thomas was about to draw a card and take his turn...

"It's my turn!"

But then...

"AUGH!" groaned Thomas, collapsing to a knee while holding onto his bleeding arm.

"How exactly do you plan to defeat Dreadscythe?" asked Nathaniel, not losing his smug smile. "Not only can she not be destroyed, but you're not even in a suitable condition to continue the duel!"

Thomas knew that the black-haired young man was right.

"How can I continue the duel if it hurts too much for me to draw?" he asked himself.

Just then, Queen's Knight stood by her friend/master's side and braced two fingers onto his deck.

"Queen's Knight?" quizzed Thomas. "Are you... are you helping me?"

The female Poker Knight smiled as she nodded in agreement, making Thomas smile once more.

"Thank you..."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow as he watched Thomas return to his feet.

"There's another thing you don't understand about the bond I share with my monsters." declared Thomas. "No matter what happens, we look out for each other. And together, we're going to free you from the darkness! It's OUR turn!"

With that said, Queen's Knight drew a card and performed a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Twenty-Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 10)  
 **Deck** : 13  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and Pot of Greed

* * *

First up...

"First, we'll use Underworld Circle to bring back Big Shield Guardna in defense mode!"

On cue, the warrior with the shield returned to the field (Level: 4/DEF: 2600). From there, Queen's Knight held out the drawn Pot of Greed Spell card...

"Next comes the Spell card Pot of Greed!" Thomas continued, just as the female Poker Knight drew two more cards for him. "And I'm sure you already know how it works."

The blue-haired boy was shown the drawn cards and gasped at what he saw. One of the cards didn't belong to him, and yet here it was...

"Ultimate Fusion?"

Indeed... right next to the Spider Web Spell card was the exact same Spell card that Percy had used to defeat Knight of Dark Dragon before he died... Closing his eyes, Thomas decided to honor Percy's sacrifice by playing it! ...but first, he needed another card to pull it off...

"Next we shall activate Spider Web!" Thomas announced, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up... much to Nathaniel's surprise. "It allows me to add one Spell card sent to the opponent's graveyard on a previous turn to my hand!"

"What are you playing at?" asked Nathaniel. "Are you going to use my Dark Sword of Sealing against Dreadscythe?"

To his surprise...

"No." denied Thomas, just as a silky rope shot into Nathaniel's graveyard. "We're going for the card you discarded last turn to activate your card..."

Out of the black-haired young man's graveyard came...

"MONSTER REBORN!"

The card came out, and Queen's Knight caught the card with skill, perhaps picking this trait up from Thomas.

"Nice catch." complimented the blue-haired boy, before turning his attention to Nathaniel. "If you cannot find the light, Nathaniel, then we'll do it for you! The light within your heart... THAT monster!"

"Don't... don't tell me..." gasped Nathaniel.

Before anyone could say anything...

"We activate Monster Reborn to revive from the graveyard..." began Thomas, as the card was slid into a Spell/Trap slot on the Duel Disk. On cue, the Monster Reborn Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "...Guardian Eatos, your Mother!"

In a ray of light came the familiar female Guardian monster (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"G-Guardian...Eatos..." whispered Nathaniel, then he saw something about his former monster that made him gasp. "Huh?"

With tears falling from her eyes, Guardian Eatos...looked sad at the state her son was in.

"Eatos...is crying..." murmured Molly.

"Why is that?" came from Mavis.

"I never wanted this to happen to you, Nathaniel." said Guardian Eatos sadly. "I failed to protect you from the darkness. I am sorry, my son..."

"Mother..." whispered Nathaniel, but suddenly screamed in pain as the dark aura returned. "N-No...! D-Dreadscythe is...my Mother!"

Guardian Eatos gasped in horror. "Nathaniel!"

Thomas also saw this, and decided that it was time to play that one card...

"Percy, my best friend, this play is for you..." he thought, and, within seconds, the card was slotted into his Duel Disk. Right then, the Ultimate Fusion Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "We activate Ultimate Fusion!"

"U-Ultimate Fusion?!" gasped Nathaniel.

The rest of the gang was surprised to see one of Percy's cards being played by Thomas.

"But that's Percy card!" cried Gordon.

"How did it end up in Thomas's possession without Percy giving it to him?" asked Henry.

Nobody knew how it ended up in Thomas's deck. Even then, Nathaniel decided to try and cancel it out...

"Counter Trap - Mag-" he began, but suddenly stopped. "Damn! I've forgotten that the effect of Ultimate Fusion cannot be negated by anything! My set Magic Jammer is now useless to me..."

"That's right." said Thomas. "Now for Ultimate Fusion to work, I must control at least one appropriate fusion material monster on my side of the field. From there, I must send both the fusion material monster and Ultimate Fusion card to the graveyard. From there, I can special summon one fusion monster that uses that material monster from the extra deck while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

Thomas then looked over to Queen's Knight. The female Poker Knight, already knowing what her friend/master had in mind, had grinned in agreement. This pretty much confirmed Thomas's decision on his incoming play...

"I fuse my Quick-Play Spell card with Queen's Knight! To form the weapon known as...Goddess Bow!"

Queen's Knight immediately combined with the Ultimate Fusion Spell card. Once the fusion had ended, in the female Poker Knight's place...was a blue bow with gold trimmings.

"When equipped to Guardian Eatos-" Thomas continued. "-it doubles her total attack points to 5000!"

Guardian Eatos took hold of the weapon and posed with it as her attack points went up (ATK: 2500 - 5000). Even still, Thomas wasn't done yet...

"And with one less monster in your graveyard-" he went on. "-Guardian Dreadscythe loses 500 attack points!"

Guardian Dreadscythe's attack points dropped down (ATK: 5000).

"Her attack points have doubled!" protested Nathaniel. "Are you planning to have both monsters attack and destroy each other?" He then smiled. "Even if you attack, Dreadscythe won't die! Destiny will NOT change!"

"Think back, Nathaniel..." interrupted Thomas. "Your monsters and the bonds you formed with them like you had with your real family..."

Nathaniel cringed, but remained silent on the matter.

"If your real family was still alive today, is this what they would want to see you as?"

Nathaniel seethed as his eyes started flashing between crimson red and golden yellow.

"Very well." sighed Thomas. "If words won't convince, then maybe this will! Guardian Eatos, destroy Guardian Dreadscythe and free Nathaniel's heart from darkness! Forbidden Song!"

Guardian Eatos obeyed and fired an energized arrow from the Goddess Bow, but Guardian Dreadscythe swung her Reaper Scythe and sliced the arrow apart.

"I activate the next effect of Goddess Bow!" The blue-haired boy announced, just as another card faded from Nathaniels's hand. "In battle, when the opponent's monster activates an effect, I can ignore the battle damage and attack once again!"

"WHAT?!" cried Nathaniel, watching helplessly as Guardian Eatos attacked again.

For each time Guardian Dreadscythe was struck, a card in Nathaniel's hand went to the graveyard.

"Now I get it-" James said to the rest of the gang. "-if Nathaniel has no more cards in his hand, Dreadscythe can no longer be revived!"

One final arrow struck Guardian Dreadscythe in the neck, causing her to roar in fury and agony before her whole body (except head) burned into flames. Once the head was left behind, Guardian Eatos picked it up and looked to Nathaniel with a sad smile on her face.

"You are free now, my son." she said softly.

"Eatos..." whispered Nathaniel.

Guardian Eatos then began to fly into the sky, with the rain finally beginning to stop.

"Mother!" screamed Nathaniel, reaching out futilely. "Mother, don't leave me!" Tears began to form in his eyes. "Come back..."

It was too late; Guardian Eatos was long gone... Poor Nathaniel collapsed to his knees and sobbed from sadness and anguish. Thomas couldn't help but feel nothing but pity for the black-haired young man for losing his adopted Mother a second time...

"I think I'm beginning to understand, now..." he said softly. "It was Eatos who you called at the very end. You weren't able to truly become one with the darkness in your heart. In reality, you were just lonely when your family AND your adopted Mother were taken from you. In order to escape from that solitude, you began to rely on Gozaburo and his made up ' **destiny** '. The darkness in your heart was an illusion you created. Your fate hasn't been decided for you. You're supposed to open it yourself."

Nathaniel said nothing. After a few seconds of silence, he rose to his feet...

"But the duel isn't over until one of us is out of life points..." The black-haired young man finally spoke. "That, at least, is one fact you can't deny."

"Nathaniel!"

"It's my turn!" announced Nathaniel, drawing two cards.

* * *

 **Turn Twenty-Three** : Nathaniel (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 24  
 **Current Hand** (2): Blue Medicine and Soul Charge

* * *

"First, I'll use the effect of Underworld Circle to revive Guardian Grarl from my graveyard."

The dinosaur-like Guardian finally reappeared on the field, having been revived from the graveyard.

"Monsters from your graveyard..." mumbled Thomas in surprise. "Could you be-?"

"Next I activate Blue Medicine." exclaimed Nathaniel, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. "This will increase my life points by 800."

A gentle blue aura surrounded the black-haired young man as his life points went up to a healthy amount (LP: 1500).

"Finally, I activate one more Spell card..." he continued still, holding his last card out. "Soul Charge!"

Thomas knew of it. "Soul Charge!"

"It allows me to revive as many monsters from my graveyard as I'm able to do." explained Nathaniel, just as Backup Gardna, Guardian Elma, and Guardian Kay'est all reappeared on the field.

"So, Nathaniel is still wanting to beat Thomas?" questioned James.

"No." replied Spencer. "Monsters summoned by Soul Charge can't attack on that turn."

Stanley was puzzled by the play. "Then, why did-"

"There we go... my graveyard is free of all monsters once more..." said Nathaniel, smiling weakly. "This is my way of apologizing to my friends and family..."

"Nathaniel... you..." Thomas tried to speak, but was unable to do so.

"By the effect of Soul Charge-" Nathaniel went on, closing his eyes while feeling at ease once more. "-I take 500 points of damage for every monster revived this turn."

"He... he commited duelist suicide!" gasped Mavis in amazement.

The black-haired young man's remaining life points immediately dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

All of a sudden, the cloudy sky...started breaking apart and reveal the beautiful sunshine.

"Looks like the weather's cleared up again." sighed Toby.

Looking upward, Gordon gave a surprised yelp at the sight.

"Something's coming down!"

And that something...was the spirit of Guardian Eatos.

"That's-!" began Rosie.

Nathaniel looked up and nearly burst into tears once more.

"E-Eatos?"

"Hello, Nathaniel..." The female Guardian greeted warmly. "And I'm not alone either..."

Appearing as well was...Nathaniel's parents. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing...

"Mom...? Dad...?" The black-haired young man whispered in awe.

"Nathaniel, our boy..." greeted the young man's real Mother.

"How've you been?" added the Father.

That did it... Nathaniel finally allowed the flood gates to open as he ran forth and embraced his parents AND adopted Mother.

"I thought I'd never see you both again!" sobbed Nathaniel. "After you had died, I... I thought I was all alone! Until I met..."

"Easy there, my boy..." hushed Guardian Eatos. "You were never alone... As you can see here, your family is here, now..."

The red eyes from Backup Gardna, Guardian Grarl, Guardian Elma, and Guardian Kay'est all faded away as their respective eye-colors returned and they all smiled at Nathaniel, showing that they forgave him.

"Thank you..." said Nathaniel quietly, more tears streaming down his eyes. "My family..."

"Your darkness has been destroyed." continued Guardian Eatos, before getting a look of sadness on her face. "But while the rest of my fellow Guardians will remain alongside you, I..."

"You won't come back?" asked Nathaniel, becoming saddened once more.

"I'm sorry, but it's as it goes... The dead are never allowed to remain in this world after dying, and I had been killed by Gozaburo Gresley, remember?"

"We're sorry too, honey." apologized Nathanie's Mother. "We really want to remain with you and your friends and fellow Guardians..."

"But we're dead too, meaning we cannot remain in this world either." added the black-haired young man's Father.

"Please, don't leave me again..." begged Nathaniel, starting to cry once more. "I need you..."

Unfortunately, the three dead spirits each started to rise into the sky once more. Nathaniel tried reach out to them one last time, heartbroken over losing his parents and guardian angel once more.

"No..."

"Goodbye, Nathaniel!" called Guardian Eatos. "We will always keep a look out for you."

"Remember that you are never alone in life!" added Nathaniel's Mother.

"You have your friends and follow Guardians, son!" finished the black-haired young man's Father. "I know you'll make them proud! And even in death, we'll always be with you in spirit!"

At last, they were gone and back in Heaven... Nathaniel, full of despair, fell to his hands and knees as he sobbed once more in anguish and sadness. Thomas and everyone else all watched what had happened...

"Poor dude..." said James quietly.

"Nathaniel's fear of being alone in life made him a very easy target for my Grandfather's torture and manipulations." added Spencer, sounding bitter when he said the word ' _Grandfather_ '.

"I wish there was something we could do to help him." whispered Molly, looking and feeling very sad.

Thomas soon walked over to his former enemy. "Nathaniel, I..."

Nathaniel slowly looked up to the blue-haired boy.

"I'm sorry."

"No." sighed Nathaniel. "I'M the one who should apologize. You were almost killed because of me. Up until now, I was convinced that you were Lord Diablon. But now I can see that even though the ' ** _Evil One_** ' lingers in your heart, you are NOT him. You are a better person than Diablon ever hoped to be."

Smiling, Thomas slowled walked over until he reached the black-haired young man. Once close enough, the blue-haired boy held his left hand out to his former enemy.

"You weren't entirely wrong about your actions and claims, but why don't we just leave our feud in the past and focus on the future...as friends?" suggested Thomas.

After a few seconds, Nathaniel extended his own hand out and took Thomas's.

"Thomas Billinton-" began the black-haired young man. "-I believe this is the beginning of-"

Just then, there was a powerful tremor around the castle's rooftop...

"WHOA!"

...and almost everyone there fell down onto the floor from the violent quake.

"What was that?" questioned James, managing to stand back up.

"I don't know." replied Edward, with his voice sounding all wobbly from the tremors.

Nathaniel took a look up into the sky. The sight caused his eyes to widen at what was coming...

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted.

Before anyone could blink or look towards the sky, an explosion struck the middle of the ground and sent everyone scattering about across the rooftop.

"What in the name of Godred was that?!" demanded Stanley, getting back onto his feet.

"Looks like the Court of Darkness is hauling out the big guns." said Toby, before looking to the right side of the castle and letting out a scream of terror. "And they are... Check it out!"

Numerous Air Fortress Ziggurats (likely designed and built by Gozaburo) were flying towards the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city... That could mean one thing; the Court of Darkness was now going on the offensive in their world conquest!

"We're screwed?" James nervously asked Henry.

"Oh, big time." The tall, green-haired boy nodded, looking absolutely frightened.

Gordon gave a defeated sigh. "Oh, the indignity..."

With countless enemy airships arriving to lay siege on the castle (and possibly city), does Thomas have a plan to fight this invasion? Stay tuned to find out!


	83. The Beginning of the End

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up outside the castle of the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, all was not well despite Thomas managing to save Nathaniel from himself...

"Dammit! Why an attack now of all times?" complained James.

There were many Air Fortress Ziggurats flying towards the castle, and there were several crews of Robot Tokens. Machine Kings, and Perfect Machine Kings all ready lay siege on both the citadel and city.

"What do we do?" asked Molly in worry.

James drew a card. "We fight, that's what!"

"Umm, there's a slight problem with that idea, James." said Gordon calmly.

"And what's that?"

"MOST OF US DON'T EVEN HAVE DECKS OR DUEL DISKS!" yelled Gordon in panic.

The red-haired boy grimaced. "Okay, okay! You don't need to yell at me, Gordon! Geez..."

Thankfully, Thomas seemed to have a plan of his own...

"I have an idea." he announced, drawing four cards from his deck. The blue-haired boy's arm was feeling better after his rematch with Nathaniel.

"You do?" asked Henry.

"It had better be good..." pleaded Mavis.

"First I play Catapult Turtle!"

The familiar turtle with the catapult-like shell appeared on a part of the rooftop. From there, the blue-haired boy held out his next two cards out...

"Now I summon Kuriboh and add in Multiply to create five Kuribohs!" continued Thomas.

The adorable ball of fluff appeared with a ' _Kuribi_ ' sound before being split into five thanks to the effect of Multiply.

"What do you think Thomas has planned?" Molly asked Rosie.

"I don't know-" answered Rosie, looking a bit anxious. "-but I hope it's a good one..."

"Ready to roll, little buddies?" Thomas asked the Kuribohs.

The five Kuribohs responded with confident ' _Kuribi_ ' noises and even managed to salute in a way.

"Then... I offer all five of you to use Catapult Turtle's effect!"

The five Kuribohs obeyed, jumping onto Catapult Turtle's ramp. From there, Thomas readies one more card...

"Now I'll add Detonate to have the Kuribohs selfdestruct onto their targets, destroying them!" The blue-haired boy went on, before commanding... "FIRE!"

Catapult Turtle launched the five Kuribohs into the air. Each Kuriboh crashed into a seperate Air Fortress Ziggurat and exploded on impact, destroying the airship-like monster on a massive explosion.

"Alright!" whooped James. "Ya got 'em!"

When the smoke finally cleared, there were...more Air Fortress Ziggurats flying in?

"Or...maybe not?"

"I thought that would work." complained Stanley.

Before anything more could be said, three Air Fortress Ziggurats opened a hatch and released a bunch of robot monsters. Once they hit the ground, the robots turned into Machine Kings and a Perfect Machine King.

"Machine Kings!" gasped Gordon.

"And a Perfect Machine King!" added Maiden of the Aqua.

"So what are we standing around for?" asked Spencer, drawing three cards from his deck. "Let's fight back!"

Thomas, James, Mavis, Rosie, Stanley, and Nathaniel all drew three cards of their own. From there, the duelists summoned their monsters...

"Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" announced Spencer, holding his three glowing cards up.

"Destiny HEROES Double Dude, Plasma, and Dreadmaster!" announced Stanley, holding up his cards.

"Ruby Dragon, Luster Dragon, and Guardian Angel Joan!" announced Rosie, holding up three of her cards.

"Magician of Black Chaos, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, and Seiyaryu!" announced Thomas, holding up his drawn cards.

"Elemental HEROES Sparkman, Bladedge, and Neos!" announced James, holding his three drawn cards up.

"Cyber Prima, Cyber Angel Dakini, and Cyber Blader!" announced Mavis, holding her drawn cards out.

"Guardians Grarl, Elma, and Eatos!" announced Nathaniel holding his drawn cards up.

In a great burst of light, the army of monsters appeared.

"ATTACK!"

And thus began the war against the machines. While many of the monsters fought from the ground (most of the ground monsters), others would take out the aerial assaults (only Ruby Dragon, Luster Dragon, Guardian Angel Joan, Seiyaryu, Guardian Eatos, and three Blue-Eyes White Dragons could fly). Unfortunately, more and more enemy reinforcements were making it harder to fight back... Especially, since the Machine Kings and especially Perfect Machine Kings relied on each other for support.

"The Machine Kings and Perfect Machine Kings gain a significant power boost from each other!" grunted Spencer, watching as a powered up Perfect Machine King managed to destroy one of his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. "Gozaburo knew of this, and made this army mostly of them and Robot Tokens!"

"In that case-" said Maiden of the Aqua, twirling her staff. "-we'll have to DAMPEN their spirits."

Her plan was to make it rain and make the robots more vulnerable to lightning-based attacks from Sparkman and Skull Archfiend of Lightning. Unfortunately, a Robot Token merely aimed his blaster and open fired, striking and knocking the staff out of the blue-haired female monster's hands, destroying it.

"NO!"

Eventually, the enemy numbers grew more than the group could handle...

"Back inside the castle!" cried Dark Magician Girl. "We'll make our stand there!"

The heroes began retreating into the castle as the enemy monsters slowly followed from behind.

* * *

 **Title: Beginning of the End**

* * *

As the group made their way back into the hallways of the grand palace, they saw that all was not well... Several Blade Knights and Skilled Dark Magician were being blow to pieces by several Machine Kings.

"It's worse than we thought..." said Dark Magician grimly. "They've already infiltrated the castle."

"The enemy army must've also sieged through the gate." added Maiden of the Aqua.

"Why are they attacking, now?" asked Toby. "What do they want from us?"

"The Court of Darkness, in addition to the desire of reviving their master, wants to conquer this world." reminded Thomas. "And what better way than to take the capital city of said world?"

"Well, we can't let them get away with it!" protested James. "We gotta keep fighting to the bitter end!"

Three Robot Tokens charged down a hallway towards the group, but James drew and held a card out.

"Elemental HERO Wildheart - come forth!"

The wild Elemental HERO appeared and sliced the Robot Tokens into pieces, but quickly got blasted to pieces by a Perfect Machine King.

"AUGH!" James cried out in pain, falling to a knee. "D-Damn!"

"James!' cried Molly, before looking and screaming in fear.

Two more Perfect Machine Kings locked on and began to open fire at both the defenseless red-haired boy and black-haired girl. Fortunately...

"I use the power of Mirror Force to reflect the attack back at the opponent!" shouted Thomas, holding a Trap card out.

The blasts were stopped by the protective barrier of the Mirror Force Trap card, before getting reflected back and destroying both of the Perfect Machine Kings.

"This way!" commanded Dark Magician, leading everyone away.

The heroes hoped that they could find a way to drive the invading robots out.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions throne room, Gozaburo and the Court of Darkness gazing at the crystal ball so that they could watch the siege going on at the capital city.

"Everything's going according to our plan." remarked Vampire Lord. "Soon, they will have no choice by to surrender."

"No doubt they will be coming here, soon." added Earl of Demise, chuckling. "Doing so will be a BIG mistake!"

"Should they come here-" agreed Darkbishop Archfiend, clenching a fist. "-we'll be prepared."

Vampire Lady giggled and hissed. "Namely to finish what we should have done when we first battled them, that is..."

"And this time-" finished Gozaburo. "-Thomas Billinton will have no choice but to embrace his darkness."

"And what of Spencer?" asked Vampire Lord. "Should we kill him, too?"

"Leave him to me... I want to destroy him and his family personally."

The look on the evil man's face was utterly cruel and insane... It was a sign things were not gonna end well for Thomas and everyone else.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the castle, Dark Magician was leading everyone to the throne room.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Thomas, still running.

"The throne room." answered Dark Magician.

"But why?" quizzed Rosie. "Why go there?"

"You'll see."

Sadly, just as everyone managed to arrive at the throne room, there was a very nasty surprise waiting...

"What?!" gasped Dark Magician.

"You have gotta be kidding!" whined James.

Twenty Robot Tokens, ten Machine Kings, and four Perfect Machine Kings were present and waiting for the group.

"These guys just don't know when to give up." groaned Gordon.

Suddenly, Dark Magician took a step forth.

"Dark Magician?!" gasped Edward. "What are you doing?!"

"Dealing with these intruders." said the purple-haired, male spellcaster. "My apprentice will lead you to where you need to go." He then gestured towards the throne in the back. "Behind the throne is a doorway leading into a secret tunnel, which will take you to the airpad."

"Master, we can't leave you!" objected Dark Magician Girl. "You can't handle them on your own!"

"Just go!" Dark Magician shouted, readying for battle.

Suddenly, he reached into his robes and pulled out several knives.

"Go, Thousand Knives!"

He hurled the knives at the robots, impaling and destroying a great deal of them. The purple-haired, male spellcaster then raised his scepter and charged it.

"Diffusion Wave-Motion!" he cried, releasing several magical shockwaves from his weapon.

The shockwaves vaporized sliced and destroyed several more robots... but there were still far too many left standing.

"I'll only say this once more-" Dark Magician sternly said to Dark Magician Girl once more. "-you and everyone else get going to the secret passage, now!"

Dark Magician Girl realized that her master's mind was made up, so she did as she was told.

"Hurry!" The female spellcaster-type monster instructed, speaking to Thomas and everyone else.

Dark Magician Girl, taking charge, soon began leading her friends towards the throne at the back of the vast room, while Dark Magician was attacked by more Robot Tokens and Machine Kings.

"Dark Magic Attack!" The purple-haired, male spellcaster shouted, firing blasts from his scepter at the enemy monsters and destroying them.

If this WOULD be the end for Dark Magician (who was Thomas's ace monster), then he was going to at least go down fighting the enemy.

(elsewhere...)

After managing to find the switch to open the secret passageway on the main throne, Dark Magician Girl began leading Thomas and the others down the corridor.

"This way... Hurry!" she warned. In her mind... "Master... may the Gods save your life..."

"Man, Dark Magician sacrificed himself to allow us to move onward..." mused James. "Truly a badass warrior to the bitter end."

"But we still should have gone back to help him." insisted Stanley. "It's not right for him to fight them all on his own."

"Too late, now." argued Thomas. "We have to go onward..." He turned to Dark Magician Girl. "How long do these tunnels go on for?"

"It will take some time, but we all should make it through soon enough." answered Dark Magician Girl.

Seeing as it was rather dark in the corridor, Rosie drew a card from her deck and held it out.

"Fire Princess, help light our way!" she called out.

The fire-wielding princess appeared, causing the corridor to become brighter by her presence.

"Ah... This should make it easier to see where we're going." sighed Stanley. He then smiled at the pink-haired girl. "Great idea, Rosie."

Rosie blushed. "Thanks, Stanley... Y-You really think so?"

"Save the flirting for later." instructed Toby. "We can't stop moving, or the enemy will possibly catch up to us."

And thus, everyone moved onward through the corridor...

(elsewhere...)

Fifteen minutes later, everyone found themselves near a shut door.

"That door leads to the airship hanger." said Dark Magician Girl.

James rushed forth. "Alright, we're home free!"

"Wait! It..."

Too late, the red-haired boy bumped into the door (expecting it open just like that) and instead crashed and fell back down, clutching his hurt nose.

"OW! My nose!" he complained in a nasally voice.

"I tried to warn you." sighed Dark Magician Girl. She then began to explain... "This door requires a switch to be activated in order for it to open."

"A switch?" quizzed Spencer.

"Where could it be?" added Henry.

Thomas saw something on the ground. "I think I've found it."

He kneeled onto the ground and reached for the switch. Upon pressing it, the door opened itself up all the way. James immediately stood up and started to quickly approach the opened door.

"Alright, let's try this again!" The red-haired boy declared.

Dark Magician Girl grew alarmed. "Stop! The switch isn't-!"

Suddenly, since the switch turned itself off, the door shut itself automatically, causing James to crash into it once more. The red-haired boy fell down onto the ground groaning in comical pain.

"James, the door can only stay open if the switch has a heavy enough object placed atop of it." Dark Magician Girl sighed, sweatdropping.

James didn't take it well... "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

Despite everyone being in a pretty serious situation at the moment, Gordon, Henry, Mavis, Stanley, Rosie, and even Molly couldn't help but giggle a bit at their red-haired friend's little misfortune.

"Is there an object heavy enough we can place onto the switch?" asked Thomas, taking a look around.

"Let's use James's head." joked Henry.

"Shut up." groaned James, feeling dazed.

Fortunately, Gordon found a large rock lying nearby. He picked it up and brought it over to the deactivated switch.

"This should do it." The tall, blue-haired boy said, dropping the rock onto the switch and activating it.

Once more, the door opened up.

"I'm not testing it this time." huffed James. "Someone else can."

Suddenly, Molly started pushing her boyfriend towards the door. The black-haired girl was not gonna stand for James's nonsense at a time like this.

"Come on, you baby!" she scolded. "Just go through with it!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

Finally, the red-haired boy was on the other side of the door. He could see a light at the end of the corridor ahead.

"Guys, I can... I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!" called James. "Our destination has to be there!"

"At last!" cried Mavis.

"Come on!" added Toby, running through the door.

With that said, the gang made their way towards the light at the end of the corridor. They finally made it to the airship hanger, and would be far enough away from the enemy troops attacking the castle. Soon, they reached the door at the very end...

"This door opens very easily." explained Dark Magician Girl, turning the handle. "Allow me..."

The door opened, and a smiling Dark Magician Girl took a step and opened her eyes. Suddenly, her smiling look became one of shock...

"It can't be!"

Robot Tokens were inside the vast hanger and waiting for the heroes to arrive.

"They've beaten us here!" complained Rosie.

Acting quick, Dark Magician Girl raised her wand up and charged a very powerful blast.

"Dark Burning Burst!" The female spellcaster-type monster shouted, releasing shockwaves from her weapon.

The magical blast destroyed the robots, but not before one Robot Token pushed something on the side of his head just before being destroyed by the attack Dark Magician Girl unleashed.

"That takes care of that." sighed Edward, taking a step forth into the hanger. "Now, why did you bring us here?"

"There's a ship here that you can use to infiltrate the headquarters of the Court of Darkness." explained Dark Magician Girl.

"An airship?" quizzed Spencer.

"Correct."

"So all we gotta do now is fly over to where those creeps are?" asked James.

"Emily is being held captive in the Castle of Dark Illusions." reminded Toby. "Besides, from what we could tell earlier, the Court of Darkness isn't leading this attack, so it's possible they're waiting for us there."

"He's right." agreed Thomas, speaking out to everyone else. "It's time we took the fight to the Court of Darkness..."

"AND my Grandfather." added Spencer.

"And I'll see to it until the very end." added Maiden of the Aqua, joining in.

"You sure?" asked Henry with concern.

"I am... I may not be as powerful as most of you, but I wish to help out in any way, and for as long, as I ever can."

"The more the merrier." nodded Mavis.

Just then...

"Do you guys hear that?" asked Henry, trying to listen carefully to the sound.

"It's coming from the tunnel..." whispered Gordon.

"It better not be more of those robots..." groaned Toby.

James decided to go and take a quick peek. Within seconds, the red-haired boy let loose a frightened scream.

"Machine Kings are coming!" And he ran back into the hanger. "One of the Robot Tokens must've triggered some sort of detection thing before being destroyed, thus signaling the other machines to come here!"

"What do we do?" asked Molly.

Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl stepped forth while preparing for battle.

"Take the airship." she said simply. "Use it to escape this place and fly to the Castle of Dark Illusions."

"What about you?" questioned Gordon.

"I'll keep these things busy... The rest of you board the airship and go to the Castle of Dark Illusions!"

"No, not without you!" argued Thomas

Dark Magician Girl looked serious. "I'm giving you all a chance to escape and save Emily, so hurry before it's too late!"

Thomas really didn't want to leave his other ace behind. But before he could say anymore about it, Dark Magician Girl went and kissed him, this time on the lips.

"I'll be fine, Thomas." she insisted. "I promise. Now go!"

With nothing else to say, Thomas and the others boarded the airship.

"How do you start this thing?" thought James, looking for an ' _on_ ' button or something.

"Any luck?" Henry asked hopefully.

"I think I found the way to start the airship up." called out the voice of Toby.

The brown-haired boy took hold and pulled a nearby lever down.

(elsewhere...)

Outside, the airship was beginning to start up. That was a good sign, right? Truthfully, yes, but Dark Magician Girl would soon have her hands full...

(elsewhere...)

"Let's kick this thing into overdrive!" declared James, dashing over and taking hold of the steering wheel.

Thomas and a few others exited the cabin to look down below. They could see that Dark Magician Girl was firing blasts from her wand at the Machine Kings, but she wasn't doing so well...

"Dark Magician Girl..." whispered Rosie.

Thomas was the most worried. Just then, as the airship started to take off, Nathaniel jumped off and landed below...

"Nathaniel, what are you doing?!" cried Edward.

"I'm going to help!" called Nathaniel. "It's the least I can do to help redeem myself for what I've done!"

"Nathaniel!" cried Thomas.

"Once again, Thomas Billinton, I'm truly sorry for my actions against you." The black-haired young man apologized, before smiling. "May your journey to rescue Emily proceed as smoothly as possible!"

With that said, Nathaniel drew some cards from his deck.

"Guardian Grarl with Gravity Axe, and Guardian Eatos with Celestial Sword-" he went on. "-come forth and assist us!"

The two guardians appeared and did away with more of the robots. But then, things were about to get worse...

"Umm... guys?" peeped Toby nervous.

"Y-Yeah?" asked Mavis, dreading the answer from her boyfriend.

"We've got company!"

Yup, two Air Fortress Ziggurats were flying over.

"Grr..." growled Thomas, before looking towards the cabin. "James, steer us away from here!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" called James, turning the wheel.

The airship started to turn about... just as one of the Air Fortress Ziggurats aimed and fired a few rockets.

"GAH!" panicked Gordon, turning to where James was. "Rockets are coming! Hurry up, James!"

"I'm going as fast as I can-" protested the red-haired boy, still turning the wheel. "-but this thing isn't exactly a fast turner, you know!"

The rockets got closer and closer, and just when it looked like it was all over for our heroes, the airship...managed to dodge them at the last second!

"Too close for comfort!" cried Henry.

Unfortunately...

"Umm... where would the missiles go, anyway?" questioned Molly.

Her question was answered with an explosion from down below. Everyone watched in horror as the hanger was hit by explosion after explosion, which soon destroyed the whole building and reduced it to rubble.

"No..." whispered Thomas in disbelief.

It would seem that both Dark Magician Girl and Nathaniel had perished in the blast.

"Dark Magician Girl..." said Toby quietly.

"Nathaniel..." added Henry, also quietly.

"They can't be gone!" protested Thomas. "They just can't be!"

"They, along with Dark Magician, gave their lives to allow us to get this airship and escape." said Spencer. "We must not allow their sacrifices to be in vain!"

Calming down, Thomas nodded. "Right... James, lay a course for the south of this area."

"Will do!" James saluted, steering the ship.

But all the same, Thomas couldn't help but worry that he had lost two of his spirit allies forever... Or HAD he?

(elsewhere...)

Three long hours later, the sky started to turn all dark and evil looking.

"Oookay, this is creepy..." shivered Gordon.

"Could this be a sign we're getting closer to our destination?" asked Maiden of the Aqua.

"It would seem that way." answered Stanley, taking a look around.

Just then, the voice of Rosie echoed out.

"Unidentified objects guarding the big, creepy castle!" she called. "Dead ahead, and coming this way!"

The group quickly looked in the pink-haired girl's direction.

"Oh boy!" gulped Stanley.

Yup, enemy Duel Monsters were flying to intercept the intruders. If the airship flying towards the Castle of Dark Illusions were not Air Fortress Ziggurats, then they were obviously part of the good guys!

"Get us out of the way, James!" cried Molly.

"On it!" replied the red-haired boy from inside the cabin, turning the wheel.

Unfortunately, the monsters were still getting closer and closer to the airship.

"I've got this!" declared Stanley, drawing and holding up a card. "Go, Raigeki!"

A huge bolt of lightning shot from the sky and started to approach the flying monsters, when, out of the blue, a dagger struck the Spell card in Stanley's hand and destroyed it. This caused the lightning bolts to fizzle out before they could get the enemy forces still coming...

"What?!" The gray-haired boy recoiled.

"What was that?" questioned Edward.

"What's going on?" demanded Thomas.

Three Armed Ninjas were shown flying in on hang gliders.

"Armed Ninjas!" gasped Mavis.

"These must have been brainwashed." Gordon assumed.

"Actually..." Rosie spoke up. "These ones work for the Court of Darkness!"

With no other choice, Spencer and Thomas both drew a card from their respective decks and held them upward.

"Come forth - Dark Magician!" called Thomas.

"Arise - Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" added Spencer.

The respective ace monsters appeared.

"Dark Magic Attack!" commanded Thomas.

Dark Magician obeyed, firing a blast of black magic at some of the Curse of Dragons and/or Horned Saurus's, destroying a number of them.

"White Lightning attack!" ordered Spencer.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon obeyed, firing a blast of bluish white electricity from its mouth, hitting and destroying some more enemy monsters.

"You guys got 'em good!" cheered Gordon.

But, even then, the enemy kept coming in strong.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the tower dungeon, Emily was trying to get some sleep when she heard Anastasia calling out to her.

"Emily... Emily..."

Yawning, the dark green-haired girl answered... "What's the matter?"

"Thomas and his friends are nearing the castle." answered the voice of Anastasia.

"What?! Thomas and the others are coming?" Emily asked hopefully. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." said the voice of Anastasia. "They are fighting their way through the enemy soldiers."

Emily had never felt so relieved in all her life. Oh, but if only the brunette-haired young woman's voice stopped there...

"However, I fear something awful is yet to happen."

"What do you mean?" asked Emily, sounding worried.

The voice didn't say anything more, and Emily began to think that whatever Anastasia was trying to tell her, it had to be both bad and related to Thomas coming...

(elsewhere...)

"Dark Magic Attack!" commanded Thomas.

"White Lightning attack!" ordered Spencer.

More and more enemy monsters were falling to the might of the two powerful ace monsters, but they kept coming.

"Damn the Court of Darkness!" cursed Spencer. "Their soldiers' numbers are nearly endless...!"

Maiden of the Aqua grew worried, but something had soon caught her eye nearby.

"Huh? What's that?"

An Armed Ninja was hang gliding close to the ship, and with a dagger in hand. The blue-haired female monster's eyes widened at what was about to happen.

"Oh no..." she whispered.

The Armed Ninja was trying to assassinate Thomas while he was distracted by the battle! The ninja-like monster soon found an opening and hurled his dagger at the target.

"Thomas, look out!" cried Maiden of the Aqua.

Thomas turned and saw the dagger coming right for him. Edward and the others cried out as their blue-haired friend was about to be killed...

 ***SLASH!***

...except it never happened. Why? Because Maiden of the Aqua stepped in and took the blow instead.

"NOOOOO!" screamed Thomas, watching as Maiden of the Aqua, with the dagger impaled in her chest, collapsed. To buy time, the blue-haired boy drew a card from his deck and held it up. "Swords of Revealing Light!"

The large swords of light halted the enemy monsters as Thomas held Maiden of the Aqua in his arms.

"Speak to me!" he begged. "Why did you do that?!"

The blue-haired female monster slowly opened her eyes.

"You may...not be...Autraius-" she said in barely a whisper. "-but I...didn't want you...to die..."

"Maiden of the Aqua..." mumbled Thomas. His eyes burned and formed tears. "I'm sorry... please don't go..."

"Please... stay safe... for the sake...of this whole...world..."

Finally, Maiden of the Aqua closed her eyes and died in Thomas's arms, turning into particles of light. The blue-haired boy's sobs echoed as he had lost yet another friend...

"Thomas..." Rosie whispered sadly.

"It's not fair..." cried Thomas. "First we lose Gilford, then Iris, Sarina, Percy, Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Nathaniel, and now Maiden of the Aqua..." He clenched his fists. "How much more should I have to suffer until this prophecy is fulfilled, Amazoness Sage?! I've had enough... I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Torn by grief, hatred, and despair, Thomas could feel himself awakening once more, and this was clearly NOT a good thing...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the dungeon tower...

"Thomas, no!" exclaimed Emily all of a sudden, and started to awaken herself.

(elsewhere...)

Back aboard the airship's deck, Thomas clutched his chest and angrily screamed as the darkness began to overcome him.

"Just what we need right now... Diablon coming out!" worried Gordon.

Just then...

"THOMAS/ **ANAKIN**!"

Thomas (possessed) suddenly softened up when he seemingly heard the pair of voices.

"Emily/ **Anastasia**?" he said in a mixture of two voices (one voice said Emily, and the other said Anastasia).

The possessed blue-haired boy began to think he was seeing a vision of the girl he loved (in addition, she looked more adult-like instead of a teenager).

"Let go of your anger..." she pleaded (speaking in a Scottish accent rather than an American accent). "Just make it to the castle and save me from the Court of Darkness..."

Thomas started to calm himself down, although he remained possessed at that moment. Rather than be possessed by Diablon, it was instead by Anakin instead.

"I'll make you pay, Court of Darkness!" shouted Thomas (possessed), standing back up before turning his attention to James inside the cabin. "James, proceed to the castle... We will settle the score with our enemies here and now!"

Everyone aboard the airship was surprised by this turnabout. Nevertheless, James immediately obeyed without question... With the airship plowing through the enemy forces, the heroes weren't going to let anything stop them from accomplishing their mission to save Emily and defeat the Court of Darkness!

"Look out, you damned monsters!" echoed the voice of James, speaking about the Court of Darkness.

"There isn't anywhere you can run from now!" echoed the voice of Mavis.

"We're going to make you pay for all the innocent lives you've either ruined or taken!" cried Stanley's voice.

"For all of our fallen friends and allies-" came Rosie's voice. "-we will take you down!"

"And Gozaburo, this message is for you... I will destroy you with my own two hands!" The voice of Spencer threw in.

"When we meet in person, you will release Emily ( **Anastasia** ) from your clutches and fall to our combined might!" The voice of Thomas (and Anakin) echoed.

And thus, the path to the final battle has been opened as the airship approached the Castle of Dark Illusions!


	84. Storming the Castle!

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up aboard the airship, Thomas (possessed) and his friends were on their way to the Castle of Dark Illusions to settle things with the Court of Darkness and Gozaburo, while rescuing Emily from their clutches.

"We're just about there!" declared Rosie, standing at the head of the ship and looking up ahead.

"And not a moment too soon!" came from Gordon.

"Why's that?"

The tall, blue-haired boy was looking worried. "The enemy monsters are trying to break through Swords of Revealing Light, that's what!"

And indeed they were...

"James, speed it up!" Henry urged, looking to the nearby cabin. "We're gonna be attacked!"

"I'm on it!" James answered, pulling a lever.

Before long, the monsters had broken through Swords of Revealing Light, but the airship had begun to pick up speed.

"So, umm... Thomas—no, Diablon—errr, Anakin—whoever you are..." Stanley spoke to Thomas (possessed). "Tell us something... Once we arrive at the Castle of Dark Illusions, what do we do first?"

"Do you have an idea on the building's foundation?" added Mavis.

"There are dungeons in the towers." explained the possessed blue-haired boy. "The woman I love is most likely in one of them."

"Why don't we just fly up to the towers then?" suggested Gordon, walking over.

"It won't work." answered Thomas (possessed). "The barrier around the towers hasn't been disabled... Only the barrier to the entrance of the castle has been shut down."

"Then I guess that's where we'll start." said Edward.

All of a sudden...

 ***BOOM!***

The airship was struck by an attack and rocked about, knocking almost everyone aboard to the ground.

"What was that?" demanded Stanley.

Thomas (possessed) growled. "We've been hit!"

"Abandon ship!" cried Rosie.

The possessed blue-haired boy looked around and ran in the direction of where the smoke was coming from. Looking off the edge, he saw that the spinning blade the was moving the airship had been blown apart by a fireball of a Curse of Dragon.

"Damn! The motor has been destroyed!"

Edward looked towards the cabin. "Hurry, James, hurry!"

"I'm doing the best I can, but driving this thing isn't really easy, you know!" protested James, turning the wheel right. Eventually, the red-haired boy accidentally broke the wheel off. "Oh no..."

"James?!" exclaimed Thomas (possessed), having heard the clatter from outside. "What the hell is going on in there?!"

"The steering wheel has broken off!" panicked James. "I think we're gonna crash!"

"Now what do we do?!" cried Toby.

With a bunch of screams coming from some of its passengers, the airship was moving in an out-of-control manner towards the floating building of evil. Eventually, it crashed into the front gate of the Castle of Dark Illusions.

* * *

 **Title: Storming the Castle!**

* * *

Inside the throne room, the Court of Darkness members were being spoken to by Gozaburo Gresley.

"Billinton and his crew have finally arrived." he was saying. "For your coming battles with that group, I have made substantial improvements to each of your decks."

"Improvements, you say?" questioned The Earl of Demise. "Like what?"

"You'll just have to wait and see until you begin dueling."

The evil man then handed The Earl of Demise, Vampire Lady, Darkbishop Archfiend, and Vampire Lord all new decks respectively.

"Each of those decks features a copy of The Field of Dark Graves." Gozaburo went on. "When any of you draw that card in your duel, play it as soon as possible."

"Very well." nodded Vampire Lord, taking his deck. "Rest assured that we will win our duels against those fools."

"Nobody beats us and lives to tell the tale." hissed Vampire Lady.

"Agreed." added Darkbishop Archfiend.

With that said, the Court of Darkness exited the throne room to seak out their targets for a rematch. When Gozaburo was left all alone in the throne room, he smiled to himself.

"And now, since I'm all alone, it's time to set up one final surprise for Lord Diablon..."

He then left the throne room for another area of the castle. What could Gozaburo be up to? Well, that answer will come in due time.

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the castle grounds, there was thick smoke coming from nearby (along with a bunch of people coughing). As it turned out, the airship had crash landed in the courtyard of the Castle of Dark Illusions, and Thomas and his friends had survived the rather rough landing.

"Whoo!" sighed James, rubbing the top of his head. "Was that skilled driving or what?"

"At least we're all alive." came from Molly.

"And we finally made it to the entrance." added Mavis, rubbing her sore bottom from the landing and crash.

"So, where to next?" asked Toby, looking to Thomas (possessed).

"There's a set of stairs down the hall to the right." he answered. The possessed blue-haired boy then began to take off. "Come on! Anastasia (Emily) is waiting for us!"

"Wait for us, Thomas!" called Henry, following closely.

(elsewhere...)

Soon, the whole group was inside the building and racing down the grand hall. Unfortunately, there were a number of guards (Vorse Raiders) waiting for the party.

"Get out of my sight!" shouted Thomas (possessed), drawing and holding a card out. "Destroy those Vorse Raiders, Dark Magician Girl!"

The female spellcaster-type monster appeared and angrily fired a magical blast at the Vorse Raiders, which struck and destroyed them.

"Come on!"

The heroes carried on.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the tower dungeon, Emily (possessed) soon felt herself returning to normal.

"Is it done?" Emily asked almost immediately.

"Yes." said Anastasia's voice. "Both Thomas and Anakin have full knowledge of this castle. With some time, they will arrive to save the both of us."

"But what about the Court of Darkness? Surely they will try to stop Thomas and my friends from reaching here."

"Thomas and Anakin won't let anything stop them." reassured the voice of Anastasia. "Thomas, with his skill at Duel Monsters, and Anakin, with his fierce determination, will stop at nothing to save us."

Emily had hoped that it would come true...

(elsewhere...)

Back in one hallway, three Gil Garths had ambushed the heroes at another corner, much to Thomas's frustration.

"We don't have time for this!" he complained, holding out another card. "Buster Blader, attack!"

The purple-armored swordsman appeared and swiftly did away with the Gil Garths.

"Good job, Buster Blader!" Thomas (possessed) said with approval. "Now, let's... ERRGGHH!"

He fell to his knees, clutching the temples of his head in pain.

"Billinton, what's going on?" demanded Spencer, seeing his friend/rival in pain.

"Diablon might me taking over him again!" cried Edward.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. When the possessed blue-haired boy looked up, his eyes...were normal again.

"Where am I?"

"We're in the Castle of Dark Illusions." answered Toby. "And you—errr... Anakin—lead us here."

Thomas didn't say a word at first. Eventually, he seemed to have a look of shock on his face.

"Thomas? Thomas, what's the matter?" asked Molly, approaching and placing both hands onto her friend's shoulders in concern.

"I... I know the whole building inside out." Thomas breathed. He then stood back up and clenched his left hand into a fist. "And...I know where Emily is being kept!"

"Then let's hurry and find her!" insisted Henry.

Just then, there was a new voice...

"Oh, you will, will you?"

Suddenly, standing before the heroes was a smirking Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Get out of my way!" demanded Thomas, before being pushed out of the way by Mavis. "Hey! What-"

"You!" The blonde-haired girl accused.

Darkbishop Archfiend kept his evil smile. "Yes, me..."

"I still haven't forgotten what you made me relive." said Mavis hotly.

"Your past, if I'm not mistaken?"

Before Mavis could say anything more, she felt Thomas grabbing her left arm and pulling her away.

"Don't waste your time with this piece of trash, Mavis." The blue-haired boy insisted, insulting the enemy.

"Trash, you say?" growled Darkbishop Archfiend, becoming quite angered. "You will regret your choice of words, boy." He then held four cards out. "Summoned Skull - come forth and attack!"

Four Summoned Skulls appeared.

"Great thing to say to this guy, Billinton." said Spencer sarcastically.

"RUN!" wailed James, making a dash down the hallway.

Everyone else started to escape, but Thomas didn't run away... He intended to fight Darkbishop Archfiend head on.

"Anyone who stands in my way will fall!" The blue-haired boy declared, readying his Duel Disk.

"Thomas, remember? We're here for Emily first." reminded Toby, managing to drag his friend away.

"Attack, now!" Darkbishop Archfiend ordered his monsters. "Lightning Strike!"

The Summoned Skulls fired lightning at the humans, barely missing them by thaaaat much.

"You can all run-" boomed Darkbishop Archfiend. "-but you can't hide!"

(elsewhere...)

Thomas and the others were on the run from the Court of Darkness member and his Summoned Skulls. Unfortunately, they had a small problem as they ran down the hallway... What's the problem? Easy, enemy monsters getting in the way!

"Not more of them!" groaned James.

Quickly, Mavis drew two cards from her deck.

"Cyber Prima and Cyber Blader - come forth and destroy the Lizard Soldiers!"

The two female monsters appeared and did away with the Lizard Soldiers easily.

"This way!" Mavis lead her friends towards another room. Once everyone was inside, the blonde-haired girl shut the door tight. "I think we lost him..."

"Oh, you did, did you?" teased the voice of Darkbishop Archfiend.

Yup; the Court of Darkness member had managed to ambush his prey once more. What was worse than that? Oh, the same four Summoned Skulls he had summoned earlier were prepared to attack, that's what!

"Oh, give me a break..." groaned Toby.

Before the Summoned Skulls could attack...

"Hold it!" interrupted Mavis, taking a step forth. "I know what you want; you want me, isn't that right?"

"Correct, my true target happens to be you." confirmed Darkbishop Archfiend.

Toby approached his girlfriend. "Mavis, what do you mean by he's after you?"

"Did you encounter him once before?" added Edward.

"We dueled back in the Amazoness Village." explained Mavis.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Within the Amazon Village center, Vorse Raiders, Gil Garths, and other evil looking monsters were rampaging throughout the place, fighting and/or slaying the various Amazoness monsters.

"Hey!" shouted Mavis, running towards the rampagig monsters. "You jerks leave these villagers alone!" The evil monsters immediately turned their attention to the blonde-haired girl. "Oh, so you guys want a piece of me, too?! Fine!"

Just before the monsters could attack, a new voice called out to them.

"Don't bother with her. She's all mine!"

The evil monsters backed away as Darkbishop Archfiend stepped forward.

"Y-You!" stuttered Mavis.

"What? No 'hello', no 'how are you'? I thought we were friends, Mavis?" Darkbishop Archfiend asked mockingly. "Don't tell me that my kidnapping Emily, as well as the court's efforts to try and enrage your blue-haired friend has put a rift between us. It was nothing ' _personal_ '."

The blonde-haired girl aimed an intense glare towards the Archfiend-type monster.

"Oh ho, now you're giving me the cold shoulder? I would feel hurt right now...if I even had a heart!"

"Just get out of here!" snapped Mavis. "These villagers did nothing to deserve this!"

"Perhaps not." Darkbishop Archfiend shrugged. "But I enjoy making others suffer if it means getting our targets to unleash their anger... like what you're doing now."

Mavis growled as she clutched her hand into a fist. The blonde-haired girl really hated what those guys have been doing to her friends and allies.

"What is it you want with me?!" she demanded.

"I just thought I'd have a simple duel with you." said Darkbishop Archfiend. "Win, and I'll take my army and leave."

"A duel?"

The member of the Court of Darkness smirked. "That isn't a problem, is it?"

Mavis wasn't sure if she should accept. If she did, this would be her first major duel ever played. And also coping with dueling in the Spirit World, it could be rather dangerous.

"And if I...refuse?" The blonde-haired girl asked.

Darkbishop Archfiend chuckled evilly. "Then I can't promise any of you will be left alive. It's entirely your choice, but which will you choose?"

Mavis listened to the monster's soft laughter. What was she going to do? Accept the duel? ...or not?

"So..." said Darkbishop Archfiend in a low voice. "Do we have a duel or not?"

Still, Mavis said absolutely nothing. Very soon...

"Mavis!" called the voice of Rosie.

The blonde-haired girl looked over to her friends running up. Darkbishop Archfiend had also noticed the two girls arriving in the village center...

"So, that's the intruder." said the red-haired Amazoness Scout in realization.

"Indeed, it would be me." confirmed Darkbishop Archfiend in a somewhat polite tone, just before giving a gentleman-like bow. "Darkbishop Archfiend, gentleman of the Court of Darkness, at your humble service."

"You're part of the Court of Darkness!" accused Rosie, pointing at the monster. "You give us back our friend Emily right now!"

"Unfortunately, I must humbly decline your demand. Why? Because the girl is much too important for our plans."

"Plans?" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout blinked.

"Oh yes..." nodded Darkbishop Archfiend. "The girl we have captive has more darkness in her heart right now than any of the other prisoners we have at the castle."

"Darkness...in her heart?" Molly whispered to herself.

Darkbishop Archfiend then smiled at Mavis. "And if I'm not mistaken... you seem to also have some traces of darkness in your heart, my dear."

Mavis scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hm hm hm... perhaps I've said too much right now." chuckled Darkbishop Archfiend. "So... will you duel me?"

Fired up from being mocked like that, Mavis immediately activated her Duel Disk and got into a dueling stance.

"This maybe my first duel-" The blonde-haired girl declared. "-but I will STILL take you down!"

"That's more like it!"

Darkbishop Archfiend activated his own Duel Disk, with a dark aura surrounding him.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"During the duel-" Mavis went on. "-he used a Spell card that made me relive my unhappy past of when I was a bully and almost got Toby killed because I was only thinking about myself."

"Yeah, I remember it well." remarked James. "It was also around the time Gordon and I had both turned Emily into a bully when we bullied her."

"Anyway-" Mavis continued still. "-I began to lose hope in myself and almost considered surrendering."

"And you didn't, obviously." Henry spoke up.

"Only because Amazoness Sage reminded my that while it was my own fault Toby got put into danger, it was me that also saved him."

"If it weren't for Amazoness Sage's words-" added Rosie. "-Mavis would have given up and fallen into the darkness forever."

Mavis nodded, before shifting her eyes towards Darkbishop Archfiend. "And it looks like this creep wants to ensure that I do fall into the bleak darkness."

"Not this time." The Court of Darkness member suddenly said.

"Huh? Then why-?"

"Why come after us then?" Toby added in a demanding tone.

"Because-" began Darkbishop Archfiend. "-the Court of Darkness has no use for those without darkness in their hearts." His gaze on Mavis intensified around here. "But this young lady, however, made the big mistake of defeating me in a duel."

"Oh gee, I'm ever so sorry I kicked your sorry butt." apologized Mavis sarcastically. "I swear I'll never do it again!"

"You won't be-" The Court of Darkness member hissed, activating his Duel Disk out of anger. "-because I'm challenging you to a rematch! And this time, I WILL come out on top. Unless you wish to surrender Thomas Billinton to us and save yourself from your potential demise, because I will forgive and forget if you do give the boy up."

"Give myself up?" Thomas thought to himself.

"Why would I ever give my friends up just to save myself?!" demanded Mavis angrily. "That isn't who I am!"

"Not even if it involves a chance of reuniting him with Emily?" taunted Darkbishop Archfiend.

An angry Mavis was about to retort when Thomas suddenly spoke up...

"If it means seeing Emily again, then I'll go."

"WHAT?!" cried the rest of the gang.

"But, Thomas-" Henry tried to argue.

"I came all this way to get Emily back." said Thomas. "Remember?"

"We know that." acknowledged Gordon. "We want her back too, but not like this!"

"I don't care! I need her, and this is the only way I can be with her again!"

"Thomas, get out of here!" cut in Mavis, getting in front of her friend to defend him. "Do not stop running either... Find Emily, now!"

"Mavis-" The blue-haired boy gasped. "-what are you trying to do?"

"I won't let you give yourself up!" protested Mavis. "You have to save not only Emily, but the world!" She activated her Duel Disk. "I'm doing this to not only help you achieve that goal, but to also protect you."

"What are-?"

"Think about it. The Court of Darkness will do anything to make your darkness stronger." The blonde-haired girl went on. "They want their master brought back, and if that ever happens... Game Over!"

"She's right." added Toby. "No matter what happens, Thomas, you have to keep fighting!"

Thomas, knowing his two friends were right, started to change his mind on the subject.

"You're right, I must continue my journey." The blue-haired boy finally said. He then looked to Mavis. "Mavis, please take care."

"Don't worry, Thomas-" The blonde-haired girl smiled. "-I'll be okay." She then focused her attention to everyone else. "Everyone, I want you to stay with Thomas. This fight is for me, and me alone."

"I'm staying with you." Toby spoke up.

"No, Toby, you're not involved in this... Stay with Thomas, he needs you guys more than I do."

The brown-haired boy shook his head. "I don't want you to fight this guy without support! If what you said he did to you before was bad, who knows what could happen if he tries it again..."

"Oh? And who might you be?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm her boyfriend, Toby Holden." Toby answered firmly. "Not only that, but I was her first true friend when she reformed."

The Court of Darkness smiled. "So, you're the boy from the girl's past... Tell me something, are you lucky to be alive after what she did to you?"

"That wasn't her fault!" protested Toby. "Diesel manipulated her into acting that way."

"But, she could have also refused to do that stuff, you know... Instead, she let her selfish desires cloud her judgement."

Toby and Mavis both scowled.

"Look-" hissed Mavis. "-are we gonna duel or not?"

Darkbishop Archfiend drew his opening hand (LP: 4000). "Very well, let's begin our friendly duel."

Mavis drew her opening hand (LP: 4000). Thomas and everyone else started to leave around then...

"Good luck, Mavis." Thomas thought to himself.

"You can do it, Mavis!" called Rosie. "You've beaten that creep before, and you can do it again!"

Mavis turned around and gave her pink-haired friend a smile and thumbs up, just before looking back to her opponent.

"The poor thing-" thought Darkbishop Archfiend to himself. "-she has no idea what I have in store for her, this time!"

As soon as Thomas and the rest of the gang (minus Toby) were gone, the duel had commenced...

"I have the first turn!" announced Mavis, drawing a card. "Here I go... Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (6): Cyber Tutubon, Cyber Angel Natasha, Angel Wing, Cyber Petit Angel, Cyber Angel Natasha, and Machine Angel Absolute Ritual

* * *

Her current hand contained Cyber Tutubon, Cyber Angel Natasha, Angel Wing, Cyber Petit Angel, Cyber Angel Natasha, and the added Machine Angel Absolute Ritual.

"Hey! This should be a good start." Mavis thought to herself with a confident smirk. She then took a card from her hand and looked towards her opponent. "Alright, get ready for trouble and make it double!"

Darkbishop Archfiend frowned, but said nothing. On cue, a Ritual Spell card called Machine Angel Absolute Ritual materialized face-up.

"I activate Machine Angel Absolute Ritual!" declared Mavis. "This lets me tribute Cyber monsters from my field or hand, or even return them from my graveyard to the deck, to ritual summon a Cyber Angel monster from my hand."

"A Cyber Angel?" quizzed Darkbishop Archfiend.

Mavis nodded, taking and showing her opponent a card. "I send, from my hand, the level 5 Cyber Tutubon to the graveyard to ritual summon the level 5 Cyber Angel Natasha in defense mode!"

On cue, a female centaur-like monster with four arms, red hair, and red cape appeared (Level: 5/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000).

"That's a new one." commented Darkbishop Archfiend. He then grinned darkly. "Even then, it won't be enough to stop me, this time."

Oh, if only Mavis was finished with her turn...

"I activate the effect of Cyber Tutubon in my graveyard!"

The Machine Angel Absolute Ritual Spell card slipped out of her graveyard, and she took hold of it and showed the Court of Darkness member.

"If I use her for a ritual summon-" explained Mavis, slotting the card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk once again. "-Cyber Tutubon can return a Ritual Spell card from the graveyard to my hand... And now, I'll activate it once again!"

This time, the Cyber Tutubon monster card slipped out of the graveyard.

"I return Cyber Tutubon to my deck to rituakl summon a second copy of Cyber Angel Natasha!"

A second Cyber Angel Natasha (only with green hair and green cape) appeared alongside the first one.

"And now-" Mavis went on. "-I play the effect of both Natashas!"

Both monsters began to glow as Mavis felt her life points increase (LP: 5000).

"Natasha increases my life points by half the attack of one monster on my field." The blonde-haired girl explained. "Seeing as I control two copies, I'll have them target the other so that I gain a total of 1000 life points!"

"5000 life points already... That is impressive!" thought Toby, looking impressed.

"That was a good first play on your part." remarked Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing a card. "Will it be enough? It's too early to say, but I do have a play that's even better!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Remove Brainwashing, Archfiend Heiress, Falling Down, Double Summon, Archfiend Commander, and Card of Ascension

* * *

His current hand consisted of Remove Brainwashing, Archfiend Heiress, Falling Down, Double Summon, Archfiend Commander, and the drawn Card of Ascension. Immediately, the Card of Asension Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"First I activate Card of Ascension!" declared the fiend-type monster, drawing two cards. "Because you've special summoned a monster last turn, I am able to draw two cards from my deck."

From there, a monster card called Archfiend Heiress materialized face-up.

"Next I summon Archfiend Heiress in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a female fiend monster with a skull-like headdress (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0). From there, Darkbishop Archfiend took another card from his hand.

"And now-" he went on, taking a card from his hand. "-since I control an Archfiend monster, I can activate this Equip Spell card!"

The Court of Darkness member held his card out.

"Falling Down!"

All of a sudden, one of the Cyber Angel Natashas found herself losing control of her own body.

"One of your monsters now serves me!" announced Darkbishop Archfiend, before readying another card from his hand. "And, since I now control an Archfiend monster, I can special summon from my hand Archfiend Commander!"

Appearing to the field was a much more powerful version of Summoned Skull (Level: 6/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1200).

"Great..." moaned Mavis.

"Fortunately for you, this monster cannot attack this turn." Darkbishop Archfiend pointed out. "Even then, my turn has not finished yet."

"What else is there for you to do?"

"Like my Archfiend Commander's effect, that is!" answered the Court of Darkness member. "I can target one Archfiend monster I control and destroy it!"

Archfiend Heiress was destroyed.

"But why destroy your own monster?" asked Toby. He then gasped in realization... "Unless, your monster..."

"...has another effect." cut in Darkbishop Archfiend, adding a card from his deck to his hand. "And it does; it allows me to add another Archfiend monster from my deck to hand."

On cue, the Double Summon Spell card materialized face-up.

"Next I activate Double Summon!" The Court of Darkness member continued still, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I can now perform another normal summon this turn!" He then motioned his right hand to Cyber Angel Natasha. "Now I sacrifice your Cyber Angel Natasha to summon Archfiend Giant in attack position!"

Cyber Angel Natasha vanished as a huge Archfiend took her place (Level: 6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1600).

"One of his Archfiends cannot attack this turn-" Mavis thought to herself. "-but my remaining Cyber Angel is a sitting duck for the other..."

It was about to get worse...

"Now I activate an Equip Spell card-" Darkbishop Archfiend went on, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the Fairy Meteor Crush Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "-Fairy Meteor Crush!"

Mavis cringed. "Oh no! Not that card!"

"With this equipped to my monster, you cannot defend to save your own life! Why? Because even if your monster is in defense position, battle damage will be sustained between the difference of my monster's attack points, and your monster's defense points!"

The card's effect equipped itself onto Archfiend Giant. From there, the battle phase began...

"Archfiend Giant, attack and destroy Cyber Angel Natasha!" commanded Darkbishop Archfiend.

Archfiend Giant obeyed, punching Natasha until she shattered like glass.

"Your Cyber Angel Natasha has been defeated! With that, you take 1400 points of damage thanks to Fairy Meteor Crush allowing my monster to inflict piercing damage!"

Mavis grimaced (LP: 3600).

"Had enough yet?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend, readying two more cards from his hand.

"Never!"

Toby watched on with concern. "Mavis..."

On cue, two facedown cards materialized on Darkbishop Archfiend's field. The blonde-haired girl then drew a card and took her own turn.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 3600)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (3): Angel Wing, Cyber Petit Angel, and Pot of Greed

* * *

Her drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" Mavis announced, holding her card out. She then drew two more cards from her deck. "This lets me draw two cards!"

Almost immediately, the blonde-haired girl took and held one of the drawn cards out.

"Next I play a Spell card called Spell Duplication! You know what this does, right?"

Darkbishop Archfiend frowned. "It lets you use one of the Spell cards I've used at any time during the duel."

"How right you are!" said Mavis proudly. "And I'd like to activate Card of Ascension, if you don't mind."

The Court of Darkness member watched as his opponent drew two cards (because there was at least one Archfiend monster on the field). Just then, Mavis continued with her play...

"I activate the effect of Cyber Angel Natasha in my graveyard!"

Her graveyard glowed all white.

"Another effect?" quizzed Darkbishop Archfiend.

"By banishing another Cyber Angel monster from my graveyard-" explained Mavis. "-I can special summon Cyber Angel Natasha from the graveyard in defense mode and take control of one of your monsters!"

One Cyber Angel Natasha vanished as another one returned.

"With that taken care of-" Mavis went on. "-I will now take control of Archfiend Commander, and activate Cyber Angel Natasha's effect!"

"Oh, I don't think it'll happen." cut in Darkbishop Archfiend.

"What?!"

"Activate Trap card - Ritual Sealing!" declared the Court of Darkness member, as his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

Suddenly, Cyber Angel Natasha shattered into pieces of glass.

"Cyber Angel Natasha!" gasped Mavis, surprised that her monster was destroyed just like that. "What happened to my monster?!"

Darkbishop Archfiend chuckled. "Ritual Sealing destroys one ritual monster on the field. Cyber Angel Natasha is a ritual monster, so she is destroyed by my Trap card!"

Mavis cursed in anger. Unfortunately, the Court of Darkness member still wasn't finished...

"And to make sure you don't try that again-" he continued, motioning his right hand to his remaining card. "-I'll activate another facedown card."

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Continuous Trap - Remove Brainwashing!"

On cue, Archfiend Commander felt itself leaving Mavis's side of the field and returning to Darkbishop Archfiend's side.

"As long as this Trap card remains on the field-" explained Darkbishop Archfiend. "-monsters can't be sent to their opponent's field."

Mavis's eyes widened. "You mean-?"

"Yes! Nobody can use cards like Change of Heart or Brain Control to take control of each others monsters! Not me... and certainly not you!"

"If Mavis had planned on taking control of Darkbishop Archfiend's monsters later in the duel-" Toby thought to himself. "-she is no longer able to do it now!"

"Prepare yourself, Mavis Drewry, you are in for the fight of your life!" declared Darkbishop Archfiend, laughing maniacally. "You have no chance of defeating me, this time! Very soon, the worst of my powers will be unleashed against you!"

Indeed... Mavis was in for the fight of her life. Can she use everything she has learned about Duel Monsters up till now to show the Court of Darkness member a thing or two? Or, in the end, will her skills end up failing to help her win? Stay tuned to find out as the big rematch between enemies gets under way!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	85. Cyber Angels Attack (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up within a grand chamber, all was not going well for Mavis Drewry. Why's that, you could be asking? Well, because she had been confronted by a vengeful Darkbishop Archfiend (Court of Darkness member), and is battling him in a rematch. And so farm things were not in the blonde-haired girl's favor...  
-She (LP: 3600) had one of her strategies shut down thanks to a Trap card played by her opponent.  
-Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 4000) currently had two powerful Archfiend monsters on his side of the field.

"Boy, Darkbishop Archfiend wasn't kidding around when he said this duel would be different from our last encounter." Mavis thought to herself, while also looking at her hand. "He's cancelled out one of my strategies like he saw it coming!"

Her hand contained Angel Wing, Cyber Petit Angel, Cyber Angel Idaten, Hallowed Life Barrier, and Preparation of Rites. In addition, Mavis now had a look of determination on her face.

"Nevertheless, I won't give up! I've come much too far just to be defeated by a member of the Court of Darkness!" Finally, the blonde-haired girl spoke aloud. "You may have cancelled out my strategy with Remove Brainwashing, but my turn is not over yet."

Darkbishop Archfiend raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. From there, Mavis took a card from her hand and placed it onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk (sideways).

"Cyber Petit Angel - defense mode!"

A mechanical version of Petit Angel appeared to the field (Level: 2/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).

"Now I play her effect!" continued Mavis, holding up a card. "I can add either a Cyber Angel monster card or a copy of the Machine Angel Ritual Spell card from my deck to my hand." She turned the card over and revealed what it was. "With that said, I'll add a copy of Machine Angel Ritual to my hand."

"Obviously..." grumbled Darkbishop Archfiend, just as a Spell card called Preparation of Rites materialized face-up. "Is that-?"

"That's right." said Mavis. "Preparation of Rites."

Toby looked hopeful. "This lets Mavis add a level 7 or lower ritual monster from her deck, and a Ritual Spell card from the graveyard, to her hand. Could this be one of the big breaks she desperately needs right now?"

One card slid from Mavis's deck while another slid from her graveyard, and she took hold of both cards. They were shown to be Cyber Angel Benten (Ritual Monster card) and Machine Angel Absolute Ritual (Ritual Spell card). Smiling, Mavis added both cards to her hand and took another out.

"I activate Machine Angel Ritual!" she announced, slotting the card into her Duel Disk.

On cue, the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. From there, the blonde-haired girl took and showed her opponent a monster card (Cyber Angel Idaten) for a few seconds before discarding it to the graveyard.

"This time, I offer up the level 6 Cyber Angel Idaten in my hand."

On cue, the Cyber Angel Benten monster card materialized face-up.

"With the offerings met-" continued Mavis, raisng her right hand into the air. "-I ritual summon Cyber Angel Benten in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a female monster with black hair, a grey and blue outfit, and fans on chains for a weapon (Level: 6/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).

"This monster is weaker than both your Archfiends-" Mavis went on still. "-but that will all change when I activate the effect of Cyber Angel Idaten."

"Effect?" quizzed Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Indeed... When she is offered as a tribute, she increases the attack and defense of all face-up ritual monsters on the field."

Cyber Angel Benten grew stronger (ATK: 1800 - 2800/DEF: 1500 - 2500). From there, Mavis took and slotted yet another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"And before I attack-" she continued. "-I'll equip Angel Wing to my Cyber Angel!"

A pair of angelic wings appeared on Cyber Angel Benten's back.

"Now attack Archfiend Giant with Angel Flight!"

Cyber Angel Benten obeyed; diving into the air and striking the giant Archfiend with her fans and destroying it.

"Now comes Angel Wing's effect!" announced Mavis, motioning her right arm about before punching her fist forth. "When the Cyber Angel monster equipped with this card does battle and destroys a monster on your side of the field while inflicting battle damage, you receive an additional 300 points of damage!"

Darkbishop Archfiend growled as he took damage (LP: 3300).

"But it's about to get much worse for you, I'm afraid!"

"What do you mean by that?" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend. His answer came when Cyber Angel Benten was about to attack again. "W-What is happening?!"

"When Cyber Angel Benten destroys a monster you control in the battle phase-" explained Mavis. "-you receive life point damage equal to the destroyed monster's original defense points!"

Darkbishop Archfiend grunted as he was hit with a blast of light from Benten's weapon. Because Archfiend Giant had a defense of 1600, it meant the Court of Darkness member received an additional 1600 points damage to his life points (LP: 1700).

"That girl..."

"Finally, I place this facedown..." said Mavis, slotting a card into her Duel Disk. This caused a facedown card to materialize (Hallowed Life Barrier). "My turn has ended!"

"Way to go, Mavis!" cheered Toby.

Darkbishop Archfiend scowled at first, before the look on his face evolved into a smile of some sort.

"Not too shabby, my dear."

Mavis raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"This duel might actually be fun!" The Court of Darkness member went on, smiling in a menacing way. "I was hoping to win against you easily, but now I see that this little challenge of yours will be worth showing you my deck's true power!"

"If you want to do that-" cut in Mavis. "-then stop being all words and show me the action!"

"Ha ha ha ha... as you wish!" snickered Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing a card and beginning his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up.

"First up, I play Card of Sanctity! This makes both players draw until they hold six cards in their hands."

Mavis drew five cards, and Darkbishop Archfiend drew six cards. From there, the Court of Darkness member selected and placed one of the drawn cards onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Now meet Skilled Red Magician!"

Appearing to the field was a spellcaster decked out in red robes (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1600).

"Skilled Red Magician?" blinked Mavis. "I've heard of Skilled Dark Magician and Skilled White Magician, but never a Skilled Red Magician."

"Just how many Skilled Magicians are there?" asked Toby in surprise.

"Plenty more." answered Darkbishop Archfiend, readying a new card. "But more on it later... It's time to take this duel to the next level..."

"No..." whispered Mavis, becoming worried.

Darkbishop Archfiend showed his card forward.

"I activate The Field of Dark Graves!"

Toby was very scared now. "Oh no...!"

Once the mentioned Field Spell card was slid into the opened Field Spell zone, the scenery began to change for the worse (in Mavis's case, anyway).

(elsewhere...)

Inside Gozaburo's lab, the evil man was watching the duel on his monitor. So far, he was pleased that Darkbishop Archfiend played The Field of Dark Graves...

"One down, three to go..." Gozaburo said to himself.

Sheesh, what could his big, master plan be? Well, that is to be determined!

* * *

 **Title: Cyber Angels Attack, Part 1**

* * *

Back in the grand chamber, Darkbishop Archfiend's eyes started flashing all red as he felt darkness and power surging in his body.

"Now that's what I call power!" he cried joyfully. "Now, my monsters, feel the power in darkness coarse through your veins!"

Mavis grimaced, watching as both Archfiend Commander and Skilled Red Magician's eyes turned red and both of their respective attack power went up (ATK: 2500 - 3000)(ATK: 1600 - 2100).

"Thanks to a Spell card being played-" Darkbishop Archfiend went on. "-my monster gains a Spell Counter."

A small orb on Skilled Red Magician's cloak glowed.

"When he gains three of those Counters, I can tribute him to special summon an Archfiend monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard."

On cue, the Dian Keto the Cure Master Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next comes Dian Keto the Cure Master!" he continued (LP: 2700). "This raises my life points by 1000."

A second Spell Counter appeared on Skilled Red Magician.

"Two Spell Counters already." muttered Toby. "Could there be a third Spell card about to be played?"

Darkbishop Archfiend immediately took and held out such a card... It was...

"Go Mystical Space Typhoon! Destroy my opponent's set card!"

A cyclone appeared and destroyed Mavis's set card.

"My Hallowed Life Barrier!" cried Mavis, before scowling at what was coming next. "Now I have something new to worry about..."

And she did... For the final Spell Counter had appeared on Skilled Red Magician.

"Three Spell Counters have been added to Skilled Red Magician!" smirked Darkbishop Archfiend, watching as his monster started to transform into something new. "I will now offer him as a tribute to special summon a very powerful monster from my deck... Archfiend Empress, come forth!"

Appearing in place of Skilled Red Magician was what looked like an older version of Archfiend Heiress (Level: 8/ATK: 2900 - 3400/DEF: 2100).

"Oh, but she isn't powerful enough..." The Court of Darkness member sighed falsely, before smiling and holding up a Spell card. "But this should help with that!"

Mavis was scared. "Axe of Despair!"

A large axe appeared in Archfiend Empress's hand, making her even stronger (ATK: 3400 - 4400).

"4400 attack points?!" panicked Toby.

"Attack and destroy Cyber Angel Benten!" commanded Darkbishop Archfiend, entering the battle phase.

Archfiend Empress obeyed, preparing to slash Cyber Angel Benten in half with the weapon...

"I banish Machine Angel Ritual from my graveyard!" declared Mavis, just as the mentioned Spell card slipped out of her graveyard before fading away into oblivion.

As the weapon struck, Cyber Angel Benten remained whole.

"What?! What happened?" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend in surprise.

"By banishing this card from my graveyard-" explained Mavis, taking damage (LP: 2000). "-I can spare a light attribute monster from being destroyed ONLY once."

From there, the Pot of Greed Spell card slipped out of her graveyard and she took hold of it.

"In addition-" Mavis went on, adding the card to her hand as a Spell card called Banish Reactor materialized face-up. "-when a card I own is banished, I can activate this Quick-Play Spell card - Banish Reactor!"

"Banish Reactor?" quizzed Darkbishop Archfiend. "Isn't that-?"

"Yes! I can add one Spell card from the graveyard to my hand."

The Court of Darkness member wasn't done yet... "Archfiend Commander... attack now!"

Archfiend Commander obeyed, charging forth to attack Cyber Angel Benten.

"This time, there isn't anything you can do to save your monster!"

Archfiend Commander slashed at Cyber Angel Benten, destroying her in an instant. Mavis winced as she took more life point damage (LP: 1800).

"I play the final effect of Angel Wing!"

Darkbishop Archfiend frowned, but said nothing.

"When Angel Wing is destroyed-" explained Mavis, drawing a card. "-I'm allowed to draw another card from my deck."

"So be it." replied Darkbishop Archfiend, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the tower dungeons, Emily was still inside her cell thinking things over. Eventually, she opened her eyes while gaining a very serious look on her face.

"Do you sense it?" The dark green-haired girl asked the voice of Anastasia.

"Sense what?" The voice of Anastasia asked.

"Mavis is facing a member of the Court of Darkness as of now..."

"Now that you've mentioned it..." replied the voice of Anastasia. "I can feel it going on, too..."

"Unfortunately, I also can sense it will end badly..." Emily went on, not looking happy at all.

"Indeed... We must be prepared for the worse if it were to happen."

Emily listened on. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Discussing the possibility of you and I becoming a fully complete being." answered the voice of Anastasia.

A shocked Emily was silent from hearing that idea...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the grand chamber, Toby was becoming increasingly worried abot his girlfriend's well-being.

"Are you alright, Mavis?" he called.

"Oh, just peachy." The blonde-haired girl answered sarcastically. "Except I'm in deep trouble thanks to The Field of Dark Graves being in play, and facing a monster with 4400 attack points, and another with 3000 attack points..."

Mavis was beginning to wonder if she was in over her head when she agreed to this rematch. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to give it up...

"It's my turn!" announced Mavis, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 1800)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (8): Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, Cyber Prima, The Grave of Enkindling, Cyber Angel Dakini, Scapegoat, Pot of Greed, Fusion Recovery, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

Her hand currently consisted of Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, Cyber Prima, The Grave of Enkindling, Cyber Angel Dakini, Scapegoat, Pot of Greed, Fusion Recovery, and the added Mystical Space Typhoon.

"This shoulod be a good start..." thought Mavis, before looking up and speaking aloud. "Time to turn things around with my own copy of Mystical Space Typhoon!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Stay goodbye to Axe of Despair!"

The cyclone caused the axe to shatter and lower Archfiend Empress's attack to its normal amount (ATK: 4400 - 3400).

"Nice try." said Darkbishop Archfiend smugly.

Mavis raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"When my axe is destroyed-" explained the fiend monster, just as his Archfiend Commander shattered itself into pieces of glass. "-I can sacrifice one monster and place it on the top of my deck."

With the tribute met, he placed the Axe of Despair Spell card atop his deck. Now being done with her turn, Mavis took and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"I activate Machine Angel Absolute Ritual once more!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Another ritual?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend. "What will you summon this time?"

"You'll see." insisted Mavis, sending a card from her hand to the graveyard. "I offer the level 2 Cyber Petit Angel on my field, and the level 6 Cyber Prima from my hand."

The grey skinned dancer appeared briefly before vanishing with Cyber Petit Angel. From there, Mavis took and placed another card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"With the offerings met-" she went on. "-I ritual summon the levek 8 Cyber Angel Dakini in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a blue-skinned female monster with four arms in yellow and orange armor (Level: 8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2400).

"With Dakini's effect-" Mavis thought to herself. "-I can destroy Archfiend Empress and declare an attack on Darkbishop Archfiend's life points, defeating him."

Just then...

"I know what you're attempting to do..." cut in Darkbishop Archfiend. "You're gonna use Cyber Angel Dakini's effect to destroy my monster so you can attack me for the win. Well, I'm afraid it won't work!"

On cue, the Court of Darkness member's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"The Book of Eclipse Quick-Play Spell card will change all of that!"

Suddenly, both Cyber Angel Dakini and Archfiend Empress both faded away. In their place came two facedown cards (sideways).

"What happened to our monsters?!" gasped Mavis.

"Book of Eclipse flips all face-up monsters on the field into facedown position for the remainder of this turn." explained Darkbishop Archfiend. "When the end phase comes up, the monsters you control are flipped face-up... and you draw one card for each one you control."

Upset that her plan to win had failed, Mavis took two cards and slotted them into her Duel Disk.

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Two facedown cards materialized. Darkbishop Archfiend, meanwhile, smirked...

"Now your monster returns to being face-up." he declared.

Cyber Angel Dakini returned to the field, and Mavis drew one card. In addition, her monster's effect allowed the blonde-haired girl to add one ritual monster from the graveyard to her hand.

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the Castle of Dark Illusions, three Lizard Soldiers were destroyed by Dark Magician and Elemental HERO Neos.

"Why can't these guys give up already?" asked James, growing annoyed with the oncoming armies.

"They don't want us to find Emily, that's why!" answered Thomas, returning Dark Magician to his card.

James snorted. "Pah! Either way, these guys are a piece of cake!" The red-haired boy boasted. "I can so take these guys, for I'm the juggernaut-AUGH!"

He suddenly fell to his knees while gripping onto his right arm.

"W-What's-?"

"James?!" freaked out Molly, running over. "What's wrong?"

"I... I don't know." groaned James, still wincing hard. "All of a sudden, I felt a sting in my arm."

"What could the problem be?" mused Edward. "James was just fine when we got here..."

"Don't worry about me now." James suddenly recovered, getting back to his feet. "We gotta keep going."

He started to go on ahead, leaving everyone else behind wondering what happened a few seconds ago.

"I'm worried for him now." said Molly.

"He said his arm felt like it had been stung..." mused Henry.

"Wasn't that the same arm he was bitten on during his duel with Cobraman Sakuzy?" asked Rosie.

Gordon realized it... "You're right..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

James and Cobraman Sakuzy were both in the middle of their duel...

"It'sssssss time for you to feel the fury of my Deity of Poisonous Snakes!" The snake-like monster declared, entering the battle phase. "Attack and desssssstroy Elemental HERO Wildedge!"

Vennominaga obeyed, striking Wildedge down with her snake-like arms.

"No!" cried James (LP: 300). "Wildedge!"

"But that isssssssn't all!" continued Cobraman Sakuzy. "Now you will feel the toxic effectssssssss of my monssssster'sssssss venom!"

Before James could respond, he screamed out in pain as he was struck (or rather bitten) on the arm by one of the snake arms.

"James!" cried Molly.

James collapsed to his knees, and saw that the bite marks had turned purple.

"W-What the...hell?!"

"When Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes deals battle damage to you for the first time-" explained Cobraman Sakuzy. "-she gains a special Counter I like to call a Hyper-Venom Counter at the end phase. All I need is to wait two more turns, and, when she gains three Hyper-Venom Counters, I will win the duel automatically!"

"Another ' **Instant Win** ' tactic!" exclaimed Edward.

"And because the monsters and their damage is real in this world-" added Toby. "-James will die if he loses!"

"This must have been what that snake meant by 'becoming ripe'." came from Mavis.

(new scene...)

When the smoke settled, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes was shown to be...still standing!

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" groaned James. "Why's your monster still on the field?!"

"Asssssss if you didn't know..." chuckled Cobraman Sakuzy. "Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes cannot be destroyed by Spells, Traps, or monster effects."

"DAMMIT!"

Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes soon ate Elemental HERO Darkbright whole. Thankfully, Darkbright was in defense mode, so James was spared from more life point damage.

"And sssssssince we're at the end phasssssse, another Hyper-Venom Counter will be added to Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes!" continued Cobraman Sakuzy, who then smirked very darkly. "Like ssssssso..."

To show exactly what he meant, the snake-like monster had Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes use her snake arms to bite James again...

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" screamed Molly in agony. It was torture for her to see James suffer so much. "PLEASE, STOP!"

Both snake arms were removed from James, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Two Hyper-Venom Countersssss have been added..." hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. "All that'ssssss needed issssss one more..."

Poor James was feeling very weak. He didn't know if he could go on any longer...

"I..."

"With one final Hyper-Venom Counter-" continued the snake-like monster, making a hissing sound. "-you will be ripe enough to eat... Now, go and make your final move!"

James slowly stood back up. The bite marks had turned a nasty shade of green, and that meant it was getting very bad.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"But the doctor found nothing wrong with James after that." Rosie pointed out.

"Something isn't right." Stanley frowned. "How could something like this wait until now to take effect?"

Before anyone could answer...

"What're you guys doing back there?!" called James. "Shake a leg! Emily won't rescue herself, you know!"

With that said, the rest of the group raced after their red-haired friend. In secret, they had hoped that nothing bad would be-fall him in the future...

(elsewhere...)

"It's my turn!" declared Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 2700)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (1): Axe of Despair

* * *

"And I will flip summon Archfiend Empress face-up!"

Archfiend Empress reappeared to the field. Almost immediately, the Axe of Despair Equip Spell card materialized face-up.

"I will also equip Axe of Despair back to her!" continued Darkbishop Archfiend, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "She gains 1000 attack points once more!"

The axe reappeared in Archfiend Empress's hand, boosting her attack power (ATK: 3400 - 4400).

"Strike down Cyber Angel Dakini, now!"

Archfiend Empress obeyed, striking down Cyber Angel Dakini with the Axe of Despair. The force from the destruction of the monster was powerful enough to send a screaming Mavis flying back a small distance, hitting the ground quite painfully.

"Mavis, no!" cried Toby.

The blonde-haired girl looked badly hurt from the attack (LP: 100).

"All I need now is one more attack-" laughed Darkbishop Archfiend. "-and you're all done!"

Weakly, Mavis started to get to her feet.

"I reveal...a Trap card..."

"Huh?" blinked Darkbishop Archfiend. "Trap card?"

One of Mavis's set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"The Grave of Enkindling..." The blonde-haired girl panted hard. "As a monster on my field...was destroyed, we both get to...special summon a monster...from our graveyards in...defense mode... But none of them...can change their battle...positions."

Darkbishop Archfiend knew what he wanted... "I choose this one..."

On cue, the Archfiend Heiress monster card materialized face-up.

"Archfiend Heiress!"

The younger female fiend reappeared in defense mode. Mavis, meanwhile, chose this monster from her graveyard...

"Cyber Petit Angel - come forth!" she commanded.

The small robotic angel monster returned.

"A mere weakling!" scoffed Darkbishop Archfiend. "Although you'll play her effect and add a Ritual Spell card from your deck to your hand, right?"

Mavis scowled as she added a card to her hand.

"I admire you're putting up a decent fight against me-" continued Darkbishop Archfiend. "-but wake up and look at the standings; I have more life points and an extremely powerful monster in play! You? You have only 100 life points and a weakling to protect you... You have no shot at beating me, this time."

Mavis, still breathing hard, stared on on defiance.

"Surrender and save yourself the painful death."

Finally, the blonde-haired girl spoke in a surprisingly menacing tone... "...never!"

"What?" gasped Darkbishop Archfiend. "You won't surrender?"

"I will never surrender this duel..." continued Mavis, glaring very hard. "I plan to win it and ensure that Thomas remains safe from your influence!"

"Mavis..." whispered Toby to himself.

"And who's to say you will even WIN the duel?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I believe in my deck AND in the Heart of the Cards!" answered Mavis. "I was taught that little concept by Thomas..."

The Court of Darkness member scowled, but remained silent.

"And now-" The blonde-haired girl went on, drawing a card. "-I will fight on!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (7): Scapegoat, Pot of Greed, Fusion Recovery, Falling Current, Cyber Angel Idaten, Machine Angel Ritual, and Ritual Buster

* * *

Her current hand contained Scapegoat, Pot of Greed, Fusion Recovery, Falling Current, Cyber Angel Idaten, Machine Angel Ritual, and the added Ritual Buster.

"This is gonna be tricky..." thought Mavis, thinking on her plan carefully. "If it succeeds, then I have a chance to win." She cast a quick glance to her opponent. "If it doesn't work, then I can kiss this duel goodbye..."

From there, Mavis took and slotted a card from her hand into the Duel Disk. On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I once again activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!"

The blonde-haired girl drew two more cards. From there, two facedown cards materialized behind Cyber Petit Angel...

"Finally, I set these two cards facedown and end my turn!" finished Mavis, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the hallway of one of the tower dungeons, the voices of Emily and Anastasia could be heard...

"You want us to both become one person?" asked Emily's voice.

"Yes, Emily..." answered Anastasia's voice.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the dungeon, Emily and Anastasia were both speaking to each other.

"Exactly how does it work?" Emily asked once more.

"Our minds will link together as well as our souls." explained the voice of Anastasia. "You will then grow into an adult like I am... With your voice changing, and you even adapting my mannerisms."

"In other words-" said Emily curiously. "-I become you."

"In a way, yes you will."

Even still, this was a very big decision for Emily to decide upon. What will be her choice on it? That, I'm afraid, is too soon to answer. Stay tuned to find out the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	86. Cyber Angels Attack (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up within the same grand chamber, Mavis (LP: 100) and Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 2700) were both still in the middle of a deadly rematch.

"I set these two cards facedown and end my turn!" announced Mavis, having slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

Two facedown cards materialized.

"So, that's all you'll do?" huffed Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing a card while not looking all that impressed. "I was expecting more to it than that..."

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 2700)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Demise

* * *

His drawn card was the Card of Demise Spell card. The Court of Darkness member looked back to his opponent with glee on his face.

"Despite your pitiful play-" he continued. "-I'll just humor you and play this Spell card!"

The Card of Demise Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Card of Demise allows me to draw until I have five cards in my hand." explained Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing and refreshing his hand with five cards. "Then, after five turns pass, I must discard every card in my hand."

On cue, the Graceful Charity Spell card materialized face-up.

"And I'll also use Graceful Charity to draw an additional three cards and discard two."

Mavis watched as her opponent drew three cards before sending two to the graveyard. What was he trying to draw? Was it something he needed to defeat the blonde-haired girl? Meanwhile, Darkbishop Archfiend's new hand consisted of Polymerization, Lesser Fiend, Cave Dragon, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror, and Archfiend's Roar.

"Let's finish her, my fiends..." The Court of Darkness member thought to himself, just before selecting a card from his hand. "Okay, my dear... Get ready to face a new beast of mine!"

Mavis scowled, watching as the Polymerization Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Polymerization!" declared Darkbishop Archfiend, taking two more cards from his hand. "And I will use it to fuse, from my hand, Lesser Fiend with Cave Dragon!"

"Lesser Fiend and Cave Dragon?" Mavis repeated.

A four-armed fiend with a wolf's head briefly appeared alongside a large green scaled dragon. From there, the fusion commenced...

"I give you Fiend Skull Dragon!" announced Darkbishop Archfiend.

Appearing before them was a fiendish looking dragon with a total of six limbs (Level: 5/ATK: 2000 - 2500/DEF: 1200).

"And-" Darkbishop Archfiend went on, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I normal summon Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror in attack position!"

Appearing to the field was a huge archfiend monster with a red and purple blade (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 2000).

"Isn't that a level 8 monster?" questioned Mavis.

"Archfiend Emperor has an effect, Mavis!" called out Toby.

"Your friend is right." agreed Darkbishop Archfiend. "My Archfiend Emperor can be summoned without a tribute, in exchange for his original attack and defense being cut in half."

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror got weaker (ATK: 3000 - 1500/DEF: 2000 - 1000) before getting stronger in attack points (ATK: 1500 - 2000).

"That thing's still not strong enough to take on my Cyber Angels." sighed Mavis, but then realized something... "Unless-!"

"My monster has another effect?" cut in Darkbishop Archfiend, smirking. "And it does! I can banish one Archfiend monster from my hand to destroy one set card you have on the field."

With that said, one card in Darkbishop Archfiend's hand vanished as Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's eyes started to glow.

"Now to target the card on the left!"

The large Archfiend unsheathed his sword and slashed the facedown card in half. The card was revealed to be Ritual Buster before it faded away.

"My Ritual Buster!" cried Mavis.

"BATTLE!" thunder Darkbishop Archfiend, entering the battle phase. "Archfiend Empress, attack Cyber Petit Angel!"

Archfiend Empress obeyed, slashing Cyber Petit Angel to pieces.

"Time to end this duel!" The Court of Darkness member continued. "Fiend Skull Dragon, direct attack!"

Fiend Skull Dragon obeyed and began to charge an attack.

"Sphere Kuriboh!" Mavis suddenly cried out, sending a card from her hand to the graveyard.

Suddenly, the circular version of Kuriboh appeared in the way, taking the blow and being destroyed.

"What?!" winced Darkbishop Archfiend.

"By discarding Sphere Kuriboh-" explained Mavis. "-I can stop your attack and switch your dragon to defense mode!"

Fiend Skull Dragon went into a defensive stance.

"It makes no difference!" shouted Darkbishop Archfiend. "I still have my Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror ready for battle!"

The fiendish Emperor-like monster readied his blade for battle.

"End this duel!"

* * *

 **Title: Cyber Angels Attack, Part 2**

* * *

With no other monsters to protect herself from the coming attack, it looked like it was all over for Mavis.

"MAVIS!" screamed Toby, watching in horror as his girlfriend was about to be finished off.

Fortunately, the blonde-haired girl wasn't done just yet...

"Facedown card, open!" Mavis announced, just as her final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Scapegoat!"

Suddenly, four Sheep Tokens appeared to the field, and one of them took the blow from Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror.

"Scapegoat!?" winced Darkbishop Archfiend.

"That's right..." nodded Mavis in affirmation. "This gives me four Sheep Tokens to protect myself with."

Becoming angry, the Court of Darkness took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized, followed by the sudden destruction of Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror.

"Because I summoned my monster by his ability-" explained Darkbishop Archfiend. "-he's destroyed at the end of this turn."

Mavis sighed in relief. "Well, that's good to hear..."

With that said, the blonde-haired girl drew her next card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Mavis Drewry (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 33  
 **Current Hand** (5): Fusion Recovery, Falling Current, Cyber Angel Idaten, Machine Angel Ritual, and Cyber Angel Vrash

* * *

"Thanks to Scapegoat-" Mavis went on, adding her drawn card to her hand. "-I've bought myself enough time."

The blonde-haired girl's hand consisted of Fusion Recovery, Falling Current, Cyber Angel Idaten, Machine Angel Ritual, and Cyber Angel Vrash. The card on the far right was exactly what Mavis had been waiting for...

"It's showtime." she whispered to herself. closing her eyes.

Suddenly, as she took another card from her hand. the blonde-haired girl began to...dance?

"Huh?" blinked Darkbishop Archfiend, doing a comedic anime sweatdrop.

"What's Mavis doing?" Toby spoke aloud, looking just as surprised.

Darkbishop Archfiend snorted. "Looks like this human has finally lost her mind."

"Oh, not really." echoed the voice of Mavis. It was shown that the teenage girl was still dancing about. "This is just the preparation for the calling of the greatest dancer into this world."

"Greatest dancer?" asked Toby.

"In this world?" put in Darkbishop Archfiend.

Finally, Mavis stopped dancing and slotted her card into her Duel Disk. On cue, a third copy of Machine Angel Ritual materialized face-up...

"I play my final copy of Machine Angel Ritual!" The blonde-haired girl began. "To call forth the greatest dancer into this world, I must make enough offerings from my hand or field to equal a total of 10 stars."

She then took and held out one of the cards in her hand (Cyber Angel Idaten) to show the opponent.

"First up to be offered will be the level 6 Cyber Angel Idaten."

On cue, the three remaining Sheep Tokens faded away to join in the ultimate sacrifice.

"This will be followed by my three Sheep Tokens." continued Mavis.

"Mavis currently offered enough monsters to equal a star level of 9." Toby thought to himself. "She just needs one more to equal 10!"

On cue, the blonde-haired girl's graveyard started glowing all white...

"One more thing - remember my Sphere Kuriboh?" asked Mavis, speaking to Darkbishop Archfiend.

"The one you've sent to the graveyard to stop my attack?" scoffed the Court of Darkness member. "I remember..."

"It's next effect can let me banish it from my graveyard to be used as material for a ritual summon." explained Mavis, just as her Sphere Kuriboh monster card emerged from the graveyard before fading away into oblivion. "All together, this gives me a total of 10 stars!"

A large stage started to emerge in the middle of the duel field.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" announced Mavis, acting as though she were the hostest of some sort of stage show. "I present, for your entertaining pleasure, the greatest dancer in Duel Monsters' history! The one... the only... Cyber Angel Vrash!"

"Cyber Angel Vrash?" quizzed Darkbishop Archfiend.

Toby started to smile. "Cyber Angel Vrash..."

Mavis, after performing a final dance and flip, placed a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. From there, the spotlights started to shine onto the stage as the blonde-haired girl began a summon chant...

" ** _Angel of light hiding eternal power. Now show your form to this vast world, and illuminate all creation... Ritual summon! Take to the stage, Level 10 - Cyber Angel Vrash_**!"

Someone started to rise from the hole in the middle of the stage.

"Cyber Angel Vrash..." frowned Darkbishop Archfiend.

That's right... It was perhaps the strongest, and curviest, Cyber Angel of them all. She was dressed in a purple and pink outfit with a large golden circle on her back, four golden wings by her legs, and four arms (Level: 10/ATK: 3000 - 4000/DEF: 2000 - 3000).

"4000 attack points and 3000 defense points?!" gasped Darkbishop Archfiend. "But how-?"

"Remember when I offered Cyber Angel Idaten for the summon of my monster?" interrupted Mavis, smirking and wagging the index finger of her right hand. "When she is offered as a tribute, she automatically increases the attack and defense points of all ritual monsters on the field by a good 1000 in total." Her smirk broadened. "But, I'm afraid that's the least of your incoming problems..."

"What do you mean?" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend.

"When Cyber Angel Vrash is summoned, all fusion monsters you control are destroyed!"

Cyber Angel Vrash stood ready to attack.

"Ready? Then let's take to the stage!" declared Mavis, starting to use her monster's effect. "Go forth, Cyber Angel Vrash... ANGELIC FURY!"

Cyber Angel Vrash spun in a circle a few times before kicking at the air. The kick sent out a wave of energy that struck and destroyed Fiend Skull Dragon in an instant.

"Next-" Mavis went on. "-you receive 1000 points of damage per monster destroyed by Vrash's effect. In addition, during the battle phase, my monster gains an extra attack."

Darkbishop Archfiend seethed in fury (LP: 1700). On cue, the Falling Current Spell card materialized face-up and started to activate...

"Next up is the Spell card Falling Current!"

"Now Cyber Angel Vrash's level will be changed to either 1, 2, or 3!" said Toby happily. "And if Mavis has the correct card in her hand, she can power her monster's attack points to an extremely high level!"

Cyber Angel Vrash felt her level go down quite a bit (Level: 10 - 3).

"I choose to make my monster's new level a 3." Mavis pointed out, before taking and readying one final card in between the fingers of her right hand. "And now, I equip my monster with a new weapon..." She turned the card over and revealed what it was... "Ritual Weapon, that is!"

A new weapon appeared in one of Cyber Angel Vrash's hands, raising her attack power even more (ATK: 4000 - 5500).

"This grants a level 6 or lower ritual monster a 1500 attack point bonus."

"And thanks to Falling Current-" scowled Darkbishop Archfiend. "-it made Cyber Angel Vrash a choice target for your Equip Spell card..."

"And now... it's time for battle!" Mavis announced, entering the battle phase. "Cyber Angel Vrash, show Archfiend Empress your dancing skills!"

The spotlight was on Cyber Angel Vrash... It's show time!

"Attack, now!"

Cyber Angel Vrash obeyed, and, starting with a jumping spin, she sliced Archfiend Empress in half with the Ritual Weapon!

"Archfiend Empress has fallen!" declared Mavis, with the pumping of her fist.

The enemy monster then exploded from its destruction.

"Damn you..." hissed Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 600).

And then, with a second attack due to her effect, Cyber Angel Vrash made quick work out of Archfiend Heiress. Still very angry over being counterattacked like that, Darkbishop Archfiend still had a small plan up his sleeve...

"I play the effect of Archfiend Empress!" he announced. "When she is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can revive one level 6 or higher Archfiend monster from the graveyard back to the field."

A card ejected from his graveyard.

"Come forth - Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror!"

The familiar Archfiend ruler returned onto the field. Mavis, unsure what to make of this play, entered her end phase...

"I end my turn." she said. In the blonde-haired girl's thoughts. "I don't know what this guy plans to do next, but he likely won't get passed Cyber Angel Vrash with that monster."

"It's my turn!" declared Darkbishop Archfiend, drawing a card. "That was your last chance to defeat me... Now, prepare to pay for your misjudgement!"

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Darkbishop Archfiend (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (1): Big Return  
 **CARD OF DEMISE** : 4 Standby Phases Left

* * *

Seeing his drawn card was a Spell card called Big Return, the Court of Darkness member then turned his attention to his final set card.

"Now I activate my Trap card!" he announced, as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Archfiend's Roar!"

"Archfiend's Roar?" asked Mavis.

"This Trap card allows me to revive one Archfiend monster from my graveyard." explained Darkbishop Archfiend, taking a life point hit (LP: 100). "All I have to do is pay 500 life points... In addition, the monster summoned by this card will be destroyed at the end phase." His smile grew insane. "But this turn is all I'll need to beat you! Come forth - Archfiend Empress!"

The female Archfiend returned to the field.

"Why bring her back?" asked Mavis, looking surprised. "She's weaker than Cyber Angel Vrash."

"Now it's time to play my Archfiend Emperor's ability!" cut in Darkbishop Archfiend.

"What?!"

"I banish one Archfiend monster from my graveyard to destroy your monster!" explained the Court of Darkness member. "Say farewell to Cyber Angel Vrash!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror started to attack! ...but Mavis had other plans of her own...

"I play Cyber Angel Vrash's next effect!" The blonde-haired girl declared. "Once per turn, when a card or effect is activated that would destroy a card on the field, I can shuffle one ritual monster from my graveyard into the deck to negate the activation of your own monster's effect and destroy it!"

Cyber Angel Vrash dodged Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's attack with a graceful backflip through the air, and then started to begin a counterattack as Mavis took and held a card out to her opponent.

"I shuffle Cyber Angel Natasha back into my deck to negate the effect of Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror and destroy it!"

"Hold up!" cut in Darkbishop Archfiend. "I still have Archfiend Empress left... and this is why I brought her back!"

Before Cyber Angel Vrash could deliver the finishing blow with style, Archfiend Empress suddenly blocked the attack.

"What?!" cringed Mavis.

With a great heave, Archfiend Empress shoved Cyber Angel Vrash back onto Mavis's side of the field, knocking the female monster onto the ground.

"What happened?!" gasped Toby, shocked that his girlfriend's counterattack was stopped.

"If one face up dark fiend-type monster I control would be destroyed-" explained Darkbishop Archfiend as a card ejected from his graveyard. "-I can banish a fiend monster from my graveyard instead!"

"Even if you did that-" argued Mavis. "-Cyber Angel Vrash is still safe from your monster for the time being. Why? Because you can only use your monster's effect once per turn."

"Wrong! That was just the beginning!"

Mavis grimaced, watching as Darkbishop Archfiend took and held out his final card.

"I play the Spell card Big Return!" announced the Court of Darkness member.

"NO! NOT THAT CARD!" wailed Toby, knowing all about it.

"This Spell card allows me to activate a card's effect that can usually only be activated once per turn a second time during the same turn!" explained Darkbishop Archfiend. "So now... I will have Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror target and take now your Ritual Weapon!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's eyes started to glow all red as it prepared to attack...

"Nothing can stop him now!"

With a powerful attack, the face-up Ritual Weapon Spell card shattered into pieces of glass. Without the weapon, Cyber Angel Vrash's attack dropped down (ATK: 5500 - 4000).

"She's still stronger than either your Archfiends!" objected Mavis.

That was true... Cyber Angel Vrash (ATK: 4000) was still more powerful than Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror (ATK: 3500) and Archfiend Empress (ATK: 3400).

"We'll see..." remarked Darkbishop Archfiend, entering the battle phase. "Archfiend Emperor... attack Cyber Angel Vrash!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror obeyed, charging into battle.

"Cyber Angel Vrash-" commanded Mavis. "-strike back! Show my opponent that nobody evil can ever upstage you!"

Cyber Angel Vrash obeyed, diving into the air after avoiding the attack, getting ready to kick Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror in the head.

"This is the end!" declared Mavis in triumph.

"Indeed it is..." agreed Darkbishop Archfiend, before ending his sentence with... "...for you, that is!"

Mavis's look of triumph was replaced with one of shock, watching as another card emerged from her opponent's graveyard.

"What's going on?" The blonde-haired girl demanded.

"Easy... I banish a card called Skill Successor from my graveyard." answered Darkbishop Archfiend. "It was one of the cards I've discarded with Graceful Charity... What it does, is when it gets banished, it increases the attack points of one of my monsters by a solid 800!"

Mavis couldn't believe it... "800 points?!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror felt his attack power increase even more (ATK: 3500 - 4300). That meant one thing...

"Cyber Angel Vrash is now too weak to fight back!" panicked Toby.

"I can't do anything to stop the attack!" thought Mavis, watching in horror as her ace monster tried to fight back futilely.

Suddenly, just before it was the end of Cyber Angel Vrash...

"Hold it!"

All of a sudden, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's attack froze in place (sparing Cyber Angel Vrash for the moment).

"Consider this your last chance, Mavis Drewry." said Darkbishop Archfiend harshly. "Surrender, and allow us to capture Thomas Billinton without any interference from you, and you'll be spared. But defy us, and you'll face the endless darkness. Which will it be... Life, or Death?"

Mavis found her choice to be unbelievably difficult to choose from... She didn't want to betray Thomas just to save herself, but the blonde-haired girl also didn't want to die and be cast into darkness.

"Don't keep me waiting! What will your choice be?"

"What... what should I do?" Mavis thought to herself, becoming deeply frustrated. "Dammit! What should I do?!"

"Well?" questioned Darkbishop Archfiend once again, arms folded. "What is your choice?"

Still, Mavis couldn't figure out a solution. Just then...

"Mavis!"

The blonde-haired girl turned and saw Toby running over to her. Once the brown-haired boy got close enough, he took Mavis's hands and gazed onto her eyes.

"Toby?" quizzed Mavis. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure we always be together." answered Toby. "You and I will keep Thomas from falling into darkness..."

"Toby...?"

"I love you, Mavis, and if this is how we can remain together-" The brown-haired boy went on. "-then so be it. Our love will make sure that Thomas remains safe..."

Mavis was speechless, and was even moved to tears by that little speech.

"Oh, Toby..." she whispered.

With that said, the couple shared one last kiss before it was time... Before long, Mavis broke from the kiss and glared defiantly at Darkbishop Archfiend.

"So, you've made a choice?" The Court of Darkness member asked shortly.

Mavis closed her eyes. "Yes... WE have."

"' _We_ '?"

Sensing Mavis's fright over speaking the words, Toby took hold of the blonde-haired girl's hand and smiled warmly at her.

"You can do it." The brown-haired boy whispered.

Mavis smiled at her boyfriend before narrowing her eyes, looking to Darkbishop Archfiend, and saying these very words...

"We will never let you turn Thomas over to the dark side!" she declared. "And so... Toby and I both choose...death!"

"So be it." sneered Darkbishop Archfiend, before giving the final command... "Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror, kill them all!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror obeyed, raised his sword, and unleashed an absolutely devastating attack. Cyber Angel Vrash was the first to be cut down by the blow, and it was also now coming for Mavis and Toby, who only closed their eyes, held hands, and accepted their incoming fate...

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, a massive pillar of fire shot out from one part of the building. What was it, you could be asking? The answer is here...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the grand chamber, Darkbishop Archfiend slowly walked towards the smoke clouding his opponent's side of the field.

"So, they choice this as their fate..." The Court of Darkness member muttered to himself. "How disappointing..."

When the smoke cleared, Mavis and Toby were both lying on the ground holding onto each other while not moving. In addition, Mavis's remaining life points dropped to zero (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Darkbishop Archfiend wins!**

* * *

Darkbishop Archfiend walked over to the dead couple and scoffed.

"So, you say your love will prevent Lord Diablon from ever returning?" he asked the dead Mavis. Just then, the Court of Darkness member kicked the blonde-haired girl's head roughly and angrily. "BAH! Like that will ever happen! Disgusting creature..."

With that said, he walked away as the two bodies faded away into particles of light.

(elsewhere...)

Thomas and the rest of the crew were making their way through the castle.

"I wonder how Mavis and Toby are doing?" asked Edward.

"Probably kicking some Court of Darkness butt!" boasted Rosie, figuring her friend was beating Darkbishop Archfiend.

"That's where you're wrong!" came a familiar voice.

Thomas and the others stopped in their tracks.

"That voice..." whispered Henry.

"It's coming from behind that door!" Spencer pointed out, walking forth to open the door.

"Please be careful, Spencer..." warned Molly.

"I'll be fine." insisted the silver-haired boy, turning the door handle.

Once the door was opened, Thomas, Spencer, and everyone else entered the room and, to their surprise, found Darkbishop Archfiend waiting for everyone.

"I've been expecting all of you." The Court of Darkness member said coolly.

"Where are Mavis and Toby?" demanded Henry.

Darkbishop Archfiend folded his arms and chuckled. "Where else would the dead go after being sacrificed to the darkness? That means I don't have a clue..."

"Sacrificed to...darkness?" repeated Rosie. Her eyes widened... "That means-!"

"That's right! They're dead..."

"N-No..." mumbled Molly, falling to her knees. "M-Mavis..."

"Toby, too..." came a devastated Stanley.

"I gave them a chance to save themselves from this fate." insisted Darkbishop Archfiend, still sounding very uncaring. "But they chose to die, all because they believe that their ' _love_ ' will prevent your friend from falling into darkness."

Thomas shook with grief. "You... You! **YOU**!"

He felt like he wanted to punch Darkbishop Archfiend for what he had done. Just then, there was a new voice...

"Out with Darkbishop Archfiend, and in with me!"

Darkbishop Archfiend suddenly started to vanish, but not before Thomas charged towards the smoke.

"Stop!" The blue-haired boy yelled. "Don't you dare leave!"

Too late, the Court of Darkness member was gone as the smoke cleared. On cue, Earl of Demise entered the room from another door.

"You!" exclaimed Thomas, upon seeing the familiar fiend-type monster.

Unfortunately, a certain someone also got fired up from seeing Earl of Demise.

"You again?!" came from a shocked and angry Stanley.

"Told ya we'd meet again." teased Earl of Demise, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "Defeating someone like me won't be good for the beating you're gonna soon be gettin'!"

"What does that mean?" demanded Stanley angrily. "If I remember correctly, you were the one who killed my Father and I beat you in revenge!"

"Correct, you are." nodded Earl of Demise. "You've defeated me, but now I want revenge!"

"In that case-" Stanley fired up his Duel Disk. "-I challenge you to a rematch!"

Earl of Demise activated his own Duel Disk. "Gladly! My new and improved deck will make mincemeat out of you, kid. Heck, if you're too afraid of the whoopin' you're about to receive, just hand over the Billinton boy and I'll spare you."

Before Stanley could say another word...

"Hey!" cut in Rosie, stepping forth. "You wanna mess with someone? Try me!"

"You?" snorted Earl of Demise. "A little girl like you? Sorry, but I don't hit girls unless they're at least a teenager."

Rosie scowled at the insult. "Look, you creep... you mess with my boyfriend, or my friend here, and you'll have me to answer to!"

"Heh! In that case, why don't I make an offer so that this becomes an interesting duel?" offered Earl of Demise. "How about you and your so-called 'boyfriend' both face me in a tag team duel?"

"A tag team duel?" questioned Stanley, looking puzzled.

"Yes. Both of you will duel against me."

Stanley and Rosie both looked at each other. Sure, they were a couple now, but they still never duelled as a team before... Before long, Rosie looked and smiled at her gray-haired boyfriend, and Stanley smiled back at his pink-haired girlfriend.

"What do you say, Rose?" offered Stanley.

Rosie nodded. "I'm in, Stan."

The two duelists (with Rosie activating her own Duel Disk) looked back at Earl of Demise.

" **We accept the challenge**!" They both said at the same time.

"Ha ha ha! That's good to hear!" laughed Earl of Demise, drawing five cards (LP: 8000). "Let the clash begin!"

"Get ready, you murderer." declared Stanley, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000).

"We're gonna bring you down!" finished Rosie, who had drawn her opening hand (LP: 4000).

And so, the second rematch had begun...

"Stanley..." whispered Henry.

"Rosie..." whispered Molly.

"As the one who lost the last duel-" said Earl of Demise, drawing a card. "-the first turn will go to me."

* * *

 **Turn One** : Earl of Demise (LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Crystal Seer, Triggered Summon, Backup Soldier, Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Vortex Trooper, and Damage Pot

* * *

The Court of Darkness member's hand consisted of Crystal Seer, Triggered Summon, Backup Soldier, Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Vortex Trooper, and the added Damage Pot.

"I assure you that this duel will work much more differently than before." Earl of Demise reassured, before placing a card facedown onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I will summon this monster in defense mode!"

A facedown card appeared (sideways).

"Why play it facedown?" asked Rosie.

"Flip effect, maybe?" suggested Stanley. "Either way, we cannot allow this guy to get any sort of advantage."

"I know that, Stanley."

Earl of Demise wasn't finished just yet... he then slotted two cards into his Duel Disk.

"Finally, I place these two cards facedown-" The Court of Darkness member went on, just as two facedown cards materialized. "-and my turn is finished." In his thoughts... "Can you both hear the roars of the Forbidden One? Soon, you will face him... and unimagined power!"

"In that case-" cut in Rosie, drawing a card. "-the next turn will go to me!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (6): Brutal Potion, Dark Cure, Jar of Greed, Gift Card, Defenders Intercept, and Darklord Nurse Reficule

* * *

Her drawn card was the Darklord Nurse Reficule monster card.

"Darklord Nurse Reficule..." The pink-haired girl thought to herself, before adding the card to her hand. Her hand consisted of Brutal Potion, Dark Cure, Jar of Greed, Gift Card, Defenders Intercept, and Darklord Nurse Reficule. "And I already have all that I need to show-off my 'Anti-Cure' strategy."

From there, she took and placed a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk (causing the card to lighten up).

"I summon Darklord Nurse Reficule in attack mode!"

The dark nurse appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 600).

"Since this is a triangle duel, and not a full tag team duel-" Rosie continued, entering the battle phase. "-I am able to unleash an attack this turn... Attack the facedown monster, now!"

Darklord Nurse Reficule obeyed, slashing the facedown card in two.

"Time to see what you're hiding!"

Appearing in place of the slashed card was spellcaster monster in red clothes and a black veil and cape.

"You've attacked my Crystal Seer." Earl of Demise pointed out. "And since it was attacked while facedown, its flip effect has activated!"

Two cards from his deck floated out and soared in front of him.

"I am able to excavate two cards from the top of my deck and add one of those cards to my hand and place the other one on the bottom of the deck."

"While you do that-" interrupted Rosie. "-my monster will bring down yours!"

And indeed it did... Crystal Seer was destroyed in an instant by the far stronger Darklord Nurse Reficule. By then, Earl of Demise had chosen his card to add to the deck.

"So, you have..."

On cue, five facedown cards materialized behind Darklord Nurse Reficule.

"I now set my whole hand facedown and end my turn!" Rosie finished.

"This is it..." Stanley thought to himself. "This is my big chance to finally avenge my Father's death... With Rosie helping me out, Earl of Demise should be much easier to defeat than from before..."

Oh, if only the gray-haired boy and his pink-haired girlfriend knew what their opponent had in store for them...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	87. The Destiny Factor (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Thomas began narrating the events of the previous chapter...

"We've finally arrived at the Castle of Dark Illusions, where Emily is being held captive by the Court of Darkness... We knew this wasn't going to be an easy fight, as we encountered one of those monsters shortly after arriving..."

"I... I know the whole building inside out." Thomas breathed. He then stood back up and clenched his left hand into a fist. "And...I know where Emily is being kept!"

"Then let's hurry and find her!" insisted Henry.

Just then, there was a new voice...

"Oh, you will, will you?"

Suddenly, standing before the heroes was a smirking Darkbishop Archfiend.

"You!" The blonde-haired girl accused.

Darkbishop Archfiend kept his evil smile. "Yes, me..."

"I still haven't forgotten what you made me relive." said Mavis hotly.

"Your past, if I'm not mistaken?"

Toby approached his girlfriend. "Mavis, what do you mean by he's after you?"

"Did you encounter him once before?" added Edward.

"We dueled back in the Amazoness Village." explained Mavis.

"And Mavis basically makes everyone else take me away to that she and Darkbishop Archfiend could have a rematch... Except that Toby demanded to remain behind and cheer Mavis on."

"I'm staying with you." Toby spoke up.

"No, Toby, you're not involved in this... Stay with Thomas, he needs you guys more than I do."

The brown-haired boy shook his head. "I don't want you to fight this guy without support! If what you said he did to you before was bad, who knows what could happen if he tries it again..."

"Oh? And who might you be?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm her boyfriend, Toby Holden." Toby answered firmly. "Not only that, but I was her first true friend when she reformed."

The Court of Darkness smiled. "So, you're the boy from the girl's past... Tell me something, are you lucky to be alive after what she did to you?"

"That wasn't her fault!" protested Toby. "Diesel manipulated her into acting that way."

"But, she could have also refused to do that stuff, you know... Instead, she let her selfish desires cloud her judgement."

Toby and Mavis both scowled.

"Nevertheless, both sides fought with everything they had..."

Mavis, after performing a final dance and flip, placed a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk. From there, the spotlights started to shine onto the stage as the blonde-haired girl began a summon chant...

"Angel of light hiding eternal power. Now show your form to this vast world, and illuminate all creation... Ritual summon! Take to the stage, Level 10 - Cyber Angel Vrash!"

Someone started to rise from the hole in the middle of the stage.

"Cyber Angel Vrash..." frowned Darkbishop Archfiend.

That's right... It was perhaps the strongest, and curviest, Cyber Angel of them all. She was dressed in a purple and pink outfit with a large golden circle on her back, four golden wings by her legs, and four arms (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 3000).

"I play the Spell card Big Return!" announced the Court of Darkness member, taking and holding out his final card.

"NO! NOT THAT CARD!" wailed Toby, knowing all about it.

"This Spell card allows me to activate a card's effect that can usually only be activated once per turn a second time during the same turn!" explained Darkbishop Archfiend. "So now... I will have Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror target and take now your Ritual Weapon!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's eyes started to glow all red as it prepared to attack...

"Nothing can stop him now!"

With a powerful attack, the face-up Ritual Weapon Spell card shattered into pieces of glass. Without the weapon, Cyber Angel Vrash's attack dropped down (ATK: 5500 - 4000).

"...only one side was shown to be stronger, and that was Darkbishop Archfiend."

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror felt his attack power increase even more (ATK: 3500 - 4300). That meant one thing...

"Cyber Angel Vrash is now too weak to fight back!" panicked Toby.

"I can't do anything to stop the attack!" thought Mavis, watching in horror as her ace monster tried to fight back futilely.

Suddenly, just before it was the end of Cyber Angel Vrash...

"Hold it!"

All of a sudden, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror's attack froze in place (sparing Cyber Angel Vrash for the moment).

"Consider this your last chance, Mavis Drewry." said Darkbishop Archfiend harshly. "Surrender, and allow us to capture Thomas Billinton without any interference from you, and you'll be spared. But defy us, and you'll face the endless darkness. Which will it be... Life, or Death?"

Mavis found her choice to be unbelievably difficult to choose from... She didn't want to betray Thomas just to save herself, but the blonde-haired girl also didn't want to die and be cast into darkness.

"Well?" questioned Darkbishop Archfiend once again, arms folded. "What is your choice?"

"After a pep-talk from Toby, Mavis decided to allow herself to die along with Toby so that they could keep me safe from the darkness."

"So be it." sneered Darkbishop Archfiend, before giving the final command... "Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror, kill them all!"

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror obeyed, raised his sword, and unleashed an absolutely devastating attack. Cyber Angel Vrash was the first to be cut down by the blow, and it was also now coming for Mavis and Toby, who only closed their eyes, held hands, and accepted their incoming fate...

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, a massive pillar of fire shot out from one part of the building. What was it, you could be asking? The answer is here...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the grand chamber, Darkbishop Archfiend slowly walked towards the smoke clouding his opponent's side of the field. When said smoke cleared away, Mavis and Toby were both lying on the ground holding onto each other while not moving. In addition, Mavis's remaining life points dropped to zero (LP: 0).

"So, they choice this as their fate..." The Court of Darkness member muttered to himself. "How disappointing..."

"Not long after, Earl of Demise arrived and had Stanley challenge him to a rematch, knowing that Stanley still wanted to avenge his Father's murder."

Stanley and Rosie both looked at each other. Sure, they were a couple now, but they still never duelled as a team before... Before long, Rosie looked and smiled at her gray-haired boyfriend, and Stanley smiled back at his pink-haired girlfriend.

"What do you say, Rose?" offered Stanley.

Rosie nodded. "I'm in, Stan."

The two duelists (with Rosie activating her own Duel Disk) looked back at Earl of Demise.

"We accept the challenge!" They both said at the same time.

"But Rosie joined Stanley as a partner, turning it into a triangle match. I can only hope they win, for the sake of Toby AND Mavis!"

* * *

 **Title: The Destiny Factor, Part 1**

* * *

Opening up in another grand chamber, Stanley and Rosie both were facing Earl of Demise in a triangle duel.

"It's my turn!" announced Stanley, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude

* * *

On cue, the Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude monster card materialized face-up.

"Come on out - Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude!"

The diamond fisted hero appeared to the field, ready for a fight against evil (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1600).

"My monster's effect activates!" continued Stanley. "The top card of my deck is drawn and revealed... If it's a Normal Spell card, then it's sent to the graveyard, but the effect of the Spell card will activate on my next main phase. However, if the card is not a Normal Spell card, then the card will be placed at the bottem of my deck."

Stanley drew the top card and looked at it and smirked.

"The card I've drawn-" The gray-haired boy began, before showing the card. "-is Monster Reborn! A Normal Spell card!"

"Huh! I don't see how it'll help you." scoffed Earl of Demise. "The only monster in the graveyard is my Crystal Seer"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Stanley rebuffed. His current hand consisted of Destiny HERO - Malicious, D-Fusion, Polymerization, Destiny HERO - Decider, and Eternal Dread. "I already have a plan to make sure Monster Reborn works." He selected the Polymerization Spell card. "I activate Polymerization!"

"What?!" gasped Earl of Demise, watching as the Polymerization Spell card materialized face-up.

"Using it-" Stanley went on, taking and holding two cards out. "-I'll fuse these two monsters from my hand; Destiny HERO - Decider and Destiny HERO - Malicious!"

Both mentioned monsters appeared on the field briefly before fusing together.

"Come out - Destiny HERO - Dangerous!"

Appearing to the field was a Destiny HERO with dark purple skin and a cape (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2600). Suddenly, Earl of Demise grinned wickedly at the fusion summoned monster...

"Why, thank you..." he said sarcastically. "By special summoning a monster like that, I can play this Trap card - Triggered Summon!"

The first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Triggered Summon?" blinked Rosie.

"This allows us all to special summon a level 4 or lower monster from our hands." explained Earl of Demise, readying a card. "But I think I'll let both of you do that first."

"I have no cards in my hand." sighed Rosie.

"And I have no more monster cards in my hand worth summoning." added Stanley.

Earl of Demise chuckled as he placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

"In that case... Meet Vortex Trooper!"

Appearing to the field was a large blue robot with a vortex spinning blade for a head and arm (Level: 3/ATK: 0/DEF: 600).

"I can return two cards from my hand to the deck to draw two new cards."

With that said, the Court of Darkness member shuffled two cards into his deck and drew two more cards.

"Yeah? Well, check this effect out!" Stanley retorted, sending a card from his hand to the graveyard (Ring of Magnetism). "Once per turn, I can send one card from my hand to the graveyard to move one Destiny HERO monster from either my hand or deck to the graveyard... When I do, all of the Destiny HERO monsters on the field receives 200 attack points per Destiny HERO in my graveyard."

With a card having been discarded, Stanley selected a Destiny HERO monster card from his deck to be sent to the graveyard.

"I discard Destiny HERO - Disk Commander to make the number of Destiny HERO monsters in my graveyard three, giving Destiny HEROES Diamond Dude and Dangerous a total of 600 extra attack points."

Destiny HEROES Diamond Dude and Dangerous's respective attack stats began to rise to greater heights (ATK: 1400 - 2000)(ATK: 2000 - 2600).

"Diamond Dude, attack now!" Stanley commanded, having entered the battle phase. "Take out that Vortex Trooper!"

Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude immediately obeyed the command, striking down Vortex Trooper. With no more monsters on his side of the field, Earl of Demise was open to a direct attack.

"With Vortex Trooper's destruction-" said Earl of Demise, drawing a card. "-I can draw an extra card from my deck."

"Regardless-" dismissed Stanley. "-now I can attack you directly... Destiny HERO - Dangerous, go get him!"

Destiny HERO - Dangerous obeyed the command and prepared to unleash an attack on the seemingly defenseless Earl of Demise. Unfortunately, it sounded way too easy of a plan...

"Is that the best you've got?" hissed Earl of Demise, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "Continuous Trap - Damage Pot!"

His other set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Damage Pot?" blinked Stanley.

Rosie frowned. "I know about it... That Trap card prevents the battle damage that he would have taken."

And it did... A large pot emerged from the face-up Trap card and blocked Destiny HERO - Dangerous's attack.

"Looks to me like your attack has backfired with a passion." joked Earl of Demise.

Stanley growled in annoyance, taking and slotted a card into his Duel Disk.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." The gray-haired boy said bitterly.

A facedown card materialized.

"And with my turn over, Destony HERO - Dangerous's effect wears off."

Indeed it had... The power bonus Destiny HEROES Diamond Dude and Dangerous had both received vanished (ATK: 2000 - 1400)(ATK: 2600 - 2000).

"Just in time for my turn!" declared Earl of Demise, drawing a card. "Get ready, you piles of cow dung!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Earl of Demise (LP: 8000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (6): Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Draining Shield, Deep Diver, Burden of the Mighty, Dimensional Prison, and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

His current hand contained Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Draining Shield, Deep Diver, Burden of the Mighty, Dimensional Prison, and the added The Field of Dark Graves. Once he saw the last card on the far right, a cruel smile appeared on the Court of Darkness member's face.

"Well now..." whispered Earl of Demise, looking towards his two opponents. "Say, boy, you've never got to face this card I've drawn when we last dueled, did you?"

"Card?" quizzed Rosie. She then realized something REALLY bad... "He's drawn it?!"

"That's right!" confirmed Earl of Demise, holding his drawn card out. "The Field of Dark Graves!"

The Court of Darkness felt darkness overcoming him as the whole room started to transform, much to the concern of both Stanley Hudswell and Rosie Vulcan.

"This is it..." Stanley said to Rosie. "The real fight begins here."

The pink-haired girl nodded in agreement. "I can only hope we are able to handle it."

"He he he he ha ha..." came the laughter from Earl of Demise, as his eyes turned crimson red. "I highly doubt it... From now on, my monsters receive a 500 attack point bonus..."

From there, he took another card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.

"But before I start playing monsters again, I'll activate this Continuous Spell card..."

Stanley and Rosie both gasped in shock, watching as a Spell card called Burden of the Mighty materialized face-up.

"That's Burden of the Mighty!" exclaimed Stanley.

"What's that do?" James asked Edward.

"It's a rare and dangerous card." answered Edward gravely. "As long as it remains face-up, all monsters controlled by Stanley and Rosie will lose attack points equal to their star level."

"That sucks..." grumbled James. "That means a strong monster can become much weaker upon being summoned."

Meanwhile, Darklord Nurse Reficule (ATK: 1400 - 1000, Destony HERO - Diamond Dude (ATK: 1400 - 1000, and Destony HERO - Dangerous (ATK: 2000 - 1400) all got weaker.

"Darklord Nurse Reficule and Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude are both level 4 monsters..." mused Stanley. "100 times 4 equals 400 attack points lost."

"And Destiny HERO - Dangerous is a level 6 monster, so it loses 600 attack points." added Rosie.

Stanley then smiled. "But I still have a plan..."

"You do?"

"I sure do... Go D-Fusion!" The gray-haired boy's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "This lets me fusion summon a Destiny HERO fusion monster by using monsters I control as fusion materials."

Destiny HEROES Diamond Dude and Dangerous vanished as they fused together.

"I fusion summon Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Appearing to the field was a Destiny HERO wearing a bluish suit with a gold helmet (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400).

"And before your Spell card activates and drains my monster's attack points-" Stanley continued. "-I'll activate Destiny HERO - Dystopia's effect!"

On cue, Destiny HERO - Dangerous reappeared on the field briefly before fading away in a blue streak.

"I can select one of the fusion material monsters used to summon him and inflict damage to you equal to its original attack!"

"What?!" exclaimed Earl of Demise (LP: 8000).

"No lie!" insisted Stanley. "I select Destiny HERO - Dangerous to inflict 2000 points of damage to your life points!"

Destiny HERO - Dangerous's spirit flew over and punched Earl of Demise in the stomach, injuring the Court of Darkness member (LP: 6000).

"Damn...you...!" hissed Earl of Demise weakly from the pain. "I activate the effect of...Burden of the Mighty!"

Destiny HERO - Dystopia's attack began to weaken (ATK: 2800 - 2000).

"Ha! I've got you now!" Stanley grinned. "I was hoping you'd weaken my monster."

"W-What?!"

"I activate Dystopia's other ability!" declared Stanley. "When either of his stats have been changed by the use of Spell, Trap, or monster effect. he destroys one card on the field!"

In an instant, Burden of the Mighty shattered into pieces of glass.

"With Burden of the Mighty gone, Destiny HERO - Dystopia and Darklord Nurse Reficule's attack stats return to normal."

"Why didn't they destroy Damage Pot?" ask Molly. "They would've been able to start doing battle damage again."

"Stanley and Rosie both need all the strong monsters they can get." answered Edward. "Even then, it won't be easy to keep them with The Field of Dark Graves being on the field and powering Earl of Demise's monsters."

Back in the duel field, Darklord Nurse Reficule (ATK: 1000 - 1400) and Destiny HERO - Dystopia (ATK: 2000 - 2800) both returned to their usual attack strengths.

"I know we could have targeted and destroyed Damage Pot-" Stanley was saying to Earl of Demise. "-but we have many other ways to inflict damage. Don't we, Rosie?"

"Right." agreed Rosie.

Earl of Demise snorted and readied a card. "I'd like to see you try and do just that!"

On cue, a monster card called Deep Diver materialized face-up.

"I summon Deep Diver in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a warrior monster dressed in a deep-sea suit (Level: 3/ATK: 1000 - 1500/DEF: 1100).

"As I was expecting you to do..." smirked Rosie, before poking a button on her Duel Disk. "I reveal a Continuous Trap card - Dark Cure!"

Her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"This is the full power of my Anti-Cure strategy! First, Dark Cure will increase your life points equal to half of Deep Diver's attack points... But you won't gain those life points because Darklord Nurse Reficule's effect will active and reverse it into damage!"

"What?!" gasped Earl of Demise (LP: 5250). "I take damage instead of recovering life points?!"

"You got that right." confirmed Rosie, who wasn't finished just yet... "And, to make sure my monster stays on the field, I'll play yet another Trap card... Go - Brutal Potion!"

The next set card belonging to the pink-haired girl flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"When activated, it automatically becomes an Equipment card to one of my monsters. Once pre turn, whenever you receive life point damage of any kind, Darklord Nurse Reficule's attack will increase by 1000 points until the end phase."

Darklord Nurse Reficule's attack went up (ATK: 1400 - 2400).

"Now Darklord Nurse Reficule will be spared of a possible attack you could plan out." teased Rosie. "Too bad!"

Earl of Demise growled. "I end my turn!"

"And just in time for mine!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

Rosie's drawn card was the Card of Sanctity Spell card.

"Time to refresh my hand..." The pink-haired girl thought to herself, before speaking aloud. "Let's continue with the duel!" She held her drawn card out. "...and Card of Sanctity should be a good start..." Her next facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "I play another Trap card - Gift Card!"

"Another life point increasing card?" blinked James.

"It's part of her Anti-Cure strategy." reminded Spencer.

"Normally, this would give you an extra 3000 life points." said Rosie, just before pointing at her opponent. "But thanks to my Darklord Nurse Reficule..."

"...you take damage instead!" finished Stanley.

Earl of Demise seethed as more damage was dealt (LP: 2250). On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself, causing a beautiful glow of light to fill the ceiling of the chamber.

"By now playing Card of Sanctity, we are all required to draw until we hold six cards in our hands."

The three duelists drew cards from their decks.  
-Stanley: Six cards  
-Rosie: Her new hand currently consisted of Magical Stone Excavation, Burning Algae, Luster Dragon, Bonfire, Rope of Life, and Skill Successor.  
-Earl of Demise: Four cards

"My turn isn't over yet." The pink-haired girl went on. "My Trap card now activates and increases Darklord Nurse Reficule's attack points by 1000!"

Darklord Nurse Reficule got stronger (ATK: 1400 - 2400). Just then, the Bonfire Spell card materialized face-up...

"And next comes Bonfire!"

Rosie drew the Burning Algae monster card before adding it to her hand and speaking on...

"This lets me add a level 4 or lower fire attribute monster from the deck to my hand." explained Rosie, before taking and holding another card out. "Now comes Magical Stone Excavation! Now I send two cards from my hand to the graveyard to add one Spell card to my hand."

Two copies of the Burning Algae monster card entered the graveyard one-by-one, and out came the Bonfire Spell card.

"But it makes no sense!" protested Earl of Demise. "Why do something like that?"

"Because when Burning Alge is sent to the graveyard-" explained Rosie. "-you gain 1000 life points for each one."

"Rosie sent two copies to the graveyard-" added Stanley. "-and that means you gain 2000 life points... BUT! There's also Darklord Nurse Reficule to take into consideration!"

"I take 2000 points of damage instead of gaining 2000 life points..." grumbled Earl of Demise (LP: 250).

"If they keep this up-" grinned James. "-Stanley and Rosie will win!"

"Go get him, you two!" called Gordon.

The only ones who weren't smiling were both Thomas and Spencer.

"Something's not right." mused Thomas.

"Agreed." nodded Spencer.

Edward saw the serious looks on the two boys' faces. "What's the matter?"

"Earl of Demise is making it too easy for them." answered Thomas. "Furthermore, he's been mostly playing defensive since the duel began... Even after activating The Field of Dark Graves, he's never declared an attack."

"It's a strategy used by duelists who..." began Spencer.

Edward gasped. "...an Exodia deck!"

"Umm... Did you say...an Exodia deck?" gulped James, hoping it was a joke.

"I'm afraid so." frowned Edward. "It looks like Earl of Demise is waiting until he has all five Exodia pieces in his hand. And once that happens..."

"Stanley and Rosie will both be defeated..." Henry finished grimly.

"They can't let that happen!" objected Molly.

Back to the duel...

"We knew you were playing an Exodia deck from the very beginning!" proclaimed Rosie. "Drawing power and staying on the defensive tipped us off."

"And with only 250 life points left-" added Stanley. "-you'll never draw all five pieces in time!"

Despite being told that, Earl of Demise wasn't looking worried at all...

"Oh, how both of you are unaware of my true plans for Exodia..." he thought to himself. The Court of Darkness member then spoke aloud... "If you wanna finish me off before I get the other pieces of Exodia, you're more than welcome to try!"

"Gladly!" accepted Rosie, entering the battle phase. "Darklord Nurse Reficule, attack Deep Diver!"

Darklord Nurse Reficule obeyed, preparing to attack Deep Diver.

"But Deep Diver is in defense mode!" protested James.

"Hold on, I think Rosie has a plan." reassured Edward.

And indeed she did...

"And now I play another Trap card!" The pink-haired girl announced, just as her next facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Defenders Intercept!"

Deep Diver found itself standing up into a battle ready position.

"What's going on?" demanded Earl of Demise.

"Defenders Intercept forces the monster Darklord Nurse Reficule battles into attack mode." explained Rosie. "In addition, your monster's own effect gets negated."

"That means you're finished!" concluded Stanley. "This...is for my Father!"

Darklord Nurse Reficule was about to destroy Deep Diver, but it wasn't gonna be as easy as that...

"Sorry, kid." cut in Earl of Demise, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "My life points and Deep Diver aren't going anywhere..." One of his two set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Dimensional Prison!"

Suddenly, a large dimensional rift in the ceiling opened up.

"Dimensional Prison?" blinked Rosie, looking up at the ceiling.

"This Trap card banishes a monster when it attacks." explained Earl of Demise, smirking widely. "Such as..."

"Oh no!" cried Rosie, watching helplessly as her monster was sucked into the rift. "Reficule!"

"Ha ha ha ha!" laughed Earl of Demise. "I was excepting an attack like that! Now you've lost your only monster, and I won't be taking any more damage from your Anti-Cure strategy. And your attack wouldn't have beaten me anyway, because Damage Pot would have reduced the battle damage down to zero!"

Just then, Rosie's final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Facedown card, open!" announced the pink-haired girl, drawing a card from her deck. "Jar of Greed! This lets me draw an extra card."

"So be it." shrugged Earl of Demise.

From there, two facedown cards materialized.

"Finally, I set two cards facedown and end my turn." sighed Rosie, before looking to Stanley. "Sorry, but that was all I could do..."

"It's okay, Rosie!" Stanley reassured his girlfriend. "You've done good. I'll take care of the rest!" He drew a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (7): Destiny HERO - Dogma, Urban Demise, Force of Four, Destiny HERO - Dreamer, Destiny HERO - Drilldark, Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster, and Plasma Roar

* * *

"And because we're now on my main phase, the effect of Monster Reborn activates! Be reborn - Destiny HERO - Dangerous!"

The purple Destiny HERO returned to the field.

"BATTLE!" shouted Stanley, entering the battle phase. "Dystopia, attack Deep Diver!"

Destiny HERO - Dystopia was about to attack, but Earl of Demise took and held out a card from his hand.

"I activate Command Silencer from my hand!" The Court of Darkness member announced.

Suddenly a large totem pole appeared to the field and started emitting loud screeches.

"AUGH!" shrieked Rosie, covering her ears.

"M-My ears...!" grimaced Stanley.

"That's the card I had used in the Battle City Finals!" cried Spencer over the noise, one of the few not affected by it.

"I remember it, too!" added Thomas.

"This handy Quick-Play Spell card negates your attack and lets me draw another card." explained Earl of Demise, about to draw a card. "So sorry..."

Stanley wasn't done yet. "Oh yeah? I still have this..." He discarded Destiny HERO - Dreamer from his hand to the graveyard. "I activate the effect of Destiny HERO - Dangerous!"

Once another Destiny HERO monster card was sent to the graveyard, Destiny HEROES Dangerous (ATK: 2000 - 3000) and Dystopia (ATK: 2800 - 3800). Because the stats of Destiny HERO - Dystopia changed, its effect activatedm negated, and destroyed the totem pole.

"What?!" cried Earl of Demise.

"Because Destiny HERO - Dystopia had its attack stat changed, his effect negates your Command Silencer and destroys it!" reminded Stanley, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "Meaning my attack is still on!"

Destiny HERO - Dystopia resumed its attack, but suddenly got blocked by a face-up Trap card.

"Huh?!"

"What's going on?" came from Rosie.

Earl of Demise was laughing. "Behold Draining Shield!"

A large shield was blocking Destiny HERO - Dystopia's attack before the monster got pushed back.

"Your little attack has been negated!" The Court of Darkness member went on, gaining life points (LP: 4050). "And my life points have gained a boost based on your monster's attack points!"

"Dang!" cried Stanley. "I can still attack with Destiny HERO - Dangerous!"

Destony HERO - Dangerous attacked and destroyed Deep Diver. Earl of Demise grunted from the blow (LP: 2550).

"Huh? He took damage this time?" questioned James.

"Wasn't Damage Pot supposed to reduce it to zero?" added Gordon.

"This doesn't make any sense." commented Molly. "He didn't take any damage last time, but he took damage this time?"

"I think it's because Damage Pot's effect cannot be activated multiple times..." Edward figured out. "Once activated for the first time, it can no longer block anymore battle damage... I also think Earl of Demise was trying to fool his enemies into not trying to attack him..."

"At least I'm still in the duel!" The Court of Darkness member pointed out. "And now, because the battle phase is over, my destroyed monster's effect activates!"

A card suddenly slid out of the deck, and he took and placed the card on top of the deck.

"When Deep Diver is sent to the graveyard-" explained Earl of Demise. "-I can place one card from my deck to the top."

Stanley frowned. "It has to be an Exodia piece." he thought. "Well, Rosie and I won't let him summon that creature." The gray-haired boy took and slotted a card from his hand into his Duel Disk. "My turn is not over yet!"

On cue, a Continuous Spell card called Force of Four materialized face-up.

"I now activate the Continuous Spell card Force of Four!"

"Force of Four?" quizzed Earl of Demise. "Isn't that-?"

"This limits the amount of cards we can all have in our hands to four cards." explained Stanley. "You currently have five cards in your hand, so you must discard one of those card to the graveyard!"

"You have five cards, too!" Earl of Demise pointed out. "So you must send one to the graveyard, as well!"

Stanley nodded in agreement, sending the Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster monster card to the graveyard. Earl of Demise, meanwhile, selected a card from his hand to discard to the graveyard.

"This one will do nicely..."

The card being discarded was a Spell card called Ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord.

"For the next effect of Force of Four..." continued Stanley. "If we draw a card that makes our hands go above four cards, we must send all cards from our hands to the graveyard until we have exactly four cards." He then slotted a card into his Duel Disk. "I set this facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

"You might as well give it up!" Rosie warned Earl of Demise. "With Force of Four on the field, you can no longer gather the pieces needed to summon Exodia... Your strategy has been defeated!"

"Who says I even NEED Exodia in my hand to win?" asked Earl of Demise suddenly.

"Huh?"

"What does that mean?" demanded Stanley.

"All in due time." insisted Earl of Demise, drawing a card. "You'll learn everything soon enough..."

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Earl of Demise (LP: 2550)  
 **Deck** : 47  
 **Current Hand** (5): Right Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, ?, Exodios the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, and Exodia the Forbidden One

* * *

His drawn card was the Exodia the Forbidden One monster card.

"You have more than four cards." Stanley pointed out. "Send your drawn card to the graveyard!"

"Gladly." accepted Earl of Demise, discarding his drawn card. "But by making me do so, you've sealed your incoming fate!"

"Say what?!"

"He's bluffing!" figured Rosie, not looking better. "He has to be!"

"It's no bluff-" replied Earl of Demise, looking to his graveyard. "-as you're about to find out... I activate the effect of the Ritual of the Ultimate Forbidden Lord in my graveyard!"

"HE'S WHAT?!" exclaimed Stanley and Rosie at once.

Over with the remains of the gang...

"Is that even legal?!" asked Henry.

"It can't be!" protested James.

A powerful light burst from Earl of Demise's graveyard, just as the Court of Darkness member's eyes started flashing between crimson red and golden yellow.

"This is it..." he whispered, discarding two cards from his hand to the graveyard. "The time has come to rise..."

On cue, Exodia the Forbidden One, Right Arm of the Forbidden One, and Left Arm of the Forbidden One each made a brief appearance on the field.

"I discard two more pieces of Exodia to the graveyard!" Earl of Demise announced. "I also send the head of Exodia back into my deck!"

Rosie and Stanley both waited fearfully for what was coming...

"With the offerings now met, I special summon the ultimate forbidden lord itself!"

A huge chained casket emerged from the ground and onto the field. This was a sign things were gonna go from bad to worse...

"What's in that casket?" Stanley asked Rosie.

The pink-haired girl sweated fearfully. "I... I don't know, Stanley."

"Hehehehehe..." giggled Earl of Demise. "I'll tell you what it is; it's the instrument to your final destruction!"

Suddenly, the casket began to shudder violently as something was fighting to come out.

"Emerge from Hell - Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"

Suddenly, a giant fist burst from the casket.

"Huh?!" gasped Stanley.

A second fist soon punched through.

"Oh!" cried Rosie, taking a step back from fright.

The casket soon burst open by whatever was inside.

"Oh my..." Molly whimpered, looking positively terrified.

Standing before them was what looked like Exodia the Forbidden One, but was much more wicked looking. This monster had brown skin with black and orange armor, and became even more terrifying when its eyes started glowing all golden yellow (Level: 10/ATK: 0 - 500/DEF: 0).

"Behold one of the greatest monsters in all of Duel Monsters!" declared Earl of Demise. "What it does to both of you will be a sight to see! But first... I must send any and all Forbidden One monsters that were not sent to the graveyard by my new creature's effect back to my deck."

"Are there any of those monsters in your graveyard?" asked Stanley.

"Fortunately for you two, no there isn't." answered Earl of Demise. "The only ones there were actually discarded for the summon of my ultimate beast."

Exodios the Ultimate Forbidden Lord suddenly grew more powerful (ATK: 500 - 2500).

"Oh, and did I forget to mention Exodios grows more powerful the more Exodia parts are in my graveyard? 1000 attack points stronger, that is!"

Earl of Demise cackled madly.

"It has 2500 attack points..." whispered Gordon.

"But it's still weaker though." James pointed out.

"But who knows what else that thing can do." Edward reminded.

Suddenly, the face-up Dark Cure activated.

"Because you've summoned a monster-" said Rosie, unhappy since she didn't have Darklord Nurse Reficule on the field anymore. "-you receive life points equal to half of the summoned monster's attack points."

"That's right." grinned Earl of Demise (LP: 3800). "But that isn't even the worst bit."

"There's more?" groaned Stanley.

"Not only can my new monster not be destroyed in battle-" explained Earl of Demise. "-but it also can't be affected by any of your card effects." His smile turned more and more savage. "My favorite bit, however, is that if I can get all five pieces of Exodia into the graveyard... I win!"

Rosie and Stanley both stared on in horror.

"You'll...win?" stuttered the gray-haired boy.

"This must have been his strategy this whole time!" Rosie figured, not looking any better.

"I've warned you two that you would stand no chance against me." hissed Earl of Demise, with his eyes now glowing all golden yellow. "Now prepare to taste defeat at the hands of one of the most powerful creatures known to monster kind!"

The Court of Darkness member erupted into maddening laughter as Stanley and Rosie both watched on in defiance. Can they pull through and defeat Earl of Demise? Or will they fail to do so and be unable to avenge the death of Stanley's Father... Stay tuned!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	88. The Destiny Factor (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside another big chamber within the Castle of Dark Illusions, all was not well for Rosie Vulcan and Stanley Hudswell in their duel with Earl of Demise...

"Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord..." whispered Rosie (LP: 4000).

"Such a powerful beast..." added Stanley (LP: 4000).

"And don't forget-" Earl of Demise pointed out (LP: 3800). "-if I get all five pieces of Exodia into my graveyard while commanding Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, I will declare an automatic win!"

"So that's why Earl of Demise wasn't worried when Exodia went to the graveyard..." muttered James. "He was busy setting up for that beast Exodia's arrival!"

"And who knows what else that thing can do." added Edward grimly.

Back in the duel field, Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord (ATK: 2500) stood ready for combat as Earl of Demise entered the battle phase.

"Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord-" The Court of Darkness member commanded. "-attack Destiny HERO - Dangerous with Lightning Fire Flash!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord obeyed, charging a blast of fire with his arm and throwing it at Destiny HERO - Dangerous.

"Now comes my favorite part... Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord's next effect!" continued Earl of Demise, sending a card from his hand to the graveyard. "I send a piece of Exodia from my hand to the graveyard." His grin then grew nastier. "And by doing so, Exodius receives 1000 extra attack points!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord roared as its attack power grew even higher (ATK: 2500 - 3500).

"Hold it!" ordered Stanley, discarding a card (Destiny HERO - Drilldark) from his hand to the graveyard while also sending another Destiny HERO monster (Destiny HERO - Celestial) from the deck to the graveyard. "I play the effect of Destiny HERO Dangerous! With seven Destiny HEROES now in my graveyard, all of my face-up Destiny HEROES receive 1400 attack points!"

Destiny HEROES Dangerous (ATK: 2000 - 3400) and Dystopia (ATK: 2800 - 4200) both became much stronger.

"And because of Dystopia's stats changing-" The gray-haired boy went on. "-his effect will activate and destroy-!"

"Did you forget already?" interrupted Earl of Demise, smirking deviously. "Exodius is immune to card effects like that... You've wasted those resouces!"

Stanley cursed aloud, knowing that his opponent was right. Either way, the attack was still on... and the gray-haired boy had a backup plan...

"Since an attack was declared-" Stanley stated, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-I will play this Trap card - Urban Demise"

His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Urban Demise?" questioned Earl of Demise.

"Once per turn, it increases the attack of a Destiny HERO monster I control by 100 points." explained Stanley. "Obviously, this makes my Trap card a Continuous one!"

Destiny HERO - Dangerous grew even stronger (ATK: 3400 - 3500).

"Our monsters are equal in attack strength!" exclaimed Earl of Demise, before smirking. "But my monster cannot be destroyed... Yours, however, can be!"

"Not a chance!" rebuffed Stanley, as his graveyard started glowing. "I play the effect of the Destiny HERO - Dreamer sleeping in my graveyard!"

"Destiny HERO - Dreamer?"

"When a Destiny HERO does battle while Dreamer's in the grave-" Stanley was explaining. "-I can special summon him onto the field!"

"But why?!" demanded Earl of Demise.

The gray-haired boy grinned. "By doing so, Dangerous can't be destroyed in battle for the turn!"

"Say what?!"

"Sad, yes, but it's true." joked Stanley, before motioning his right hand upward. "Come forth - Destiny HERO - Dreamer!"

Appearing onto the field was a hero wearing a green and purple suit with a crescent moon on the front (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 600).

* * *

 **Title: The Destiny Factor, Part 2**

* * *

All of a sudden, Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord stopped its attack before hit could hit its target.

"Damn..." growled Earl of Demise, entering the end phase. "I end my turn!"

Because it was now the end phase, Destiny HEROES Dangerous (ATK: 3500 - 2100) and Dystopia (ATK: 4200 - 2800) both had their attack stats return to normal.

"Earl of Demise has three parts of Exodia in the graveyard..." Rosie thought to herself. "Stanley and I gotta win the duel before any more pieces are put in there..." Finally, she drew a card. "It's my turn now!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (4): Luster Dragon, Bonfire, Skill Successor, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

Her drawn card was the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card.

"Perfect!" The pink-haired girl thought some more. She turned her attention to Earl of Demise while speaking aloud. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Damage Pot Trap card!"

A large cyclone appeared and shattered the pot once it got close enough.

"There goes your Damage Pot!" whooped Rosie.

"Well done..." congratulated Earl of Demise sarcastically. "NOW we all take life point damage!"

"Huh?"

"What does that mean?" added Stanley.

"When Damage Pot is destroyed-" explained Earl of Demise. "-all players take the damage that was stored inside of it!"

"Stored inside?" blinked Stanley.

"Yes." confirmed Earl of Demise. "The damage I negated when you first tried to attack me directly. That's a total of 2600 points of damage!"

"2600?!" gasped Rosie.

Over with the rest of the gang...

"This is bad..." frowned Spencer. "Both Rosie and Stanley will be at a severe disadvantage if they get hit by that damage."

"Not all of us will be taking the effect damage." cut in the voice of Stanley.

"Huh?"

Back in the duel field, a card emerged from Stanley's graveyard.

"What're you doing?" demanded Earl of Demise.

"Activating the effect of Destiny HERO - Decider, that's what!" answered Stanley, taking the card and adding it to his hand. "When I'm about to sustain life point damage from a card effect, I can add Destiny HERO - Decider to my hand and reduce all of the damage I would take to zero! ...but I'm not gonna reduced the damage to zero for me..."

"You're not?"

"No." Stanley answered, before looking and pointing at... "I'm doing it for Rosie!"

Rosie gasped. "Stanley?"

Before an answer could come, the whole duel field suddenly exploded and got covered in thick smoke.

"Oh man!" cried James.

"Stanley!" cried Edward.

In the smoke, Rosie braced herself from the force of the explosion... while her life points thankfully remained untouched (LP: 4000).

"Stanley..."

Soon, the smoke began to clear... and revealed that Stanley and Earl of Demise were both brought to their knees while panting.

"I did...what I had to...do..." mumbled Stanley weakly (LP: 1400).

"Yeah... So, you...did..." coughed Earl of Demise (LP: 1200).

"Stanley... why did you save me?" Rosie asked slowly. "You could have chosen to save yourself..."

"No way..." Stanley refused, still breathing hard. "If you had gotten hit and lost those life points, Earl of...Demise would have chosen...to target...you..."

"But-!"

"No buts!" The gray-haired boy cut in. "Friends protect each other... and you're too important to me... I cannot bear to lose you..."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Y-You mean it?"

"Of course I do." smiled Stanley.

"Are you two lovebirds done?" interrupted Earl of Demise, having recovered from his failure to damage ALL of his opponents. "And you, little girl, are you even finished with your turn yet?"

Angrily, Rosie placed a card onto a monster field slot on her Duel Disk.

"Oh, I've got one... Luster Dragon, come forth and attack Exodius now!"

Appearing to the field was a bluish dragon (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1600).

"Wait, did Rosie say ' **attack** '?" blinked Gordon after a few seconds. "Meaning, entering the battle phase?"

"She did!" gasped Molly. "And Luster Dragon is much weaker than Exodius!"

"What is she thinking?" asked James.

Back in the duel field, Luster Dragon charged and breathed a ball of fire, striking Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord.

"You idiot!" snapped Earl of Demise. "That attack won't make a scratch on my monster!"

True to his word, the ball of fire fizzed out and did nothing to Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord.

"Strike down Luster Dragon, now!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord obeyed, punching Luster Dragon to pieces. Rosie braced herself and cried out as major damage was sustained (LP: 2400).

"Why in the world did you attack like that, Rosie?" asked Stanley in bewilderment.

The pink-haired girl soon recovered. "To play...a Trap card..."

"A Trap card?!" exclaimed Earl of Demise.

"Rope of Life!"

The first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself; bringing Luster Dragon back to the field safe and sound.

"By sending every remaining card in my hand to the graveyard-" explained Rosie, discarding her entire hand. "-I revive Luster Dragon with 800 extra attack points."

Luster Dragon grew stronger (ATK: 1900 - 2700).

"Hmph! Poor performance." remarked Earl of Demise dismissively.

"But I still have one final set card." reminded Rosie, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "And now is a good time top play it!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Adamantine Sword Revival!"

Suddenly, Luster Dragon disappeared.

"Adamantine Sword Revival?" quizzed Earl of Demise. "What does that card do, and what happened to your monster?"

"This Quick-Play Spell card trades in my Luster Dragon for something even more powerful." explained Rosie, taking a card from her deck and readying it. "It's also my ace monster..." She revealed the card. "Diamond Head Dragon!"

"Diamond Head Dragon?"

"Diamond Head Dragon." repeated Stanley.

Appearing to the field was a huge green dragon covered in diamonds.

"I know of that dragon!" gasped Molly. "Mavis and I both saw Rosie use that monster one time against Knight of Dark Dragon!"

"Diamond Head Dragon's attack is 1000 attack points higher than the dragon used to summon him." explained Rosie. "Luster Dragon had 2700 attack points when tributed, so 2700 plus 1000 equals..."

"3700 attack points..." frowned Earl of Demise.

Diamond Head Dragon grew stronger (ATK: ? - 3700).

"And the battle phase is still on!" Rosie continued, pointing forth. "Although I won't destroy your monster, I can still inflict battle damage with this attack... Attack Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, now!"

Diamond Head Dragon obeyed, firing a blast at Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord.

"Say goodbye to 200 life points!" declared Stanley.

Earl of Demise grunted (LP: 1000). "Is that all you've got?" The Court of Darkness member hissed. "That was nothing!"

Rosie and Stanley both stared on in defiance, but remained silent on the matter.

"How can you both beat me in time? Exodius gets stronger per Exodia piece in my graveyard, and if all five enter it...I'll win the duel automatically!"

"That doesn't mean we have to give up!" insisted Stanley.

"If we can reduce your life points to zero before then-" added Rosie. "-we'll do so."

Stanley nodded in agreement. "And we'll start that off with my turn!"

With that said, the gray-haired boy drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (4): Destiny HERO - Dogma, Plasma Roar, Destiny HERO - Decider, and Destiny Draw

* * *

On cue, a facedown card materialized.

"I place a card facedown-" began Stanley, before holding out another card. "-and then activate Destiny Draw!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"By discarding one Destiny HERO-" explained Stanley, sending the Destiny HERO - Decider monster card from his hand to the graveyard. "-I can draw two more cards."

From there, he drew two more cards... Just then, all three of Stanley's monsters started to fade away into blue streaks...

"Now what?" grumbled Earl of Demise.

"I sacrifice Destiny HEROES - Dangerous, Dystopia, and Dreamer in order to summon my own ace monster!" declared Stanley, holding up a card. "DESTINY HERO - DOGMA!"

Earl of Demise winced. "D-Destiny HERO - Dogma?!"

Appearing to the field was perhaps the most powerful Destiny HERO in creation (Level: 8/ATK: 3400/DEF: 2400).

"3400 attack points?!" Earl of Demise panicked, but only for a moment. "Too bad it's 100 attack points short of Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord..."

"Don't be so sure." smirked Stanley, before looking to Rosie. "Right, Rose?"

"Right, Stan." grinned Rosie, just as her graveyard started glowing all white. "I activate the effect of Skill Successor in my graveyard!"

"Skill Successor?" blinked James, looking to Edward. "That's a Trap card, right?"

"Yes, it is..." nodded Edward. "But if it's in the graveyard, it can be banished in order for its effect to be activated."

"And I think that's Rosie's plan for Stanley's monster." added Spencer.

And indeed it was... Destiny HERO - Dogma's power grew (ATK: 3400 - 4200).

"4200 attack points..." growled Earl of Demise.

"Dogma!" commanded Stanley. "Attack Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"

Rosie smiled to herself. "Although it won't destroy Exodius, it will reduce Earl of Demise's life points dramatically."

Destiny HERO - Dogma, meanwhile, obeyed and slashed his blade at Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, causing Earl of Demise to clutch his chest and yell in pain (LP: 300).

"300 life points left!" whooped Gordon.

"Despite being their first time in a tag team duel-" came from a smiling Spencer. "-Rosie and Stanley aren't doing badly."

"They make a great team!" said Molly in a positive tone.

Back in the duel field...

"One more powerful enough attack-" declared Stanley, pointing forth. "-and it's over for you!"

Earl of Demise smirked darkly. "You both really think you can win against me?"

"If the shoe fits!" retorted Rosie.

"We'll just see about that!" declared Earl of Demise, drawing a card.

With Stanley's turn being over, Skill Successor's effect wore off (ATK: 4200 - 3400).

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Earl of Demise (LP: 300)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (1): Left Leg of the Forbidden One

* * *

"Now then..." began Earl of Demise, cut then got cut off.

"I play Destiny HERO - Dogma's special ability!" declared Stanley. "Say goodbye to half of your life points!"

"What?!" Earl of Demise demanded (LP: 150).

"Surely you haven't forgot that Dogma takes half of your life points away during your standby phase after he was summoned." teased Stanley. "I used this same ability in our last duel."

"Damn you!"

In anger, Earl of Demise sent a card from his hand to the graveyard.

"Exodius!" he commanded. "Destroy Diamond Head Dragon now!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, have gotten stronger (ATK: 3500 - 4500) thanks to another Exodia piece entering the graveyard, obeyed. It immediately punched and destroyed Diamond Head Dragon.

"But why my monster?" questioned Rosie (LP: 1600).

"Because it was currently the strongest monster you two had." huffed Earl of Demise.

Stanley was now worried. "Now he has four Exodia pieces in the graveyard..."

"All I need now is one more piece..." The Court of Darkness member declared. "And once it's in the graveyard, this duel will be all mine!"

"We'll win before you succeed!" insisted Rosie, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue the Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Pot of Greed!" announced Rosie, drawing two cards. "This lets me draw two more cards!"

On cue, a monster card called Alexandrite Dragon materialized face-up.

"Next I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a dragon with gems for scales (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100).

"Now-" The pink-haired girl continued, holding out her final card. "-have you ever heard of Dragon's Mirror?"

"Dragon's Mirror?" asked Earl of Demise.

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up and created a mirror of some sort.

"This Spell card allows me to perform a fusion summon involving dragons on my side of the field and in my graveyard." explained Rosie. "And now, the first dragon..."

The mirror showed a reflection of Luster Dragon.

"Luster Dragon..." muttered Earl of Demise.

"I shall fuse Luster Dragon with the Alexandrite Dragon on my field!" said Rosie. "Now, Dragon's Mirror, activate your power!"

Dragon's Mirror created an illusion of Luster Dragon, allowing it to fuse with the already present Alexandrite Dragon.

"What could she be creating?" questioned Henry.

"Beats me." shrugged Gordon.

"I fusion summon... First of the Dragons!"

Appearing to the field was a large, rather powerful looking dragon (Level: 9/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2000).

"So long as this dragon is on the field-" explained Rosie. "-it cannot be destroyed by monsters other than normal ones and is unaffected by monster effects."

"So what?" demanded Earl of Demise. "It cannot even touch Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord."

"Maybe not-" acknowledged Rosie. "-but Exodius can't touch IT either."

"And it's in time for my turn." added Stanley, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, Destiny HERO - Departed, and Destiny HERO - Plasma

* * *

"And to start it off, I'll play the effect of Destiny HERO - Malicious in my graveyard..."

The mentioned Destiny HERO monster appeared briefly before fading away into oblivion.

"By banishing it from my graveyard-" said Stanley, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can special summon another copy onto the field from my deck."

Appearing to the field was another copy of Destiny HERO - Malicious (Level: 6/ATK: 800/DEF: 800). This was followed by the Destiny HERO - Departed monster card materializing face-up...

"I'll also summon Destiny HERO - Departed in attack mode!"

Appearing to the field was a Destiny HERO dressed in a white tuxedo while his entire head was wrapped in gauze like a mummy with the top part exposing purple hair (Level: 2/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0).

"With three monsters now present-" Stanley went on. "-I will perform a special summon by offering them as a tribute."

Destiny HEROES Dogma, Malicious, and Departed each vanished in blue streaks, just as Stanley readied a new card.

"Remember this creature?" he asked. "You should know about it..." The gray-haired boy turned the card over. "Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

"Destiny HERO... P-Plasma?!" gasped Earl of Demise.

"Yes! Now come forth - Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

Appearing before everyone in the room was the mighty Destiny HERO - Plasma; this one was without any traces of evil (Level: 8/ATK: 1900/DEF: 600).

"Next I play my set Trap card..." Stanley went on still, just as his last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Drain Time!"

"Not Drain Time!" fumed Earl of Demise. He remembered how it worked...

"From the look on your face-" joked Stanley. "-you remember what it does."

"Yes... It lets you skip whichever phase you want."

Stanley nodded in confirmation. "Right, and the phase I choose..."

"...is battle phase." Earl of Demise finished along with Stanley.

Over with the audience...

"That means Earl of Demise won't get to attack with Exodius next turn!" cried James.

"Smart play, Stanley!" called Henry.

Earl of Demise, however, was furious that he wasn't gonna win next turn...

"This isn't over yet..." The Court of Darkness member seethed. "I swear that Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord WILL emerge victorious over both of you!"

Stanley merely took and slotted another card into his Duel Disk.

"I place this facedown and end my turn." The gray-haired boy merely said.

A facedown card materialized, just in time for Earl of Demise's turn...

"It's my turn!"announced the Court of Darkness member, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Earl of Demise (LP: 150)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Rage of the Forbidden One

* * *

Just then...

"Trap card, open!" announced Stanley, as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Plasma Roar! This grants my monster a Plasma Counter."

Something shined on Destiny HERO - Plasma's left arm.

"On your next standby phase, I'll get a second Plasma Counter. When I do, I'll offer the Trap card to destroy a monster on the field and inflict damage equal to half of the offered monster's attack points."

With his options very limited (one card in his hand, a facedown card, and Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord), Earl of Demise merely slotted his only card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I set my only remaining card facedown and end my turn." grumbled Earl of Demise.

A facedown card materialized.

"This is our chance to finish this duel, Rosie." Stanley said to the pink-haired girl.

"Right!" nodded Rosie, drawing a card. "I'll leave the rest to you."

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Rosie Vulcan (LP: 1600)  
 **Deck** : 34  
 **Current Hand** (1): ?

* * *

"I pass my turn!"

"My go!" declared Stanley, drawing a card. "It's time to finish this duel!"

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Stanley Hudswell (LP: 1400)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (1): Plasma Discharger

* * *

"First up, the effect of Destiny HERO - Departed activates!"

Destiny HERO - Departed suddenly appeared to Earl of Demise's side of the field.

"Wait, why is it on my side of the field?" demanded Earl of Demise. "What's going on?"

"You wanna know? Okay, then..." Stanley then began to explain everything... "Because it's my standby phase, and Destiny HERO - Departed is in the graveyard, my monster's special effect activates... It gets special summoned to YOUR side of the field in attack mode."

"With Destiny HERO - Departed in attack mode-" added Rosie. "-Stanley can attack it with Destiny HERO - Plasma for the game!"

"NO!" screamed Earl of Demise.

"Destiny HERO - Plasma!" declared Stanley. "Attack Destiny HERO - Departed with Vengeance Rain!"

Destiny HERO - Plasma was about to attack! Just then...

"Heh! Like I'd let ya do that..." Earl of Demise suddenly smirked. "I play Defense Seal Wall!"

His first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Because I command Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, your attack is negated and the battle phase comes to an end."

Destiny HERO - Plasma suddenly stopped.

"Damn!" cried Stanley in frustration, just before entering the main phase 2. "I activate Destiny HERO - Plasma's effect!"

"What?" gasped Rosie.

"Plasma can take one monster on your side of the field and equip it to himself." explained Stanley. "Thus gaining half of that monster's original attack points!"

"But why would you power your monster up now?" demanded Earl of Demise. He then realized it... "Oh, I see now..."

Destiny HERO - Departed resisted Destiny HERO - Plasma's power, but was able to escape from it. As soon as he got hold of Destiny HERO - Departed, Destiny HERO - Plasma then became stronger (ATK: 1900 - 2400).

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" suggested Stanley, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place this facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized.

"Earl of Demise, it's your turn now."

With that said, the Court of Darkness member drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Earl of Demise (LP: 150)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Exodia the Forbidden One

* * *

Taking one look at his drawn card caused Earl of Demise to laugh in triumph. Stanley then spoke up...

"Now Plasma Roar adds one more Plasma Token to Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

A second counter shined on Destiny HERO - Plasma.

"Next turn-" Stanley thought to himself. "-I'll tribute Destiny HERO - Plasma to inflict damage equal to half of his attack points... If Earl of Demise tries an attack this turn, I'll be ready for it."

And a battle this turn has begun to happen...

"This is where it all ends." declared Earl of Demise. "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, attack Destiny HERO - Plasma!"

Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord obeyed the command and hurled a punch towards Destiny HERO - Plasma.

"Your attack is about to be cancelled out!" declared Stanley, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Go Plasma Discharger!"

"What?!" cried Earl of Demise.

"By sacrificing the Destiny HERO - Departed equipped to Destiny HERO - Plasma-" explained the gray-haired boy. "-your attack gets negated! That means, you cannot activate Exodius's effect this turn."

"That means Stanley and Rosie will have bought themselves ANOTHER turn!" exclaimed Thomas.

"You mean that WOULD have saved them." corrected Earl of Demise, recovering from his brief shock. "If it weren't for my final card, that is."

"WHAT?!" Rosie and Stanley both reacted in shock.

The rest of the gang didn't look any better.

"Oh man..." worried Henry.

"What could that card be?" came from James.

Earl of Demise's final facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Rage of the Forbidden One!"

"R-Rage of the Forbidden One?!" stuttered Stanley.

"Is that-?" began Rosie, but got cut off.

"A card that allows me to negate your other cards so long as Exodius is on the field?" taunted Earl of Demise. "Yes, it is!"

The face-up Plasma Discharger shattered into pieces of glass, thus cancelling out its effect and such.

"What do we do now, Stanley?" Rosie asked, becoming scared of what was coming next.

"It looks like there's nothing we CAN do." said Stanley, also becoming very scared. "We've failed to stop Earl of Demise from completing his strategy."

Earl of Demise laughed. "I now send Exodia's head from my hand to the graveyard."

The final piece of Exodia the Forbidden One slid into the graveyard, causing Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord the glow in a golden aura.

"That guy has all five Exodia pieces in the graveyard!" panicked James.

"That means he wins!" added Gordon.

"How right you are!" cackled Earl of Demise. "And now... Exodia will rise from the grave and grant me victory!"

In a burst of light, appearing before them was the original Exodia the Forbidden One.

"This is...Exodia!" breathed Rosie.

"The real thing." added Stanley. In his mind... "Dad... I'm sorry, but I've failed to avenge you..."

Exodia the Forbidden One began to charge a blast of energy in his fist. It would seem that this was the end for Stanley Hudswell and Rosie Vulcan, when...

"Hold it!"

All of a sudden, Exodia the Forbidden One's attack froze in place (sparing First of the Dragons and Destiny HERO - Plasma for a moment).

"As I'm in a rather generous mood-" said Earl of Demise, who was secretly lying. "-I might as well give you two the chance to save yourselves from the jaws of death. Surrender the Billinton boy to us without any interference, and you'll be spared. Refuse to do so, and you both will be consumed by the darkness just as Mavis and Toby both were. The choice is yours to make; will it be Life...or Death?"

"What?!" exclaimed Molly.

"You're making an offer like that?" came from Gordon.

"Your fallen comrades were given this exact same offer." Earl of Demise pointed out. "But they foolishly chose to die... Seeing as how these two seem much more intelligent than others, we might not have to go that again."

"They've made the right choice!" argued Stanley, speaking about Toby and Mavis. "Just like how Rosie and I would never surrender Thomas to the likes of you and your comrades!"

"You dare to defy my offer?!"

Rosie nodded. "You bet your creepy looks we do!"

Earl of Demise seethed from being insulted. Stanley and Rosie both approached each other...

"Are you scared, Rosie?" The gray-haired boy asked kindly. "Because if you are, I'll admit that I'm scared, too."

"I am scared, Stanley." admitted Rosie, before smiling. "But I still feel much better when you're by my side." She then looked to her friends. "Guys, take Thomas and get out of here. When Exodia attacks, it's gonna bring the whole ceiling in the room down."

"No!" protested Thomas. "I won't let you throw your lives away because of me!"

"This is something that has to be done." insisted Stanley. "Rosie and I will miss you all..."

"I'll especially miss you, Thomas." added Rosie, as she closed her eyes and allowed a teardrop to fall down her cheek.

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Thomas and Rosie were both hanging out one day after school.

"Boy, what a great day." smiled Thomas.

Rosie nodded. "Yeah, it sure was."

It had been days after Thomas had defeated Diesel 10 and saved the school from being taken over by him and the Smelter Classroom students.

"Again, Rosie, I'm sorry." apologized Thomas. "It was probably my fault that you got manipulated by Diesel 10 and the Smelter Teens into helping them. If I hadn't been blowing you off those times, perhaps it never would have happened..."

"Oh, Thomas..."

Rosie now felt bad for herself. She didn't want to make Thomas feel guilty for something she herself had done.

"Even if you hadn't blown me off-" The pink-haired girl pointed out. "-chances are Diesel 10 would have eventually found someone else to manipulate into helping him."

Thomas became silent. This made Rosie feel pretty worried...

"Thomas?"

At least, the blue-haired boy turned and spoke to his pink-haired friend.

"Rosie-" said began with heavy regret. "-I'm sorry."

"Thomas, I've already told you; it was my-" Rosie began to reply, but was cut off.

"That's not what I'm apologizing about." Thomas interrupted. "I... I know you still like me more than as a friend, but..."

Rosie started to look sad as her friend tried to find the right words to say.

"But I'm not comfortable with dating anyone at this very moment." Thomas finally said. "I... I need more time to sort out my personal feelings before I want to be in a relationship..."

Rosie sighed heavily. She had a feeling Thomas would say something like that...

"I understand, Thomas." she finally said, closing her eyes.

Thomas looked at his pink-haired friend with surprise, but remained silent on the subject. This allowed Rosie to continue speaking...

"I won't force you into deciding a girlfriend. But when the time comes for you to do so, I'll be there to support you."

Thomas looked on in further surprise.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"Deep down in my heart-" continued Rosie. "-I knew that you and Emily were very much in-love with each other, and I couldn't find myself competing with someone as kind and beautiful like her... Not after our newly forged friendship was nearly destroyed shortly after I moved to the Island of Sodor... However... I found myself falling for Stanley as we travelled throughout this world."

Thomas didn't know what to say. "Rosie..."

"If we handed you over to the Court of Darkness-" Rosie went on. "-then you would perhaps never get your chance to confess to Emily. You have to keep fighting for her, Thomas, no matter what happens to us!"

With that said, she and Stanley both turned to face both Earl of Demise and Exodia the Forbidden One while now holding hands.

"Earl of Demise, do with us as you please..." began Stanley.

"...but we will NOT let you harm our friends... Especially Thomas!" added Rosie firmly.

"We choose to sacrifice ourselves!" The two teenagers finished at the same time. "We choose...death!"

Earl of Demise scowled. "Then prepare to meet your makers!"

Exodia the Forbidden One resumed charging orange energy in its hands.

" **Hellfire's Rage - Exodo Flame**!"

Exodia the Forbidden One obeyed the booming command and fired the blast towards the two teenagers' monsters.

"ROSIE! STANLEY!" screamed Thomas, being pulled away.

First of the Dragons and Destiny HERO - Plasma were both destroyed in an instant by the orange blast.

"GO! NOW!" shouted Rosie.

"Don't worry about us!" came from Stanley.

"Let me go!" begged Thomas, being held back by Gordon and James. "I have to help them!"

"We have to get out of this room, now!" argued Gordon. "I'm sorry, little Thomas, but there's nothing we can do for them!"

The orange blast got closer and closer to both Rosie Vulcan and Stanley Hudswell, but they only remained in their spot and waited for their deaths without looks of fear or anything on their faces.

"Stan..." whispered Rosie to the gray-haired boy.

"Rose..." whispered Stanley to the pink-haired girl.

"I love you..." The two teenagers whispered to each other.

The orange blast from Exodia final reached them...

(elsewhere...)

The whole Castle of Dark Illusions shook with unimaginable force from the power of Exodia the Forbidden One! What could have happened to Stanley and Rosie? And what of Thomas and everyone else? Did they get to safety in time? Stay tuned!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	89. The Vampire Strikes Back (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

All was quiet inside the Castle of Dark Illusions after an enormous attack by Exodia the Forbidden One had shaken the place up immensely. Within one of the hallways, Thomas, Spencer, and whoever was left from the group were all lying on the ground after the shake up knocked them off their feet.

"Is it...over?" asked Henry at last.

"I think so..." answered Edward, slowly standing back up.

But Molly then had a thought. "But what about Stanley and Rosie?"

"I'm afraid they've given their lives up to save us." said Spencer grimly, now back on his feet. "If we stayed behind to try and help them, Exodia would have gotten us, as well."

The one who was most upset by this was Thomas.

"Rosie... Stanley..." The poor blue-haired boy thought to himself. "First I lose Mavis and Toby, and now you two..."

It was torture for him to lose his closest friends left and right, with nothing he could do to protect them. Unfortunately, it was about to get worse...

"GRRAAHHH!" winced James, clutching his arm while falling to his knees. "N-Not again...!"

"James!" cried Molly.

"My arm..." The red-haired boy hissed in pain. "The poison...in my blood is...spreading further!"

"Where's a doctor when you need him?" complained Henry.

"Well, we cannot turn back now." argued Gordon. "We're already deep in this castle, and there are hundreds to thousands of enemy monsters outside on patrol."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Thomas argued back. "Nothing? Just LET James be in pain until he eventually dies?"

"Well, what CAN we even do about it?!"

"' _I_ ' have a suggestion!" cut in a female voice, ending her sentence with a hiss.

"That voice..." whispered Henry, remembering it.

"Not HER again." groaned Gordon, also remembering it well.

On cue, a swarm of bats flew into the hallway and around the remains of the group before flewing away.

"Come on!" ordered Thomas, running after the bats. "After them!"

The group followed after the bats.

(elsewhere...)

Inside his lab, Gozaburo was still working on his secret weapon when he finally back away, grabbed a towel, and wiped his hands.

"It's finished!" The evil man whispered proudly. "My masterpiece..."

He was feeling quite pleased with what he had accomplished... Well, whatever it was he had been working on. Either way, Gozaburo needed one last thing to complete his work...

"I need the girl brought here..."

All I can say is...this will be bad...

* * *

 **Title: The Vampire Strikes Back, Part 1**

* * *

The chase after the bats soon brought Thomas and everyone else to yet another large chamber...with nobody inside it.

"Where did those bats go?" blinked Thomas.

James, Edward, and Molly were the last to arrive, because the latter two were helping the former.

"I don't like this." said Molly almost immediately. "This next Court of Darkness member has possibly set a trap for all of us..."

"Is that...Vampire Lady...too scared to even...show herself?" panted James in pain.

"That might not be the best thing to say about her." warned Spencer. "With your condition right now..."

"Oh ho! You're ever so right, Mr. Gresley!" chortled the voice of Vampire Lady.

"Come out!" shouted Thomas. "Show yourself, unless you truly are afraid to face us!"

Suddenly, the vampire bats came together and merged to form...

"Vampire Lady..." mumbled James weakly. "I knew you'd show yourself eventually..."

"But, of course..." acknowledged the lone female member of the Court of Darkness. "The first to challenge your friends was Darkbishop Archfiend, and then Earl of Demise. If that was the case, then little 'ole me was bound to come forth."

"If you were wise-" threatened Thomas, about to activate his Duel Disk, "-you will get out of the way."

Vampire Lady laughed. "My attention is not with you, boy... The focus of mine on with your red-haired friend."

"No, take me on! James is in no condition to be dueling!"

"Is that so?" asked Vampire Lady in amusement. "If that's the case, then that means all the more fun for me!"

Thomas scowled. "I will only say this one last time... Face me, or-"

"You want...a rematch?" came the weak voice of James, managing to take a step forth. "Well, you've got one!"

"James?!" gasped Molly.

"But, James, you're in no condition!" argued Edward.

"Too bad." James managed to say. "I never go down that easily..."

"If that's the case-" said Vampire Lady, holing up a small glass bottle with a liquid inside. "-beat me, and I will give you this."

"What's that?" asked Henry.

The female Court of Darkness member gave a false gasp of shock. "Why, didn't you know? This is the cure for the poisons in your friend's blood!"

"Antidote?" asked Edward.

"Compliments of Gozaburo Gresley."

"Gozaburo?!" gasped Spencer.

"I believe he is your Grandfather... Isn't that right, Spencer?" joked Vampire Lady, turning her attention to the silver-haired boy.

"He doesn't deserve to be called by that." scowled Spencer, growing quite angry. "He's an inhuman monster!"

The female Court of Darkness member smirked. "Much like the cards in your deck, eh?"

Before anything more could be said...

"I accept your wager!" came from James, already with his Duel Disk activated. "I've beaten you once before, and I can...do it again..."

"From what I've heard-" commented Vampire Lady. "-your friends had the same attitude, but were defeated and removed forever. What makes you think you'll stand a chance against me in your condition?"

James frowned. "Are we gonna duel or are you gonna yap on some more?"

Giving a small 'humph', Vampire Lady activated her Duel Disk and got ready for the rematch against her target.

"Given how the last two rematches were in the Court of Darkness's favor-" said Thomas seriously. "-I can only worry the same will happen to James."

"And his condition won't make it any easier." added Edward.

"James..." whispered Molly.

Meanwhile, the two duelists drew their opening hands as the next big rematch finally commenced (LP: 4000) x2.

"Ready to lose?" asked Vampire Lady.

James was ready. "Get your game on!"

"Be careful out there, James!" called Molly.

Despite still being weak, the red-haired boy managed to turn and flash the black-haired girl a quick smile before resuming focus on the duel.

"Allow me to get things rolling." insisted Vampire Lady, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Vampire Lady (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Vampire Lady, Vampire Sorcerer, Red Ghost Moon, Black Pendant, Assault on GHQ, and Vampire Takeover

* * *

Her drawn card was Vampire Takeover, which was added to the hand (her hand also contained Vampire Lady, Vampire Sorcerer, Red Ghost Moon, Black Pendant, and Assault on GHQ).

"Okay, little boy..." The female Court of Darkness member began, taking a card from her hand. "Why not start your little battle by facing this creature?" She revealed what the card was. "Me; Vampire Lady!"

Appearing to the field was the card form of Vampire Lady (Level: 4/ATK: 1550/DEF: 1550). From there, the Black Pendant Spell card materialized face-up...

"I will follow up this summon by equipping the monster with Black Pendant!"

The pendant appeared around the monster Vampire Lady's neck, making her stronger (ATK: 1550 - 2050).

"As you know-" Vampire Lady went on. "-Black Pendant increases my monster's attack points by 500 big ones." She then took and slotted three cards into her Duel Disk. "Finally I set these three cards and end my turn."

Thre facedown cards materialized.

"Alright, James..." James thought to himself. "You've beaten her before, and you can most definitely do it again..."

He drew his card.

* * *

 **Turn Two** : James Hughes (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (6): Common Soul, De-Fusion, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Polymerization, Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, and Elemental HERO Prisma

* * *

Despite wincing a little bit from the poisons in his blood getting stronger, James was able to see that he drew a monster card called Elemental HERO Prisma.

"Alright, this could... could be a good start."

His current hand also contained Common Soul, De-Fusion, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, Polymerization, and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix. Finally, James placed his drawn card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"Elemental HERO Prisma - come forth!"

Appearing to the field was a HERO made entirely out of prism crystals (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100).

"I now place Prisma's effect." James continued, drawing and sending a card (Elemental HERO Avian) to the graveyard. "By sending an Elemental HERO from my deck to the graveyard, Elemental HERO Prisma's name becomes the discarded Elemental HERO's name until the end phase."

Vampire Lady scoffed. "And which Elemental HERO did you discard from the deck?"

"Elemental HERO Avian, that's who."

With that said, Elemental HERO Prisma's face became that of Elemental HERO Avian.

"With that accomplished-" James went on still, holding out two more cards. "I play Polymerization and fuse Elemental HERO Prisma with the Elemental HERO Burstinatrix in my hand!"

Elemental HERO Burstinatrix briefly appeared to the field before fusing with Elemental HERO Prisma.

"I fusion summon - Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The fusion finished and revealed the red and green Elemental HERO (Level: 6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1200). Alas, James wasn't done just yet...

"Now I activate the Spell card Common Soul!"

"Common Soul?" quizzed Vampire Lady, watching as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"This lets me special summon a Neo-Spacian from my hand." explained James, taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "And this one will do quite nicely..."

On cue, the Neo-Spacian Glow Moss monster card materialized face-up.

"Neo-Spacian Glow Moss!"

Appearing to the field was the glowing humanoid moss being (Level: 3/ATK: 300/DEF: 900).

"And thanks to Common Soul-" continued James STILL. "-Elemental HERO Flame Wingman gains attack points equal to Glow Moss's own attack points."

Elemental HERO Flame Wingman's attack rose (ATK: 2100 - 2400).

"2400 attack points..." grumbled Vampire Lady.

"Yup!" confirmed James. "But I won't attack with him just yet... Instead, I'll have Neo-Spacian Glow Moss attack first!"

Neo-Spacian Glow Moss formed a lance of moss.

"But that monster has only 300 attack points!" protested Vampire Lady.

"True enough!" acknowledged James. "But its effect is what I'm aiming for."

"Effect?"

"When Glow Moss attacks, or is attacked-" explained James. "-you get to draw a card and reveal it."

"Okay then..." Vampire Lady drew a card from her deck, and showed it to her opponent. "Now what?"

"Now the type of card you've drawn determines what happens with Glow Moss's attack." said James. "I see you've drawn a Spell card."

Indeed, the drawn card was a Spell card (called Book of Life).

"And this means Glow Moss's attack becomes a direct attack on your life points!"

"What?!" gasped Vampire Lady, before being struck by Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (LP: 3700). "Augh!"

"You got that-ARGH!"

James collapsed to his knees and clutched his arm again, but managed to say a few more words...

"Now, Flame Wingman..." The red-haired boy groaned. "A-Attack..."

Flame Wingman obeyed, charging towards Vampire Lady.

"I won't let you hit me twice!" exclaimed the female Court of Darknee member, just as her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Red Ghost Moon!"

Suddenly, a large, red moon blocked the attack.

"Red Ghost Moon?" blinked James.

Over with the rest of the gang...

"That card..." began Gordon.

"It works similar to Draining Shield." explained Edward. "But Vampire Lady needs to send a card from her hand to the graveyard to get it to work."

Back in the duel, vampire Lady sent a monster card called Vampire Sorcerer from her hand to the graveyard.

"Too bad." James suddenly interrupted, taking and holding up a card. "I activate De-Fusion!"

"What?!" cried Vampire Lady. "By doing that-!"

"I send Flame Wingman back to the extra deck and summon Elemental HEROES Burstinatrix and Prisma to the field in his place. And with Flame Wingman gone, your Trap card loses its target and is negated."

Elemental HERO Flame Wingman disappeared, while Elemental HEROES Burstinatrix and Prisma both returned to the field.

"Say bye-bye to your Trap card!" teased James.

Vampire Lady scowled as her face-up Trap card was destroyed.

"In any case, you've still failed to destroy my monster." The female Court of Darkness member retorted. "And now you are left with three weak monsters for me to take down one at a time..."

James scowled back.

"She does have a point." Spencer said grimly. "James would have been stuck no matter what happened."

"Right." nodded Thomas. "If James didn't activate De-Fusion, Vampire Lady would have gained 2400 life points and be set to 6100."

"It's my turn now!" declared Vampire Lady, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Vampire Lady (LP: 3700)  
 **Deck** : 53  
 **Current Hand** (2): Book of Life and ?

* * *

"And I think I'll play a Trap card..."

On cue, one of her remaining set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Go - Vampire Takeover!" The Court of Darkness member exclaimed.

"What does that do?" asked James.

"I control no Field Spell cards-" began Vampire Lady. "-and I command a zombie-type monster... This allows me to activate the Field Spell card Vampire Kingdom from my deck AND also allowing me to special summon a 'Vampire' monster from the graveyard!"

Her Field Spell card zone opened up as the card was placed inside...

"Now... Be activated - Vampire Kingdom!"

The scenery suddenly changed to a rather Gothic looking kingdom.

"Well... at least it's not The Field of Dark Graves." James commented aloud, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Oh, you'll find that this card can be just as scary." teased Vampire Lady, taking a card from her graveyard and placing it onto a monster field slot. "But first, I need to summon my Vampire monster..."

The Vampire Sorcerer monster card materialized face-up.

"...like say Vampire Sorcerer!"

Appearing to the field was a Vampire dressed like a warlock (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500).

"But my monster isn't gonna stick around for very long-" Vampire Lady went on, just as her final facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "-not after I play Assault on GHQ!"

"What's that do?" asked James.

The red-haired boy's answer came when Vampire Sorcerer sunk into the ground.

"W-What just happened to your monster?"

"My Trap card destroys one monster on my side of the field." explained Vampire Lady, not losing her sinister smile. "Then you have to send the top two cards of your deck to the graveyard."

James was shocked.

"Judging from the look on your face, you look like you don't want to do so..."

"Of course not!" protested James, drawing two cards. His look of shock vanished when he saw what one of the cards was... "On the other hand..."

He sent two monster cards to the graveyard (Elemental HERO Necroshade and Elemental HERO Neos Alius). On cue, the face-up Vampire Kingdom Field Spell card began to activate...

"Now comes the effect of Vampire Kingdom!" declared Vampire Lady. "Since cards were sent from your deck to the graveyard, I can just send a dark attribute Vampire monster from my hand or deck to the graveyard... When I do, I can target and destroy one card on the field."

A card ejected from her deck, and the female Court of Darkness member took and held it out.

"I send Vampire Lord from my deck to the graveyard to target and destroy your Elemental HERO Prisma!"

A spirit of Vampire Lord appeared and slashed Elemental HERO Prisma to pieces.

"Prisma!" cried James, before falling to his knees again. "D-Damn it!"

"Next I play Book of Life!" continued Vampire Lady, holding out her drawn card. "I target the Vampire Lord in my graveyard, and the Elemental HERO Prisma in your graveyard..."

While Vampire Lord returned to the field, Elemental HERO Prisma was banished.

"James's monster was banished!" panicked Gordon.

"And Vampire Lady's monster was summoned to the field!" added Henry.

"And now this is where I close in for the kill!" declared Vampire Lady. "Vampire Lady, attack Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!"

The monster version of Vampire Lady obeyed and flew in for the attack.

"This is where another effect of Vampire Kingdom activates! During damage calculation, my attacking monster receives 500 attack points!"

"500 attack points?!" winced James, having gotten back onto his feet.

Vampire Lady's strength grew even greater (ATK: 2050 - 2550), just before reaching and biting into the neck of Elemental HERO Burstinatrix. The female Elemental HERO shrieked in pain before shattering into pieces of glass.

"Burstinatrix..." grimaced James (LP: 2650).

"My vampire Lady's effect has activated now!" Vampire Lady pointed out. "As you were dealt battle damage, I can declare the type of a card and force you to send it from your deck to the graveyard."

"You...what?!"

Vampire Lady hissed. "And I choose...monster card!"

James scowled as he selected a monster card from his deck, sending Necro Gardna straight to the graveyard upon being chosen.

"Now it's Vampire Lord's turn to attack!" Vampire Lady went on, winking to her other monster. "Go for it, dear Vampire Lord! Attack Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, now!"

Vampire Lord obeyed, charging towards Neo-Spacian Glow Moss.

"Time for Glow Moss's effect to activate once more!" announced James, pointing forth. "Draw a card!"

Vampire Lady did as she was told.

"Now show me what it is..."

The card was revealed to be a monster card called Vampire's Curse.

"Since your card is a monster-" James went on. "-your battle phase has come to an end!"

Vampire Lord found himself stopping and returning to Vampire Lady's side of the field.

"I'm safe for the remainder of the turn!"

"You sure are..." grumbled Vampire Lady. "I end my turn now!"

Henry sighed with relief. "James is safe..."

"But he has already lost quite a lot of life points from one attack." Gordon pointed out.

"And that poison in his blood..." added Edward. "Can James win before the poison spreads any further?"

"Why couldn't he have just let Thomas fight her instead?" asked Molly. "I don't want him to die!"

"Vampire Lady would have refused, and likely destroy that bottle." answered Spencer.

"Along with any chance of curing James." added Thomas.

Molly honestly did not like hearing that little bit of info. Back in the duel James had drawn a card and begun his turn.

"Get ready, little miss vampire, it's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : James Hughes (LP: 2650)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards."

"By all means, go right ahead." nodded Vampire Lady.

James then drew two cards from his deck. Looking them over, the red-haired boy saw that they were both Spell cards (Neo Space Pathfinder and O - Oversoul).

"Alright, Vampire Lady, I play this Spell card..." began James, just as the O - Oversoul Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "O - Oversoul!"

"O - Oversoul?" blinked Vampire Lady. "Isn't that-?"

"This allows me bring back an Elemental HERO back from my graveyard." interrupted James. "And I choose this one..."

The monster card Elemental HERO Neos Alius materialized face-up.

"Elemental HERO Neos Alius!"

Appearing to the field was a smaller version of Neos (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1300).

"Time I pulled a page out of Percy's book." grinned James. "While in the graveyard and on the field, Elemental HERO Neos Alius is considered a normal monster! ...but supposed I went and did this..."

Elemental HERO Neos Alius began to glow.

"GEMINI SUMMON!"

When the effect ended, Elemental HERO Neos Alius was ready for battle.

"So, you know of the gemini summon..." frowned Vampire Lady.

"That's right." confirmed James. "And Neos Alius's ability now treats him as Elemental HERO Neos!"

"Even then, your monster is no match for mine!"

"Not yet." James insisted, discarding the last card in his hand to the graveyard. "I send the Neo Space Pathfinder from my hand to the graveyard!"

Vampire Lady frowned. "What for?"

"I'm glad you've asked... By doing so, I can add one copy of Neo Space from my deck to my hand!"

The mentioned card was then added to the red-haired boy's hand. With all the cards he needed being on the field, it was showtime...

"Go - Neo Space!" announced James, holding the card up.

The scenery suddenly changed to that of the colorful Neo Space, which also destroyed Vampire Lady's face-up Vampire Kingdom.

"Psychedelic." commented Henry.

"Psychedelic?" questioned Gordon, raising an eyebrow.

"If you read about Woodstock then you'd understand what I was talking about."

Back in the duel field, James was ready to perform a...

"Contact Fusion!"

Neo-Spacian Glow Moss and Elemental HERO Neos Alius both started combining into one!

"You like glow-in-the-dark sticks?" asked James in a teasing tone. "Well, then you'll definitely like this one... Elemental HERO Glow Neos!"

Appearing to the field was the Elemental HERO with glowing tentacles on his head (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"Thanks to Neo Space, my monster gains 500 extra attack points!"

Elemental HERO Glow Neos grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3000).

"Ladies and gentlemen-" smiled Gordon. "-I think James has just made a major comeback!"

"And now for Glow Neo's Special ability!" declared James triumphantly. "It can target and destroy one card you have on the field."

"And...?" quizzed Vampire Lady. "There has to be more to it than that."

"There is." confirmed James. "The type of card I destroy determines Glow Neos's special ability. And the card I choose is to wipe out... is your Black Pendant Spell card!"

The face-up Black Pendant Spell card instantly shattered into pieces of glass.

"With that card destroyed, my attack will...become a direct attack on YOUR life points!"

"Not before Black Pendant's other effect kicks in!" declared Vampire Lady. "When it's destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!"

James, despite losing 500 life points, wasn't very worried at this exact moment (LP: 2150).

"Do I look like I care? Nice try, bucko... Elemental HERO Glow Neos, direct attack!" commanded James. "LIGHTNING STRIKE!"

Elemental HERO Glow Neos obeyed, firing a blast of lightning at Vampire Lady, striking and causing her to scream in pain (LP: 700).

"And that, my evil friend, puts me one step closer to winning that antidote you so ' _kindly_ ' told us about!"

"Way to go, James!" called Edward.

"Way to not lose to a girl!" added Gordon.

Vampire Lady began to growl angrily. She was not gonna let this little nobody defeat her again... Lord Diablon would possibly NEVER let her live it down for it.

"You think this ends here?" The female Court of Darkness finally spoke up. "My life points may be at 700, but the duel is just getting started!"

"' _ **Getting started**_ ' you say?" joked James. "I command a monster with 3000 attack points, possess a Field Spell card that prevents my monster from returning to the extra deck at the end of my turn, and you have a much weaker monster on your side of the field... Hmm... How in the world can you beat me?"

"Joke while you can... You're about to find out this deck's true power!" declared the female member of the Court of Darkness, drawing a card.

"Bring it...ugh...on!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside the tower dungeons, Emily was busy doing some meditating when she suddenly opened her eyes.

"He's coming..."

"Who is coming?" asked the voice of Anastasia.

"Gozaburo Gresley." answered Emily. "Whatever the reason for him coming for me, us, I can tell it won't be good."

"Agreed... He might have plans for us to lure Thomas and Anakin into a deadly trap."

And indeed he did...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the next large chamber, Vampire Lady finally drew a card and begun her turn.

"It's my turn, so get ready!"

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Vampire Lady (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (3): Polymerization, Vampire's Curse, and Pot of Greed

* * *

The female Court of Darkness member's hand currently consisted of Polymerization, Vampire's Curse, and Pot of Greed.

"This will start things off..." whispered Vampire Lady to herself. She then took and slotted a card into her Duel Disk. "I activate my own copy of Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up before creating a large green jar.

"This allows me to draw two more cards."

Two hands emerged from the top of the green jar and gave two cards to Vampire Lady.

"Why, thank you, Pot of Greed." Vampire Lady said to the two hands.

James merely stood firm, watching as the large green jar finally shattered into pieces of glass. From there, Vampire Lady readied one of her drawn cards as her smile bared her sharp fangs.

"It's time... I hope you're ready." she giggled, ending her sentence with a hiss.

"She drew it, didn't she?" thought James to himself. "Mavis, Stanley, and Rosie each had to face it, and I likely will have to go up against it, too."

He was right... The Field Spell zone on Vampire Lady's Duel Disk opened up...

"I activate The Field of Dark Graves!" she cried, slotting the mentioned card inside.

Neo Space vanished (it was destroyed) as the scenery changed a third time into an all-too familiar evil background of a graveyard. Vampire Lady, meanwhile, closed her eyes and grimaced in pain for a moment before beginning to slowly laugh.

"Yessss... This power..."

James looked worried, but said nothing in response.

"This is very bad." worried Gordon.

"Now all of Vampire Lady's monsters get much stronger!" added Edward.

"Oh, James..." whispered Molly in fright.

Back on the duel field, both Vampire Lord and Vampire Lady's eyes started glowing all red as their attack power went up (ATK: 1550 - 2050)(ATK: 2000 - 2500).

"The power of darkness... all mine to command!" The spirit version of Vampire Lady exclaimed, opening her now crimson red eyes. She then took and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "I play Polymerization to fuse Vampire's Curse with Vampire Lord!"

Vampire's Curse briefly appeared before fusing with Vampire Lord.

"I fusion summon Adreana the Vampire King in attack mode!"

Appearing before them was the mighty Vampire King himself (Level: 8/ATK: 2500 - 3000/DEF: 2400).

"Not this creature again!" thought James unhappily, but before... "GRAH! No... not now... The poison... it's spreading even further..."

"JAMES!" cried Molly, started to run towards her red-haired boyfriend.

" **BACK**!"

The shrill command from Vampire Lady stopped the black-haired girl in her tracks.

"Come any closer-" The female Court of Darkness member warned. "-and the lad's end will be not the only one that will be ensured."

"I don't care!" protested Molly. "I would rather die than live without James!"

"Say that again, and I could make your wish come true... Besides, your friend can still fight, as you can see..."

Slowly, James got back to his feet. Even though he was in pain, the red-haired boy was not giving up. Not after coming this far in life...

"You can threaten me all you want-" he sneered. "-but nobody threatens my girlfriend and gets away with it!"

Vampire Lady raised an eyebrow. "What about Thomas? You honestly weren't thinking of betraying him AGAIN, were you?"

"Betray me?" Thomas spoke up.

"What the heck are you talking about now?" demanded James.

"Remember how you and Gordon both betrayed your friendships with Thomas?" asked Vampire Lady, not losing her evil smile. "Years ago... shortly after Emily had become a student in your old school."

James scowled. He knew exactly what Vampire Lady was talking about, and so did Thomas...

"He did..." mumbled Thomas darkly. "I trusted Gordon and James back then. And when I found out what they were doing behind my back, I felt I could no longer trust them."

"Thomas..." James mumbled, looking at the blue-haired boy while still feeling terrible about the past.

"Let me ask you this, James..." said Vampire Lady. "Why not just accept your fate? It will allow yourself to make amends for your actions if you allowed the poison in your blood to spread further enough."

The red-haired boy remained completely silent.

"You wish to say nothing about it? Surely you must have an answer... Either make amends with your friend by dying, or...continue with the duel and make him and Emily both suffer even moreso... The choice is yours..."

This will be a tricky one to answer... What will James choose to say? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	90. The Vampire Strikes Back (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside a third chamber in a row within the Castle of Dark Illusions, James, weakened from the spreading venom in his blood, was currently engaged in a difficult Duel Monsters rematch with the only female of the Court of Darkness... Vampire Lady. So far, she was giving the red-haired boy an extremely important choice to make...

"Either make amends with your friend by dying, or...continue with the duel and make him and Emily both suffer even moreso..." said Vampire Lady, hissing. "The choice is yours..."

James grimaced. What should he do?

"James..." whispered Gordon.

"He's not really going to quit and die, is he?" asked Molly.

"James..." thought Thomas to himself. "Don't give up the fight..."

At last, James spoke up...

"If I do die, then I want it to be by fighting." The red-haired boy said as calmly as possible. "Dying just to make things better with Thomas and Emily? That isn't my style."

Vampire Lady raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"I honestly do regret my actions from before-" James went on. "-but even that won't be enough to make amends. I have to fight on and show that I really do mean my words."

Vampire Lady hissed angrily.

"Not only will I win the duel and earn that antidote, but I'll prove to Thomas that I really do mean my words of apology!"

"So be it!" snarled Vampire Lady, holding out another card. "I activate Advance Draw to tribute Adreana the Vampire King and draw two cards!"

James was surprised to see a Spell card like that materialize face-up.

* * *

 **Title: The Vampire Strikes Back, Part 2**

* * *

Adreana the Vampire King faded away in a blue streak as the female Court of Darkness member drew two more cards.

"But would you get rid of such a powerful monster?" questioned James.

"Patience." replied Vampire Lady, seeing that she drew two Spell cards (Shadow Stepper and Star Changer). "First, I'll play one of my drawn cards."

The Star Changer Spell card materialized face-up.

"Star Changer!"

"Star Changer?" blinked James. "That allows you to increase the star level of one monster on the field. Why play something like that?"

"You'll soon see." said Vampire Lady. "For now, I will use my card to increase the star level of your Elemental HERO Glow Neos by 1!"

Elemental HERO Glow Neos's level increased (Level: 7 - 8). From there, a Spell card called Shadow Stepper flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Next I play Shadow Stepper."

Suddenly, a coffin emerged from the ground beside the face-up Spell card.

"What's going on?" demanded James.

Vampire Lady smirked. "As if you didn't know... I can special summon a monster from the Graveyard that was originally special summoned from the extra deck with a lower or equal level than the level of an opponent's monster while having its effects negated."

The coffin opened up...

"Welcome back, Adreana the Vampire King!"

In a white flash of light, Adreana the Vampire King was now in the spot where the coffin originally was.

"Why go through the trouble of sending Vampire King to the grave just to bring him back?' asked Molly.

"Remember that The Field of Dark Graves still makes him stronger." reminded Edward. "And Neo Space no longer makes Glow Neos stronger."

"What?!"

It was true; Elemental HERO Glow Neos's attack had dropped back to its original amount due to Neo Space being destroyed by The Field of Dark Graves (ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"Oh boy..." muttered James.

"Adreana the Vampire King-" commanded Vampire Lady, entering the battle phase. "-attack Elemental HERO Glow Neos!"

Adreana the Vampire King obeyed, diving towards Elemental HERO Glow Neos. Once close enough, Adreana the Vampire King opened his cloak and unleashed a swarm of bats.

"Eek!" squealed Molly. "Bats!"

Elemental HERO Glow Neos was overwhelmed and destroyed by the swarm of angry bats.

"Neos..." winced James (LP: 1650).

"And now Vampire Lady, finish him off!"

With a hiss, the monster version of Vampire Lady started to lung forth.

"This is the end!" cried Vampire Lady. "It's all over for you!"

"Not yet, I'm not!" declared James, just as his graveyard started emitting white light. "I banish Necro Gardna from my graveyard!"

Vampire Lady approached the white light... and ended up getting thrown back.

"By banishing Necro Gardna from my graveyard-" explained James. "-I was able to negate your attack."

Vampire Lady scowled. "Necro Gardna..."

"He's safe..." sighed Henry.

"For the time being." Spencer pointed out.

"It's my go!" said James, about to draw a card. "Here-AUGH!"

Yet again, the red-haired boy collapsed to his knees.

"James!" cried Molly.

"If this keeps up-" worried Edward. "-I don't think James will even win the duel."

Despite wincing, James managed to weakly draw a card.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : James Hughes (LP: 1650)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (1): Elemental HERO Bubbleman

* * *

On cue, the Elemental HERO Bubbleman monster card materialized face-up.

"I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!"

The aquatic Elemental HERO appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200).

"Bubbleman?" gawked Vampire Lady. "He's one of the weakest monsters in your whole deck!"

"But his effect makes up for it." retorted James, drawing two cards. "When he's summoned while being the only monster on my field, I can draw two cards from my deck."

Both cards were Spell cards (Bubble Blaster and Bubble Rod).

"And now it's time to give Bubbleman a big boost in power!"

"How so?" asked Vampire Lady dismissively.

"With these!" answered James, holding two glowing cards up. "Bubble Blaster and Bubble Rod!"

Bubble Blaster appeared in Elemental HERO Bubbleman's left arm, while Bubble Rod appeared in his right hand.

"Both cards increase Bubbleman's attack by 800 points." explained James. "Giving him a grand total of 2400 points."

Elemental HERO Bubbleman's attack strength went up (ATK: 800 - 1600 - 2400).

"Still weaker than Adreana the Vampire King-" frowned Vampire Lady. "-but much stronger than Vampire Lady..."

"Got that right!" agreed James. "Attack with Bombartic Bubble Barrage!"

Elemental HERO Bubbleman obeyed and leaped into the sky with the Bubbkle Blaster.

"Just try it!" dared Vampire Lady.

"Don't mind if I do! You heard her command, Bubbleman!"

Elemental HERO Bubbleman fired a barrage of rocket-like bubbles from the weapon, striking Vampire Lady and causing an explosion on the female Court of Darkness member's field.

"Well! How'd you like that?" taunted James.

"Way to go, James!" cheered Henry.

When the smoke cleared, Vampire Lady was gone... The real Vampire Lady hissed as she sustained damage to her life points (LP: 350).

"You still have Adreana the Vampire King to deal with!" The female Court of Darkness member pointed out. "And when he takes a bite out of your Bubbleman, you won't know what hits you!"

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" agreed James. "Either way, my turn has come to an end."

With that said, Vampire Lady drew a card and began her turn.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Vampire Lady (LP: 350)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (1): Ebon Arrow

* * *

Her drawn card was a Trap card called Ebon Arrow.

"Andreana!" she commanded. "Attack Bubbleman!"

Adreana the Vampire King obeyed and lunged forth towards Elemental HERO Bubbleman, but only sunk him fangs into...the Bubble Blaster?

"When Bubbleman's attacked with Bubble Blaster equipped-" explained James, just as the Bubble Blaster vanished from Elemental HERO Bubbleman's arm. "-Bubble Blaster takes the hit instead!"

"What about battle damage?!" demanded Vampire Lady.

James smirked (LP: 1650). "None is dealt."

Vampire Lady grew crosser than ever before.

"Bet you didn't think of that, did you?"

"Watch it, James..." mumbled Gordon. "Don't tick her off like that..."

Back in the duel field, a facedown card materialized.

"I place one card facedown and my turn." said Vampire Lady, with two fingers braced on a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : James Hughes (LP: 1650)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (1): Damage Polarizer

* * *

James's drawn card was a Trap card called Damage Polarizer.

"I place one card facedown." The red-haired boy began, slotting a card into his Duel Disk before taking and switching the monster card on a monster field slot sideways. "Then I'll switch Elemental HERO Bubbleman into defense mode."

A facedown card materialized, followed by Elemental HERO Bubbleman kneeling into a defensive stance.

"That's all for me."

"Your monster won't be sitting there for much longer..." teased Vampire Lady, drawing a card. "I will take it down now!"

James stood firm.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Vampire Lady (LP: 350)  
 **Deck** : 42  
 **Current Hand** (1): Zombie Heart

* * *

On cue, Vampire Lady's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"I activate Ebon Arrow!"

"Ebon Arrow?" asked James.

Suddenly, to James's surprise, Adreana the Vampire King's attack points lowered (ATK: 3000 - 2500).

"Hey! Did your monster get weaker?"

"That's the effect of Ebon Arrow." explained Vampire Lady. "Although it weakens the attack points of my monster by 500 points, it allows Adreana the Vampire King to inflict piercing damage for the rest of the turn!"

Adreana the Vampire King took to the skies and unleashed another swarm of bats from his cloak. Elemental HERO Bubbleman was swarmed and destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"Bubbleman has fallen!" announced Vampire Lady with a laugh. "And now, you receive damage based on the difference between Adreana the Vampire King's attack points, and Bubbleman's defense points..."

James scowled (LP: 350), but then drew a card from his deck.

"When Bubble Rod is destroyed-" explained the red-haired boy. "-I draw an extra card from my deck."

"Like that will help you!" scoffed Vampire Lady.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because my attack was not the worst bit for my turn." continued the female Court of Darkness member. "My Trap card has another effect..."

"What?! It does?" questioned James.

"When my Vampire King destroys a monster in battle, you lose life points equal the destroyed monster's original defense points!"

"WHAT?!"

Back with the group...

"Bubbleman had 1200 defense points..." began Edward.

"That means James is going to lose!" cried Molly.

Back in the duel field, the face-up Ebon Arrow Trap card was charging a blast up.

"It's all over for you!" declared Vampire Lady. "ATTACK!"

The face-up Ebon Arrow Trap card obeyed and unleashed the blast. It got closer and closer to the red-haired boy...

 ***BOOM!***

An explosion covered the red-haired boy's side of the field.

"JAMES!" cried out Thomas and everyone else.

Vampire Lady smirked evilly. "I win..."

As the smoke cleared, James was shown to be on his knees with his remaining life points...untouched (LP: 350)?

"Huh? What?! You're still in the game?!"

"Thank my Trap card for that." James chuckled weakly. "Damage Polarizer!"

The remaining smoke cleared away to reveal a face-up Trap card called—as James had pointed out—Damage Polarizer.

"Damage Polarizer?" asked Vampire Lady in disgust.

"This lets me negate any card effect that deals damage to me and even lets me draw one more card." explained James, drawing another card.

Vampire Lady was not very pleased with how her opponent kept cheating a loss.

"This isn't fair!" she whined. "How are you able to keep avoiding defeat?!"

"Heh! My little secret." teased James, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "Either way, now we both draw a card from our respective decks."

The female Court of Darkness member scowled as she drew another card, just as James did the same.

"My efforts to defeat you this turn may have failed-" hissed Vampire Lady, taking and slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk. "-but my turn isn't over yet."

On cue, a Spell card called Zombie Heart materialized face-up.

"This is the Equip Spell card known as Zombie Heart. Once per turn, during the end phase, if the equipped monster battled a monster with higher attack than the equipped monster, or if a card or effect that would destroy the equipped monster, I can inflict damage to my opponent equal to the equipped monster's attack."

"Too bad it won't work this turn." cut in James.

"There's always next turn." insisted Vampire Lady. "Can't you just admit that you cannot win? Quit making it so hard for not only yourself, but for Thomas and Emily."

James frowned, but remained silent.

"Why won't she shut up?" asked Gordon unhappily.

"Shut up, eh?" cut in Vampire Lady. "About what? I'm just being honest right now."

"You're trying to trick James into quitting." protested Henry.

"No, she's right." interrupted Thomas, taking a step forth. "James is making my life, as well as Emily's, miserable."

"T-Thomas?!" gasped Molly. "What are you-?"

"Just hear me out." Thomas cut in once more. When everyone was silent, he went on. "Everything that James and Gordon both had done to Emily back in Middle School was unforgivable."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Scenes of Young Gordon and Young James both bullying Young Emily were shown.

"I've hated them for what they've done to her." narrated Present day-Thomas. "They bullied her for stupid reasons until she became a bully herself."

Scenes of Young Emily's worst moments were shown...

"Many people had started to give up on Emily, and it pushed her to the brink of attempting to take her own life."

Scenes of Young Emily attempting suicide by cutting herself, having a breakdown before Young Thomas, and finally deciding to go with her young blue-haired friend back to the school were shown next...

"If it hadn't been for me talking her out of it-" Present day-Thomas went on "-Emily would have killed herself... And Gordon and James both would have gotten off scott-free."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, as Thomas closed his eyes tightly.

"But even though times have changed-" he continued. "-I still have not forgiven them. Personally, I even WANT James to lose this duel."

"Thomas..." James thought to himself, looking very sad. He couldn't believe that Thomas actually wanted him to lose. "Why...?"

But Thomas continued still... "But that wouldn't be the right thing to do." he spoke, opening his eyes. "Wanting someone to die to atone for their actions in the name of revenge is being selfish and being no better... Despite me still not wanting to forgive James for hurting Emily like that, I do want him to win this duel!"

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer. He was surprised by his friend/rival's speech.

"So, no matter what, James-" Thomas still spoke, turning his attention to James. "-you cannot give up. If you really wanna prove you are truly sorry for hurting Emily emotionally, then win the duel and show me!"

After being silent for a minute... James nodded.

"You've got it, Thomas..."

Just then, there was laughter coming from Vampire Lady...

"Oh ho ho ho!" she chortled. "I really must applaud you for that corny friendship speech... But, please! There's a slight flaw in it... How can James even beat me?"

James frowned, but said nothing.

"He has no monsters on his field, while I have my Vampire King back at 3000 attack points. And to add to it, the poison in his blood stream still remains, meaning his life could end at anytime now."

Suddenly, a smile crept onto the red-haired boy's face.

"I know that."

Vampire Lady looked surprised while falling into silence.

"But despite it, I'm gonna win this duel." continued James, preparing to draw a card. "It's like the old saying; ' _ **It isn't over until the last card is played**_ '."

Vampire Lady snorted. "If that's what you believe, then show me, now!"

"Gladly!"

With that said, Vampire Lady slotted a card into her Duel Disk.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." she said simply, entering the end phase.

A facedown card materialized. From there, James drew his card (performing the ever popular Destiny Draw).

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : James Hughes (LP: 350)  
 **Deck** : 35  
 **Current Hand** (3): Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Instant Neo Space, and Convert Contact

* * *

The red-haired boy's hand contained Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Instant Neo Space, and the drawn Convert Contact.

"First up-" began James, taking and holding out his drawn card. "-I play the Spell card Convert Contact!"

"Convert Contact?" blinked Vampire Lady.

"Since I control no monsters on the field, this allows me to send one Neo-Spacian monster from my hand and deck to the graveyard and draw two cards."

James discarded the Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird monster card from his hand to the graveyard, followed by the Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin monster card from the deck to the graveyard.

"I send both Neo-Spacians Air Hummingbird and Aqua Dolphin to the graveyard to draw two cards!" declared James, drawing two cards. "And I assure you they both will be the start of your downfall!"

"And how so?" dismissed Vamprie Lady.

On cue, the Elemental HERO Necroshade monster card slipped out of James's graveyard.

"What are you doing?" demanded Vampire Lady.

"Activating the effect of Elemental HERO Necroshade from my graveyard, that's what." answered James. "When activated, I can normal summon a level 5 or higher Elemental HERO from my hand to the field." He held his card out. "And this is the one I summon... Elemental HERO Neos!"

Appearing to the field was the red-haired boy's ace monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"Are you stupid? Elemental HERO Neos isn't a match for my Vampire King!" criticized Vampire Lady.

"Hold the phone! Who even said I was finished?" interrupted James, smirking. "I have plenty more where that came from..."

On cue, the Fifth Hope Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Take Fifth Hope, for example!"

"Fifth Hope?" blinked Vampire Lady. "What does that card do?"

"It lets me return five Elemental HERO monsters from the graveyard to my deck, shuffle it, and draw two more cards." explained James, just as five cards ejected from the graveyard. "Elemental HEROES Burstinatrix, Necroshade, Bubbleman, Avian, and Glow Neos!"

The first four cards were added to the deck, while the last returned to the extra deck. Once the main deck was all shuffled, James drew two cards.

"Are these the ones?" he thought to himself, beginning to look at his drawn cards. "Yes!"

The two drawn cards were shown to be entirely Spell cards (Miracle Contact and Assault Armor).

"It's go tim!" James declared, taking and holding out a card. "I'll start with this... Miracle Contact!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up.

"Miracle Contact?" blinked Vampire Lady. She then gasped in realization... "What?! You're gonna-?"

"Perform a contact fusion sequence?" joked James. "You bet I am! And these here are the lucky monsters..."

Two more cards ejected from the graveyard.

"Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, and Elemental HERO Neos!"

Neo-Spacians Air Hummingbird and Aqua Dolphin both appeared on the field and joined Elemental HERO Neos in fusing together. From there, James began to make a summon chant...

" _ **Master of the sea, healer of the winds, join with the hero from another world, and bend the forces of nature to your will! Fusion Summon!**_ "

The windows in the room suddenly shattered as powerful gusts of winds blew into the room.

"Whoa!" cried Gordon. "Strong winds!"

" _ **Take flight**_!" called James, raising his right hand into the sky. " _ **Elemental HERO Storm Neos**_!"

The wind grew more and more powerful as something began to emerge from the gust.

"E-Elemental HERO Storm Neos..." stuttered Vampire Lady.

Emerging from a cyclone was a powerful blue Neos with wings, claws, and a bird's head (Level: 9/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"And now, Neos, activate your special ability!" commanded James. "Command the winds and wipe out all of my opponent's Spells and Trap cards!"

Elemental HERO Storm Neos slowly rose into the sky.

"ULTIMATE TYPHOON!"

Elemental HERO Storm Neos began to spin rapidly, causing another cyclone to form, and used his wings to shoot it towards Vampire Lady's side of the field.

"NO!" screamed Vampire Lady. "STOP!"

But it was too late, the Zombie Heart Spell card and the facedown Haunted Shrine Trap card were both blown about and destroyed. The only card to remain in play was the The Field of Dark Graves Spell card, because it could not be destroyed just like that.

"Curse you!" hissed Vampire Lady in anger, as her eyes flashed between crimson red and golden yellow. "Even then, both our monsters are equal in strength!"

Adreana the Vampire King (ATK: 3000) and Elemental HERO Storm Neos (ATK: 3000) both stared each other down.

"Attacking would be futile! ...not to mention your monster would return to the extra deck at the end of your turn!"

"Nice try." teased James, slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Go - Assault Armor!"

The mentioned Equip Spell card flipped face-up and itself, just as Elemental HERO Storm Neos grew stronger (ATK: 3000 - 3300).

"This raises Storm Neos's attack by 300 points!"

Vampire Lady was shocked. "No! Now your monster is stronger than my own!"

"That's right!" grinned James, entering the battle phase. "Storm Neos, attack Adreana the Vampire King!"

Once more, Elemental HERO Storm Neos slowly rose into the sky.

"ULTIMATE TYPHOON!"

A giant typhoon was created by Elemental HERO Storm Neos and swept across to Adreana the Vampire King, blowing him about before flying into the wall and shattering into pieces of glass.

"Your Vampire King has become dead once more!" James rejoiced.

Vampire Lady looked very upset (LP: 50).

"Only 50 life points left!" cheered Gordon.

"And now for the final effect of Assault Armor!" said James, still not done with his battle phase. "By ditching it, Storm Neos can attack again!"

Elemental HERO Storm Neos's glow ceased, but started to attack once more.

"With no more cards on your field, I win the duel and my cure!"

Suddenly, Vampire Lady smiled. "You do, do you?"

James's look of triumph became one of concern. His concern was proven to be true—because Vampire Lady's graveyard started to glow all white...

"What's going on?" demanded James.

"The effect of Haunted Shrine activates, that's what!" answered Vampire Lady. "By banishing it, I can special summon a zombie-type monster from the graveyard in defense position and its effects rendered null."

On cue, Vampire Lord appeared in a defensive stance. Did this worry James? Not so...

"Take it down, Storm Neos!"

Elemental HERO Storm Neos obeyed, striking and taking down Vampire Lord with his claws.

"To finish my turn-" James went on, going into the main phase 2 and slotting his last card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "-I'll equip Instant Neo Space to Elemental HERO Storm Neos."

Elemental HERO Storm Neos started glowing all rainbow-like colors.

"Now my monster won't return to the extra deck."

"Keep it up, James!" cheered Molly. "You've got this!"

James winked. "You've got it, Molly." He then turned his attention back to Vampire Lady. "Looks like I've got this duel won. And once I win, I'll be cured of that toxic poison in my blood." The red-haired boy then heard soft laughter... "Huh?"

Vampire Lady was...laughing.

"What's so funny?"

The cackling got louder and harder than ever before.

"What's she laughing about?" asked Henry.

"Guess she's finally snapped." cracked Gordon.

"Don't you get it?" asked Vampire Lady at last, speaking to James upon no longer laughing. "Do you know far gone you are?"

James snorted. "Keep on trying... I know you're in denial. I've got a powerful monster on my field while you have nothing in your hand or your own side of the field. This duel's mine."

"Yes, I do admit that, but you still have no chance for survival!"

James frowned; what was it that Vampire Lady was trying to tell him? Suddenly, Vampire Lady took out the same glass bottle once more.

"This antidote you see here?" The female Court of Darkness member asked. "Allow me to tell you this now... It isn't a cure for your disease. Why? Because there IS no cure for the poisons of Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes!"

Everyone in the room was shocked to the core.

"That's right, this ' _antidote_ ' is simply a bottle of colored water! You've been dueling me all for nothing!"

"You tricked me!" growled James, looking none too happy. "Why'd you tell me there was a cure if there wasn't any?" Just then, the pain returned. "AHHH!"

"No matter what happens in this duel-" said Vampire Lady. "-there is no escape. Win or lose, you'll die from the poisons of Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes."

James grimaced. "$*#%!"

"I don't believe this!" cried Henry.

"No matter what happens in the outcome, we're gonna lose James." frowned Spencer.

"NO!" screamed Molly, bursting into tears.

Vampire Lady laughed. "I'm sorry to say it's true! Not only have I tricked you so successfully, but I will also win the duel in the process! ...like now..."

From there, she drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Vampire Lady (LP: 50)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (1): Vampire Vamp

* * *

"And now... I activate the effect of Vampire Sorcerer in my graveyard!"

Her graveyard began to glow.

"By banishing it, I can normal summon a high level dark attribute Vampire monster from my hand without having to tribute anything to summon!"

On cue, a monster card called Vampire Vamp materialized face-up.

"Vampire Vamp - come forth!"

Appearing to the field was a female vampire with white hair and grey wings (Level: 7/ATK: 2000 - 2500/DEF: 2000).

"When normal summon successfully-" explained Vampire Lady. "-her effect will activate and..." Her smile grew eviler. "...absorb your monster."

"What?!" gasped James, still on his knees.

"That's right! Think of it as the effect of Relinquished..."

Vampire Vamp's eyes started glowing all red, but not in the color of anger. Instead, it was an absorption-type spell of some sort...

"F-Fight it, Storm Neos!" James weakly encouraged his monster. "Don't give up!"

Elemental HERO Storm Neos tried his best to fight the effect off, but it was no good... He soon shattered into pieces of glass, while Vampire Vamp gained the fallen monster's attack strength (ATK: 2500 - 5500).

"This had been my plan all along." declared Vampire Lady. "The moment you've managed to get me to send Vampire Sorcerer to my graveyard, you sealed your own fate!"

James felt defeated... It looked as though this was going to be the end of him...

"Now, Vampire Vamp!" declared Vampire Lady, entering the battle phase. "It's feasting time!"

Vampire Vamp let out a hiss and dove towards James, opening her mouth to show her hungry fangs.

(elsewhere...)

Out in the hallway...

"GGGGGWWWWWAAAAAHHHHH!"

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the chamber, James had collapsed on to the ground as his life points ran out (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Vampire Lady wins!**

* * *

The holograms all faded away.

"I'm afraid you were too late to save yourself, James Hughes." hissed Vampire Lady. "Good duel... Now, I'll let you spend your last few moments with your friends... Farewell..."

And thus, the female Court of Darkness faded away into darkness.

"JAMES!" shrieked Molly, running towards her fallen boyfriend.

"James!" came from Gordon and Henry, both running over.

"You've got to hang in there!" ranted Molly, holding James in her arms. "I can't live without you! I love you!"

James opened his eyes weakly and looked towards Thomas.

"T-Thomas..."

Thomas approached and held his red-haired friend in his arms.

"I've tried my best, but I had failed to win... I...just wanted to prove how sorry I am for what I did to Emily all those years ago... And for betraying your trust..."

"James..." Thomas whispered, just as tears came to his eyes.

"I'm so sorry about what Gordon and I did to her back in Middle School." apologized James weakly. "I don't know why we did such a stupid thing back then, but..." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Maybe this is for the better..."

"No, don't say that!" protested Thomas. "You don't deserve this fate, James Hughes!"

This surprised James. "Wait... Does this mean...you... you finally forgive me?"

"Yes, James, I forgive both you and Gordon." confirmed Thomas, blinking through his tears. "I should have forgiven you long ago instead of harboring that grudge, but I was just so angry for what you and Gordon both had done to Emily, and the events it eventually lead to... But now, after seeing all that you've done to try and redeem yourself, I'm finally ready to make peace with you both..."

James smiled weakly at his blue-haired friend. At least he would be able to die knowing that he was truly forgiven.

"Let me die with you, James!" begged Molly through her own tears. "We have to be together!"

"No, Molly..." refused James, shaking his head weakly. "You were caught up in all of this, meaning you don't deserve a fate like this. Besides, Thomas needs all the support he can get..."

He started to fade away into particles of light.

"James!" peeped Molly, sobbing hard. "James..."

"Thomas... you've really grown into a fine young man..." James weakly admitted, not losing the smile on his face. "Now, go! Go forth, and save Emily from the Court of Darkness... I know you can... can... do..."

The red-haired boy never got to finish his sentence... because he had finally faded away, never to be seen again...

"He's gone..." whispered Edward.

"James..." spluttered Gordon, falling to his knees.

"I don't...believe it..." added Henry weakly.

Molly was taking it much harder than the others; the one boy she had loved was gone.

"Why does he want me to live heartbroken?" The poor black-haired girl sobbed.

Unfortunately, there was someone who was taking it even worse...

"It's all my fault..." murmured Thomas, shaking with grief. "It's thanks to me that this happened. First Percy, then Toby and Mavis, then Stanley and Rosie, and now James! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

He then looked out into the sky from one of the broken windows.

"I was told in church-" The blue-haired boy spoke, perhaps to the Big Man Upstairs. "-that you would always be watching over us and helping us. If what I was taught is true, then why is this happening? Why are my friends being killed left and right? What have they done to deserve this?! And what have I done to deserve enduring so much torture knowing there is nothing I can do to save them?!"

"Billinton, the only ones who are at fault here are somewhere in this castle." Spencer pointed up.

"The Court of Darkness..." hissed Thomas, standing back up. "Everyone, I want you all to get out while you still can... I'm gonna settle this with the Court of Darkness alone..."

"Thomas, you can't!" argued Edward. "Who knows what mi-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME!" roared Thomas. "Half of our group has been lost because of the Court of Darkness, and I would rather die than let the same thing happen to the rest of you! I won't let you throw your lives away!"

With that said, the enraged blue-haired boy ran off.

"Thomas!" called Gordon. "Come back! THOMAS!"

But Thomas didn't... He only kept running out of the room and down a new hallway...

"I will get my revenge on the Court of Darkness if it's the last thing I do!"

Oh, wow...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the tower dungeon, Emily was busy trying to rest some rest when she heard a sound...

"Huh?" The dark green-haired gasped, looking to the nearby door.

The door opened and revealed...Gozaburo Gresley.

"Come." he said simply. "The time has come."

Emily remained silent and only gazed at the evil man with curiosity and/or disgust.

(elsewhere...)

Within minutes, Emily was being escorted by Gozaburo down the tower.

"Why have you recaptured me?" Emily demanded. "There is no trace of darkness left in my heart... I am useless to you and the Court of Darkness!"

Gozaburo smiled in a cruel way. "I know that... But we still have tons of use for you."

"Use for me? L-Like what?"

"How else are we to ensure that Thomas comes to us-" asked Gozaburo, chuckling. "-unless he has a reason to?"

That was all that was said on the matter, as the evil man continued to lead Emily down the tower to wherever he was taking her. All I can say is this... No matter what happens now, things will continue to get worse before they finally get better.


	91. The Harbinger of Destruction (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the same chamber, James had been defeated by Vampire Lady. Worst of all, he was dying due to the poisons in his blood spreading all around in his body. Currently, he was saying his last words to Thomas...

"Thomas... you've really grown into a fine young man... Now, go! Go forth, and save Emily from the Court of Darkness... I know you can... can... do..."

The red-haired boy never got to finish his sentence, because he had finally faded away, never to be seen again...

"He's gone..." whispered Edward.

"James..." spluttered Gordon, falling to his knees.

"I don't...believe it..." added Henry weakly.

Molly was taking it much harder than the others; the one boy she had loved was gone.

"Why does he want me to live heartbroken?" The poor black-haired girl sobbed.

Unfortunately, there was someone who was taking it even worse...

"It's all my fault..." murmured Thomas, shaking with grief. "It's thanks to me that this happened. First Percy, then Toby and Mavis, then Stanley and Rosie, and now James! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

He then looked out into the sky from one of the broken windows.

"I was told in church-" The blue-haired boy spoke, perhaps to the Big Man Upstairs. "-that you would always be watching over us and helping us. If what I was taught is true, then why is this happening? Why are my friends being killed left and right? What have they done to deserve this?! And what have I done to deserve enduring so much torture knowing there is nothing I can do to save them?!"

"Billinton, the only ones who are at fault here are somewhere in this castle." Spencer pointed out.

"The Court of Darkness..." hissed Thomas, standing back up. "Everyone, I want you all to get out while you still can... I'm gonna settle this with the Court of Darkness alone..."

"Thomas, you can't!" argued Edward. "Who knows what mi-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME!" roared Thomas. "Half of our group has been lost because of the Court of Darkness, and I would rather die than let the same thing happen to the rest of you! I won't let you throw your lives away!"

With that said, the enraged blue-haired boy ran off.

"Thomas!" called Gordon. "Come back! THOMAS!"

But Thomas didn't... He only kept running out of the room and down a new hallway...

"I will get my revenge on the Court of Darkness if it's the last thing I do!"

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the chamber...

"Thomas..." whispered Edward.

"Every time one of us dies-" said Molly, no longer crying. "-he feels worse and worse."

"Do you guys think it has to do with the prophecy Amazoness Sage told us about?" asked Henry.

"Maybe..." replied Gordon thoughtfully.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Prophecy? What prophecy?"

"While we had been seperated at sea by a storm-" explained Edward, knowing that Spencer wasn't around when the prophecy was revealed. "-we eventually reunited in the village of Amazons. The Amazoness Sage, the village's chief, unveiled a prophecy to us involving Thomas."

"Billinton? What does he have to do with it?"

"It states that during his quest to save everyone-" put in Gordon. "-he was required to undergo several trials of great suffering."

"And you guys think that this could be said trial?" questioned Spencer.

Edward nodded. "That's what we think."

"So, in order for the prophecy to work and Thomas save everyone-" added Molly. "-we have to die?"

"Doesn't make a lick of sense to me." grumbled Gordon, folding his arms.

"Oh, but it makes perfect sense to me!" laughed a familiar voice (male).

"I agree to that!" came a second familiar voice (male).

Spencer looked around. "Darkbishop Archfiend and The Earl of Demise..."

"Show yourselves!" demanded Gordon. "Come out and fight if you're not scared!"

"Scared, are we?" chortled the voice of Earl of Demise.

"If that's the case... As you wish." added the voice of Darkbishop Archfiend.

Within seconds, the two Court of Darkness members reappeared from clouds of darkness before the party remains.

"What do you want?" asked Molly, now looking quite angry. "Wasn't losing our friends to you good enough?"

"You seem rather angry." taunted Darkbishop Archfiend, readying three cards. "Then why not direct that rage towards these friends of ours?"

Spencer readied his own Duel Disk. "Bring it on!"

"So be it."

From there, Earl of Demise readied three cards. "Okay, take this..."

The three cards in Earl of Demise and Darkbishop Archfiend's respective hands started glowing.

"Machine King and Perfect Machine King - come forth, and eliminate all who stand in your way!" chanted the two Court of Darkness members in unison.

Appearing before the remains of the group were three copies each of Machine King and Perfect Machine King. Spencer acted quick and drew three cards from his deck and held them up.

"Try your luck on these!" declared the silver-haired boy. "Blue-Eyes White Dragons, attack!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared with mighty roars.

"There is no escape!" insisted Darkbishop Archfiend, just before turning his attention to the machine-type monsters. "Attack at once!"

"Fight back!" cried Spencer, commanding his three dragons.

All nine monsters obeyed their respective masters, attacking each other violently.

"It is useless to resist." grinned Earl of Demise, watching as the Machine King monsters easily punched through the White Lightning blasts. "Without any additional allies to help, you're as helpless as a Watapon!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were struck by barrages of missiles and ended up destroyed.

"NO! MY BLUE-EYES DRAGONS!" exclaimed Spencer.

The shockwaves from the destruction of three dragons struck and knocked the remains of the group into the wall, rendering them all unconscious. Pleased with their work being successful, the two Court of Darkness members returned their Machine Kings and Perfect Machine Kings into the cards.

"Easier than I thought." snickered Earl of Demise.

"Indeed." agreed Darkbishop Archfiend, just as four Lizard Soldiers walked into the room. "Grab those four and let's go."

The Lizard Soldiers obeyed, grabbing Edward, Henry, Gordon, and Molly.

"What about him?" asked Earl of Demise, looking at the knocked out Spencer. "Should we kill him?"

"No." answered Darkbishop Archfiend, turning to leave. "Gozaburo wants him alive."

"What for?"

Darkbishop Archfiend sighed. "Don't ask me, they're his order."

With that said, both Court of Darkness members left the room, leaving Spencer alone and unconscious.

* * *

 **Title: The Harbinger of Destruction, Part 1**

* * *

Meanwhile, in another hallway, Thomas was carrying out on his own. He had been searching and searching, but wasn't having much luck.

"Where are they?" The blue-haired boy asked himself. "Where are they?! I'll tear this whole castle down to find them if that's what it takes!"

Suddenly, there was faint laughter...

"Huh? Laughter?"

The laughter grew louder and louder...

"Who's there?" demanded Thomas. "Show yourself!"

"Show myself?" taunted the familiar voice (male). "Just...follow the sound of my voice..."

Scowling, Thomas followed the sound of the voice down the hallway.

"Not much further now... Keep going..."

"Tch!" hissed Thomas. "I know who you are..."

Indeed, he did...

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere inside another room, Gozaburo was busy hooking Emily up to something.

"You'll never get away with your actions!" declared Emily boldly.

Gozaburo chuckled. "Oh, and you plan to stop me? Ha! What a laugh! You currently, as you can plainly see, cannot do anything of the sort!"

"Maybe not-" The dark green-haired girl acknowledged. "-but I know Thomas will put an end to all of this."

"With what I have in store for you and him, it will ensure that even that boy cannot stop me."

With that said, once Emily was completely hooked to whatever was built, Gozaburo immediately grabbed a nearby remote control and pressed a button.

"But before that happens, why not enjoy the incoming show?" asked the evil man in a very evil tone.

Suddenly, a large monitor lowered down towards the captured Emily, surprising her.

"What're you going to show me?" she asked curiously.

Gozaburo smiled again. "You'll see."

Suddenly, the monitor flashed on, revealing...

"T-Thomas?"

Yes, Emily was watching Thomas... The blue-haired boy was currently looking around a hallway for the source of a voice.

"Your friend, Thomas, will soon be engaged with the leader of the Court of Darkness." explained Gozaburo. "Your other friends, I'm afraid, were not a match for the other members."

"You mean they're...dead?" asked Emily, dreading the answer.

"Yes, dead as a doornail. Many of them gave their lives up to ensure Thomas got away, unharmed and uncaptured. However, the downside to that plan of theirs is that your darling Thomas is becoming closer and closer to losing hope and giving into despair. And should you die, his turn to the darkness will be absolute."

"But don't you need me alive?" Emily demanded, growing more and more disgusted.

"Of course, I need you alive... For now, anyway." answered Gozaburo, lighting himself a cigar. "With you hooked up to this device, my ultimate plan will soon be completed!"

"But isn't your plan to help the Court of Darkness revive Diablon?"

The wicked glow in Gozaburo Gresley's eyes soon caught up with the dark green-haired girl, and she just decided to fall into silence.

"Perhaps this discussion has gone on long enough." The evil man said, motioning his left hand towards the large monitor. "Why not just sit back, and enjoy the show?"

Yes, let's do so...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the hallway, Thomas was currently following the sound of the voice of whoever was taunting him.

"You're getting closer..." remarked the familiar voice (male).

"Why don't you just show yourself, now?" demanded Thomas, not in the mood for small talk.

The voice (male) chortled. "And ruin the surprise? Never! Besides, if you enter the door at the very end of the hallway, you'll find me..."

Without anymore words, Thomas raced to the end of the hallway.

"Time to see who it is..." he thought to himself. "Although I have a pretty good idea about who it could be..."

From there, Thomas opened the door and entered the room. The blue-haired boy saw that this chamber resembled a church setting.

"A church?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" laughed the voice (male). "Welcome, Thomas Billinton! ...or should I say...Lord Diablon..."

At the end of the room was Vampire Lord, leader of the Court of Darkness.

"Vampire Lord... Just as I suspected." said Thomas as calmly as can be.

"I'm so glad you're able to make it." smirked Vampire Lord. "I was beginning to worry that this wait would be boring." He then snickered wickedly. "Glad to see I was wrong about that!"

Thomas frowned. "I'm taking it you want a rematch against me?"

"Why, how did you know that was what I was going to ask?" The Court of Darkness leader asked with a gasp of false shock, clearing mocking his opponent.

"Because your other members already fought against my other friends, and won against them."

Vampire Lord once again smiled, barring his pointy fangs. Even then, he didn't say a word back.

"I'm going to make you, and the rest of the Court of Darkness pay for all of the innocent lives you've either ruined or taken!" declared Thomas, pointing forth. "But especially for the lives of all my fallen friends and allies!"

Vampire Lord howled with laughter. "In that case, let me show you a little something you'll be fighting for..."

He pointed to a nearby curtain, which rose up and revealed Vampire Lady, along with four very familiar faces...

"No!" gasped Thomas.

It was none other than Edward, Henry, Gordon, and Molly, and they were all bound by chains and unconscious.

"Perhaps you should have allowed them to come with you to find our leader." teased Vampire Lady. "Because, now, look at what's happened to them..."

The female Court of Darkness member then giggled and ended with a threatening hiss.

"I didn't want to risk them throwing their lives away like the rest of my friends!" protested Thomas, before looking around for one more face. "And where's Spencer?"

"Still alive." answered Vampire Lord. "We wanted to kill him, but Gozaburo still wants him alive."

"I don't care what you do to me-" growled Thomas. "-but let my friends go! They've done nothing to deserve this!"

"Be silent!" hissed Vampire Lady. "You will duel Vampire Lord, or else..."

With his friends' lives on the line, Thomas had no other alternative but to accept the match.

"Fine." The blue-haired boy frowned, activating his Duel Disk. "Let's duel!"

"This will be quite enjoyable." jeered Vampire Lord, activating his own Duel Disk.

Vampire Lady smiled to herself. "And so it begins..."

The two duelists soon got near the middle of the church-like setting and drew their opening hands as their own rematch commenced (LP: 4000) x2.

"DUEL!"

(elsewhere...)

Blackness... That was all Spencer could see at the moment. Soon enough, however, he started to open his eyes and regain his vision...

"My head..." The silver-haired boy groaned. "Where...?"

Once he had regained full consciousness, Spencer found himself alone in the room where Earl of Demise and Darkbishop Archfiend both had attacked him along with the remains of Thomas's friends.

"Those scum..." Spencer thought to himself, referring to the two members of the Court of Darkness. "Where did they take Billinton's friends to?"

Without any leads, he left the room to begin his search.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like setting...

"I'll begin the first move." declared Vampire Lord, drawing a card. "My turn, draw!"

Thomas awaited the first card to be played.

* * *

 **Turn One** : Vampire Lord (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Vampire Bat, Darkness Half, Dark Tournament, Token Stampede, Genesis Crisis, and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

The Court of Darkness leader's drawn card was The Field of Dark Graves Spell card.

"As I was waiting for..." he thought to himself, before looking to his hand. "Ah, yes..." Vampire Lord's hand contained Vampire Bat, Darkness Half, Dark Tournament, Token Stampede, and Genesis Crisis. "This is all just too perfect."

(elsewhere...)

Back with both Emily and Gozaburo inside an unknown chamber...

"Thomas... please be careful..." Emily whispered to herself.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like setting...

"To begin-" said Vampire Lord, taking and holding out a card. "-I activate The Field of Dark Graves! Get ready... get ready to face the power of darkness!"

The Field Spell zone opened up as Vampire Lord slid the card inside and closed it up.

"Here it goes..." Thomas thought to himself.

With that said, the scenery began to change as Vampire Lord cackled wickedly while an aura of darkness formed all-around him, and his eyes turned bright red.

"Yesssss, the power..." he whispered, before an absolutely demented look appeared on his face. "The absolute...POWER!"

The loud cry of ' **POWER** ' caused Vampire Lord to actually unleash a huge blast of wind, pushing Thomas back a bit. Thankfully, he stayed on his feet...

"Just like with everyone else..." murmured Thomas. "The only difference is this guy's far more dangerous..."

"And now, I shall summon Vampire Bat in attack position." declared Vampire Lord, taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

The mentioned monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"And with The Field of Dark Graves now in play, this blood-sucking bat receives 500 extra attack points!"

Appearing onto the field was a menacing looking bat (Level: 3/ATK: 800 - 1300/DEF: 1200).

"I know your monster also gains 200 attack points, along with powering all other face-up zombie-type monsters you control, as long as it remains on the field." Thomas pointed out.

Indeed, Vampire Bat grew stronger again (ATK: 1300 - 1500).

"A smart young lad, you are." teased Vampire Lord, before entering the end phase. "I end my turn there."

Before Thomas begin his turn...

"Uh..." came the voice of Edward.

"What hit us?" added the voice of Gordon.

"My head hurts..." put in the voice of Molly.

"Where are we?" finished the voice of Henry.

Smirking, Vampire Lord looked to his left. "Our guests are finally awake..."

And indeed they were...

"Everyone!" cried Thomas, looking over to the right.

"Thomas?" asked Edward. "What's going on?"

"I believe I can answer your question." giggled Vampire Lady, ending with a hiss.

"You!" cried Molly, looking frightened. "What do you want with us?"

"It's not what ' _I_ ' want-" Vampire Lady corrected, motioning the index finger of her right hand up and down. "It's what ' _he_ ' wants!"

She then pointed towards Vampire Lord nearby.

"Where's Spencer?" asked Gordon.

"He's alive." answered Vampire Lord. "We wanted him dead, but his Grandfather wanted him alive for a reason we don't know about."

"As for you being here, you're what Thomas is fighting for." added Vampire Lady.

"Us?" quizzed Henry.

"Duh!" The female Court of Darkness member snarked.

"So, you're holding us hostage to get Thomas to duel?" asked Molly. "What happens if he loses?"

"Oh, it's not IF he loses." corrected Vampire Lady.

"What?"

"What does that mean?" questioned Edward.

"You'll soon find out." cut in Vampire Lord. He then turned his attention to Thomas. "And now, it's your turn!"

"Fine..." acknowledged Thomas, drawing a card. In his head... "What could he mean by ' _ **We'll soon find out**_ '?"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Gamma The Magnet Warrior, King's Knight, Diffusion Wave-Motion, Double Summon, Queen's Knight, and Dark Magician Girl

* * *

His hand contained Gamma The Magnet Warrior, King's Knight, Diffusion Wave-Motion, Double Summon, Queen's Knight, and the drawn Dark Magician Girl.

"I don't know what his threat is all about-" Thomas thought to himself. "-so I should try to win the duel as quickly as possible." He then took and readied a card. "I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode!"

The female Poker Knight appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600).

"The first of the ' **Three Musketeers of Face Cards** '..." mused Vampire Lord.

Thomas wasn't done... "Next, I'll add the Spell card Double Summon!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up beside Queen's Knight.

"This allows me to make a second normal summon this turn." explained Thomas, taking another card from his hand. "And I choose to call forth King's Knight!"

The male Poker Knight appeared and joined Queen's Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400).

"When these two monsters are in play at the same time-" Thomas went on, taking another card from his deck. "-I can special summon Jack's Knight from my deck!"

The tall, male Poker Knight joined his comrades (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000).

"Three monsters..." mused Vampire Lord. But rather than become worried, he instead smirked evilly. "If you're gonna attack, then go right ahead. My lone monster isn't a match for your own monsters."

Hearing that comment made Thomas feel uneasy. Was this all a trick or something?

"Does Vampire Lord have a card in his hand that can block my attack?" he thought to himself. "Should I risk an attack, now? What if my friends get hurt in the process?"

"I sense the look of dread on your face." cut in Vampire Lord. "I assure that you no harm will come to a hair on your friends' respective head."

At last, Jack's Knight leaped into the sky as Thomas entered the battle phase.

"Attack!" The blue-haired boy commanded.

Jack's Knight sliced Vampire Bat with his sword, but the monster was not destroyed. Unfortunately, Vampire Lord still received battle damage (LP: 3600).

"Y-Your monster wasn't defeated?" gasped Thomas.

"That happens to be Vampire Bat's other ability." explained Vampire Lord, sending another card from his deck to the graveyard. "When it's about to be destroyed, I can send another copy of Vampire Bat from my deck to the graveyard instead to negate my monster's destruction by battle."

"Well, at least I was still able to inflict some slight damage to your life points." sighed Thomas, figuring that was the worst bit.

He was dead wrong...

"And since you've managed to actually hurt my life points-" Vampire Lord went on, as his smile grew crueler than ever before. "-it's gonna cost you the life of one of your friends!"

"WHAT?!" gasped Thomas, with his eyes widening.

Vampire Lady raises her left hand up and, with her fingernails sharpening considerably, suddenly impaled Henry right in the throat, killing him.

"NNNOOO!" cried Gordon.

Henry Stanier closed his eyes as the gory wound on his throat spewed gushes of blood. The tall, green-haired boy then faded away into particles of light, never to be seen again...

"Henry!" exclaimed the remaining friends (Molly and Edward).

"You! Why did you do that?!" demanded Thomas, growing quite angry. "You said you wouldn't harm a hair on my friends' heads!"

"Yes, I did." agreed Vampire Lord, before looking to Vampire Lady. "Vampire Lady, please show our young friend the hairs..."

Vampire Lady opened the palm of her other hand to show a few strands of hair.

"Those are the one hairs we won't harm." she joked in a sick tone. "The rest of them, however, we will!"

"Exactly!" agreed Vampire Lord with an evil laugh. "Everytime you inflict damage to my life points, Vampire Lady will kill off one of your remaining friends."

Thomas shuddered. "No... No, you can't!"

"Oh yes, we can!" laughed Vampire Lord.

"Leave my friends alone! Why are you doing this to them?!"

(elsewhere...)

Emily could not believe what she was seeing...

"Henry!" she screamed. The dark green-haired girl then saw Gozaburo laughing at the death of Henry. "What did you tell them?!"

"I told them to kill off your remaining friends before the duel, that's what."

"Why?!" demanded Emily in tearful anger. "Why the hell did you tell them to do that? What are you playing at?!"

"You should know the answer by now." Gozaburo pointed out. "The more Thomas suffers, the stronger his darkness will grow. And what better way to make him suffer than by taking everything he cherishes away?"

Emily was absolutely incensed! "You... you..."

"Genius?" joked Gozaburo in a sadistic tone. "Mastermind?"

"MONSTER!" snarled Emily. "You are a heartless monster!"

Suddenly, the evil man slapped Emily across the face. Did she flinch or scream in pain? Not even close... She kept a serious, defiant look on her face.

"You've gone too far this time." The dark green-haired girl hissed, despite her cheek hurting from the slap. "Eventually, you will get what's coming to you..."

"You're right." agreed Gozaburo. "I will... When I destroy Spencer and rule this world alongside Diablon..."

Emily glared as the evil man laughed maniacally.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like setting, Thomas was feeling almost sick to his stomach. With him now being unable to effectively hurt Vampire Lord, he was forced to end his turn without attacking again...

"I..." The blue-haired boy mumbled dully, falling to his knees. "I...end my...turn."

"You do, now?" quizzed Vampire Lord, raising an eyebrow. "That is something I wasn't expecting to see."

Thomas scowled. "What do you hope to achieve by killing my friends?" he demanded.

"You should know the answer by now, Thomas Billinton." answered Vampire Lord, echoing almost the exact same words Gozaburo had said to Emily. "We want your darkness to grow, so that Lord Diablon will be able to keep a permanent hold on you. And the only way this can be done is by taking everything you cherish away from you."

"Like your friends here." added Vampire Lady.

Poor Thomas couldn't do anything, now. Vampire Lord, meanwhile, took his turn...

"It's my turn... Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Vampire Lord (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (5): Darkness Half, Dark Tournament, Token Stampede, Genesis Crisis, and Zombie Werewolf

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Zombie Wolf materialized face-up on the field.

"Zombie Werewolf - appear, now!" ordered Vampire Lord.

Appearing onto the field was a werewolf with chains around his wrists (Level: 4/ATK: 1200 - 1700 - 1900/DEF: 1200).

"Attack Jack's Knight!"

Zombie Werewolf obeyed, pouncing in the air. Jack's Knight readied his blade and fought back.

"Because both monsters have the same attack points-" Vampire Lord went on. "-both monsters will be destroyed."

And indeed, they were. Zombie Werewolf slashed at Jack's Knight while the Poker Knight stabbed the beast in the heart with his blade, destroying the both of them.

"Jack's Knight!" cried Thomas.

"But that's the least of your problems." The Court of Darkness leader pointed out, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "When Zombie Werewolf is sent to the graveyard, I can special summon another copy of it from my deck."

Within seconds, a second copy of Zombie Werewolf appeared on the field.

"Best of all, the new copy receives a 500 attack point bonus."

The second Zombie Werewolf howled as its power rose even great (ATK: 1900 - 2400).

"2400 attack points..." winced Thomas (LP: 4000).

Zombie Werewolf (ATK: 2400) and King's Knight (ATK: 1600) both stared each other down.

"Attack King's Knight!" commanded Vampire Lord.

Zombie Werewolf obeyed, pouncing at King's Knight and destroying him. Thomas braced himself from the blast as damage was sustained (LP: 3200).

"Now attack Queen's Knight, Vampire Bat!" commanded Vampire Lord.

Vampire Bat obeyed, flying towards the remaining Poker Knight.

"BLOODY SPIRAL!"

The bat opened its mouth, baring its fangs. Queen's Knight did what she could to fight back.

"By sending another copy of Vampire Bat from my deck to the graveyard-" said Vampire Lord, sending another card to the graveyard. "-Vampire Bat won't be destroyed by the battle! ...Queen's Knight, on the other hand..."

The female Poker Knight was suddenly bitten on the neck, causing her to collapse to her knees.

"Queen's Knight!" gasped Thomas, looking up to see his monster in pain. "Are you okay?"

The female Poker Knight weakly nodded to her master/friend before collapsing facedown and shattering into pieces of glass.

"Oops! Apparently not." joked Vampire Lord.

Thomas returned to his feet and clenched his fist in frustration.

"What am I going to do?" he thought to himself. "If I even inflict the slightest bit of damage to Vampire Lord, he'll get Vampire Lady to kill either Gordon, Molly, or Edward... What the hell am I going to do, now?!"

Good question, Thomas... Let's find it out! ...next time.

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	92. The Harbinger of Destruction (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the church-like setting deep within the Castle of Dark Illusions, things were not going well for Thomas at the moment. How so, you could be asking? Well...

"I... I can't attack..." The blue-haired boy mumbled. "I... I can't get at Vampire Lord's life points..."

Indeed, he couldn't... As he had inflicted battle damage to Vampire Lord early into their rematch, Henry had been killed off. And if it happened again, the same fate would befall the rest of his friends. There was only one option left...

"I have to surrender..." said Thomas at last. "It's the only way I can protect the rest of my friends from harm."

"Oh no, you don't!" cut in Vampire Lord. It would seem he hated when his opponents just gave up without attempting to fight. "Do so, and it's instant death for the rest of your group."

Thomas froze before he could surrender the duel. So, no matter what he did now, would his friends die?

"You can't surrender, Thomas!" protested Edward. "You have to keep fighting and win!"

"But if I do-" argued Thomas. "-then the rest of you will die!"

"LET them kill us!" came from Molly. "Your goal is to save Emily! We'll gladly give up our lives to ensure you succeed!"

"No! I won't throw you away for my own goals!"

"Ahem!" Vampire Lord interrupted once more, readying three cards from his hand. "If you're all done with the pointless arguing, I would like to continue with my turn, thank you very much."

Three facedown cards materialized on the field.

"These three facedown cards should do it."

Thomas scowled. He was now in a terrible bind... If he inflicted anymore damage, another of his friends would die. But if Thomas didn't continue with the duel, they would all die, anyway.

"It's my turn." The blue-haired boy finally said, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (6): Gamma The Magnet Warrior, Diffusion Wave-Motion, Dark Magician Girl, and Dark Magician

* * *

His drawn card was the Dark Magician monster card.

"Dark Magician..." Thomas murmured. He then noticed that he also had Dark Magician Girl in his hand, as well. "Dark Magician Girl..."

The blue-haired boy remembered their heroic sacrifices back at the capital city, and was determined not let their sacrifices be in vain. On the other hand, over with Vampire Lord...

"As soon as you summon a monster-" he thought to himself. "-I'll be ready to spring my ultimate trap on you..."

As so... Thomas took and placed another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk...

"I summon Gamma The Magnet Warrior in defense mode!"

The pink Magnet Warrior appeared on the field, kneeling in a defensive stance (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800).

"Like now!" Vampire Lord thought, before smirking and speaking aloud. "You have fallen into my inescapable trap, Thomas Billinton!"

"What?!" gasped Thomas, along with the remains of the gang.

"Facedown card, open!"

All three set cards flipped face-up and revealed themselves. The sight of each of them made Thomas cringe.

"First to be played-" began Vampire Lord. "-is Darkness Half! This weakens the attack points of my Zombie Werewolf by half."

Zombie Werewolf grew weaker (ATK: 2400 - 1200).

"From there, I can special summon two Dark Tokens onto your side of the field."

Appearing onto Thomas's side of the field were two dark figures.

"But why give me two monsters?" Thomas questioned. "What do you intend to do?! What's the meaning of this? I..."

Without uttering another word (yet), he looked to the side and gazed at his friends helplessly. No matter what, he wouldn't attack Vampire Lord and risk their lives.

"...don't intend to attack, but you summon two monsters?"

"Patience." smiled Vampire Lord, just before continuing his turn. "Now comes this Continuous Trap card - Token Stampede!"

The second face-up Trap card glowed.

"This increases the attack points of all Token monsters on the field by 1000, while also preventing them from being destroyed in battle."

The two Dark Tokens suddenly grew stronger (ATK: 1000 - 2000).

"But why?" questioned Thomas. "I've already told you I don't intend to attack!"

"That's something you can't accept... because the monsters have already started to battle." Vampire Lord went on. He then motioned his left hand to his third face-up Trap card. "Trap card - Dark Tournament"

Suddenly, Gamma The Magnet Warrior found itself standing up into a battle ready stance.

"Gamma!" cried Thomas. "What's-?!"

"This Trap card forces every monster on your side of the field to attack my monsters." explained Vampire Lord. "No monsters will be destroyed though, and I'll still receive damage to my life points... Unfortunately for you, you know what happens when I even take the slightest bit of damage!"

Thomas's eyes widened in horror. "NO!"

"BATTLE!"

Against its will, Gamma The Magnet Warrior, standing up into attack mode, was forced to do battle with Zombie Werewolf, punching the enemy monster in the chest.

"Heh!" hissed Vampire Lord (LP: 3300).

Vampire Lady then used her knife-like finger nails to savagely impale Gordon directly through the face, killing him instantly without him uttering a word in time.

"GORDON!" screamed Thomas.

It wasn't over yet... The first Dark Token then attacked Zombie Werewolf, causing Vampire Lord to eat more damage (LP: 2500).

"Again!" he exclaimed, with his tone filled with evil and bloodlust.

Because more damage was inflicted on her lover, Vampire Lady impaled Molly through her chest, killing her.

"MOLLY!" Thomas screamed once more, before more and more terrified. "STOP IT!"

Alas, there was one more Dark Token to do battle with...

"Do it..." Vampire Lord commanded. His face became so demented and insane looking that it rivaled Dark Marik's usual look. "DO IT!"

The Dark Token attacked Zombie Werewolf.

"Stop ITTTTTTT!" Thomas screamed once more.

Too late... Vampire Lord received more damage to his life points (LP: 1700).

"Game...set...match..." grinned the Court of Darkness leader. "Time...to die!"

Vampire Lady immediately impaled Edward through his chest... although he didn't die right away. The intelligent, blue-haired boy had enough strength to turn and speak to Thomas one last time...

"Never give up, Thomas. You have...to keep...fighting..."

Finally, Edward died... His glasses fell from his face and landed and broke upon contact with the ground. Thomas was beyond devastated...

"Edward..." he whispered, breaking down into tears. "You were like a Big Brother to me... Even you're..."

It was too much for Thomas to take... He dropped to his knees again, threw his head to the sky, and screamed in despair for his fallen friends. Just as the door to the room burst open.

"Huh?" quizzed Vampire Lord.

It was Spencer...

"What's going on?" The silver-haired boy demanded.

"You're just in time." teased Vampire Lady, smiling and bearing her sharp fangs. "The show is just about to get interesting..."

"What do you mean by show?" questioned Spencer.

His answer came when he saw Thomas on his knees in despair. Worst of all, a dark aura was beginning to surround him.

"Billinton...?" Spencer whispered, getting a nasty feeling on what was going on.

* * *

 **Title: The Harbinger of Destruction, Part 2**

* * *

"YOU ANIMAL!" shrieked Emily, directing her rage to not only the Court of Darkness, but towards Gozaburo, as well.

Inside the hidden room, the dark green-haired girl too was taking the deaths of her friends extremely hard. And, as always, Gozaburo didn't look like he cared what happened to those humans...

"Their sacrifices were all for the greater good." The evil man said dismissively.

Emily glared fiercely. "Greater good?" she quietly demanded.

"Yes. For the rise of the Harbinger of Destruction, of course! Lord Diablon is now THIS much closer to finally returning once more!"

Emily only cursed strongly in response. Meanwhile, the monitor was now showing Thomas getting covered in a dark aura, signalling things were about to get ' _much_ ' worse...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like room...

"My friends..." Thomas mumbled hatefully.

Vampire Lord raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent on the matter.

"...they had bright futures ahead of them... and you've cruelly took them away from me..."

Standing back up, Thomas's eyes had turned all crimson red, and there was nothing but rage and hatred on his face.

"This... THIS I will NOT forgive!" The blue-haired boy roared, having awakened once more.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the hidden chamber...

"Thomas..." whispered Emily, looking positively frightened. "You've... you've..."

"Anakin has awakened once more." The voice of Anastasia spoke up direly. "Thomas was so devastated by the loss of his remaining friends that he allowed his anger to consume him... and that means if he becomes any angrier than he already is..."

"Diablon will be able to take over Thomas's body... We must find a way to save him!"

The spirit of Anastasia remained silent on the matter...

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like setting...

"So, Anakin has awoken again..." Spencer thought to himself. "Billinton, you must not allow anger and darkness to consume you any further..."

Back in the middle of the duel field...

"So, you've awoken that weak-hearted boy..." mused Vampire Lord. "So be it... This means we're a step closer to finally bringing back our one true master..."

"SHUT UP!" screamed Thomas (possessed). He then pointed forth at his enemy. "My turn has come to an end... And now, it's your turn!"

"As you wish." nodded Vampire Lord, drawing a card. "Soon, it will be all over..."

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Vampire Lord (LP: 1700)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (2): Genesis Crisis and Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Card of Sanctity..." scowled Thomas (possessed).

"This allows both of us to draw until-" Vampire Lord began to explain, but got cut off.

"$*#%! I know what the card does!"

Vampire Lord smirked as he drew five cards, while Thomas (possessed) drew three cards. The Court of Darkness leader's hand now contained Genesis Crisis, Vampire Lord, Overpowering Eye, Destiny Activator, Haunted Shrine, and Eradicator Epidemic Virus.

"Ah yes... this will do nicely..." Vampire Lord thought to himself, taking one of the cards from his hand. "I offer Zombie Werewolf as a tribute to summon forth...me, Vampire Lord!"

Zombie Werewolf vanished as the monster card version of Vampire Lord took the field (Level: 5/ATK: 2000 - 2700/DEF: 1700). In addition, the face-up Darkness Half was destroyed, too.

"But I'm not finished just yet." continued the Court of Darkness leader, taking and holding out a Spell card. "This is called Overpowering Eye, and what it does is it allows me to target a monster I control with less than 2000 attack points."

"Less than 2000 attack points?" repeated Thomas (possessed).

"Yes... That monster then can attack you directly this turn!"

Vampire Bat took to the sky.

"BLOODY SPIRAL!" commanded Vampire Lord.

The bat then dove downward and bit Thomas (possessed) on the neck. Surprising, however, the boy did not scream nor flinch (LP: 1700).

"That didn't do it?" questioned Vampire Lord. "Then maybe this will! Attack Gamma The Magnet Warrior, now!"

The Duel Monsters version of Vampire Lord obeyed, sending a swarm of bats after Gamma The Magnet Warrior. The rock-type monster was quickly overwhelmed and immediately selfdestructed.

"Billinton..." thought Spencer, but then saw something as the smoke cleared. "Huh?"

The possessed blue-haired boy still didn't say anything or look worried as his life points dropped even further (LP: 500).

"Are you quite done?" he asked at last, sounding very cold.

"Not so." answered Vampire Lord. "Because I've inflicted battle damage upon you, you're required to send one card from your deck to the graveyard based on the type I choose from... The type I choose is...Spell card!"

Thomas merely took his deck out of the Duel Disk and looked through it, sending the Dark Magic Vase Spell card to the graveyard after a few seconds. From there, two facedown cards materialized behind Vampire Bat.

"Now, I'll set two cards facedown-" continued Vampire Lord, just as a Spell card called Destiny Activator materialized face-up. "-and activate the Continuous Spell card Destiny Activator!"

He then sent the top card (Vampire Grace) of his deck to the graveyard.

"By sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, you must show me the card you draw from your deck during the draw phase. If the drawn card is the same type of card I've send to the graveyard, then Destiny Activator will destroy itself and halve your life points."

"It's my turn!" declared Thomas (possessed), drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (7): Diffusion Wave-Motion, Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician, Soul Shield, Astral Shift, Relay Soul, and Monster Reborn

* * *

His drawn card was the Monster Reborn Spell card.

"And now, show me your drawn card!" ordered Vampire Lord.

Thomas (possessed) frowned and showed his drawn card; Monster Reborn.

"You've been spared from my Destiny Activator." Vampire Lord growled, but then smirked. "But, now, I offer my Vampire Lord as a tribute to activate this Trap card!"

The Duel Monsters version of Vampire Lord vanished in a blue streak as the first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Eradicator Epidemic Virus... A Virus card..." scowled Spencer.

"This Trap card allows me to declare one card type." explained Vampire Lord "It can either be Spell or Trap. Upon doing that, you must show me your field, hand, and ones drawn from the deck, and send them all to the graveyard until the third turn after activation of the Trap card. For the type, I choose...Spell card!"

"Grr...!" growled Thomas (possessed). His hand contained Diffusion Wave-Motion, Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician, Soul Shield, Astral Shift, Relay Soul, and Monster Reborn.

"So, now..." Vampire Lord continued, before pointing at his opponent. "Show me your hand!"

Reluctantly, Thomas (possessed) complied. The Court of Darkness leader saw two Spell cards in his opponent's hand and grinned wickedly.

"I see you have Diffusion Wave-Motion and Monster Reborn..." he remarked. "Because they're Spell cards, you must discard both of them to the graveyard!"

"Damn you...!" hissed Thomas (possessed), sending both cards into his graveyard. "My turn is not over yet!"

Both Dark Tokens faded away into blue streaks.

"I sacrifice both of my Dark Tokens in order to call forth Dark Magician!"

Appearing was the purple-haired, male spellcaster himself (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"With no more copies of Vampire Bat in your graveyard-" continued Thomas (possessed). "Your monster is about to be destroyed!"

Dark Magician leaped into the sky above Vampire Bat, charging his scepter with power.

"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"

The blast was fired, striking and shattering Vampire Bat to pieces.

"Not bad..." grumbled Vampire Lord, blocking the force of the attack (LP: 700).

"And with Vampire Bat destroyed-" continued Thomas (possessed). "-your monsters lose their power bonus!"

On cue, a facedown card materialized behind Dark Magician.

"I set a card and end my turn." concluded Thomas (possessed). "Not so tough now, are you?"

Vampire Lord chuckled. "You underestimate my power..."

"Yeah right!"

Spencer frowned. "I believe Vampire Lord... Billinton is allowing his inner demons to take him over, and unless he clears his head of them..."

Indeed so... Thomas (possessed) kept a serious, rage-filled look on his face.

"It's my turn!" announced Vampire Lord, drawing a card and beginning his own turn.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Vampire Lord (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (2): Genesis Crisis and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!"

Both drawn cards were shown to be a Trap card (Darklight) and monster card (Vampire Genesis). From there, the Court of Darkness leader gestured his left hand to his next set card.

"Trap card, open!" he announced, causing the facedown card to flip up and reveal itself to be... "Haunted Shrine!"

"Haunted Shrine?" blinked Thomas (possessed).

"As I control no zombie-type monsters on my side of the field-" explained Vampire Lord. "-I can bring one back from the graveyard. Return to me now - Vampire Lord!"

The Duel Monsters version of Vampire Lord returned to the field.

"Both monsters share the same attack points." Thomas (possessed) pointed out.

"Which is why I'll banish my monster." said Vampire Lord. "That way, I can special summon something strong enough to overpower your Dark Magician."

The Duel Monsters version of Vampire Lord was once again drained of his soul and power, thus dying.

"I call forth - Vampire Genesis!"

"Vampire Genesis?" quizzed Thomas (possessed).

Vampire Lord laughed. "Yes, Genesis! This is my ace monster... Prepare to face it in combat!"

Appearing onto the field in an explosion of darkness was a huge zombie monster with bulging, purple muscles, and a vampire's cape on its back (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 2100).

"With just 500 life points left, you're not gonna survive this attack." jeered Vampire Lord, with his eyes glowing all golden yellow. "Thomas Billinton, it's time for you to submit yourself to the darkness!"

Thomas (possessed) cursed once more, just as the battle phase began...

"Vampire Genesis, attack!"

Vampire Genesis obeyed, throwing his fist in an attempt to punch Dark Magician.

"Like hell I'm gonna lose, now!" shouted Thomas (possessed). "Go Soul Shield!"

His only facedown card flipped up and revealed itself before beginning to glow.

"By giving up half of my life points-" explained Thomas (possessed), taking a life point hit (LP: 250). "-I can stop your attack and end the battle phase!"

Vampire Genesis struck Dark Magician, but a glowing light pushed the vampire-like monster back.

"Your monster has been spared of destruction." mused Vampire Lord. "I'm not too worried about that." He then took and slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Because Genesis Crisis will change all that!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Genesis Crisis?" questioned Thomas (possessed).

"I'll begin by targetting my Vampire Genesis for its effect." began Vampire Lord. "As so..."

Vampire Genesis began to glow in a red aura.

"So long as Vampire Genesis remains on the field-" explained Vampire Lord. "-once per turn I can add a zombie monster from my deck to my hand." He then drew a card and held it out. "Like this, for example!"

"Vampire Vamp..." muttered Thomas (possessed).

But Vampire Lord suddenly discarded it. "Now, I'll discard my drawn card with Vampire Genesis's effect."

"What?!" The possessed blue-haired boy recoiled. "But why?"

"By discarding a zombie-type monster from my hand-" continued Vampire Lord. "-I can then special summon a zombie-type monster from my graveyard a level lower than the discarded monster."

On cue, a monster card called Vampire Grace materialized face-up on the field.

"Vampire Grace - come forth!"

Appearing on the field from the face-up monster card was a female vampire dressed as a sort of queen (Level: 6/ATK: 2000 - 2500/DEF: 1200). Nearby, Vampire Lady smiled and hissed in a purring-like way when she saw her lover summon yet another powerful vampire to the field.

"Now, I'll activate the effect of my new monster!" Vampire Lord went on. "Once per turn, I can declare a card type and you must send a card of that type from your deck to the graveyard."

"Dammit!" grimaced Thomas (possessed), looking at his deck.

Vampire Lord smirked some more. "This time, you will send...a monster card from the deck to the graveyard!"

Scowling, Thomas (possessed) took a monster card from his deck and discarded it. From there, a facedown card materialized behind Vampire Grace...

"Finally, I'll set a card and end my turn." The Court of Darkness leader finished.

"It's my turn!" declared Thomas (possessed), trying to draw a card. "AUGH! Not..."

"Billinton?!" gasped Spencer. "What in the world is going on?!"

It would seem that the darkness was getting stronger by the minute.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the lab, Gozaburo was looking delighted by the pain Thomas (possessed) was in.

"His darkness is getting more powerful." he chortled. "Just a little bit more, and Diablon will be back once more..."

This was something Emily could not let happen... "I have to save him somehow!"

Without anyone knowing, the dark green-haired girl's eyes started glowing all blue.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like chamber, Thomas (possessed) barely managed to draw a card from his deck.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 250)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (4): Dark Magician Girl, Relay Soul, Astral Shift, and Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord  
 **ERADICATOR EPIDEMIC VIRUS** : Three Turns

* * *

His drawn card was a monster card called Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord.

"Show me the card!" commanded Vampire Lord. "Remember my Destiny Activator?"

Thomas (possessed) showed Vampire Lord his drawn card.

"A monster card, eh? That means one thing..."

The face-up Destiny Activator shattered into pieces of glass. Thomas (possessed) also felt an electrical shock as he cried out and felt his life points drop by half (LP: 125). When it ended, he collapsed to a knee in pain.

"$*#%!" The possessed blue-haired boy winced, managing to regain some movement in his body. "I...play the effect of Dark Magic Vase in my graveyard!"

The mentioned Spell card slipped out and faded away into oblivion.

"By banishing it from my graveyard while controlling either a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl on the field-" explained the possessed blue-haired boy weakly, drawing another card. "-I can draw another card."

His drawn card was a Trap card called Dark Illusion. On cue, three facedown cards materialized behind Dark Magician.

"Finally, I'll set three cards and end my turn!"

Vampire Lord laughed. "Oh no! Three facedown cards, whatever shall I do?!"

Thomas (possessed) only grew angrier from those taunting words.

"But, seriously, why continue dueling?" The Court of Darkness leader asked curiously. "At this stage, your anger will eventually overwhelm you. You're acting as ruthless back when that poor, pitiful little girl was killed."

"You know about Iris?" asked Thomas (possessed).

"Know her?" snorted Vampire Lady. "Early into your journey, we've been trying to dispose of her before she found you!"

"What?"

"It's true." confessed Vampire Lord. "Ultimately, when we saw how powerful your bond with that little girl became in only a short period of time after you had found in the sea, we've captured, possessed, and sent two Duel Monsters assassins after you AND the little girl."

Vampire Lady hissed. "Ultimately, they had succeeded in their job. Don't you remember?"

Thomas (possessed) then started to remember the voices from his duel with Warrior Dai Grepher back when Iris was dying...

" ** _Iris_**..." mumble the voice of Flashback Thomas. " ** _Why did you do that_**?"

" ** _I...had to...protect you_**." The voice of Flashback Iris insisted slowly. " ** _That attack...would have killed you_**."

" ** _You just have to hang in there, Iris... please_**!" Flashback Thomas begged. " ** _I can't bear to lose you_**!" Suddenly, he remembered something important. " ** _The Millennium Puzzle! If I used it before to heal Emily and prevent her from disappearing into the shadows, then perhaps I can do the same for Iris! Please, you have to heal Iris! I'm begging you_**!" The blue-haired boy's voice started to break. " ** _DON'T LET HER DIE_**!"

" ** _Never mind, Mr. Thomas_**." said Flashback Iris with another cough. " ** _It's for the best. Thank you so much for taking care of me_**."

" ** _No... NO_**!" Flashback Thomas started to cry. " ** _No, Iris, this can't be the end! I can't lose you! You're like a little sister to me! I love you_**!"

" ** _I love you too, Mr. Thomas_**." Flashback Iris responded quietly and weakly. " ** _Never give in to the darkness... Daddy_**..."

All of a sudden, before the possessed blue-haired boy's emotions could spiral out of control...

" ** _Anakin_**!" echoed the familiar voice of Anastasia.

The sound of the voice surprised everyone in the room, especially Thomas (possessed).

"A-Anastasia?" The possessed blue-haired whispered. "Is that-?"

Yes, indeed... It was Anastasia... How she was able to communicate with Thomas (possessed) was completely unknown... But since Emily had secretly awoken earlier, that might have had something to do with it.

" ** _Anakin_** -" Anastasia began. "- ** _there's something I need to tell you about Iris_**..."

"You do?" blinked Thomas (possessed). "Then, please, Anastasia... you MUST tell me!"

Taking a deep, shakey breath, the voice of Anastasia finally dropped the big bombshell of a life time...

" ** _Iris...was our daughter... You and I are Iris's...real parents_**..."

Thomas (possessed) could not believe it. "Our...daughter...?"

" ** _Yes, our daughter. She would have been born into this world many years earlier if my Father hadn't killed me_**." confirmed the voice of Anastasia.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the hidden chamber, Emily (possessed), with her eyes still glowing all blue, was still speaking on.

"But even in death, I wasn't going to lose our daughter." The possessed dark green-haired girl continued. "And so, as a wandering spirit, I explored this world and eventually found a happily married couple expecting a child, and had my spirit enter the pregnant woman's body and purify it with our daughter's DNA, thus giving Iris a second chance at life."

Nearby, Gozaburo had been watching the event unfold. Rather than try and do something to stop Emily (possessed), he became rather interested...

"This girl... Does she possess powers like the Thomas boy...? Hmm, how intriguing..."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the church-like setting...

" ** _One day, while out on a raft with her family, a dire storm had struck_**." continued the voice of Anastasia. " ** _It was the Court of Darkness's work... They sent Ocean Neos Dragmire to drown Iris and her parents, but only claimed the lives of the parents... Iris herself would have drowned had I not intervened and ensured our daughter found Thomas and his friends_**..."

"But... Iris was eventually killed by Warrior Dai Grepher." added Thomas (possessed). "Thomas lost it, and...I snapped, and..."

The voice of Anastasia was not heard.

"Anastasia, what happened to Iris after she died? Did she finally get to meet you in person? Please, you MUST tell me, now!"

" ** _Yes_**." confirmed the voice of Anastasia. " ** _She was able to finally meet with me after dying_**..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Blackness... That was all poor Iris could see... Eventually, a soothing voice (female) could be heard...

"Iris... Iris, honey, wake up..."

Iris's ears perked at this new voice, causing her to slowly gain consciousness. The little girl's eyes opened slowly...

"Who's there?" she asked at last.

The first person the young girl saw was a beautiful young woman with long, brunette-colored hair and a beautiful royal gown.

"Hello, Iris, my sweet, little girl..." greeted the young woman, smiling warmly. "We finally meet face-to-face."

Iris found herself growing frightened and immediately back away from the brunette-haired young woman.

"Don't be afraid." comforted the young woman, reaching her left hand out. "I'm not going to hurt you..."

"Who are you?" demanded the frightened Iris. "Where am I? Is Mr. Thomas okay?!"

The young woman (Anastasia) smiled. "Thomas, or rather Anakin, your Father, is doing alright."

"W-What? Who's Anakin? And who's-?"

"Easy, my dear, you're safe with me, now." Anastasia said calmly, walking over and sitting down next to the brown-haired girl. "Allow me to explain everything... My name is Anastasia, and I'm your real Mother."

Iris's eyes widened. "Y-You're what?" she stuttered.

"I am your real Mother." repeated Anastasia, not losing her kind, warm smile.

"But that can't be! My Mother died aboard that raft! You can't-!"

"It's true, honey." insisted Anastasia, closing her eyes. "After my death, I became a spirit in this world, and had your own spirit and DNA placed inside the womb of one woman while she was pregnant, purifying the fetus so that you could be born and have a second chance at a life."

"But... where are we?" asked Iris curiously. "What is this place?"

"We are in heaven, thus far."

"Heaven?" asked little Iris, sounding ever so curious, pure, and innocent. "Is it...a safe place?"

"Yes." Anastasia nodded. "It's a place where many pure-hearted spirits and humans go when they die."

"But where's Daddy? If you're here, then what about him?"

The brunette-haired young woman opened her eyes with shock, but then became solemn and silent as she didn't answer the question right away.

"Where is he? Where is Daddy?!" Iris pressured, becoming distressed. "He died on the raft, too! Shouldn't he be here?"

"I'm sorry, but the man on that raft was not your real Father, Iris." corrected Anastasia.

"What?!"

"Your real Father is within the blue-haired boy you had befriended." explained Anastasia. "As I've mentioned, he and his friends had found you a-drift shortly after the raft was destroyed by that sudden storm."

"M-Mr. Thomas?" spluttered Iris.

Anastasia nodded. "Yes."

"But why is he in Mr. Thomas?" The confused young brown-haired girl. "Why isn't he in heaven with us?"

Once again, Anastasia was silent on the matter. She knew the answer to the question, but didn't want to say anything about it...

"M-Mommy?" pressured Iris.

"It's because of me." said Anastasia, giving a very sad sigh.

Iris was even more confused. "You?"

"Yes, me."

"But, why?" The young brown-haired girl peeped.

"It's a rather long and difficult story to understand." explained Anastasia. "But to put it simply, years ago, your Daddy was in danger of being killed, but I sacrificed myself to save his life... He was very saddened and depressed, wanting to die and put an end to his pain and misery... Just so as not to separate us."

Now, that sad confession was only half of the truth, but that was to conceil the true, dark reason behind the death...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

" ** _I didn't want to tell our daughter about Diablon_**." The voice of Anastasia went on. " ** _It would have crushed her completely if she found out that her own Father was a monster_**."

Thomas (possessed) listened on. Eventually, he spoke up...

"What happened?" The possessed blue-haired boy asked with grief in his tone. "How did your Father even know where we were, and how he found out what we were doing? If it wasn't for him capturing us, you, myself, and Iris would be living a happy, normal life as of today!"

The voice of Anastasia never answered back; because it was clear she did not know how it happened. Finally, after what seemed like forever to a certain Court of Darkness member, Vampire Lord spoke up with a cruel smile on his face...

"I have an answer to your question, boy." he said at long last.

"Huh?" Thomas (possessed) looked in the direction of Vampire Lord. "What do you mean?"

Vampire Lord's smile grew eviler, while Vampire Lady, still watching from nearby, also had a evil smile on her face. This was the moment they were waiting for...

"The one who told that King about your actions for peace in your old kingdom..." began Vampire Lord as slowly as possible, stopping with a dramatic pause before finally confessing the truth... "...was me!"

"WHAT?!"

Thomas (possessed) felt like he was punched in the stomach. This couldn't be true, it just couldn't!

"He's right!" added Vampire Lady. "The Court of Darkness were the ones behind the plot that got you and your pregnant wife and daughter killed! And we shall tell you the whole story behind it before you lose the duel and rejoin us!"

Oh, just when things couldn't get any worse than ever before, they do... What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	93. The Harbinger of Destruction (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

"WHAT?!"

Opening up inside the church-like chamber with in the Castle of Dark Illusions, Thomas (possessed) felt like he was punched in the stomach. This couldn't be true, it just couldn't!

"He's right!" Vampire Lady spoke up. "The Court of Darkness were the ones behind the plot that got you captured, and even getting your pregnant wife and daughter both killed! And we shall tell you the whole story behind it before you lose the duel and rejoin us!"

A flashback ensured...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

It was during Anakin and Anastasia's journey... The royal couple had been ambushed by minions of the Court of Darkness, and watching the battle from a safe distance was the Court themselves.

"We've known all about Anakin ever since he was brought into this world, as well as ever since Princess Anastasia's Father took him into the royal family and made him a part of his army." narrated Present Day-Vampire Lord. "There was a power we, the Court of Darkness, had sensed within him. A great power... a power full of darkness!"

Flashback Vampire Lord smiled evilly.

"It especially became known when Anastasia was pregnant during the travels." came from Present Day-Vampire Lady. "When she became ill during one fight against our soldiers, she collapsed and saw that she was about to be killed."

Anastasia, falling to her knees, was clutching her slightly swollen and enlarged stomach while grimacing in pain. She looked up and, to her horror, saw a Skull Knight #2 was about to deliver the killing blow to her.

"NNNNOOOO!"

Fortunately, Anakin had intervened and killed the evil monster. Unfortunately, his eyes had turned crimson red, and darkness surrounded and burned all around him.

"You dare to try and kill my one, true love?!" Anakin boomed with anger. "You will all die for trying to do that!"

With his rage and darkness, Anakin ruthlessly slaughtered all of the remaining monsters by himself. Meanwhile, the Court of Darkness watched everything from the sidelines with shock.

"We couldn't believe what power this Anakin-boy possessed." narrated Present Day-Vampire Lord. "This was one power we absolutely wanted on our side."

"Such power." gasped Flashback Vampire Lady.

"Indeed so." agreed Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend.

"No doubt about it..." mused Flashback Witty Phantom. "That boy has pure darkness deep within his heart."

"We must have it for our own." declared Flashback Vampire Lord. "With a powerful leader supporting us, conquering this world would be child's play."

(new scene...)

As the months went by, the Court of Darkness couldn't find a way to pull their scheme off. Anakin and Anastasia both managed to evade the enemy soldiers while visiting a few of the outer kingdoms. It would seem as though the Court of Darkness's plans for world domination would be doomed to fail...

"This is so stupid!" complained Flashback Earl of Demise.

"I hate to admit it-" agreed Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend. "-but that boy and his friend have been beating back our attacks like they were nothing."

Flashback Vampire Lord, however, had a thought about them...

"That young woman..."

"Huh?" quizzed Flashback Vampire Lady, speaking about Anastasia. "What about her?"

"I've seen her from somewhere before." continued Flashback Vampire Lord. "Remember when we attacked that kingdom three years ago?"

"Yes..."

The Court of Darkness leader smiled. "When I was fighting atop one of the towers, I had caught a glimps of a princess who looked strikingly like her."

"Wait!" gasped Flashback Witty Phantom in realization. "Then that has to be-!"

"The King's daughter!" finished Flashback Vampire Lord, smiling. "And that boy has to be that army's best soldier."

"Ahhh... What are the odds of running into them so suddenly?" hissed Flashback Vampire Lady.

"What could they be doing out here in these parts?" questioned Flashback Earl of Demise.

Before anyone could answer, a Slate Warrior arrived to speak to his generals.

"M-Masters!" The monster panted.

"Do you have anything to report?" asked Flashback Vampire Lord.

"Those two humans we've faced before have returned." stated the Slate Warrior. "But that's not all..."

"Go on..."

"As it turns out-" The Slate Warrior continued. "-they have married and are planning to fake their deaths so as to flee and live together in harmony."

Flashback Vampire Lord smiled. "Really?"

"They also have one last kingdom to visit before returning home." The Slate Warrior went on still. "If we-"

"No!" interrupted Flashback Vampire Lord, standing up. "Have the men instead return to the camp now. You've all done good..."

"Yes, My Liege."

The Slate Warrior saluted and left the area. The rest of the Court of Darkness was curious to know what Flashback Vampire Lord was planning to do next...

"I say, what are you planning to do now?" quizzed Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Perhaps our one chance to get that boy on our side." explained Flashback Vampire Lord. "All we have to do is kill that woman he's with, and nothing will be able to hold his darkness back."

"Do you know how hard that'll be?" argued Flashback Earl of Demise. "You've seen how strong that boy truly is, especially when that princess gets put into danger!"

"Too true, but remember that there is one person who likely doesn't know what they're doing."

Flashback Earl of Demise quickly realized this... "That King..."

"Indeed." nodded Flashback Vampire Lord. "Even as we attacked that castle years back, the ruler never actually saw the enemy army's leaders in person..."

"So, do you want us to report those two to the King?" asked Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Oh no... None of you will be doing that." Flashback Vampire Lord stood up. "' **I'll** ' personally do it myself..."

"Why you?"

No answer was given by Flashback Vampire Lord... Instead, there was only some sinister laughter coming from the Court of Darkness leader. Apparantly, that was all the rest of the Court of Darkness needed to hear.

* * *

 **Title: The Harbinger of Destruction, Part 3**

* * *

In a new scene of the flashback, Flashback Vampire Lord had finally arrived outside the castle city of Anastasia's kingdom. As expected, two Blade Knights blocked the Court of Darkness leader's way as soon as he approached.

"Sorry, pal, but no entry allowed." The first Blade Knight said sharply.

"I wish to speak with your King." reported Flashback Vampire Lord. "I bring him some urgent news."

"His Majesty is currently under a ton of stress." retorted the second Blade Knight. "His one and only daughter, and our kingdom's future ruler, is currently missing from the kingdom, and he doesn't need the extra pressure from any visitors at the moment!"

"But that is what I am here to speak to him about. I know where she currently is!"

This surprised the two Blade Knights. After a moment of silence, the two warrior-type monsters stood aside and allowed Flashback Vampire Lord to pass.

"Then, please, go on ahead." They both said at once.

With that said, Flashback Vampire Lord waited until the gate opened up, and he entered behind the castle walls.

"So far, so good..." The Court of Darkness leader thought to himself, walking down the path into town and towards the castle's keep.

(elsewhere...)

"She and Anakin are WHAT?!" bellowed the furious King.

Inside the castle's throne room, Flashback Vampire Lord had finished reporting Anastasia's Father about what Anastasia and Anakin had both been doing.

"Yes." The Court of Darkness leader repeated. "This is why they've been missing for months... They've been out in the world signing peace treaties with the other kingdoms behind your back. Most importantly, they are planning to fake their deaths so that you can never find them again."

"How dare they!" roared the King, slamming his hands onto the handles of his throne. "Guards! Find Anakin and Anastasia, and bring them both back here at once!"

The Queen was very scared; her daughter and adopted son were both in very deep trouble, now...

(elsewhere...)

Weeks later, the Court of Darkness had set up a new encampment outside the same kingdom Flashback Vampire Lord had visited. Flashback Vampire Lord was inside one of the tents sharpening his fangs when a Vorse Raider entered whilst smirking.

"Sire, I bring good news." he began.

"What is it?" asked Flashback Vampire Lord, turning to look at his soldier.

And the Vorse Raider spoke...

"It was then we got word that the pregnant princess was killed by her own Father, and the boy, in his fit of grief and rage, fell into insanity." narrated Present Day-Vampire Lord. "He killed that King, and even murdered the Queen and everyone else in that castle."

(new scene...)

Some time later, an explosion was heard from one of the mountains.

"And finally, a month later, it came time..."

(elsewhere...)

At the destroyed mountains, when the smoke had cleared away, all was quiet at first... Just then, there were a pair of glowing eyes to where the mountains originally were.

"Darkness... How I've long awaited for you to come..." spoke a new voice through the cloud of dust (Flashback Diablon). "With your powers under my command, we will conquer all who stand against me!"

The smoke cleared as a familiar figure stood. It looked like Anakin (including scars), but with crimson red eyes and a body and face that looked much more demonic. He then raised and spread his arms out in triumph with a great laugh.

"I can't remember the last time I felt this great!"

Just then, some footsteps were heard from the nearby distance, making the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' scowl and get into a defensive stance.

"Halt!" he ordered. "Who's out there?!"

The approaching figures consisted of a Vampire Lord, a Vampire Lady, an Earl of Demise, a Darkbishop Archfiend, and a Witty Phantom.

"Greetings." spoke Flashback Vampire Lord.

"Who are you five?" demanded Flashback Diablon. "And where did you come from?"

"We are the Court of Darkness." explained Flashback Vampire Lady.

"Court of Darkness? Tch, never heard of you."

"We are small in numbers and force at the moment." explained Flashback Vampire Lord. "But with you by our side, that can easily change."

"I don't take orders from the likes of you." spat Flashback Diablon, turning away while folding his arms. "You can forget about me serving you lot!"

"But it will be you who shall lead us."

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' turned to look back at the five evil monsters—but he didn't say a single word. Did they actually want him to be their leader?

"We want to serve under you." added Flashback Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Which is why we've been travelled long and hard for many, many years." came from Flashback Witty Phantom. "It was all to meet, and serve under, you... Lord Diablon..."

"Lord Diablon..." mused the demon, finally managing to smile slightly. "Heh! That actually has a nice ring to it."

As the Court of Darkness bowed to their new leader, more and more evil Duel Monsters crowded in and bowed to Flashback Diablon...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"So, you see-" finished Vampire Lord. "-it was thanks to me that Lord Diablon was able to rise to power." He then drew a card. "And I shall be the one to bring him back!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Vampire Lord (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 40  
 **Current Hand** (1): Serial Claw

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Serial Claw.

"And now it's time to end this." The Court of Darkness leader declared. "BATTLE!"

Thomas (possessed) did not say a single word... Spencer, meanwhile was beyond stunned with hearing the story Vampire Lord and Vampire Lady both had told.

"So it was because of the Court of Darkness that Anakin's life was ruined..." he murmured. The silver-haired boy then raised his voice... "Vampire Lord, you bastard!"

"You finally get it?" teased Vampire Lady. "Anakin was the one who wished that his life ended after the tragic death of his wife and unborn child, and so we GAVE him that wish! He should be thanking us!"

Vampire Genesis, meanwhile, began to attack the defenseless Dark Magician.

"It's all over for you, boy!" declared Vampire Lord. "From the death of Thomas Billinton comes the rebirth of Lord Diablon!"

Vampire Genesis finally struck Dark Magician, causing the purple-haired, male spellcaster to cry out in pain before shattering into pieces of glass. Thomas (possessed) still did not say a word; only kept his head down and eyes covered by the shadows. Purple fog also began to cover the blue-haired boy's whole side of the field.

"And with that-" said Vampire Lord, smiling. "-the rest of your life points have been wiped out. That means the duel is over!"

"Is that right?" echoed a familiar voice (male) from the purple fog.

Vampire Lord went from pleased to worried. "Huh?"

Vampire Lady was just as surprised, just as Spencer was, too...

"Billinton?" Spencer thought to himself.

Slowly, the purple fog began to lift. Part of the faded fog revealed a face-up Trap card.

"What?!" cried Vampire Lord. "Relay Soul?!"

"That's right." confirmed the voice (male) from the purple fog. "When my life points hit zero, Relay Soul allows me to stay in the game by special summoning another monster onto my side of the field."

More of the fog faded away to reveal Dark Magician Girl kneeling in defense mode (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700).

"Dark Magician Girl..." whispered Spencer.

"My fate now lies in her hands..." The voice (male) continued some more.

Vampire Lord scowled at Thomas (possessed) seeming persistence, but then had a look of confusion on his face. Why? Because the purple fog had finally faded away to reveal an all too familiar figure in the form and name of...Diablon.

"And that means I'm still in this duel!"

"Lord Diablon!" gasped Vampire Lord.

Vampire Lady was also shocked. "He's back again!"

That's right, Diablon had returned yet again! ...but he didn't seem to look or be pleased about it. His eyes were shining golden yellow, and there was nothing but pure fury on his whole face.

"S-Sire?" stuttered Vampire Lord. "Aren't you happy to be back? I've worked very hard to... to revive you again..."

"Yes, I know you did..." snarled Diablon. "I've heard the whole thing..."

"But then... why do you look so upset?"

"I am upset because of ' _ **you**_ ', you backstabbing, lying, double-crosser!" roared Diablon. "It was because of you that I lost the love of my life, my future daughter, and was forced to endure so much pain and suffering that I tried several times to end by killing myself! If it hadn't been for you, I could have had my very own family and live a life of complete happiness rather than abuse and agony! But then you came along and took it all away from me! And to think I trusted you!"

"B-B-But, my Lord!" protested Vampire Lord, becoming more and more shocked at what was happening. "I did it all for YOU! Don't you see, sire? That foolish woman was holding you back from your true potential! She had to be killed to ensure that you would grow strong and fulfill your destiny as the future ruler of this world! You should be THANKING me!"

Vampire Lady was now becoming very scared. Dare she make a break for it before Diablon turned against her, too?

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO RUINED MY LIFE!" bellowed Diablon, just as an aura of darkness exploded around him.

Vampire Lord was forced to continue with the duel, despite feeling uneasy about the whole thing, now...

"I'm sorry, Master, but this is for the best..." He held out his only remaining card. "I play a Quick-Play Spell card - Serial Claw!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"As Vampire Genesis was able to destroy a monster in battle-" explained Vampire Lord. "-he gains 500 attack points and can attack once again!"

Vampire Genesis grew even more powerful (ATK: 3500 - 4000).

"Attack, now!"

Vampire Genesis obeyed, closing in on the defenseless Dark Magician Girl.

"You think I'm gonna lose?!" bellowed Diablon, as his next set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Trap card, open - Astral Shift!"

"He's changed the attack into a direct one!" Spencer thought to himself.

And indeed, he had... Vampire Genesis's attack missed Dark Magician Girl and struck Diablon instead.

"And because you already have zero life points-" grumbled Vampire Lord. "-nothing else happens... In addition, you draw one extra card from the deck."

Diablon did so, keeping a fixed look of nothing but fury on the Court of Darkness leader.

"But it's not over, I'm afraid." Vampire Lord went on. "Vampire Grace can still attack this turn!"

Vampire Grace prepared herself and charged.

"You pathetic fool!"

All of a sudden, an electric charged in the middle of the field stopped the attack.

"Wh-what?!" cried Vampire Lord, surprised at being forced out of the battle phase.

As the Court of Darkness leader was reeling from his failed attack, a card slipped out of Diablon's graveyard. Immediately he took hold and showed the opponent what it was.

"I've played the effect of Electromagnetic Turtle." said Diablon coldly. "By banishing it from the graveyard, the battle phase, yours or mine, automatically ends."

"But I don't remember destroying that card!" protested Vampire Lord, before realizing... "Unless-!"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A scene of Vampire Lord using Vampire Grace's effect was shown.

"Now, I activate the effect of my new monster!" Vampire Lord went on. "Once per turn, I can declare a card type and you must send a card of that type from your deck to the graveyard."

"Dammit!" grimaced Thomas (possessed), looking at his deck.

Vampire Lord smirked some more. "This time, you will send...a monster card from the deck to the graveyard!"

Scowling, Thomas (possessed) took a monster card from his deck and discarded it. Unknown to Vampire Lord, the monster card was Electromagnetic Turtle...

"You discarded your monster by my Vampire Grace's effect..." narrated Vampire Lord.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"You may have stopped my attack-" Vampire Lord went on, motioning his right hand to his remaining set card. "-but I still have this!"

His remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Behold Darklight! By offering a dark attribute monster with 1500 or more attack points on my side of the field as a tribute, all monsters you control that were special summoned this turn are destroyed!"

Vampire Grace turned into a shadow of herself and exploded.

"Dark Magician Girl was special summoned by Relay Soul!" Vampire Lord pointed out. "This means she'll be destroyed... And when she does, you'll lose the duel, sire!"

The explosion grew closer and closer, but Diablon's face showed no sign of worry whatsoever. In fact, the only words he said were as followed...

"Counter Trap..."

Vampire Lord reeled back. "WHAT?!"

On cue, the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"This is Dark Illusion." explained Diablon. "Since a Spell, Trap, or monster effect was activated to target a dark monster on my side of the field, I can negate the activation of that card and destroy it."

Just as the explosion reached Dark Magician Girl... it phased right through without bring any harm to her. From there, the face-up Darklight Trap card shattered in shards of glass.

"My Darklight!" winced Vampire Lord. "You've destroyed it!"

"Oh, but I'm far from finished." declared Diablon, as his look grew colder and eviler as a card in his hand began to glow in a dark aura.

"Wh-What is...going on?" spluttered Vampire Lord.

Nearby, Vampire Lady silently looked on in worry.

"As I have successfully negated one of your card effects with a Counter Trap card of my own-" explained Diablon, holding up the dark aura covered card. "-I can call forth one of my unstoppable servants!" He turned the card over and revealed what it was. " **Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord**!"

Vampire Lord was shocked at seeing such a rare and powerful monster card like that.

"Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord..." murmured Vampire Lady.

A powerful explosion erupted from the card. As the smoke cleared, standing before Vampire Lord's side of the field was a huge, powerful dragon. Its scales were a mixture of black and purple, and streaks of red were all over its body (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2500).

"As my monster was special summoned by the use of a Counter Trap card-" continued Diablon. "I can activate one of thee effects it has depending on the kind of card I had negated!"

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord  
● Spell: Inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.  
● Trap: Target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target.  
● Monster: Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it.

"I've negated ' _Trap card_ ', and so that means I can target one card you control and destroy it! ...such as Vampire Genesis!"

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord opened its mouth and let loose a powerful blast of flame at Vampire Genesis, roasting him to ashes.

"With Vampire Genesis destroy, your Genesis Crisis bites the dust, too!" Diablon went on.

The face-up Genesis Crisis Spell card shattered into shards of glass.

"No!" cried Vampire Lord in panic.

"With nothing else to do-" continued Diablon, finally drawing a card and taking his turn. "-it's my turn to finish you off!"

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Diablon (LP: 0)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Supreme Necro Emulation  
 **ERADICATOR EPIDEMIC VIRUS** : Two Turns

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Supreme Necro Emulation. Just then...

"Because of Eradicator Epidemic Virus, you must show me your drawn card!" commanded Vampire Lord.

Diablon showed his drawn card to Vampire Lord without any question.

"A Spell card... It is destroyed and sent to your graveyard!"

Diablon silently discarded his card... and then went on the offensive...

"BATTLE!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' announced. "Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord, attack Vampire Lord directly!"

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord obeyed and charged its attack.

"HADES FUNERAL!"

The mighty dragon let loose its might and fired its blast of flame straight towards Vampire Lord.

"Unfortunately, it's too soon for me to lose." smirked Vampire Lord, just as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "I special summon myself in attack position!"

The monster card version of Vampire Lord appeared to the field.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Diablon.

"When I have no monsters on my field-" explained Vampire Lord. "-I can banish Haunted Shrine from my graveyard to special summon Vampire Lord from the underworld in attack position."

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord's attack destroyed Vampire Lord.

"I'm still in the battle..." The Court of Darkness leader kept his smile (LP: 400). "And with that, it will be my turn!"

Suddenly...

"The duel is actually all over for you, Vampire Lord..."

Vampire Lord raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Vampire Lady and Spencer both looked just as surprised by the claim made by Diablon.

"What do you mean it's over for me?" demanded Vampire Lord. "Your battle phase has come to an end! This means you cannot beat me this turn, Master."

"Tell that to a Spell card in my graveyard..." hissed Diablon, as a card slipped out of his graveyard. "Supreme Necro Emulation!"

"Supreme Necro Emulation?!"

"I know of that card..." Spencer thought to himself. "It can only be played while resting in the graveyard after it was destroyed and sent there by the opponent's card effect... After an attack has finished and resoloved, the player owning Supreme Necro Emulation can proceed to banish it and take one Spell card from the opponent's graveyard while activating its effect immediately."

A card slid out of Vampire Lord's graveyard and into Diablon's hand.

"Serial Claw!"

"Serial Claw?!" winced Vampire Lord, taking a step back.

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord's power rose in addition to gaining a second attack (ATK: 2800 - 3300). But instead of attacking with yet another blast of fire, he went over and grabbed Vampire Lord with both hands and started to crush him to death.

"Vampire Lord!" cried Vampire Lady, looking worried.

"THIS IS FOR RUINING MY LIFE AND BREAKING MY SANITY!" screamed Diablon, not showing any kind of remorse whatsoever.

Vampire Lord grimaced as he was crushed by the great strength of Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon and the remains of his life points ran out (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Diablon wins!**

* * *

The holograms faded away and Vampire Lord fell onto the ground, badly hurt. Was Diablon all finished with his revenge? Not even close...

"What Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord started was nothing compared to what I'm about to do to you, Vampire Lord..."

Vampire Lord looked up weakly. "D-Damn you..."

"You're pathetic..." sneered Diablon, walking over. "Just shut up and die already..."

With that said, once he was close enough, the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' grabbed and started thrashing and beating on the Court of Darkness leader about rather violently and without any sort of mercy. Vampire Lady, knowing how dangerous Diablon was when enraged, immediately retreated from the church-like room before the ' ** _Evil One_** ' decided to turn his attention to her. Eventually, Vampire Lord was knocked to the floor once again, battered and bloodied. Even still, Diablon did not stop there...

"The is your end..." he hissed softly, enjoying every single moment of beating Vampire Lord within an inch of his life.

"S-Stop it..." begged Vampire Lord weakly, as he was picked up by the throat.

"I said...shut up..."

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, there was ripping sounds along with a scream of extreme pain.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the church-like room, Spencer was looking beyond shocked at what he had seen just now—although he remained absolutely silent. Nearby with Diablon, however, he was breathing very hard while his hands were soaked with blood, while lying on the ground before him was Vampire Lord...with the Court of Darkness leader's limbs torn from his body and scattered about in a bloody mess before finally turning to light and fading. Diablon, still breathing hard, eventually felt someone wrap their arms around his waist.

"Huh?" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' blinked, hearing some quiet sobbing.

Looking down, he saw a little girl at the age of 10-years old and brown hair hugging him tighly. Even more startling, it looked like she was crying for the ' _ **Evil One**_ '.

"Daddy... Daddy, please make it stop..." whimpered the little girl.

"You cursed, little brat!" Diablon immediately raised his hand like he was about to slap the brown-haired young girl, but then stopped as another presence took over. "I-Iris?"

He suddenly felt himself kneeling down to little Iris's level, wrapped his arms around her body, and hugged her right back. From there, Diablon had turned back into a now crying Thomas.

"Why did you do that?" asked Iris sadly. "Why did you kill him like an animal?"

"Iris... Oh, Iris..." weeped Thomas. "It's true... I am Diablon, that monster... Your own Father is nothing but a monster..."

"Daddy..." Iris continued to cry, hugging her Father just tightly.

Father and daughter both continued to cry as Spencer watched on solemnly, just as Maiden with Eyes of Blue reappeared beside the silver-haired boy.

"So, that little girl is Anakin's daughter?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." nodded Maiden with Eyes of Blue. "However, since she's dead, it's a spirit of her."

"Billinton mentioned trying to save her with the Millennium Puzzle. Why didn't it work?"

Maiden with Eyes of Blue sadly had no answer for the silver-haired boy about that fact. Even then, as his spirit monster faded away, Spencer started to think long and hard about any possible solution on bringing Thomas's friends back to life...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the hidden chamber, Emily had returned to normal after awakening.

"Thomas... Please, do not give up your fight..." The dark green-haired girl prayed with all her heart.

Gozaburo smiled. "Your friend will be coming after me very soon. That means it'll be time to unveil my latest invention."

"What invention?" questioned Emily

"This device you're hooked up to." answered Gozaburo. "Soon, Diablon will return to this world in a brand new body! ...yours..."

"M-Mine?" asked Emily, looking surprised and scared.

A sinister laugh seemed to confirm the statement.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the church-like setting, the spirit of Iris had soon faded away after Thomas had managed to calm down and pull himself together. At this stage, it was only him and Spencer left.

"Thy're gone..." Thomas whispered quietly. "They're all gone... I couldn't save any of them..."

"Billinton..." Spencer began, but got cut off.

"I am nothing but a damn failure..." The blue-haired boy ranted. "I was supposed to keep my friends safe, and now look what has happened! I can't seem to do anything right!"

"It's not over yet, Billintion." interrupted Spencer, looking towards the door at the other end of the room. "There's still a chance we can bring your friends back."

"R-Really?" Suddenly, Thomas scowled and shook his head in denial. "You're lying to me, the dead CAN'T come back to life! They're gone forever!"

"Billinton, listen to me!" argued Spencer. "I'm telling you there could be a way!"

Alas...

"I don't believe you! You're just trying to get my hopes up!"

Fed up, Spencer angrily grabbed his friend/rival by his coat collar lifted him up.

"Would you calm the hell down already and listen for just a second?!" exclaimed the silver-haired boy, causing Thomas to finally fall into silence. "I'm being serious in what I'm saying here; there could be a way to bring your friends back. But first, we have our enemies to deal with..."

"Gozaburo... The Court of Darkness..." murmured Thomas, before becoming silent once more.

"Besides-" Spencer continued, calming down slightly. "-who says it's impossible to bring the dead back to life? Don't you remember your duel against Marik's dark half?"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Within the Shadow Realm during the Ultimate Shadow Game, the dead Thomas...started to stir.

"Huh?!" came from Dark Marik

"What?!" Emily exclaimed.

Dark Magician Girl opened her eyes, stopped glowing all pink, removed her hand from the blue-haired boy's chest, and backed away. Thomas's eyes...suddenly began to flicker open.

"NO!" screamed Dark Marik, surprised greatly with what was going on. "This isn't possible!"

It was all true. Slowly getting back to his feet, Thomas Billinton was alive, and all of his friends rejoiced.

"It was thanks to your monsters that you were able to be revived." narrated Spencer. "And there could also be a way for it to happen to your friends, too."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"But you'll never know for sure unless you give it a try, and stop with this godforsaken whining of yours."

"Spencer..." whispered Thomas. Finally, he had a very serious look on his face. "You're... you're right, I can't give up. I can still find a way to bring my friends back to life..."

"That's the spirit." grinned Spencer, lowering his friend/rival down so he could plant his feet back onto the ground. He then looked very serious himself. "Now, what do you say we go find my Grandfather and pay him our respects?"

"Along with what's left of the Court of Darkness... They must pay!"

With that said, the two standing duelists made their way to the door, determined to put an end to the Court of Darkness for good, and revive their fallen friends.

"Court of Darkness, this is where it ends..." Thomas thought to himself.

"Gozaburo, your days are numbered!" Spencer thought to himself.

"PREPARE YOURSELVES!"

This was it, folks... The final battle laid ahead...


	94. Heralding the Devil's Revival (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the Castle of Dark Illusions, Thomas and Spencer were both charging down hallways and the only duelists left standing to stop Gozaburo Gresley and the Court of Darkness from completing their plans. Needless to say, both teenage boys had a personal score to settle with their enemies...

"Gozaburo..." murmured Spencer.

"Court of Darkness..." murmured Thomas.

No matter who or what stood in their way, the two allies would fight the enemy until either, or both, had fallen. Enemy monsters continued to intervene, but both chosen ones merely drew a card from their respective decks, held their respective card out, and summoned their monsters...

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" shouted Spencer.

"Dark Magician!" came from Thomas.

" **ATTACK, NOW**!"

Both monsters appeared, attacked, and destroyed the enemy Lizard Soldiers.

(elsewhere...)

Pretty soon...

 ***SMASH!***

The big door was blasted apart by the combined attacks of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician respectively, allowing Spencer and Thomas to both enter the thone room. They had made it at long last, and were ready to settle the score with their enemies... Unfortunately, the throne room seemed to be empty...

"Welcome Spencer Gresley..." echoed the voice of Vampire Lady.

"And especially Thomas Billinton..." echoed the voice of Darkbishop Archfiend.

"We, what's left of the Court of Darkness, have been expecting you both." echoed the voice of Earl of Demise.

"Yes, we know." acknowledged Thomas, sounding surprisingly calm. "Now, would you all be so kind as to show yourselves?"

"Heh heh heh..." chuckled the voice of Gozaburo. "Just look over here, why don't you?"

Nearby, a red curtain was raised and revealed Vampire Lady, Darkbishop Archfiend, Earl of Demise, Gozaburo Gresley, and especially...

"Emily..." called Thomas, trying to get a good look. "Emily, is that you?!"

Yes, it was Emily Sterling... The only problem is she looked battered, bruised, and all those unpleasant terms.

"Thomas..." The dark green-haired girl mumbled weakly, very happy to see her blue-haired friend once again. "It's really you..."

"I see you're surprised to see our ' _guest of honor_ '." joked Gozaburo in a cruel, sick sense of humor. "You know, kid, she was very willing to help test out my greatest invention ever made!"

"Invention?" repeated Thomas.

"Yes, of course... I think I might just-"

"Cut the bullcrap!" snapped Spencer. "We've made it past your traps and guards!"

"Gozaburo... you and the Court of Darkness are all that's left to be dealt with!" Thomas added fiercely. "Either surrender to us peacefully, or be prepared to get taken down!"

Gozaburo smiled. "Ah, but you didn't let me finish. I haven't even explained how my new device works!"

Thomas and Spencer both fell into silence.

"That's better." The evil man said gruffly, before gesturing to his new machine. "Now then... This thing is called the Dark Extractor. I've been working on it for a long time at the request of my allies here..."

"The Dark Extractor?" quizzed Spencer.

"What do you plan to do with it?" questioned Thomas. "And why is Emily so important for it?"

"I intend to use this device to extract the darkness out of all of our captive prisoners-" explained Gozaburo. "-transferring it all into a new vessel. This girl here no longer has any darkness in her heart... but won't be empty of it for long!"

Thomas recoiled. "What?!"

"But, before I think of doing just that, I first plan to extract the great darkness from your own heart, Thomas Billinton, and use it, along with the millions of innocent humans and monsters with darkness in their hearts that the Court of Darkness have captured through out, to infect this girl, thus turning her into a new reincarnation of Diablon!"

"You're insane!" insulted Thomas.

"No, I'm just getting revenge on those who betrayed me years ago - namely, your parents, Spencer!" insisted Gozaburo, giving his ' _favorite_ ' Grandson the evil eye. "Unfortunately for you, my poor, pathetic friend, I have some worse news to share... As of now, you and Spencer both have gotten in my way far too much, and this girl here will be an unfortunate victim of that meddling when she becomes Diablon's newest vessel!"

"You leave her alone!" roared Thomas, not looking too thrilled with what his enemy had in store. "Besides, I thought you wanted ME as Diablon's vessel!"

Vampire Lady spoke up. "There has been a change in plans."

"After you killed Vampire Lord as Diablon-" came from Darkbishop Archfiend. "-we've decided we have no further use for you."

"That. and the girl here seems to have, from what Gozaburo told us, a special power deep within her own heart." put in Earl of Demise.

"Special power?" blinked Thomas.

"Correct." nodded Gozaburo. "As I showed Emily here your duel with Vampire Lord, she suddenly started glowing in a golden light and even spoke in another voice of some kind." His smile then grew crueler. "I wonder if this ' _other_ ' Emily would make a wonderful Dark Lord?"

Thomas growled as his eyes began turning red. He had come all this way to save Emily, and he was NOT going to lose her, now.

* * *

 **Title: Heralding the Devil's Revival, Part 1**

* * *

After a moment of silence inside the throne room...

"Gozaburo Gresley-" Spencer spoke up, also having heard quite enough. "-your underhanded tactics have gone on far enough!"

"Either you let Emily go this minute-" demanded Thomas fiercely, just as a dark aura began to overcome and burn all-around him. "-or else I'll take her back by force!"

Vampire Lady, Earl of Demise, and Darkbishop Archfiend each got into a defensive stance for a battle when...

"Now, now... There isn't any need for such violence from anyone in this room..." Gozaburo reassured, taking a step forth. As he did, an activated Duel Disk suddenly materialized on his left arm. "I've a far better idea to settle things... How about a friendly little game of Duel Monsters?"

Spencer took a step forth. "In that case, I'll be your opponent!"

"No, Spencer!" interrupted Thomas, as his dark aura faded a bit. "I can't stand here and let you take him on by yourself."

"Then as settlement... You can BOTH take me on!" suggested Gozaburo. "I get to kill Spencer AND capture Thomas when I win! It's practically win/win for me! Spencer, Thomas, face me, now!"

Thomas and Spencer both had fierce and brave looks on their faces as they activated their respective Duel Disks and prepared for the ultimate battle.

"Let's do this, Spencer!" declared Thomas, readying his deck.

"No need to tell me twice, Billinton!" replied Spencer, readying his own deck.

The two duelists slotted their shuffled decks into their respective Duel Disk. Gozaburo Gresley readied his own Duel Disk as well for the big showdown against his two greatest enemies.

"Now, let's begin our battle, shall we?"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Sanctuary in the Sky, Wingweaver and Kuribon were both seeing someone off at the gatehouse.

"You really are leaving?" Wingweaver asked sadly.

"Yes." said the figure (male) gravely. "I sense that something terrible is about to happen... And unless I go to stop it, this world could be in grave danger."

It was Airknight Parshath who was leaving.

"I owe Emily for saving me from the darkness, and I will repay her by attempting to rescue her from the Court of Darkness—even at the cost of my own life."

Wingweaver walked over and took her lover by his hands, looking straight into his eyes.

"Will I... Will I ever see you again?" The angelic-like monster asked with hope in her tone. "I mean... this will be a very dangerous attack on the Castle of Dark Illusions, and the Court of Darkness will certainly try to eliminate you over your betrayal."

"Look, I can't promise my safe return..." sighed Airknight Parshath. "And...I don't want you to be too upset in case I don't come back."

"Parshath..." Wingweaver closed her eyes as tears began to stream down them. "I love you..."

Airknight Parshath gave his lover a kind smile. "And I love you, Wingweaver..."

The two light attribute monsters shared a passionate kiss before Airknight Parshath pulled away from it to leave.

"Until we next meet."

With that said, he took off for the Castle of Dark Illusions. Wingweaver stayed by the gatehouse waving until her lover was out of sight...

"May our light keep your heart extra strong, Parshath..." Wingweaver thought to herself. She then turned to Kuribon. "Come, Kuribon, we must return to the temple and help with repairs."

Kuribon nodded and followed her mistress back towards the temple.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Castle of Dark Illusions' throne room, Gozaburo drew his five cards (LP: 4000).

"Here we go!" he declared.

Thomas (LP: 4000) and Spencer (LP: 4000) both drew their opening hands. Nearby with Emily, meanwhile, the dark green-haired girl knew that this was gonna be a very difficult duel for Thomas and Spencer to both win.

"Be careful, Thomas..." she said to only herself.

"Anakin... Don't let the darkness overtake you..." came the voice of Anastasia.

Back in the duel field, Spencer drew a card and began his turn.

"The first turn will go to me... Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Kaibaman, Polymerization, Cloning, Kaiser Glider, Damage Polarizer, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon

* * *

His hand consisted of Kaibaman, Polymerization, Cloning, Kaiser Glider, Damage Polarizer, and the drawn Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"I begin the duel by summoning Kaibaman in attack mode!" Spencer announced, placing one card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Let's see how you deal with this, Gozaburo!"

Appearing on the field was the human monster with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon-like outfit (Level: 3/ATK: 200/DEF: 700).

"Tch! Kaibaman..." scowled Gozaburo.

"And now, I'll activate my monster's special ability!" declared Spencer, just as Kaibaman vanished in streaks of blue. "By offering him as a tribute, I'm able to special summon in his place..." On cue, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card materialized face-up in 'Kaibaman's place. "...Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The familiar blue and white-scaled dragon appeared on the field in a burst of light while giving off a powerful roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500). From there, a facedown card materialized on the field.

"Because I'm unable to attack at the start of a match, I'll set one card and end my turn!" Spencer then cast a glance towards Thomas while in his thoughts. "Billinton, if we're to win this battle, you must have the correct cards not only on the field, but in your hand, too."

"Get ready, Gozaburo!" cried Thomas, drawing a card. "It's my turn... Draw card!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Dec** k: 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Black Luster Ritual, Meteorain, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, Collected Power, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and Black Luster Soldier

* * *

His hand consisted of Black Luster Ritual, Meteorain, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, Collected Power, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and the drawn Black Luster Soldier. Very quickly, the Black Luster Ritual Spell card materialized face-up on the field as Thomas took and held that very card out.

"I activate the Ritual Spell card Black Luster Ritual!" declared Thomas. "To invoke the power of this card, I must offer up monsters from my hand or side of the field with a combined level of 8 or higher."

On cue, a cauldron materialized before the face-up Ritual Spell card. Thomas then took and discarded Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from his hand to the graveyard.

"I'll offer Valkyrion the Magna Warrior for the sacrifice!"

Valkyrion the Magna Warrior materialized briefly on the field before lowering into the cauldron and beginning the ritual.

"And from the cauldron will rise the mighty Black Luster Soldier!" announced Thomas triumphantly.

The familiar red-haired warrior wearing yellow/blue armor and wielding a sword and shield materialized on the field and posed for battle with a loud battle cry (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500). From there, two facedown cards materialized behind the legendary warrior.

"I set two cards and end my turn!" Thomas finished, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

Over with the remaining members of the Court of Darkness, they were each surprised that both duelists had called out two extremely powerful monsters on their respective first turns.

"So, they've both summoned their ace monsters on the very first turns respectively." said Darkbishop Archfiend. "How will Gozaburo handle this threat?"

"He'd better not mess this up for us..." grumbled Earl of Demise. "Not unless it sends us back to the drawing board..."

Back in the duel field, Gozaburo wasn't worried in the slighest at facing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon or even Black Luster Soldier... In fact, he was expecting to face those monsters...

"Very perceptive." The evil man remarked. "You both seem to have grasped the depth of who it is you are fighting against." He drew a card. "My turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, Ancient Gear Gadget, Ancient Gear Reborn, Ancient Gear Overhaul, Ancient Gear Magic Shield, and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

Gozaburo's hand contained Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, Ancient Gear Gadget, Ancient Gear Reborn, Ancient Gear Overhaul, Ancient Gear Magic Shield, and the drawn The Field of Dark Graves.

"O great card born from the bowels of darkness..." he chanted, before taking and holding up a dark aura-like card. "Bestow upon them your almighty power!"

The evil man's Field Spell zone opened up, and he slid the card inside before closing it up.

"THE FIELD OF DARK GRAVES!"

Within seconds, the scenery changed into the familiar cemetery-like area. In addition, Gozaburo felt himself getting energized by the darkness from the card.

"So much better..." he hissed pleasantly, before taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "Now, observe, as I summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound in defense mode!"

Appearing to the field was a hound dog made entirely of gears (Level: 3/ATK: 1000 - 1500/DEF: 1000).

"Another of those Ancient Gear monsters..." mumbled Spencer.

"Because my monster was normal summoned this turn-" explained Gozaburo with a smirk. "-its effect will inflict 600 points of damage to your life points, Spencer." He then pointed forth to the silver-haired boy. "Attack Spencer now, my monster!"

Ancient Gear Hunting Hound obeyed, firing a ball of fire at Spencer.

"A pathetic attack like that won't reach me!" boomed Spencer, motioning his left hand (with the Duel Disk) to his set card. "Trap card, open - Damage Polarizer!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Damage Polarizer can only be activated whenever I'm about to receive damage from a card effect of any kind. Now, this Counter Trap card will swiftly negate your monster's effect before it reaches me!"

Gozaburo scowled, watching as his monster's fireball attack fizzled out before it could hit its target. Even then...

"Not bad, Spencer, but my turn isn't over yet!" insisted the evil man. "Next, I'll acti-"

"Before you continue with your turn-" interrupted Spencer, pointing at his opponent. "-my Damage Polarizer will activate its second effect. This effect helps you in addition to Billinton and myself."

"What?!" gasped Gozaburo in surprise.

"We all draw one card from our decks!"

With that said, all three duelists drew cards from their respective decks. From there, Gozaburo finally resumed his turn...

"If you're finally finished interrupting my speeches and plays-" As Gozaburo spoke on, he took another card from his hand and placed it onto another monster field slot. "-watch as I play the next effect of Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"

The mechanized beast let out a howl, just as a monster called Ancient Gear Gadget appeared beside it before both monsters fell apart into pieces of junk.

"Once per turn-" explained Gozaburo. "-I'm able to fusion summon an Ancient Gear fusion monster using monsters from my hand or field as fusion materials. So, I'll combine Hunting Hound with the Ancient Gear Gadget in my hand to form something new!"

The pile of junk started to move and build into something new.

"What the-?!" winced Spencer.

"What could the new monster be?" Thomas thought to himself.

"I present to both of you... Ancient Gear Howitzer!" announced Gozaburo.

Appearing before the two chosen duelists was a large winged creature also made of gears (Level: 8/ATK: 1000 - 1500/DEF: 1800).

"Hmph! You put on a facade just to summon that weakling?" scoffed Spencer. "It only has 1800 defense points!"

"Oh, I wasn't putting on a facade." retorted Gozaburo, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "This monster will be protecting my life points from your monsters very easily."

On cue, a Spell card called Ancient Gear Magic Shield flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I equip Ancient Gear Magic Shield onto my Howitzer! Now, my monster is unable to be destroyed by battle and even receives a bonus of 1200 defense points."

Ancient Gear Howitzer's defense rose (DEF: 1800 - 3000).

"Oh no!" cried Thomas.

"That thing is too strong for us to destroy, now!" came from Spencer.

Ancient Gear Howitzer suddenly started charging up an attack of its own...

"And now, for Ancient Gear Howitzer's special effect!" continued Gozaburo. "During the main phase of my turn, I can use my monster to inflict 1000 points of damage to the opponent." He pointed forth. "Since I've failed to damage Spencer this turn, I think I'll take my anger out on you, Thomas!"

The mechanical monster fired a blast at Thomas, striking and causing him to scream in pain (LP: 3000).

"Thomas!" cried Emily.

The smoke cleared, revealing that Thomas was still standing—but injured. Not done with his turn still, Gozaburo took and slotted two more cards into his Duel Disk.

"I set two cards facedown..." The evil man continued.

Two facedown cards materialized on the field. Still not finished, Gozaburo smirked insanely as yet another Spell card materialized face-up on the field...

"...and activate a Continuous Spell card - Supreme King's Throne(!)!"

"W-What?!" gasped Spencer. "Is that another of your created cards?"

"Correct." said Gozaburo, still smiling wickedly. "This one works a bit differently than anything either of you have faced in the past... Unfortunately, I'll have to explain about it later, because my turn has come to an end."

"Don't let your guard down, Spencer!" warned Thomas. "Dark Magician and I've faced the Ancient Gears before, and they are extremely dangerous when played by the right person."

"Hmph! If he didn't play a monster of at least this level, things wouldn't be interesting in the slightest!" Spencer scoffed.

"I'm waiting." smirked Gozaburo. "Let's see what you both can do against my Ancient Gears."

Spencer scowled. "It's my turn, now!" he declared, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (5): Polymerization, Cloning, Kaiser Glider, ?, and The Melody of Awakening Dragon

* * *

On cue...

"I reveal my Trap card!" Thomas suddenly announced, as his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Collected Power!"

"W-What?!" gasped Gozaburo.

"Collected Power lets me target one face-up monster on the field and equip it with all face-up Equip Spell cards currently present. If any of those Equip Spell cards is now equipped to an incorrect target, that Equip Spell card is destroyed."

Ancient Gear Howitzer (DEF: 3000 - 1800) felt itself lose its power bonus from Ancient Gear Magic Shield, which Black Luster Soldier seemed to receive it instead (DEF: 2500 - 3700).

"Since Ancient Gear Magic Shield can only be equipped to an Ancient Gear monster-" Thomas pointed out. "-the Equip Spell card itself is automatically destroyed!"

Within seconds, the face-up Ancient Gear Magic Shield card shattered into pieces of glass, causing Black Luster Soldier's defense to return to normal (DEF: 3700 - 2500).

"Clever play!" Gozaburo frowned.

"And it gets even better!" continued Spencer, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard while a Spell card called The Melody of Awakening Dragon materialized face-up on the field. "I send Kaiser Glider to the graveyard to activate The Melody of Awakening Dragon! Now, I can add two dragon-type monster cards from the deck to my hand, but they have to have 3000 or less attack points and 2500 or less defense points..."

Two glowing cards were added to Spencer's hand.

"Using The Melody of Awakening Dragon, I add two more copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my hand." From there, Spencer readied another card. "Gozaburo, if you are truly the one composing the Court of Darkness's actions, this duel's victory should also be within your grasp." He let loose a villain-like laugh. "Yet, you've only managed to summon a couple of weak monsters on your field..." He splotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "...and victory has already fallen into my hands. Because Billinton and I've had separate matches against you at certain points, I know exactly what kind of duelist you truly are!"

Gozaburo frowned. "You do?" he quizzed.

"Yes! Not to mention you've forgotten one very important factor... For you are now..." As Spencer spoke on, the Polymerization Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "...taking on the strongest duelists in existence as your enemies!"

Thomas gasped, as did Gozaburo and the remaining Court of Darkness members watching from the sidelines. From there, Spencer immediately took the two Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards from his hand...

"I activate Polymerization and fuse the Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my hand with the one on my field!"

Two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons briefly appeared on the field before fusing together with the third.

"Come forth, my ultimate servant!" thundered Spencer dramatically, spreading his arms out in welcome. " **BLUE-EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON**!"

In a burst of light, the mighty three-headed Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared to the field (Level: 12/ATK: 4500/DEF: 3800).

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon..." whispered Thomas, looking amazed. He then recovered and poked a button on his Duel Disk. "Good work, Spencer, now allow me to lend you some of my power..."

The blue-haired boy's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Meteorain!"

"Meteorain?" questioned Earl of Demise.

"Meteorain allows the player's monsters to inflict piercing damage for the remainder of the turn." explained Vampire Lady, frowning. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon has a total of 4500 attack points..."

"Gozaburo will lose 2700 life points if the attack hits its mark." added Darkbishop Archfiend.

Back in the duel field...

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon-" declared Spencer, entering the battle phase. "-lay waste to Ancient Gear Howitzer with Neutron Blast!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, having already charged a three-way blast from the mouths of its three heads, obeyed and unleashed the attack. Ancient Gear Howitzer was immediately vaporized upon contact, but it also ended up striking Gozaburo in the process.

(elsewhere...)

The whole Castle of Dark Illusions shook violently from the power of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's Neutron Blast attack.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the throne room, the smoke cleared and revealed Gozaburo looking very upset with being hit by such a powerful attack.

"Damn you, Spencer..." he snarled (LP: 1300). "I activate Ancient Gear Howitzer's next effect! When it's destroyed by battle, I'm able to special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my deck whilst ignoring summoning conditions!"

Appearing to the field was the huge geared soldier known as Ancient Gear Golem (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 3000).

"Ancient Gear Golem..." mused Spencer. "Heh! It packs nowhere near the amount of extreme power that Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon has..." He then slotted two cards into his Duel Disk. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

Two facedowns materialized on the field. All of a sudden, the face-up Supreme King's Throne Spell card activated...

"It's time to show you both the true power of my Supreme King's Throne card!" laughed Gozaburo. "This effect will blow you away—so to speak. It basically raises my life points all based on the damage, battle or not, I took during the battle phase!"

Gozaburo glowed in a dark aura as his life points were instantly recovered (LP: 4000).

"What?!" grimaced Spencer. "He's recovered all of his life points?!"

"So, no matter how much damage we do to him, he'll regain them all at the end of the turn!" added Thomas, looking dismayed. But then he heard a scream of pain... "Huh?"

He looked over to see where the screaming was coming from. It was coming, much to the horror of the blue-haired boy, from Emily herself as she glowed all purple and felt her life-force energy being sucked away from her body.

"Emily!"

Gozaburo laughed sadistically. "This is the true twist of my Supreme King's Throne!" he explained. "Not only does it recover all of my life points after a battle phase has finished up, but the life points themselves come directly from Emily's own life-force energy! In a way, I created my Spell card and had its power connected directly to the victim of my Dark Extractor machine! End up hurting me somehow? Then you'll end up hurting this girl instead. Impressive idea, is it not?"

"You monster!" screamed Thomas, now knowing just how much danger Emily was truly in. "How...DARE YOU?!"

"Oh, I do dare!"

The blue-haired boy had become further enraged. This was almost the same gimmick he had to go up against back in the Battle City Finals when he faced Dark Marik in the Ultimate Shadow Game. The difference is that back then, he used his Millennium Puzzle's power to ensure Emily remained in the living. Here? The Millennium Puzzle wasn't gonna do any good for some reason. Meaning if Thomas didn't defeat Gozaburo before too long, Emily would...

"Emily is not only suffering from losing her life-force energy-" Gozaburo went on. "-but I think that ' _other_ ' half of her is being forced to take it, too."

"What other half?" asked Spencer.

The silver-haired boy's answer would come... in form of Thomas's eyes shining red with malice and a dark aura forming all around his body. Yup! It was a nasty sign that he had awoken again...

"How dare you torture my Anastasia!" The blue-haired boy bellowed in Anakin's voice.

"The first step has been taken..." Gozaburo thought to himself, knowing that Anakin had taken control. He then spoke aloud and further taunted his opponent... "So, the girl's name is Anastasia, eh? I've been wondering who she was!"

"You've taken her from me once before-" snarled Anakin from within Thomas. There was nothing but anger and hatred on his face... "-I won't let that happen again!"

"Then, ha ha ha, go and take your turn!"

With that being said, Thomas (possessed) drew a card ever so fiercely.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (3): Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Polymerization, and Supreme Wing(!)

* * *

His drawn card was an Equip Spell card called Supreme Wing.

"Billinton... No, Anakin..." Spencer called out. "If you're the True Duelist you say you are, you should be able to call forth our new servant to kill Gozaburo off!"

Nodding, Thomas (possessed) took another card from his hand and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate my own copy of Polymerization!" he announced. "This play, Gozaburo, will shatter all of your ambitions in a single blow!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon... Black Luster Soldier..." The possessed blue-haired boy began. "Combine your almighty powers into one!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Black Luster Soldier both began fusing together as Thomas (possessed) started doing a summon chant...

" ** _Knight with the power of Chaos, become one with the Ultimate Dragon of Lightning, and unleash your power on those who are less worthy_**!"

A burst of light filled the ceiling as the fusion soon finished.

" ** _FUSION SUMMON_**!" boomed Thomas (possessed), as the shadow of a new monster soon appeared within the light. " ** _Come forth... The master of all dragon-type monsters - Dragon Master Knight_**!"

Appearing from the light was Black Luster Soldier riding the top of the middle head of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (Level: 12/ATK: 5000/DEF: 5000).

"Amazing..." whispered Emily, still weak from the life-force drain.

"The strongest monster in existence..." came from a very surprised Gozaburo. "The boy actually managed to call it out..."

"Our monster's about to get even stronger than ever before, too!" went on Thomas (possessed). "For you see, Dragon Master Knight receives 500 extra attack points for every dragon-type monster either player has ever used... not counting itself."

"I have Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Kaiser Glider in my graveyard." said Spencer, holding up five cards. "500 times 5 equals 2500 extra attack points!"

Dragon Master Knight's attack rose to even greater heights (ATK: 5000 - 7500).

"7-7500 attack points?!" gasped Gozaburo.

"This one attack alone will put an end to everything!" cried Thomas (possessed), slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Supreme Wing!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's Wings suddenly began glowing all gold-like.

"With this card, nothing you do can stop our monster from finishing you off! Go, Dragon Master Knight, and attack Ancient Gear Golem!"

Dragon Master Knight obeyed and charged up his final attack.

"Take this, Gozaburo!" roared Spencer.

" **DRAGON SABER BLAST**!" commanded the two teenage boys at once.

The blast from Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was finally fired off towards Ancient Gear Golem and Gozaburo. Was this gonna finish the evil man off? Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	95. Heralding the Devil's Revival (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the Castle of Dark Illusion's throne room...

"This one attack alone will put an end to everything!" cried Thomas (possessed), slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Supreme Wing!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's Wings suddenly began glowing all gold-like.

"With this card, nothing you do can stop our monster from finishing you off! Go, Dragon Master Knight, and attack Ancient Gear Golem!"

Dragon Master Knight obeyed and charged up his final attack.

"Take this, Gozaburo!" roared Spencer.

" **DRAGON SABER BLAST**!" commanded the two teenage boys at once.

The blast from Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was finally fired off towards both Ancient Gear Golem and Gozaburo.

"This duel is over and done!" announced Thomas (possessed). "We are victorious!"

The blast got closer and closer before...

 ***BOOM!***

An extemely powerful explosion rocked the whole side of Gozaburo's field. Was Thomas (possessed) and Spencer both truly victorious in this final battle? Unfortunately, they had to wait until the smoke cleared to find out.

* * *

 **Title: Heralding the Devil's Revival, Part 2**

* * *

All became quiet as the smoke started to clear away. Part of the faded smoke revealed that Ancient Gear Golem had been destroyed by the power of Dragon Master Knight.

"Ancient Gear Golem...has been destroyed!" breathed Spencer.

"If that's the case, then Gozaburo Gresley has been defeated!" came from Thomas (possessed). "His life points won't survive the attack."

More of the smoke faded away and revealed Gozaburo still standing, with his life points...not entirely depleted (LP: 2000).

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Thomas (possessed).

"Gozaburo's life points are at 2000?!" added a very shocked Spencer. "Dragon Master Knight should have dealt 4000 points of damage to his life points!"

The remainder of the smoke faded away, revealing one of Gozaburo's facedown cards had flipped face-up and activated.

"You know, I really must praise both of your attempts to defeat me." Gozaburo acknowledged, now clapping (sarcastically). "If this attack had done full damage instead of half, you would've beated me!" He then smirked evilly while speaking on... "But by attacking and destroying Ancient Gear Golem, I was able to activate this Continuous Trap card - Ancient Gear Overhaul! Whenever you battle an Ancient Gear monster I control, all battle damage I would have sustained is cut in half. And that's not all it does..."

He drew a card (Ancient Gear Wyvern) and showed it to his two opponents.

"Because an Ancient Gear monster I control has been destroyed, I can add one Ancient Gear monster with a level lower than the Ancient Gear monster I owned from the deck to my hand! ...like Ancient Gear Wyvern, for example."

Thomas (possessed) cursed. "This isn't the end! Now that I've destroyed a monster you control, the effect of Supreme Wing activates!"

Dragon Master Knight took to the sky once more.

"Whenever a monster you control is destroyed by Dragon Master Knight, you'll take damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points! So, you will STILL lose the duel, right now!"

Another mighty, combined blast from both Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was fired.

"You'll have to do better than that, I'm afraid." sighed Gozaburo, before motioning his right hand towards his already face-up Trap card. "I play the final effect of Ancient Gear Overhaul!"

The face-up Ancient Gear Overhaul Trap Card shattered into pieces of glass. The Dragon Saber Blast began to approach and strike Gozaburo, but the attack instead got deflected upward.

"WHAT?!" Thomas (possessed) cried out again.

"By offering Ancient Gear Overhaul, I negate any and all effect damages I would take from any and all of your card effects for the remainder of this turn." explained Gozaburo. "Once more, I acknowledge and applaude you both for your magnificent play, but I'm not one to be defeated so easily."

"I... I end my turn!" growled Thomas (possessed), knowing exactly what was coming next.

"And now, the effect of Supreme King's Throne will activate!"

Over at the Dark Extractor, Emily started glowing all purple as she began to scream while feeling her own life-force energy being sucked from her very body and soul.

"My life points will now increase based on the damage I received this turn." finished Gozaburo (LP: 4000). "And it's all thanks to my ' _lovely_ ' assistant nearby."

Thomas (possessed) glared at his enemy with rage burning in his blood. He had to find a way to destroy that card soon before Emily...

"I know what you're thinking-" Gozaburo spoke up once more, drawing a card. "-you have to find a way to take Supreme King's Throne down before it's too late, right? Well, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (2): Ancient Gear Wyvern and Pot of Greed

* * *

On cue, the Pot of Greed Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two additonal cards!" Gozaburo declared, drawing two extra cards.

From there, his next set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Next, I'll reveal a second Continuous Trap card - Ancient Gear Reborn! Since I control no monsters right now, I can special summon it to the field and increase its attack power by 200 points!"

On cue, the Ancient Gear Gadget monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Ancient Gear Gadget - come forth!" commanded Gozaburo.

The geared monster appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 500 - 1000 - 1200/DEF: 2000).

(elsewhere...)

Somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, there was a destroyed Airship Hanger. Scratch that... It was the same Hanger that got blown to pieces by Gozaburo's troops shortly after Thomas and the rest of the gang escaped by Airship. All of a sudden, some of the rubble and wood started to move about and someone emerged after a few seconds...

"Agh... Oh, my head..." groaned the person, who was revealed to be...Nathaniel.

Oh, wow... Nathaniel had actually survived the attack!

"Is... is anyone else left alive?" he mumbled to himself, before raising his voice... "Dark Magician Girl? Dark Magician Girl, are you okay?"

The nearby rubble started to move. Without wasting a second, Nathaniel walked over to the moving rubble and started to move some of the wood off of whoever was buried underneath the fallen debris. Turns out the person who was buried was none other than Dark Magician Girl... Dark Magician Girl had survived, too!

"Hang on-" advised Nathaniel, lifting some of the wood off of the injured female spellcaster-type monster. "-I'll get you out!"

It wasn't long until Dark Magician Girl, bruised-but alive, was unburied from the rubble.

"T-Thank you, Nathaniel..." Dark Magician Girl groaned, managing to stand back up. "It looks like we've survived the...attack..."

"Just barely..." said Nathaniel, beginning to take a look around the battered and ruined Airship Hanger. "The Hanger has been completely destroyed."

Dark Magician Girl sighed. "We must return to the castle, and see if things there are as bad as they seem."

She started to leave, but suddenly sensed that Nathaniel wasn't following her and turned to see that the black-haired young man was staying where he was.

"Nathaniel?" questioned Dark Magician Girl. "Aren't you coming?"

"I must go to the Castle of Dark Illusions at once." Nathaniel replied, shaking his head. "Thomas saved me from the darkness, and, now, it's my turn to help him."

"The journey there will be very dangerous." warned Dark Magician Girl. "And because there aren't any Airships left after the Hanger got destroyed in the attack..."

"I'll manage on foot. As for you, Dark Magician Girl, you'd better return to the city and help oversee rescue efforts."

Nodding, Dark Magician Girl immediately resumed her trek, while Nathaniel looked into the direction the Airship Thomas and the others rode.

"Thomas..." The black-haired young man thought to himself. "I'm coming soon..."

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the Castle of Dark Illusions throne room, Gozaburo was laughing at both his opponents.

"So, tell me, boy-" he said to Thomas (possessed). "-how does it feel knowing that every time you try to hurt me, you end up hurting the one you claim to love, instead?"

"Shut up!" shouted Thomas (possessed). "I won't let you harm my Anastasia any longer!"

Gozaburo scoffed. "So you say, kid... You want to save her? You'll have to beat me in a hurry." He took one of his three drawn cards and readied it. "And now, I'll play the next effect of Supreme King's Throne... I can special summon one monster from my hand onto the field."

"Another cheap effect..." Spencer thought bitterly.

"Now, you two... Watch, as I special summon Ancient Gear Wyvern in attack mode!" announced Gozaburo, placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

Appearing onto the field was a winged creature made entirely out of gears (Level: 4/ATK: 1700 - 2200/DEF: 1200).

"As it was summoned successfully-" The evil man went on, adding a card from the deck to his hand. "-I can add one Ancient Gear monster from my deck to my hand."

Suddenly, both monsters crumbled into piles of junk.

"What's going on, now?" demanded Spencer.

"Isn't it obvious?" teased Gozaburo, readying a card before placing it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Because I've special summoned two monsters, I have yet to normal summon something."

"A tribute summon!" frowned Thomas (possessed).

"How right you are! I sacrifice Ancient Gear Gadget and Ancient Gear Wyvern to summon the powerful Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!"

The pile of junk began to merge together into a huge dragon (Level: 9/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 3000).

"Powerful monster you have there." remarked Spencer, before smirking. "Too bad I'll create a version of it for myself."

"Huh?" blinked Gozaburo.

"Facedown card, open - Cloning!"

Spencer's facedown card flipped up and revealed itself, just before morphing into an exact copy of Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon (Level: 9/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000).

"This Trap card allows me to summon a clone of your dragon to my side of the field." explained Spencer. "And I'll place it in defense mode."

Not finished still, Gozaburo took and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. On cue, a Spell card called Break! Draw! flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"In that case, I'll equip my Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon with Break! Draw! !"

"Break! Draw! ?" questioned Spencer.

"This Equip Spell card allows me, whenever the equipped monster attacks and destroys a monster by battle, to draw a card from my deck..." explained Gozaburo, soon smirking at his Grandson. "However, if the effect is used three times in total, it will be destroyed."

Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon immediately began to unleash an attack.

"Like this, for sample!"

The machine-like dragon unleashed a blast towards its clone.

"When attacking-" Gozaburo went on. "-the opponent can't activate any Spell or Trap cards they have set, and monster effects are unable to be triggered until the end of battle. Best of all, you also receive the difference between the attacking monster's attack points and the defending monster's defense points!"

"What?!" gasped Spencer.

"Piercing damage!" added Thomas (possessed).

The missile blast struck and destroyed the copy of Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon. The silver-haired boy grimaced and braced himself from the force of the attack (LP: 3500).

"I'm not done yet!" declared Gozaburo, drawing a card while smiling insanely. "Because Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon was tribute summoned by an Ancient Gear Gadget, I'm able to attack with my monster again!"

"This is bad..." Thomas thought to himself. "If the attack hits him, Spencer will lose!"

Thankfully...

"Before you attack-" cut in Spencer, as his remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "-I'll activate Wish of Final Effort!"

"WHAT?!" cried Gozaburo, before remembering... "Damn! I forgot that the opponent can still activate Spell and Trap cards when I'm NOT at the damage step!"

"Wish of Final Effort increases my life points by the destroyed monster's attack points." explained Spencer (LP: 6500). "Even if you attack me now, I'll still be in the game!"

"So be it!" screamed the evil man. "Attack Spencer directly, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!"

Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon obeyed, firing more missiles—this time at Spencer. Before long, the missiles struck their mark and caused a massive explosion to cloud the silver-haired boy's field.

"SPENCER!" screamed Thomas, worried for the well-being of his friend/rival.

When the smoke cleared, Spencer was shown still barely standing (LP: 3000).

"Is that...the best you've got?" coughed Spencer.

"You want more? Fine!" Gozaburo slotted yet another card into his Duel Disk. "Prepare to eat more damage!"

A Spell card called Ancient Gear Explosive materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate Ancient Gear Explosive! This allows me to target one of my Ancient Gear monsters on the field and inflict damage equal to half of the monster's original attack points!"

"Dammit!" cried Spencer.

A huge grenade made of gears was tossed towards Spencer before exploding, sending the silver-haired boy flying by while screaming in agony (LP: 1500).

"My, that looks painful." joked Vampire Lady.

"Painful, indeed!" agreed Darkbishop Archfiend, chuckling in dark amusement.

Back in the duel field...

"Damn you, Gozaburo..." Spencer groaned, after lying on the ground for a few seconds. "It will take...a lot more than that...to stop me!"

A facedown card materialized behind Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, compliments of Gozaburo bracing two fingers onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn there." Gozaburo simply said.

Weakly, Spencer managed to get back to his feet. Despite being badly hurt from the attacks his Grandfather unleashed onto him, he was not about to give up regardless of any injuries he sustained.

"It's...my turn!" The silver-haired boy managed to belt out, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1500)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"I mustn't allow Gozaburo to get away with his unforgiving actions." Spencer weakly thought to himself. He slotted the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate my own copy of Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field, causing Spencer to draw two more cards from his deck.

"With it, I draw two more cards."

A facedown card materialized on the field, followed by the Kaiser Sea Horse monster card also appearing face-up on the field.

"I set one card facedown, and summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode!" announced Spencer.

Appearing to the field was the Seahorse dressed monster wielding a lance-like weapon (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1650).

"I end my turn!"

"I mustn't allow Anastasia to be hurt any further!" Thomas (possessed) thought to himself, and then drew a card. "It's my turn!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (2): Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and Double or Nothing!

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Double or Nothing!. Just then...

"I play my set Quick-Play Spell card!" Spencer announced, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Reflect Energy!"

Kaiser Sea Horse vanished as a small reflective device appeared behind Gozaburo.

"Reflect Energy?" blinked Gozaburo.

"And you've offered Kaiser Sea Horse?" added Thomas (possessed). "Why?"

"Because by doing so-" explained Spencer. "-for the remained of this turn, any attacks we make will instantly become direct attacks on Gozaburo!"

"Direct attacks?!" screamed Earl of Demise in outrage.

"That means one hit from Dragon Master Knight will defeat Gozaburo!" added Darkbishop Archfiend, looking just as upset.

"Dragon Master Knight, attack!" declared Thomas (possessed), entering the battle phase immediately. "Hurry and kill Gozaburo Gresley, now!"

Dragon Master Knight obeyed and charged and fired another Dragon Saber Blast. It struck the device behind Gozaburo, and would soon fire and hit the evil man, thus finally defeating him.

"Nice try!" smirked Gozaburo. "I play the next effect of Supreme King's Throne!"

"Another effect?!" cried Spencer.

"Because the damage I would take is higher than my life points, I can offer one card on my side of the field to negate the attack and destroy the attacking monster!"

The face-up Ancient Gear Reborn Trap card faded away in a blue streak.

"So, now, say goodbye to Dragon Master Knight!" laughed Gozaburo.

"You like broken effects?" hissed Thomas (possessed), growing more and more uncontrolled and enraged. "I'll show you one of my own! Supreme Wing prevents the equipped monster from being destroyed by card effects!"

Dragon Master Knight glowed in a golden aura as the blast was stopped before it could take the ultimate monster down. At this point, Thomas (possessed) was finding himself falling deeper and deeper into the dark as his powerful OTK strategies continued to backfire against an opponent like Gozaburo Gresley.

"Why?! Why won't you DIE?!" The possessed blue-haired boy freaked out, clutching the sides of his head with both hands.

"I've worked too hard and come too far to let some blue-haired punk ruin my plans for revenge!" argued Gozaburo, glaring hard at his opponent. He then smiled in a terrifyingly cruel way... "Besides, torturing you like this is so much fun, because you're completely helpless to do anything to make sure your darling Emily stays alive."

Thomas (possessed) cried out in rage as more and more darkness formed all-around him. Spencer watched as his friend/rival fell deeper and deeper into his darkness and hatred...

"If this keeps up-" Spencer thought to himself. "-then Billinton will be lost forever..." He then remembered something... "Wait a moment..."

Some dialogue from his duel with Thomas back in the Battle City Finals began to play inside his head...

" _ **And most importantly; hatred, anger, sorrow! Those will never allow you to triumph over me! Your mind is like this Duel Tower standing tall in the rubble. You can pile hate top of hate to reach the top, but you'll never find true victory! You'll wander forever... seeking the next thing to hate... the next target... As me for, I fight for those who believe. For my friend, for myself, and to become a True Duelist! You have to let your anger and hatred go now, Spencer... Or else you'll likely do something you'll regret for the rest of your life. Even if you do win this match, you will only find an endless chain of hate. I've tried to tell you time and time again, but until you finally listen to reason, you will never escape from the darkness**_!"

" _ **Hmph! Did it ever occur to you that hatred and anger give me power**_?!" demanded Flashback Spencer. " _ **The power to dominate everything**_! **They've always have, and always will**!"

" _ **Then hit me with all your hatred**_!" shouted Flashback Thomas. " _ **If you think you can defeat me with that alone, then show me right now! But no matter how much hatred and anger you may have, if you didn't have your company and money, you would have nothing left in your sad life! Spencer Gresley, I will defeat you. I will free you from your hated past, not only as a rival who walked the path of battle with me, but also...as a friend**_!"

"Thomas is going down the same path I had taken before he defeated me." Spencer thought to himself some more. "I cannot allow him to do that!" The silver-haired boy spoke aloud. "Billinton, listen to yourself!"

That statement caught Thomas (possessed) and Gozaburo's attentions respectively.

"What do you want?" demanded the possessed blue-haired boy harshly.

"Do you remember what you've told me in our duel in Battle City?" questioned Spencer firmly. "Remember those very words you said to my face?"

Thomas (possessed) only glared and remained absolutely silent on the matter...

"' _ **Hatred, anger, and sorrow will never allow you to triumph**_ '. You were one of the ones who managed help set me straight and got me to move on with my life..." Spencer then frowned with disapproval. "Right now, however, you're falling down the exact same path I had taken."

"Wrong path?" questioned Thomas (possessed).

"Yes, wrong path." nodded Spencer. "You're falling down a path full of nothing but anger, hatred, and sorrow. The one path you've hypocritically told me to abandon. If you don't let go of your anger and darkness, it will lead you to either absolute nothingness or your own destruction... I demand to know where the man who tried to convince me to let go of those feelings had gone to!"

Thomas (possessed) seemed to have softened up. "Spencer..."

Then there was the sound of sarcastic clapping...

"Bravo!" said the voice of Gozaburo. The evil man was indeed clapping sarcastically (once again). "That was a wonderful speech, Spencer, very wonderful! ...but I'm afraid it won't be enough to snap Thomas out of his state of rage..."

"What's that?!" seethed Spencer.

"Haven't you even been paying attention? Everytime Emily is hurt by the effect of my Spell card, Thomas's darkness and anger grows stronger. And by this point, it's too strong for him to let go!"

"No... I won't..." winced Thomas (possessed), holding out a card. "...give in! Behold the power of Double or Nothing!, which will give me a second shot at an attack!"

"Double or Nothing! ?" quizzed Gozaburo.

The mentioned Quick-Play Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Not only does it give me another attack-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-but it doubles Dragon Master Knight's attack power, as well!"

Dragon Master Knight grew stronger (ATK: 7500 - 15000).

" **DRAGON SABER BLAST**!"

An even more powerful blast by both Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was fired towards the evil man and his Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon. Unfortunately, Gozaburo was ready for it like any of the previous attacks...

"You never seem to learn, do you?" he sneered. On cue, Gozaburo's final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "Trap card, open - Evil 1!"

"Evil 1?" blinked Spencer.

"During damage calculation, if a monster I control battles an opponent's monster, I can activate this card..." explained Gozaburo. "Monsters can't be destroyed by this battle, while the battle damage I would have taken becomes equal to the Life Points of the player who would take that damage minus 1." His smile grew more twistered and cruel. "In simpler terms, I now only take 3999 points of damage from your attack!"

The blast struck Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, causing Gozaburo to cry out in pain (LP: 1). Even then, he smiled big upon recovering...

"And now-" The evil man went on. "-we're at the end phase..."

The face-up Supreme King's Throne Spell card glowed again, causing Gozaburo to regain all of his life points (LP: 4000) while also making Emily glow purple and scream in agony once more.

"NNNNNOOOOO!" shouted Thomas (possessed).

Gozaburo laughed maniacally. "Soon, she and her vessal will both be gone! And then, then you will have no other choice but to fall into deep sorrow, and endless darkness!"

"STOP IT! STOP IT, NOW!"

"It's too far into the duel!" The evil man pointed out. "You must continue the game until the very end." He then shot the possessed blue-haired boy a very dark, evil glare. "Of course, you could make things easier by surrendering your darkness, and giving it to the girl and her vessal... I could imagine she would be very welcomed in becoming a demon like how you are..."

Oh, that had done it...

" **GOZABURO**!" screamed Thomas (possessed), before letting loose a powerful roar of rage as the darkness around him grew even stronger before...

It had gotten so powerful that...

 ***BOOM!***

...a huge explosion sounded in the whole throne room. Emily, upon recovering, knew exactly what was about to happen to Thomas...

"Please, God, no..."

Unfortunately, her fears were confirmed... When the smoke finally cleared away from the possessed blue-haired boy's side of the field, Thomas...had become Diablon once more...

"There can only be one ruler of darkness-" bellowed Diablon, as his eyes shined all crimson red with anger and hatred. "-and that ruler will be ME!"

"Lord Diablon...!" whispered Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer, with his eyes all bloodshot with shock and such.

"This is exactly what I've been waiting for!" Gozaburo grinned, not looking the least bit scared. "I get to actually defeat Thomas Billinton's dark heart and claim it for my personal use!"

With that said, he drew a card and took his turn... Diablon, meanwhile, only glared on in pure hatred. So, this foolish man actually believed that he could defeat him? The great Diablon?! Ha! That's a laugh...

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate the Spell card Card of Sanctity!" announced Gozaburo, drawing six cards. "This allows all three of us to draw from our respective decks until we have six cards in our hands."

Diablon drew five cards, while Spencer also drew six cards. Gozaburo's new hand Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Box, Limiter Removal, Ancient Gear Cauldron, Ancient Gear Workshop, and Unfinished Ancient Gear.

"Ah ha... These are perfect..." The evil man thought to himself. He then spoke aloud while slotting two cards into his Duel Disk... "I set two cards facedown..."

Two facedown cards materialized on the field, followed by the materialization of a face-up Spell card called Ancient Gear Workshop.

"...and activate a Spell card called Ancient Gear Workshop! This allows me to add one Ancient Gear monster from my graveyard to my hand."

Gozaburo immediately took and held out a card (Ancient Gear Hunting Hound).

"As you can see-" he went on. "-I've chosen Ancient Gear Hunting Hound." The evil man placed the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "And I'll summon it to the field again!"

The mechanical hound reappeared to the field.

"Before I fuse it and a few monsters in my hand together-" continued Gozaburo. "-I'll inflict 600 points of damage to your life points, Diablon!"

Ancient Gear Hunting Hound immediately fired a blast at Diablon... It hit him, but the demon didn't flinch from the damage, at all (LP: 2400).

"Pathetic..." he muttered in a low, cruel, cold tone.

Over at the Dark Extractor...

"Thomas..." whispered Emily to herself.

"Anakin..." came from the voice of Anastasia.

Back in the duel field, everything was about to become even worse... Gozaburo had taken and readied two cards from his hand, and an evil smile was creeping onto his face.

"This is it, Diablon-" The evil man began, speaking in triumph. "-you're about to witness the construction of the most powerful Ancient Gear monster in the world!"

Diablon only spat onto the floor in disgust. On cue, Ancient Gear Golem and a monster called Ancient Gear Box both appeared on the field beside Ancient Gear Hunting Hound...

"I fuse my Ancient Gear Hunting Hound with Ancient Gear Golem and Ancient Gear Box!" boomed Gozaburo. "This new machine will be unlike anything you've ever faced in the past!"

All three monsters fell apart into a pile of junk, but quickly began to rebuild together into something new as Gozaburo spoke a summon chant...

" _ **From the piles of salvation, build together to create a creature of unstoppable might and crush your foes into nothingness**_!"

The construction was soon finished...

" _ **FUSION SUMMON**_!" shouted Gozaburo. " _ **Enter the battle and crush my enemies - Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem**_!"

Towering over them was Ancient Gear Golem on what looked like two sets of legs (Level: 10/ATK: 4400 - 4900/DEF: 3400).

"Ultimate...Ancient Gear Golem..." whispered Spencer, looking worried.

Diablon snorted. "Nice monster... Unfortunately for you, it isn't a match for the legendary Dragon Master Knight."

"So you say..." mumbled Gozaburo.

"Huh?"

"What I have here-" The evil man continued, holding up a card. "-is something that will buff my monster's power to nearly unmatched levels..." He turned the card over and revealed it to be... "I activate Limiter Removal!"

Both Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon (ATK: 3500 - 7000) and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (ATK: 4900 - 9800) had their respective attack stats doubled.

"Wh-what?!" winced Diablon. "Your monsters' attack points doubled?!"

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Gozaburo. "Limiter Removal doubles the attack points of all my machine-type monsters at the cost of them being destroyed at the end phase, but I'm not worried about that... Once I attack, your Dragon Master Knight will meet its unfortunate end!"

Diablon cursed strongly.

"Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem-" commanded Gozaburo, entering the battle phase. "-destroy Dragon Master Knight, right here and now!"

Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, with its eyes flashing all red with anger and bloodlust, stood up and prepared to attack its target...

" **SUPER MECHANIZED MELEE**!"

Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem threw a punch towards Dragon Master Knight. Diablon, meanwhile, cursed yet again, knowing that he couldn't save his monster from being struck and destroyed. Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's fist eventually Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, destroying the dragon in an instant and causing Black Luster Soldier to cry out while falling to the ground and shattering into shards of glass upon hitting the ground.

"NOW DIE FOR THE COUNT!" thundered Gozaburo, before cackling insanely.

"Thomas!" cried Emily. "Spencer!"

Diablon and Spencer both didn't have time to react before the punch eventually came and struck both of them.

" **RRRRRRAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH**!"

The punch caused a huge explosion to cloud the other half of the field.

"Dragon Master Knight has been destroyed!" Gozaburo continued to laugh wickedly. "The most powerful monster in the whole world has been beaten by the great Gozaburo Gresley - ME!"

A pair of glowing red eyes suddenly appeared through the smoke...

"Now you've done it..." hissed the voice of Diablon.

Gozaburo looked up. "Huh?"

Slowly, the smoke began to fade and reveal a very miffed-looking Diablon.

"By destroying Dragon Master Knight while it's equipped with Supreme Wing-" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' went on. "-the final effect of Supreme Wing activates just like that! It will automatically destroy Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, and inflict damage to your life points based on Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's current attack power!"

Suddenly, the dark aura around Diablon morphed about and eventually created the silhouette of a demonic-looking dragon... It looked positively frightening!

"When this attack hits, YOU will be the one who loses and dies!"

With that said, the demonic-looking dragon gave a roar like no other and charged across the field, colliding with Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem and causing an explosion so much bigger than any kind of explosion made or seen by anyone in this world... Was this gonna be the one attack that would finally end the duel? Would Gozaburo finally meet his untimingly end, and would Thomas succeed in finally rescuing Emily? Well, that, I'm afraid, is a tale for another day...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	96. Heralding the Devil's Revival (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, all was finally quiet... although there was smoke coming from one part of the evil building...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room, Emily, still attached to the Dark Extractor, was trying to see through all of the thick smoke. She was rather amazed at how powerful the explosion from Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was...

"Such power..." The dark green-haired girl murmured. Soon she saw through some of the smoke and gasped... "Huh?!"

The throne room was shown to be badly damaged from the attack. The remains of the Court of Darkness were none too pleased with the results either...

"Our headquarters!" complained Earl of Demise.

"Our life's work... gone!" added Vampire Lady.

"Forget about your headquarters!" snapped Emily. "Just be thankful we're all still alive!"

"But what about Gozaburo, Lord Diablon, and Spencer?" asked Darkbishop Archfiend. "Have they managed to survive such an attack?"

Slowly, the smoke began to lift... Some of the faded smoke revealed that Diablon had returned to being a possessed Thomas.

"We win..."

More of the fading smoke revealed Spencer, who was breathing hard from the power of the big attack.

"Such... such power..." The silver-haired boy coughed.

The rest of the fading smoke revealed revealed Gozaburo...with his life points still untouched (LP: 4000).

"Impossible!" Thomas (possessed) exclaimed in complete shock. "You... you've survived the attack?!"

"You can thank my Supreme King's Throne Spell card's final ability." said Gozaburo, just as the mentioned face-up Continuous Spell card faded away in a blue streak. "By sacrificing it, I was able to negate any kind of damage I might have taken this turn and move the battle phase directly to the end phase."

Just then, the Ancient Gear Golem monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"And now for Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's ability!" The evil man continued. "When it's destroyed at anytime, I can special summon the original Ancient Gear Golem from the Graveyard in its place while ignoring the summoning conditions."

The giant robot reappeared and stood ready for battle (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 3000). From there, due to the second effect of the Limiter Removal Spell card, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon selfdestructed.

"Because we're at the end phase, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon is automatically destroyed by Limiter Removal's second effect. But, now both of you have Ancient Gear Golem to handle again..."

"Only this time-" Spencer pointed out. "-you can't replenish any more battle damage you take. That means once we make our attacks, you'll be defeated!"

"Ha ha ha ha! Good luck with doing just that!" laughed Gozaburo.

With that said, Spencer looked to his hand. He knew he needed to make this draw count, and bring Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon back to the field...

"I draw!" The silver-haired boy announced, drawing a card while performing a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Title: Heralding the Devil's Revival, Part 3**

* * *

"I draw!" Spencer announced, drawing a card while performing a Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 1500)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (7): Maiden with Eyes of Blue, Shrink, Attack Guidance Barrier, Dragon's Rage, Tyrant Wing, Different Dimension Dragon, and Monster Reborn

* * *

Spencer's hand contained Maiden with Eyes of Blue, Shrink, Attack Guidance Barrier, Dragon's Rage, Tyrant Wing, Different Dimension Dragon, and the drawn Monster Reborn. With the drawn card in his hand, Spencer began to snicker quietly before laughing loud and long (plus like a villain), much to Gozaburo's confusion.

"This proves it! Whenever I'm about to lose the duel, I always draw exactly what I need!"

With that said, the silver-haired boy held out his newly drawn card as it began shining all white.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" announced Spencer. "Be reborn - Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

On cue, the three-headed Blue-Eyes White Dragon reappeared with a loud, menacing roar. Not being done just yet, Spencer took and slotted yet another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate Shrink!" continued Spencer, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field. "Upon activation, I can select a monster on the field and halve its attack points for the rest of the turn!"

Almost immediately, Ancient Gear Golem grew much weaker than from before (ATK: 3500 - 1750).

"With your monster now being weaker, you'll receive MUCH more damage than normal!"

Now in the battle phase, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon began charging up a three-way blast...

"NEUTRON BLAST ATTACK!" commanded Spencer.

The triple-way blast was fired, striking and destroying Ancient Gear Golem within seconds. Was Gozaburo even worried about losing heavy life points from the attack (LP: 1250)? Don't bet on it...

"Are you quite finished?" he questioned boredly. "I found that attack of yours to be rather pointless."

Scowling, Spencer took and slotted two more cards into his Duel Disk.

"Tch! I place two cards facedown and end my turn..."

Two facedown cards (Dragon's Rage and Tyrant Wing) materialized on the field. Thomas (possessed), meanwhile, was about to draw a card when his hand stopped, mid-draw, and he started clutching the sides of his head while wincing in pain.

"Noooo!" The possessed blue-haired boy panicked. "Not now...!"

"Fight it, Billinton!" called Spencer, knowing that Diablon was attempting to resume control of Thomas's body once more. "You CAN ward off the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' and his dark influence!"

Still in pain, Thomas (possessed) was able to shrug it off long enough to draw a card. Upon seeing what he drew, however...

"No... Not this card!"

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (7): Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Ancient Rules, Dark Magician, Pot of Greed, Warlock Medicines, Kuriboh, and Dark Eradicator Warlock

* * *

Thomas's (possessed) drawn card was shown to be the Dark Eradicator Warlock monster card... It was the exact same card the blue-haired boy had used to defeat Vampire Lord in their first duel... It was also one of the ace monsters of Diablon himself...

"I... I can't...play this!" grimaced Thomas (possessed). "It's too...evil!"

Struggling with himself, the possessed blue-haired boy found it harder and harder to resist tempation... Fortunately, he managed to select and play a different card instead...

"Go - Ancient Rules!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field, just as Thomas (possessed) selected and placed another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"This Spell card allows me to special summon one level 5 or higher normal monster directly from my hand." The possessed blue-haired boy explained, still wincing hard while trying to resist the darkness. "And I choose to special summon Dark Magician!"

The mighty purple-haired, male spellcaster appeared onto the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100). Unfortunately, Dark Magician grew extremely worried when he saw that his master/friend beginning to struggle with himself once more... Sadly, being worried had to wait...

"Attack Gozaburo's life points directly with Dark Magic Attack!" ordered Thomas (possessed) painfully.

Dark Magician, after a few seconds, obeyed the command by twirling his scepter about before charging a blast of black magic and preparing to finish the duel here and now! ...well, it would have been all over had there not been yet another set card to deal with...

"You must really love triggering my Trap cards, don't you?" teased Gozaburo, just as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Unfinished Ancient Gear allows me to special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my hand to the field with half of its original attack stats. Best of all? The attacked monster cannot be destroyed by battle!"

Appearing onto the field was a machine hydra-like monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2700 - 1350 - 1850/DEF: 850). Dark Magician, meanwhile, fired off a blast of black magic from his scepter.

"Try as you might, your attack will never get through to me!"

The magical blast struck the monster, but Ancient Gear Hydra merely shrugged it off like it was nothing to it.

"Nice try-" taunted Gozaburo (LP: 1250). "-but my life points are still safe from your pitiful attacks."

Thomas (possessed) grew far angrier, but that anger only caused more darkness to surround and making him cry out in agony.

"Billinton!" cried Spencer. "Don't give up!"

Just then...

"Daddy, fight it... Please!" called the voice of a familiar little girl.

"Ani, we know you can succeed!" added the voice of Anastasia.

Thomas (possessed) looked up in surprise when he heard the voices. "Iris...? Anastasia...?"

Indeed so... Standing by the Dark Extractor was the spirit of the brown-haired young girl (Iris) herself. But that wasn't all... Emily, who was still trapped, had also awakened herself once again, with her eyes glowing a gentle blue color being the big clue...

"You must let go of your anger!" insisted Emily (possessed).

"End this madness!" begged Iris. "We can all be a family again!"

"What's going on?!" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Is it possible that Emily had somehow allowed the dead spirit of Anastasia to possess her and talk with Thomas?" questioned Earl of Demise.

"And this brown-haired little girl is the spirit of her and Anakin's unborn daughter?" added Vampire Lady. "How interesting... Shall we see where this will lead to?"

Back in the duel field, Thomas (possessed) had begun struggling with all his might to resist Diablon fighting for control of the body once again. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as one may think...

"Ani!" screamed Emily (possessed).

"Daddy!" screamed Iris.

"Billinton!" screamed Spencer.

Thomas (possessed) only continued gripping onto the sides of his head (much harder than ever before, too), and was even crying out in extreme pain as he began to suffer a flashback of some sort...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Inside a tent within an encampment, Diablon slammed his fist onto a table out of anger.

"DAMN YOU, AUTRAIUS!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' screamed out. "My beautiful coliseum has been...ruined, and now sunk to the bottom of the waters...!"

Diablon was seething hard over the destruction of his personal coliseum, and now he was thinking of how to exact his revenge against that young warrior, Autraius. Standing nearby were members of the Court of Darkness...

"We must find and get revenge on him." said Vampire Lord, walking over and sitting down at the table.

"But how?" questioned Witty Phantom. "How can we get payback on the great hero of this land?"

"His friends, that's who!"

"His friends?" quizzed Earl of Demise.

"Please explain, Vampire Lord." pressured Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Autraius has his own little group of friends that he cherishes so dearly." explained Vampire Lord. "If we could get to them, we could lure him out..."

"...and kill him." finished Diablon, realizing the plan. "An excellent idea, Vampire Lord."

The Court of Darkness leader smiled. "Thank you, sire..."

"Just one problem..." Earl of Demise spoke up. "Where do we even begin searching for Autraius's friends?"

"Hmm..." mused Witty Phantom. "If I seem to recall... Autraius has one friend in the name of Maiden of the Aqua..."

"I remember her." said Vampire Lady, hissing angrily. "She was the one who flooded the ruins of the coliseum... So, I say we hunt her down first..."

"Indeed so..." agreed Diablon, now smiling. "And I know where to find her..."

(elsewhere...)

In another part of the world, a now adult Maiden of the Aqua was with a small group of spellcaster-type monsters inside a local church.

"Let us pray..." began a monster named Chaos Command Magician.

The monsters all lowered their heads and began to pray around a shrine dedicated to the Gods of the land for safety of their loved ones and wishes of the war ending soon enough. It was going rather well, too... Well, at least until...

 ***BOOM!***

The entrance of the church was blown open by Diablon, and there was a small number of Summoned Skulls accompanying him.

"Ha ha ha, got room for one more prayer?!" laughed Diablon.

"The ' _ **Evil One**_ '!" cried a Magician of Faith.

"Here?!" came from a Mystical Elf.

One monster, Blast Magician, attempted to rush in and attack, but Diablon easily stopped him and gripped onto him by the throat, choking him slowly to death.

"I am not so easily stopped." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' teased sadistically.

"Please, leave Blast Magician alone!" begged Maiden of the Aqua. "What is it that you want from us?"

Diablon was about to speak up when...

"Huh?!"

"Anakin..." whispered Maiden of the Aqua, speaking with...Anastasia's voice. "Anakin, speak to me..."

Suddenly, Diablon started to see things... He actually thought Maiden of the Aqua was Anastasia... Anakin's long, dead wife...

"Anastasia...?" Diablon mumbled quietly, still looking at Maiden of the Aqua. "Is that-?"

"Huh?" quizzed Chaos Command Magician. "Who are you speaking of? Anastasia? She's been dead for almost two years, along with her husband Anakin!"

Diablon, still choking Blast Magician, continued to use his ever present rage to burn away the memories of the past, but the charred husks of the past clung to the forefront of his consciousness...

Anastasia...

He rarely allowed himself to think her name! Diablon's recollection of the name of the woman he once loved dredged few memories from the sludge of his distant past another name he rarely thought of anymore bobbed up in the sea of memories. The name of the young man he once was, the name of the child who failed to save his wife and their unborn baby from death...

Anakin...

Diablon's rage slipped his control at the thought of the black-haired boy's name, and he squeezed the Blast Magician's neck so hard that it snapped, killing the wizard. His breath came hard, fast, and loud. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' soon released the now deceased Blast Magician from his grip, with his lifeless body disappearing in a flash of light (which Diablon did not even see or even pay any attention to). Diablon then turned his rage towards Chaos Command Magician for resurfacing the haunting memories of his wife's death...

" **DAMN YOU**!"

He unleashed a fierce, wrathful roar and lunged forth in attempt to eliminate the bastard who dared to mess with his mind. Just as the demon was about to try and kill Chaos Command Magician, however, the sorcerer-like monster raised his staff and fired a magical blast directly at the scar on Diablon's chest. Once the blast hit, Diablon felt a sharp numbness envelop his entire body. He dropped onto the floor and began to feel an excruciating pain within all of his internal organs, cutting off all of his oxygen supply, rendering him in a breathless pain-induced trance.

"Do not underestimate the powers of magic." Chaos Command Magician warned, lowering his staff. "I've had this particular magical spell in preparation ever since you first appeared in this world. This particular spell is one that I swore would never be used by my own hands... A spell that not only renders the body in a paralyzed state, but also slowly permeates through to the bodies most vital interior organs, within minutes melting each and every one of them while blocking off any of the precious oxygen required until the body is dead."

Diablon tried to move his body, but there was no chance, the spell was slowing burning away at his insides as he suffocated from the heavy loss of precious air to his lungs...

"I didn't want to use it." continued Chaos Command Magician. "It was entirely possible that I could have been killed in this war before I could be able to encounter you. But it seems I was overly concerned about your power, and I could have immobilized you easily should you have come across me. You were NEVER a threat to me, Diablon, and now you will never be a threat to anyone else in this world... Now, just await the slow and painful embrace of death..."

As Chaos Command Magician rested his hand on Diablon's hand, he turned to his fellow spellcaster-type monsters (including Maiden of the Aqua).

"Proceed to spread the word back home. The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' is no longer a threat to anyone in our fair land..."

As the sorcerer-like monster was speaking to his allies, the paralyzed and suffocating Diablon was beginning to have a strange hallucination of his past...

(hallucination...)

Diablon found himself right back inside the castle just after Anastasia had been murdered by her Father and died in Anakin's arms, thus causing the poor black-haired boy's anger and grief to spiral him into insanity with the loss of his wife and unborn child. The King briefly realized what he had done before shaking the feeling and instead blaming Anakin for his daughter's death when it was he who killed his own flesh and blood.

"No, I didn't..." Anakin mumbled darkly. The black-haired boy gazed at his ' _King_ ' in blind rage. " **YOU** did! If it hadn't been for your tyranny, Anastasia and I could have had a wonderful life together! Now it will never happen, and it's all your fault!" Immediately, Anakin's anger had reached its breaking point as he fell into insanity. "YOU WILL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!"

Anastasia's Father reeled back in shock, but anger then burned in his blood and he tried to kill Anakin once more. However, Anakin easily dodged the blow and instead fatally impaled the King through the throat with a sword, killing him.

"My husband!" screamed the Queen, watching helplessly as Anakin immediately pulled the weapon out, and the King, with a dying gargle as he got choked full with blood, collapsed facedown on the floor before turning to light...and vanishing.

The Blade Knights recovered from their shock and were angrily prepared to avenge their King when the Queen's voice stopped them.

"Stop!"

The Blade Knights did as they told as Anastasia's Mother ran towards Anakin, but...

"Stay back!" The black-haired boy ordered. The Queen stopped in shock when she heard the dark tone in Anakin's voice. "If you had any common sense or authority, you would sentence me to execution right now!"

The Queen was speechless... She could never bring herself to do something like that! But one of the Blade Knights immediately used this as an opportunity to strike Anakin and kill him where he stood. He charged forth and stabbed his sword into Anakin's stomach, killing the insane boy... However, instead of turning into light and fading away, Anakin turned into a dark liquid-like substance and formed into a puddle of sort on the ground.

"Anakin!" screamed the Queen once again, falling to her knees in despair. In mere moments, she had lost her entire family—her daughter, her husband, and the servant she loved and treated like a son. "Anakin, my boy..."

"Forgive me, Your Highness." said the Blade Knight with regret. "But it had to be done... He was far too dangerous and powerful to be kept alive."

Suddenly, from the puddle of darkness, a familiar, yet different figure began to emerge.

"What's going on?!" exclaimed the Queen. The answer came when the figure fully emerged from the darkness. "A-Anakin...?"

A mixture between a human and demon with a grey and bulky body, with spikes protruding from various parts of the body, large pair of black demonic wings sprouting from his back, veiny face, wing-like appendages for ears and crimson glowing eyes. It was Anakin's other form, Diablon.

"I need not imagine being more powerful." Diablon mumbled quietly. From there he raised his hands and released powerful streams of darkness at the Queen and Blade Knights all around him, sending them hurtling through the castle walls and killing them instantly. "I am more powerful with every step I take away from those who dare to stand in my way."

"NNNNNOOOOO!"

As Diablon had begun walking away, a voice cried out to him. He turned around and from the destroyed wall he could he his former and younger self... Anakin standing behind and stopping him in his tracks.

"You killed them!" Anakin shouted in anger and hatred.

Diablon, however, showed no surprise or shock at seeing his former self before him. He strictly kept a calm and stoic expression, as Anakin surged towards him and the two engaged in a fierce battle that lead through to the outside of the castle. They kept exchanging blow after blow, refusing to leave an opening for one another. They seemed to be even matched until Diablon waited until the last second in order to strike Anakin and slice him in half, severing his legs! As Anakin laid helplessly in pain, agony, and defeat before Diablon, blood pouring from his severed legs, he looked up at his other form.

"How could you do this?" The young black-haired boy whispered.

Diablon grabbed his arm and dragged Anakin like a child through the dirt, leading to the water-filled moat.

"You were nothing but a child." replied Diablon in a cold tone. From there, he threw the legless Anakin into the moat. "I am well accustomed to killing children."

As Anakin hit the water he gave one last cry of anger and hatred of his other self. " **I hate you**!" With no legs to help him swim back up, Anakin sunk like a rock in the water. As Diablon turned and walked away, leaving his former self to drown in the moat...

"Turn back, Ani..."

Diablon stopped in his tracks yet again. The voice the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' heard, he recognized it instantly... He thought it couldn't be possible... The demon turned his head around... and saw a vision of his one and only love... His wife, Anastasia, stood behind him.

"Stay with me." pleaded Anastasia.

Diablon was silent. In what little remained of his heart, he truly wanted to return to his wife's side and be with her forever, but that was impossible. She was dead. The person before him was merely a vision of the woman he loved so much. Anastasia could never rule beside him as his Supreme Queen.

"No." Diablon simply said.

"Anakin..." Anastasia couldn't believe that her husband refused her. "You don't need to go on. It can be over. You know you want to leave."

"It... It's too late... my love..."

Then, Diablon suddenly cried out and lunged his arm forward, and stabbed Anastasia right through her chest!

"Ani!" The brunette-haired young woman spluttered, as her, now demon, husband had impaled her as her life-force began to diminish.

About to die, Anastasia could faintly hear Diablon's voice speaking some more...

"Anakin is dead... I have killed him." He retracted his arm from his wife's chest, now covered in her blood.

Anastasia, mortally wounded, again, without any breath and wide eyes had just enough strength left to raise her hand and gently stroke her husband's scarred and scaled face...

"T-There's...still...good...in...you... Ani." The poor brunette-haired young woman finally collapsed into his chest and turned into light and faded away...

(end hallucination...)

Outside of Diablon's trance, the paralyzed demon suddenly began to twitch and move before Chaos Command Magician who froze him with his magic. Astonished, the spellcaster-type monsters all noticed and stepped back in fear.

"What?! You're still under my Spell! How?" Chaos Command Magician was even more confused when he heard Diablon mumbling something about someone called Anakin (who Chaos Command Magician mentioned mere seconds ago), claiming he had killed him. "Huh? What-?"

At last, Diablon had risen to full height. Upon opening his eyes, they were no longer shown to be the crimson red that symbolized rage and hatred... Instead, they were now a terrifying luminous golden yellow that symbolized pure madness.

"Impossible! Y-Y-You should be dead!" cried Chaos Command Magician, looking and becoming deeply afraid.

Within seconds, Diablon violently struck his arm through the heart of the being who thought he could control or kill him. As Diablon used the darkness and his will to eliminate the effects of Chaos Command Magician's magical spell, he looked towards the dead magician and said one thing...

"Nothing is impossible for darkness..."

Unfortunately for the ' _ **Evil One**_ ', this moment of distraction and madness had allowed the remaining group (including Maiden of the Aqua) to safely escape.

"Where did they go? No... No!" he whispered in disbelief. Before long, Diablon gazed up into the sky... " **NNNNNNOOOOOO**!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas (possessed) kept his down down, shadows covering his eyes, and remaining absolutely silent.

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer.

"Ani..." whispered Emily (possessed).

"Daddy..." whispered Iris.

Slowly, the possessed blue-haired boy began to raise his head. Spencer, Emily (possessed), and Iris each began to smile and think that their words and pleading had worked! ...but, I'm afraid it didn't work per say, at all...

"Nobody...can...control...me..."

From there, Thomas (possessed) gazed upward as he screamed once more in extreme pain and the aura of darkness forming around him grew more and more powerful until it exploded yet again.

 ***BOOM!***

"Thomas!" called Spencer.

"Anakin!" exclaimed Emily (possessed).

"Daddy!" wailed Iris.

"There's no ' **Thomas** ', ' **Anakin** ', or ' **Daddy** ' anymore!" The ' _returned_ ' Diablon declared, just as the purple fog. "There is now only Diablon, the Supreme King!" He took and placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I offer the worthless Dark Magician to call forth one of my most loyal of monsters!"

Dark Magician was suddenly engulfed in a sphere of darkness. The purple-haired, male spellcaster was soon crying out in pain as he felt the darkness from Diablon entering his heart and overwhelming him to the bone...

"Arise - Dark Eradicator Warlock!"

Appearing from the dark mist was the familiar red and black, evil version of the Dark Magician (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"Dark Eradicator Warlock...?" whispered Spencer.

"And it'll be him that wins me this duel!" declared Diablon. "For you see, every time a Normal Spell card is activated, Dark Eradicator Warlock will inflict 1000 points of damage to my opponent when the Spell card's effect is resolved! So, Gozaburo Gresley, this is where you finally die once and for all!"

With that said, the Pot of Greed Spell card suddenly materialized face-up on the field.

"I begin with the Spell card Pot of Greed!"

Diablon drew two cards from his deck. With the effect resolved, Dark Eradicator Warlock's scepter started glowing and pulsating.

"And now, Dark Eradicator Warlock, it's time for your special ability!" commanded Diablon. "Strike down Gozaburo Gresley!"

Dark Eradicator Warlock was more than happy to obey the command from his master... He raised his charged scepter and fired off an extremely powerful magic blast towards Gozaburo. The evil man was struck in his chest, causing him to scream in pain and even cough up blood (LP: 250). Even then, Gozaburo smiled big when he recovered from the strike...

"I'm not gonna die alone... This is where one of my newest weapons comes in..." The evil man mumbled, just as his final set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate a Trap card - Ancient Gear Chain Reaction(!)!"

Suddenly, Dark Eradicator Warlock started charging a second magical blast from his scepter... This time, he was aiming towards...Spencer!

"What's going on?!" demanded Diablon.

"Ancient Gear Chain Reaction is a Continuous Trap card where, if I receive any kind of life point damage made by an effect monster, I can make the opponent take the same amount of damage!" explained Gozaburo, before looking towards his ' _favorite_ ' Grandson in a menacing way. "And the one person who will take the damage along with me...is Spencer!"

Dark Eradicator Warlock unleashed the magical blast, striking Spencer in his chest and sending him flying back into a pillar while he screamed in agony (LP: 500). The silver-haired boy slammed into the pillar so hard that it crumbled into debris while also severely injuring him.

"Do you dare attack again?" teased Gozaburo. "You can kill me off if you would like to... Hell, it could even revive your dead friends! ...but by doing so, you could end up killing Spencer in the process."

Diablon said nothing at first. Eventually, he started clutching his head in pain while falling to his knees.

"N-No! I won't... I won't give this body up!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' wailed in agony. "I... I'm in control! I... I..."

"As you can see, Diablon-" Gozaburo continued. showing that he had no cards in his hand. "-I'm completely unarmed. So, go right ahead - kill me. Strike me down with all of your hatred and anger, so that your revival will be complete!" He then gave one of the most demented, sadistic-looking smiles ever seen. "GO ON! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! KILL ME, **NOW**!"

Diablon gripped his head and screamed in agonizing pain and fury. Spencer, however, was not gonna let his friend/rival do something he would forever regret later on.

"Don't listen to him, Thomas!" The silver-haired boy called out, speaking to Thomas—not Diablon/Anakin. "Killing him or me isn't going to bring your friends back! Don't go down the path I went down, or you could end up losing yourself forever!"

Alas...

"N-No...!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' boomed, still struggling to resist. "Gozaburo... He must pay the price... as well as those who stand in my way!" Diablon then stood back up and readied a card from his hand... "With this one card, I shall eliminate those who dare to challege me!" A dark, psychotic smile appeared on his face. "I activate-"

"STOP, THOMAS/ANAKIN!" screamed the voices of Emily and Anastasia.

"DADDY, DON'T DO IT!" screamed the voice of Iris.

Diablon heard the voice and softened up a bit.

"Emily? Anastasia? Iris?"

Over at the Dark Extractor, Emily (possessed) and Iris both had finally had enough, and were trying to reach out to their husband and Father respectively.

"You must let go of your anger!" insisted Emily (possessed). "You can't do this! It's all wrong!"

"By doing so-" added Iris, coming dangerous close to crying. "-you're playing into the hands of the Court of Darkness!"

Diablon immediately looked at both Iris and the possessed dark green-haired girl and, instead of seeing as a merely awakened Emily, instead saw her as his long dead wife (Anastasia).

"Please stop!" Anastasia begged tearfully. "Let go of your anger!"

"This isn't right!" Iris added to that. "Two wrongs don't make a right. Come back to me and Mommy! Please, Daddy!"

"But... But if I don't do this-" protested Diablon, speaking with Anakin's voice. "-then the Court of Darkness will never pay for what they have done..."

After another moment of grimacing in pain...

"Shut up! I'm in control, now!" bellowed Diablon in his own voice. "And I-!"

Suddenly, he gripped his head in pain and collapsed onto his knees once more... It would seem either Anakin or Thomas was fighting from within the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' to retake control of the body.

"NO! STOP IT! I CAN'T-!"

"I know you can do it, Anakin!" Emily (possessed) encouraged. "Fight your evil and find the light from within!"

Finally, Diablon felt the evil leaving his heart as his eyes went from crimson red to normal blue. Spencer watched on with a completely surprised look on his face...

"It's working..." The silver-haired boy thought to himself. "Emily's feelings for Thomas, and Iris' love for her own Father are returning him to normal... Keep it up, you two!"

Keeping it up Emily (possessed) and Iris both did...

"You have to stay strong, Anakin AND Thomas!" encouraged Emily (possessed), speaking as Emily rather than Anastasia. "Everything WILL be fine. We will eventually get to go back home. Our friends who have died WILL come back!" She then spoke as Anastasia... "We can start a new life... One with peace and harmony!"

"You, me, and Mommy can finally live together as a true family!" added Iris. "Fight it, Daddy! FIGHT IT!"

Vampire Lady, Earl of Demise, and Darkbishop Archfiend each had hoped that Lord Diablon would be able to fight and keep control of the body. Alas, their hopes were soon dashed... Why? Because Diablon's skin color was starting to change color from gray and scaled—back into normal, human flesh. While Thomas still remained in an awakened state, he was still no longer Diablon... And that happened to be a very good thing for Spencer, Emily (possessed), and Iris! ...well, all except for the remains of the Court of Darkness and a certain evil man who was still in the duel...

"No... Diablon has disappeared again..." Gozaburo thought to himself, looking around for a possible solution. "I must find a way to...draw him back out!"

Meanwhile, Thomas (possessed) began to look around the whole throne room in confusion. What had he been doing? What was going on?

"What...happened...?" asked Thomas (possessed).

Spencer smiled. "Looks like Emily and Iris both have succeeded..."

Just then...

"YOU!" thundered the voice of Gozaburo, causing Spencer to become surprised and look towards his Grandfather. Gozaburo was glaring at both Emily (possessed) and the spirit of Iris in pure hatred. "How dare you both try to ruin my plans?!"

"We won't let you corrupt Thomas into darkness!" argued Emily (possessed). "He was destined to destroy it!"

"You have no right to make him suffer like that, you monster!" added Iris.

"Grrr! I'll teach you both from ruining my hard work!" snarled Gozaburo, before turning to the remaining Court of Darkness members. "You three! Make Emily and the little brat both suffer for ruining everything! Attack them for all I care!"

"H-Have you gone mad?!" cried Vampire Lady, sounding surprised. "If we do, the boy will surely awaken again and-"

"DO IT NOW, DAMN YOU!"

Reluctantly, the remained Court of Darkness members did as they were told and began to punch Emily in any spot they could hit... Face, stomach, chest, etc.. Emily (possessed) cried out in pain for every strike inflicted upon her.

"Leave my Mommy alone!" shrieked Iris, trying to stop the Court of Darkness members.

Her attempts to save Emily (possessed) only got her smacked aside by Earl of Demise. Weakened, Iris was forced to fade away for now... Unfortunately, hearing the cries of pain and seeing his friend and love interest in mortal peril was very bad for Thomas (possessed)...

"STOP IT!" roared Thomas (possessed) in anger. The darkness was again coming back to him, but was stronger than from before. "I've lost her once, and I am not about to lose her again!"

Nearby, Gozaburo started to laugh creepily as looked towards the seething Thomas (possessed) with (again) quite possibly the most demented smile on his face while his eyes flashed all golden yellow from the darkness coming from The Field of Dark Graves.

"Ah ha ha ha ha! That's what I like to see from you, boy... Anger... Hatred... The likes of which are a recipe for true, endless darkness..." The evil man then looked to the remaining Court of Darkness members... "Hurt the girl even harder!"

And hurt harder the Court of Darkness did attempt... But before they could even lay one more hand on Emily...

"I SAID **STOP IT**!"

The aura of darkness around Thomas exploded, creating a huge purple smoke cloud. Once the smoke cleared, Diablon was shown to have returned yet again, and he was beyond **pissed** off.

"I...will...KILL YOU!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' screamed at the top of his voice. On cue, Diablon slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell card Warlock Medicines!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"As I control Dark Eradicator Warlock-" explained Diablon, as his life points went up (LP: 600). "-I gain 500 life points right away!"

Emily (possessed), despite being further wounded, watched on in horror at what was about to happen...

"And because a Normal Spell card was used, Dark Eradicator Warlock's effect activates!" She then started screaming and struggling while speaking in both Emily and Anastasia's voices at once. "STOP, PLEASE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS, TOMMY/ANI!"

But Diablon completely ignored the possessed dark green-haired girl's double pleas and protests.

"Thomas and Anakin are both dead!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' pointed out. "There is now only Diablon, the Supreme King!" He then looked to the rest of the Court of Darkness. "And as for you three... Once I've killed both Gozaburo and Spencer, I am going to do the same to the rest of you, as well!"

"What?! But, my lord!" protested Vampire Lady, sounding very shocked. "Y-You can't destroy us! We are your most devoted servants! We have arranged all of this for your return!"

"BE SILENT!" bellowed Diablon, scaring the female member of the Court of Darkness. "There has been a change in the plans - I will now be ruling this whole world alone as its new King! ...and Anastasia will rule by my side as Queen!" He then smirked darkly. "Quite the fitting pair, wouldn't you agree? The King of Darkness and the Queen of Light."

"Billinton, you have to stop this now!" exclaimed Spencer. "This isn't-"

"I TOLD YOU THAT THOMAS IS DEAD!" Diablon shouted once more, before turning his attention to his only monster. "Dark Eradicator Warlock, unleash your horrifying power and destroy all who oppose me!"

Dark Eradicator Warlock obeyed, charging his scepter, and fired off another powerful blast towards both Gozaburo AND Spencer (thanks to the former's face-up Trap card) in an attempt to finish them off. While Spencer could only watch helplessly, Gozaburo only watched the magic ripple closing in on him with an insane smile on his face.

"I've done my part..." The evil man thought to himself. "Diablon has...resurfaced!"

Just before the killing blows could connect either player, a new, but familiar, voice was then heard...

"I activate the Trap card Restraining Sword of Impact!"

Many, many magical swords were fired from a shadowed area towards a very shocked Diablon, who was NOT expecting to see something like that.

"What the fu-?!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' began to say, but never finished (thankfully).

The swords forced Diablon into a nearby wall in midair, pinning him to it and keeping him trapped there while screaming, cursing, and demanding to be released.

"This duel has gone far enough!" shouted a familiar voice (male).

Immediately, Airknight Parshath rushed into the throne room, much to Spencer and the Court of Darkness's surprise.

"Airknight Parshath?" thought Spencer to himself.

Suddenly, all the holograms faded away (except for the swords from Binding Sword of Impact, which kept Diablon at bay). Because Binding Sword of Impact was an illegal card, the duel was automatically terminated...

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Inconclusive**

* * *

"You! Why did you stop the duel?!" demanded Gozaburo, angry that his plan had failed. "I was THIS close to winning!"

Airknight Parshath said nothing... He instead turned and glared at the evil man with anger burning in his blood... For the sake of Emily, for the sake of Anastasia, for the sake of Wingweaver, for the sake of Thomas and Anakin... Gozaburo and the Court of Darkness would pay for their evil deeds!


	97. Long Live the Supreme Queen (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the Castle of Dark Illusions throne room, Airknight Parshath was glaring at his former comrades in pure hatred for everything they've done throughout.

"This is the end." he said firmly, readying his sword. "I will not allow any of you to turn Emily into a new vessal for the ' _ **Evil One**_ '!"

The shock from the remains of the Court of Darkness quickly wore off as they became quite angry with the sight of their former ally...

"Ha! You've made a big mistake in returning to this place!" sneered Earl of Demise.

"The only mistake I made was turning to the dark side in the first place!" declared Airknight Parshath. "A mistake that Emily has opened my eyes to, and now I shall repay her in kind!"

Raising his sword, the centaur-like monster brought the weapon down...

 ***SLASH!***

...and cut the straps around Emily's body, freeing her from the Dark Extractor device.

"Parshath... you've come for me?" Emily asked in a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Yes, I have." confirmed Airknight Parshath, smiling at his new ally. "You've rescued me from my darkness and shown me the light... Now I'm here to return the favor."

The dark green-haired girl smiled back. "Thank you."

The Court of Darkness gathered around Emily and Airknight Parshath.

"You think this is over just because you saved the girl?" asked Vampire Lady.

"We have you outnumbered!" added Earl of Demise.

"When we're finished with you, Gozaburo will complete the task of reviving our lord and master!" finished Darkbishop Archfiend. "Then this whole world will be within our grasp!"

Just then...

"That won't be necessary..." cut in the voice of Gozaburo.

Emily, Airknight Parshath, Vampire Lady, Earl of Demise, and Darkbishop Archfiend all looked to where the voice came from. Over with Spencer; the injured silver-haired boy looked to where his Grandfather was standing...

"What are you saying?" questioned Earl of Demise.

"I'm saying that I don't need the girl." said Gozaburo, taking out a remote control from his coat pocket. "Nor do I need the aid of any of you three, now!"

With the press of a button, the remaining Court of Darkness members (including Airknight Parshath, who also threw Emily out of the way just in time) found themselves trapped inside glass containments.

"W-What is the meaning of this, Gozaburo?!" demanded Darkbishop Archfiend.

"Let us out of here!" ordered Earl of Demise.

The evil man laughed. "Don't you all get it? This had been my plan the entire time!"

"What plan?!" hissed Vampire Lady.

"The Field of Dark Graves, that's what! What none of you ever realized was that it not only enhanced the dark minds of the monsters played in a duel, but it also adds more and more darkness to the person who plays that very card!"

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The first scene showed Darkbishop Archfiend activating The Field of Dark Graves against Mavis; followed by a scene of Earl of Demise playing The Field of Dark Graves against Stanley and Rosie; and finally a scene of Vampire Lady playing The Field of Dark Graves against James.

"I had upgraded each of your decks to take full advantage of my card." narrated Gozaburo. "I knew it would increase the darkness of your hearts, thus making you all more and more useful to me when the time came to take your darkness for myself."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end, and Gozaburo was walking closer and closer to the machine.

"Although it's a shame that Vampire Lord isn't here anymore-" The evil man went on. "-his darkness would have been more than enough to satisfy me."

"What're you going to do with us?!" demanded Airknight Parshath.

"As I've just said, I'm going to use your darkness make me the most powerful man that ever lived!" declared Gozaburo, making everyone else gasp in shock. "That's right; I'm going to use the Dark Extractor on myself! With my new power, I can simply destroy the real world and rule this one as a God!"

"But then why did you say you wanted the girl to be the new vessel for Lord Diablon?" questioned Earl of Demise. "It makes absolutely no sense!"

"I only said that so that you wouldn't grow suspicious of my true intentions. I never wanted her for her darkness at all! I was just using her as bait to bring the boy here—whom I no longer have any use or desire for, either! I have all the darkness I need, now!"

Once close enough to his invention, Gozaburo immediately took off his coat and shirt before strapping three tubes into his chest... He had a sinister smile on his face throughout the whole sequence.

"Now... Instead of ' _worshipping_ ' a powerful entity-" he declared. "-I can ' _become_ ' one!"

"No! Don't do it!" begged Emily, rushing forth.

Gozaburo sneered. "Keep out of this!"

He immediately backhanded the dark green-haired girl aside, before smiling once again and pressing a few buttons on his device. Diablon, meanwhile, had returned to being Thomas (possessed) once more and was continuing to struggle with breaking free from the swords from Airknight Parshath's illegal Trap card.

"Let me out!" The possessed blue-haired boy kept demanding and ranting. "Let me out of here, right now!"

Back over with Gozaburo; the evil man had finally finished typing in the coding to begin the process of draining the remaining Court of Darkness members of their darkness and add it to the amount of darkness his machine already had from everyone else he had captured.

"The time has come... This will give me all the power I'll ever need!"

With the flip of a switch, the machine started to activate and cause each of the glass containments containing Vampire Lady, Earl of Demise, Darkbishop Archfiend, and Airknight Parshath started to react and such.

"You... you double-crosser!" cried Vampire Lady.

"What's going on?!" came from Darkbishop Archfiend.

All three remaining Court of Darkness members found themselves glowing all purple, causing them to each scream in agonizing pain. In addition, the glass bulb at the top of each containment was filling with purple gas of some sort. Although Airknight Parshath didn't have any darkness in his heart, he was still glowing all purple and crying out in agony from the torture.

"Parshath!" exclaimed Emily, running towards the containment that had her friend trapped inside and banging on the glass in a fit of desperation. "Parshath!"

The bulbs were nearing their capacity, and Gozaburo immediately pressed a button on the device. Within seconds, the purple gas flowed through sets of tubes and into the Dark Extractor itself.

"I'm nearly finished collecting the darkness..." The evil man thought to himself.

Soon, the machine stopped itself. The glass containments sunk back into the ground and released the trapped Duel Monsters. The worst bit is that they were all dying and fading away...

"Damn you..." groaned Earl of Demise.

"Your time will come..." wheezed Darkbishop Archfiend.

"You will forever regret betraying us...!" finished Vampire Lady.

From there, the remaining Court of Darkness members finally faded away into particles of darkness instead of light. While not dying immediately, Airknight Parshath was lying on the ground whilst mortally wounded.

"Parshath!" cried Emily, running over. "Oh no!"

Spencer began to slowly limp over. "I...can't believe it...!"

"Hmph!" huffed Gozaburo, pressing another button on his device. "I guess you don't have that darkness I need." He then pressed one more button whilst grinning. "Like it even matters... I now have all the darkness I ever need! Let's put it to good use, shall we?"

The purple gas (darkness) from the captives, along with all the humans and Duel Monsters that were previously captured, was now flowing through the tubes and being injected into Gozaburo himself. At first, nothing happened... But soon...

"RRRRAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" The evil man screamed in agonizing pain.

Suddenly, as his already dark heart began to grow more and more dark, Gozaburo's skin started to turn all gray and scaled, his face began to bulge and become demonic-like, and spikes began to painfully emerge from parts of his body.

"My God..." whispered Spencer in horror, due to watching this sequence.

"Oh!" Emily whimpered, turning away to not look at the terrifying scene.

Nobody wanted to see this...inhuman scene. The only one who continued to watch was Thomas (possessed)...

"How could he do... how could he do this to himself?"

Before long, the Dark Extractor stopped as the transformation was complete. Gozaburo immediately tore the tubes off his chest and looked at his hands in stunned silence.

"This is...me?" he whispered to himself. Gozaburo then turned and looked into a mirror nearby. "It... it is me..."

There was no shred of any kind of humanity left on the evil man's face... Instead, there was only a smile... And that power-hungry smile only continued to grow wider and more cruel as Gozaburo took great pleasure in rejoicing at his new form.

"Yes... YES!" Gozaburo boomed in triumph. "The power! The absolute...POWER! I've now become more powerful than even Diablon himself!"

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions, Gozaburo's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the whole building as it began to storm outside.

* * *

 **Title: Long Live the Supreme Queen, Part 1**

* * *

Back inside the throne room, Airknight Parshath slowly opened his eyes to look at Emily.

"A-Anastasia..."

Emily looked down at her friend. "No, it's Emily... Anastasia, she... she..."

"I know now..." The wounded centaur-like monster interrupted. "I... I had...turned to the darkness when I heard she and Anakin...were both killed... But now I... I..."

" _'I_ ' what?" quizzed Emily.

Airknight Parshath coughed. "Now I know that Diablon...was Anakin this entire time... And Anastasia... I know she now resides within your body and soul..."

"How did you know?"

Emily then gasped as Airknight Parshath suddenly, and slowly, took hold her left hand and held onto it for a few seconds.

"I can feel it... I can...feel Anastasia's presence inside of you..." whispered Airknight Parshath weakly. "I can also feel her listening...to our conversation... I've been freed of my darkness... I've made amends with...my fellow guardians at the...Sanctuary in the Sky... I'm happy...to have done so..."

Emily burst into tears. "Parshath... Please don't die..."

"This is...for the...best... But before I go, I have a...request..."

"Anything, name it!" The dark green-haired girl nodded, resisting the urge to sob.

"You and Anastasia are both the only ones who can save them... Thomas AND Anakin... You and Anastasia are both...the only ones who... who..."

"Parshath!" wailed Emily, shaking Airknight Parshath. "Stay with me! I'm the only who can what?!"

"You both are the only...ones who...can destroy the darkness and release Anakin and Thomas from their...inner demons..." Airknight Parshath barely blurted out. "And...I will lend you...what's left of...my power..."

"How?"

Airknight Parshath opened and exposed the palm of his right hand, just as it began to glow in an aura of gold as a card began to form from it.

"T-Take this...c-card." instructed the centaur-like monster.

Emily did as she was told. Suddenly, she felt her left arm glow as her Duel Disk and deck reappear.

"I beg of you..." continued Airknight Parshath, beginning to fade away into particles of light. "Save Thomas and...Anakin...! Do not...let their...darkness..."

Finally, Airknight Parshath closed his eyes and completely faded away. Devastated, Emily began to cry over the loss of her new friend, while Spencer, managing to limp over slowly, had a solemn look on his face.

"I guess at least one of them had good in them." The silver-haired boy thought to himself.

Pretty soon, after crying for a few minutes, the tear-strucken Emily took one look at her new monster card before taking and shuffling it into her deck. From there, she stood back up and felt herself awakening once more...

"This is unforgivable!" The possessed dark green-haired girl declared, just before turning to face now demonic Gozaburo. "Your actions have gone on far enough!"

"And what are you saying?" quizzed Gozaburo, although it was clear he already knew the answer.

"All of the innocent people and Duel Monsters you've captured and killed just to get access to their inner darkness... killing my friends in cold blood... torturing both Thomas and Anakin... murdering Airknight Parshath..."

"Huh! What's your point?" The evil man scoffed dismissively. "I don't care who I have to hurt or kill, just so long I get what I want in the end!"

"I'm going to make sure that you never hurt anyone in either world ever again!" declared Emily (possessed), activating her Duel Disk. "I—no... ' _we_ '—challenge you to a duel!"

"Emily, don't!" protested Spencer, starting to limp over. "You're not in any suitable dueling condition after all you've endured. Let ME fight this monster in your place!"

"BACK!" ordered Emily (possessed) sternly.

Spencer was very surprised at how different in tone Emily (possessed) was speaking towards him. The dark green-haired girl was usually very gentle and soft-spoken in normal situations not like this, but this time it was so much different... Her tone sounded commanding, fierce... It was as if she was slowly embracing her true nature as Anastasia.

"Gozaburo will fall at ' _our_ ' hands... He will face the Supreme Queen herself! ' _We_ ' are the only ones who can save Thomas and Anakin from the darkness!"

"Billinton has endured endless pain and suffering for the sake of rescuing you from my Grandfather!" Spencer continued to argue. "If you die, there's a chance-!"

"Duel challenge accepted." interrupted Gozaburo, activating his own Duel Disk. "I will enjoy testing my newly-gained power out on a weakling like you!"

"At least let me help you!" insisted Spencer, still speaking to Emily (possessed). "You'll never manage it alone!"

Just then, the silver-haired boy collapsed onto a knee while clutching his side in pain. Clearly, the previous duel had wounded him quite a bit...

"You're too injured to help me, Spencer." Emily (possessed) pointed out, turning to glare at her hated enemy. "Besides... this is my fight, and my fight alone."

With that said, she and Gozaburo both faced each other as their respective life point gauges lit up (LP: 4000) x2.

"DUEL!"

(elsewhere...)

Outside the Castle of Dark Illusions' front gates, Nathaniel had been dropped off by the spirit of Guardian Eatos.

"Thanks for the lift, Eatos." The black-haired young man bowed politely and gratefully.

Guardian Eatos smiled before fading away. Yup; Nathaniel had finally arrived at the Court of Darkness's stronghold to help his new allies end the threat of Gozaburo and the Court of Darkness...

"Hang in there, Thomas and Emily..." Nathaniel thought to himself, looking up at the massive building. "I'll be there soon."

Indeed so...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the throne room, Emily (possessed) was preparing to take the first turn of the match...

"The first turn will go to me!" she announced. "Here I go!" The possessed dark green-haired girl drew a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Emily Sterling (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Wingweaver, Ancient Rules, Serapheem, Graceful Charity, Blade Shade, and Airknight Parshath

* * *

Her drawn card was the Airknight Parshath monster card.

"Parshath..." whispered Emily (possessed). "Soon, it will be time..." She took and held another card out. "I begin by activating Graceful Charity!"

The ceiling started to rain... with the raindrops gently touching the possessed dark green-haired girl's deck, making it glow all white. From there, she drew three cards from the glowing deck.

"Using it, I must draw three cards and discard two other cards!" Her three cards were shown to be Kuribon (Effect Monster card), Heavenly Light (Ritual Spell card), and Urgent Ritual Art (Trap card). Thinking carefully, Emily (possessed) discarded Kuribon and Heavenly Light both to the graveyard. Her hand now consisted of Wingweaver, Ancient Rules, Serapheem, Blade Shade, Airknight Parshath, and Urgent Ritual Art. "Perfect!"

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"I activate the Spell card Ancient Rules!" announced Emily (possessed), just as the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I can now special summon one level 5 or above normal monster from my hand to the field!"

On cue, the Wingweaver monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"I special summon Wingweaver in attack position!"

Appearing onto the field was the beautiful angelic-like monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2750/DEF: 2400). This was followed by two facedown cards materializing behind the ace monster of Emily...

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn." finished Emily (possessed). She then eased up... "That's it for my turn, Gozaburo. Now, show me what your power new is like!"

"My pleasure." growled Gozaburo, drawing a card. "It's time to show you what the power of darkness—when combined with the Ancient Gears—is truly capable of!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Unfinished Time Box, Ancient Gear Scrap Fusion, Ancient Gear Wyvern, Ancient Gear Fortress, Ancient Gear Catapult, and The Field of Dark Graves

* * *

His opening hand contained Unfinished Time Box, Ancient Gear Scrap Fusion, Ancient Gear Wyvern, Ancient Gear Fortress, Ancient Gear Catapult, and the freshly drawn The Field of Dark Graves.

"And now, for a change of scenery." The evil man continued, taking his drawn card and motioning it to his Field Spell zone as it opened up. "I activate my ultimate Spell card!"

He slid the card inside and allowed it to close up, causing the Duel Disk to react to the evil within the Field Spell card.

" **The Field of Dark Graves**!"

The scenery changed, while Gozaburo's evil energies were further energized.

"The darkness..." Emily (possessed) thought to herself, feeling the darkness coming from the demonic man. "It has grown stronger..."

"Yes... My power... It is growing even stronger!" rejoiced Gozaburo, as his eyes began glowing golden yellow. "I am now truly invincible!" He then took and slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I play a Continuous Spell card - Ancient Gear Fortress!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field. From it, a large, geared fortress began to rise from the ground all around the throne room.

"Another Ancient Gear support card..." Spencer mumbled to himself.

"This prevents the Ancient Gear monsters I controls from being targeted or destroyed by the opponent's card effects during the turn they are normal or special summoned." explained Gozaburo. "It will also prevent the opponent from activating any cards or effects in response to the activation of any Ancient Gear card."

Emily (possessed) grunted in response, watching as the evil man took and readied a card from his hand.

"Since I control no monsters, I play the effect of the Ancient Gear Catapult in my hand!"

A large robotic catapult appeared onto the field.

"By targeting and destroying a card on my side of the field-" explained Gozaburo. "-I can special summon one Ancient Gear monster from my deck to the field while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

The catapult fired a blast at Ancient Gear Fortress, reducing the building into rubble just like that! ...but then rising from the ruined fortress a familiar machine-type monster...

"Ancient Gear Golem - come forth!"

The huge, mechanical giant finally emerged onto the field (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 3500/DEF: 3000).

"But that isn't all, I'm afraid!" Gozaburo went on, readying another card. "Ancient Gear Fortress has another effect to be played..."

Emily (possessed) winced. "There's more?"

"When it's destroyed-" explained Gozaburo. "-I can summon another Ancient Gear monster from my hand to the field while being unable to special summon anything else for the rest of the turn!" As he spoke on, the evil man placed his card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "And I believe this one will do quite nicely to aid my Ancient Gear Golem!"

The Ancient Gear Wyvern monster card materialized face-up beside Ancient Gear Golem.

"Ancient Gear Wyvern!"

The winged Ancient Gear monster appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1700 - 2200/DEF: 1200). From there, Gozaburo took the deck out of his Duel Disk and looked through it.

"Because Ancient Gear Wyvern was summoned successfully-" he continued. "-I can add one Ancient Gear monster from my deck to my hand." From there, Gozaburo held out one such card. "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound will do nicely, and especially since I haven't performed a normal summon as of now..." The card was soon placed onto a monster field slot. "...I summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound in attack mode!"

The mechanical hound appeared to the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1000 - 1500/DEF: 1000).

"Ancient Gear Hunting Hound's effect will now inflict 600 points of damage to your life points!"

Ancient Gear Hunting Hound fired a blast at Emily (possessed), striking her and causing a massive explosion to cloud her side of the field.

"No!" cried Spencer.

Thomas (possessed) saw the explosion and grew worried for his friend/lover.

"Emily... Anastasia..." he murmured.

When the smoke cleared, Emily (possessed) looked pretty injured (LP: 3400). But, I'm afraid the worst was yet to come...

"It's time for my ultimate creature to show itself..." whispered Gozaburo, clenching his fist. "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, it's time to activate your secondary effect!"

Ancient Gear Hunting Hound let loose a howl as it, Ancient Gear Wyvern, and Ancient Gear Golem collapsed into pieces of junk.

"Here it comes..." Spencer thought to himself. "The strongest Ancient Gear monster there is..."

The pile of gears began to transform.

"That's right..." grinned Gozaburo. "My three monsters are rebuilding into the strongest monster in my deck!" He spread his arms out in welcome. "Arise and bring me victory - Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

Towering over Wingweaver and Emily (possessed) was the massive Ancient Gear creation (Level: 10/ATK: 4400 - 4900/DEF: 3400). Despite sweating fearfully at how powerful the monster was compared to her own, the possessed dark green-haired girl immediately made a play of her own...

"Trap card, open!" she announced, just as her first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Urgent Ritual Art!"

"Urgent Ritual Art?" questioned Gozaburo. "Isn't that-?"

"Yes." confirmed Emily (possessed). "Because I control no ritual monsters, this Trap card allows me to banish one Ritual Spell from my hand or graveyard in order for me to perform a ritual summon!"

The Heavenly Light Ritual Spell card emerged from the graveyard.

"I will now banish Heavenly Light from the graveyard to activate its effect."

Wingweaver turnd into a ball of light, just as Emily (possessed) took and showed her opponent another card.

"In addition to offering Wingweaver-" The possessed dark green-haired girl went on. "-I offer Airknight Parshath, my newest ally, to perform the summon and call for my guardian angel."

Airknight Parshath briefly appeared to the field before turning into a ball of light and joining with Wingweaver in being sacrificed for the ritual summon.

"With the offerings met-" Emily (possessed) went on. "-I call forth Serapheem!"

Appearing to the field was the evolved version of Wingweaver (Level: 12/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2500). From there...

"For each light attribute monster resting in my graveyard-" The possessed dark green-haired girl went on. "-Serapheem receives 600 extra attack points!" She held up three fingers. "I have three light attribute monsters, so Serapheem receives 1800 extra attack points!"

Serapheem grew stronger (ATK: 2900 - 4700).

"Not enough!" shouted Gozaburo, entering the battle phase. "Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, crush Serapheem here and now in the most violent way possible!"

Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem obeyed, winding up and impaling Serapheem with its fist.

"Trap card-" Emily (possessed) began.

"Spell and Trap cards cannot be activated during the damage step whenever my monster declares an attack!" interrupted Gozaburo. "Whatever you were planning to activate cannot be activated at this point!"

Serapheem exploded from the impact. Emily (possessed) braced herself from the force of the blow, but it eventually became too much and she got throw back a slight distance while taking minor damage (LP: 3200).

"EMILY!" screamed Thomas (possessed), still pinned to the wall.

It was absolute torture for him; watching Emily suffer while he couldn't do anything save her. Speaking of Emily (possessed), the possessed dark green-haired girl found it hard to get back up.

"Aww, what's the matter?" taunted Gozaburo, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Cannot get back up? Perhaps those beatings you've taken all the way up to now are finally catching up with you?"

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"Just in case you try anything funny, I'll place this facedown and end my turn."

It looked like Emily (possessed) didn't have the strength to get back up.

"As much as I love watching people suffer, I'm still prepared to give you an ultimatum." Gozaburo went on. "If you surrender to me and give yourself to the darkness, I will spare your pathetic life. Choose to continue the duel, however, and the injuries you sustain will ensure that you die no matter who wins. The choice is up to you, Emily Sterling... Will it be Life or Death?"

"Choose Life, Emily!" begged Thomas (possessed). "Please! All of our friends have already died! You're all I have left! DON'T MAKE ME LOSE YOU, TOO!"

As much as Emily (possessed) didn't want to give herself up, she didn't want to break Thomas's heart either. Given with all he had endured, it would be of no surprise if he attempted suicide upon her death before Diablon could try to take complete control of the body. For a moment, it looked as though the possessed dark green-haired girl was about to give up the pointless duel. But, just before her palm could touch the top of the Duel Disk...

"Huh?" she blinked. "Am I feeling...?"

"What?!" Gozaburo cried out.

"What's happening?" gasped Spencer, with his eyes widening with surprise.

Emily (possessed) could feel power growing in her body. It was then Anastasia spoke to the battered dark green-haired girl...

" _ **Emily, the time has come**_!"

Emily (possessed) was most surprised. "Huh? What?"

" _ **The time has come for us to merge and become one**_!" The voice of Anastasia went on. " _ **We must keep fighting and defeat the darkness**_!"

Emily (possessed) knew that she couldn't keep up the fight for much longer. It pained her to have to continue the battle (because she would likely die in the end), but it couldn't be helped since she made a promise to avenge everyone who had suffered at the hands of Gozaburo and the Court of Darkness. After what seemed like forever, Emily (possessed) nodded while closing her eyes.

"Yes... We shall become one..."

" ** _I know you don't want to make Thomas suffer more than he already has_**." The voice of Anastasia suddenly added quietly. " ** _I don't want to do this to Anakin either, but unless Thomas successfully passes this trial, both this world and your own world could crumble_**."

"We shall become one... We shall become one... We shall become one..." Emily (possessed) repeated many times. Eventually, she opened her eyes and revealed them to be glowing blue. "We shall become one!"

From there, the possessed dark green-haired girl began glowing all white as light began to fill the whole entire throne room. Gozaburo, thanks to him becoming a demon, was severely bothered by the flash of light and was forced to cover his eyes as the show continued...

"THE LIGHT!" The evil man wailed.

Spencer was forced to cover his eyes from the light as well, but mainly because of how bright it was. Thomas (possessed) was forced to look away as the light continued to get brighter and brighter...

"We have become one..." spoke a familiar voice (female).

Thomas (possessed) overheard the voice. "Anastasia?"

Slowly, the light began to fade away and reveal the silhouette of a female figure in the center on the light.

"Identify yourself!" demanded Gozaburo, managing to recover from the surge of light.

"My name..." said the female figure, as the silhouette became dimmer and revealed who it really was. "...is Anastasia!"

The female figure was revealed to be a young woman with long dark green (almost emerald) hair. Her outfit was a modified version of a royal gown with added greaves, a fauld, gauntlets, pauldrons, and even a breastplate armor. In addition, the young woman looked almost exactly like Emily—although she was clearly an adult, her voice was slightly different, and she spoke with a Scottish accent rather than an American accent.

"Anastasia?" blinked Spencer. "But... she looks exactly like-!"

"E-Emily?" spluttered Thomas (possessed).

"Emily and I have finally become one and the same." The now adult-like Emily pointed out. "While my name is Anastasia, I will also settle for being called Emily..." She gestured the thumb of her right hand towards herself. "She knew at one point that we would need to do something like this in order to defeat you, Gozaburo!"

"So you did..." frowned Gozaburo.

"And as for your earlier offer, Gozaburo..." Anastasia continued fiercely, pointing at her enemy. "' _We_ ' choose to continue the duel and ensure that you finally pay for your unforgiving actions! Plus, since I'm in control of the body now, Emily will be able to survive for the time being! But if we are destined to die when this duel ends, then so be it!"

With that said, the dark green-haired young woman drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Anastasia (LP: 3200)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (1): Shuffle Reborn

* * *

Her drawn card was a Spell card called Shuffle Reborn.

"It is time to show you the power of the Supreme Queen!" declared Anastasia, holding her drawn card out. "I activate Shuffle Reborn! Here's how it works - because I control no monsters on my side of the field, I can special summon any monster from my graveyard to the field with its effects negated!"

Reappearing on the field was Serapheem.

"Serapheem?" questioned Gozaburo. "But why? She is no match for Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

"My turn isn't over yet." retorted Anastasia. "With Shuffle Reborn in my graveyard, I can banish it to send one set card I have on the field back to my deck and draw one extra card."

"So be it. Just remember that your summond monster will be banished at the end of the turn."

The dark green-haired young woman nodded in agreement. "This turn will be all I need to turn things around."

The remaining facedown card faded away in a blue streak as Anastasia took hold of the card and added it to her deck, shuffled it, and put it back into her Duel Disk before preparing to draw.

"The time has come for the Supreme Queen to finally show herself..." announced Anastasia. "With this draw, I shall have the one card I need to call her forth! I will draw the Spell card Swing of Memories!"

With that said, the dark green-haired young woman drew her card, performing a draw like nothing anyone has ever seen before (even greater than a Destiny Draw). The colors and light from the draw was enough to harm the demonic Gozaburo.

"AUGH!" he hissed in pain.

The draw Anastasia performed was something called a Shining Draw. True to the dark green-haired young woman's prediction, the card she drew was the Swing of Memories Spell card...

"Swing of Memories..." Anastasia murmured, just before looking over to Thomas (possessed). The possessed blue-haired boy was still gazing hard at the dark green-haired young woman in wonder. "Thomas... Anakin... This move is for both of you..."

With that said, Anastasia turned back around and held her drawn card out.

"I activate Swing of Memories!"

Gozaburo was shocked. "WHAT?! You've actually drawn it?!"

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia, just as her graveyard lit up with light. "This allows me to special summon one normal monster from my graveyard for the remainder of the turn."

On cue, the Wingweaver monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Wingweaver - come forth!"

Within seconds, Wingweaver returned to the field.

"Amazing..." Spencer thought to himself. "Anastasia and Emily both managed to summon the strongest monsters in their whole deck to fight Gozaburo!"

"It makes no sense!" objected Gozaburo. "Why would you summon both those monsters? You know they will be destroyed at the end of the turn!"

"Because now that they're both on the field at the same time-" said Anastasia, closing her eyes. "-I can perform a fusion summon!"

"But you don't have Polymerization!"

"This sort of fusion summon is possible WITHOUT the need for Polymerization." The dark green-haired young woman pointed out, opening her eyes once more and showing them to be flashing all light blue. "Remember XYZ-Dragon Cannon?"

Gozaburo cursed in response.

"Wingweaver! Serapheem! The time has come to show your true form!"

The two fairy-type monsters nodded to each other before flying up towards the ceiling and fusing together.

"What could Anastasia and Emily both be creating with those monsters?" Spencer asked himself.

As the fusion continued, more and more light filled the whole ceiling as Anastasia began a lengthy summon chant...

" _ **Those who rule the Sanctuary in the Sky, become one and bring forth an angel of perhaps the highest order to extinguish the cruel darkness**_!"

The light grew even stronger, much to Gozaburo's further discomfort.

"GWAHHHH!" he hissed.

" _ **With the combination of the two angels of the land**_ -" continued Anastasia. "- _ **the Queen of light shall rise and smite the rulers of the dark**_!"

As the light in the ceiling slowly began to dim, a female figure began to lower from said-light.

" _ **FUSION SUMMON! Descend into these lands - Supreme Queen of Angels**_!"

Gozaburo was shocked. "S-Supreme Queen of Angels?!"

"Yes, Supreme Queen of Angels." confirmed Anastasia, with her eyes glowing blue with power. "Now...prepare to meet her in person!"

Slowly, more of the light began to fade to expose this new monster's appearance.

"Huh?" came from a speechless Spencer.

Thomas (possessed), however, was the most amazed of all. To the point he even returned to normal...

"Wow..." The blue-haired boy breathed. "Amazing..."

This new monster was perhaps even more beautiful than Wingweaver OR Serapheem. To an extention, it rather resembled more of a monster version of Anastasia or adult Emily than either Wingweaver or Serapheem (Level: 12/ATK: 3750/DEF: 3450).

"The Supreme Queen has finally arrived!" announced Anastasia (LP: 3200). "Prepare yourself, Gozaburo!"

"Good luck in trying!" dismissed Gozaburo (LP: 4000). "Your monster is not a match for Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem! The Queen herself will die in vain!"

"We'll see about that!"

With that said, Supreme Queen of Angels raised her hands into the sky.

"Supreme Queen of Angels, activate your special ability!" commanded Anastasia. " **GIGA RAYS OF JUDGEMENT**!"

Huge bolts of light began to rain down from the sky.

"If you think you can try and destroy my Spells and Traps-" growled Gozaburo. "-then you're wrong! My Field Spell card cannot be destroyed by anything!"

Anastasia smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure on that."

"What?!" The evil man blurted out, as his eyes widened.

One of the rays of light struck the face-up The Field of Dark Graves. Eventually, the card glitched up and shattered into pieces of glass. The destruction of the card also returned the field back into the Castle of Dark Illusions' throne room...

"What have you done?!" Gozaburo asked in horror. "The Field of Dark Graves has been destroyed?! But it is supposed to be invincible!"

"The Supreme Queen of Angels can negate the effects of your so-called invincible Spell card and destroy it!" retorted Anastasia, drawing a card. "The light within my monster can easily overcome the darkness of your ultimate card, and it lets me draw an extra card from my deck when successful!"

Without The Field of Dark Graves, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was freed from darkness and had its attack power returned to normal (ATK: 4900 - 4400).

"Grr... My monster is still stronger than your own!" argued Gozaburo, outraged that his Field Spell card had been beaten.

"Guess again!" rebuffed Anastasia. "When attacking, Supreme Queen of Angels receives 200 extra attack points based on the combined level stars of all monsters on the field!"

Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (Level: 10) and Supreme Queen of Angels (Level: 12) had the combined level of...

"And the combined total is 22!"

"2-22?!" Gozaburo was speechless. "That would make your monster's attack points...8150!"

Supreme Queen of Angels received an extremely strong buff in attack power (ATK: 3750 - 8150).

"Supreme Queen of Angels-" commanded Anastasia, entering the battle phase with confidence and determination. "-destroy Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, here and now!"

Supreme Queen of Angels obeyed and summoned swarms of arrows of light all around her.

" **JUDGEMENT ARROWS**!"

With a loud battle cry, the arrows were fired towards the opponent. The almighty attack continued firing and pierced through Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem one-by-one until the machine-type monster couldn't take it any longer and exploded massively.

"Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem is gone, now." Spencer thought to himself, smiling slightly. "Emily and Anastasia both should now retain the upperhand until Gozaburo is defeated."

Thomas was happy, too... "Way to go, Emily..."

As the smoke finally cleared away, it revealed a highly miffed Gozaburo. To make matters all the more worse for him, his life points were almost completely gone (LP: 250).

"You... you..." he seethed. "I swear... You will pay for defying my power, you bitch!" The evil man then motioned his left hand (with the Duel Disk) to his set card. "I reveal Unfinished Time Box!"

His facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. Supreme Queen of Angels soon found herself being trapped inside a box of some sort.

"My monster!" gasped Anastasia. "What's going on?!"

"Unfinished Time Box removes your monster from the game." explained Gozaburo, drawing a card. "There isn't anything you can do about it either! In addition, I'm able to draw one card from my deck."

On cue, due to Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's secondary effect, the Ancient Gear Golem monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"And now for Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's special ability! When it's destroyed in battle, I can special summon the original Ancient Gear Golem from the graveyard in its place while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

On cue, the giant robot returned to the field (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000). Grimacing, Anastasia took and slotted her drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." she said.

A facedown card materialized on the field. From there, the Serapheem monster card and Swing of Memories Spell card both floated out of the graveyard...

"As it is the end phase, Serapheem and Swing of Memories are both removed from the game."

"Indeed so." teased Gozaburo. "With the so-called ' _Supreme Queen_ ' gone, you haven't got a chance of defeating me!"

"Wrong! I will defeat you!" argued Anastasia. "Emily and I'll ensure that this world and the real world both remain safe from you and the darkness!"

"That's an awful lot coming from the woman who started this mess in the first place."

"Started this mess?" The dark green-haired young woman blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know." retorted Gozaburo. "I know everything that you did."

A flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

A flashback began to the day Anastasia had been slain. As she laid in Anakin's arms, the black-haired boy tried to kill himself in an attempt to join her in the afterlife, only for Anastasia to stop him, saying she wanted him to live on for the both of them.

"From what I've been seeing in your mind while doing research on who you were after I saw Emily first become possessed-" narrated Gozaburo. "-you were killed by your own Father many, many years ago. Unfortunately, you didn't want poor, pitiful Anakin to die alongside you..."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"Sure, he may have killed your Father out of revenge-" Gozaburo went on. "-but his fall into madness also resulted in the death of your Mother and loyal subjects!"

Anastasia remained silent on the matter.

"Not only that-" went on Gozaburo still. "-but I happen to know exactly what, or WHO it was that constantly stopped Anakin from ending the pain he was in."

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

As Anakin tried many times to kill himself, an unknown force constantly foiled his plan. Even when Anakin tried to impale himself with a dagger, something grabbed hold of his arms and stopped him.

"Let me die!" begged Flashback Anakin. "Please! I have no reason left to live in this world! Show mercy upon my tortured soul, and let me die!"

"The one who kept Anakin living in agony-" narrated Gozaburo. "-was YOU, Anastasia."

As Flashback Anakin lowered his head and sobbed in frustration, the spirit of his deceased wife was shown looking over him.

 **FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"You could have let Anakin die with you." Gozaburo accused. "That way, you, him, and Iris could have been one big happy family in the afterlife, your parents never would have been killed, and Anakin never would have been driven to insanity or turned to the darkside... But no. Instead, you forced him to live in pain and misery! You FORCED him to suffer! Everything that has transpired up until now; the murder of your parents, Anakin's transformation to Diablon, the awakening of the Sacred Beasts, the millions of lives taken, including the blue-haired boy's friends, as well as Thomas's suffering, WAS ALL YOUR FAULT! Heh, and I thought 'I' was cruel."

Anastasia remained silent as thoughts ran through her mind. Was it REALLY her fault Anakin turned to darkness, committed many unforgiving crimes, and killed so many people and spirits? Had she really forced him to suffer so much? After a while, the dark green-haired young woman looked back up.

"I... I did what had to be done... what I thought was the right thing to do." Anastasia insisted, looking dead serious. "If my Father hadn't killed me, he would have certainly killed Anakin and continued to wage wars with the other kingdoms of this world until he ruled them all with an iron fist." She then closed her eyes tightly. "I had absolutely no idea that preventing him from dying would have led to those events taking place..." She then opened her glowing eyes and glared at her enemy fiercely. "This is why I'll make everything right again by defeating you and saving Thomas and Anakin from their inner demons!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that now." retorted Gozaburo drawing a card. "As it's my turn now, you will feel more pain than anything you've experienced!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 250)  
 **Deck** : 51  
 **Current Hand** (2): Ancient Gear Scrap Fusion and Ancient Gear Tank

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Ancient Gear Tank materialized face-up on the field.

"I equip Ancient Gear Golem with Ancient Gear Tank..." The evil man declared, with two fingers braced upon a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "This raises its overall attack power by 600 points!"

Ancient Gear Golem grew stronger (ATK: 3000 - 3600).

"Because you control a monster and I don't-" Anastasia cut in, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "-I can play this Trap card!"

Her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Angelic Uprising!"

A monster card (Airknight Parshath) slipped out of the dark green-haired young woman's graveyard.

"Angelic Uprising?" asked Gozaburo.

"This is a Trap card that can only be activated when you control a monster and I don't." explained Anastasia, just as the Airknight Parshath monster card materialized face-up on the field. "When that happens, I can special summon a fairy-type monster from the graveyard in attack position! ...like Airknight Parshath, for example."

The centaur-like monster of light appeared and stood positioned for battle (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1400).

"Heh! This will be easy to take down..." smirked Gozaburo, who then entered the battle phase. "BATTLE!"

Ancient Gear Golem fired shots from Ancient Gear Tank, but Airknight Parshath used his sword to block each blast like they were nothing.

"WHAT?!"

"The second effect of Angelic Uprising has activated!" announced Anastasia. "When my monster is being attacked, his or her attack points are changed to match the attack points of the monster you're using to attack."

Airknight Parshath's attack points increased to match Ancient Gear Golem's attack points (ATK: 1900 - 3600).

"They will destroy each other!" shouted Gozaburo in shock.

"Precisely!" Anastasia shouted back, just before pointing forth. "Attack Ancient Gear Golem, Parshath!"

"Fight back! Show that fool you're the much greater monster!"

The two monsters attacked each other, causing a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke lifted, both monsters were gone...

"Parshath..." Anastasia thought to herself. "Forgive me..."

"The next effect of Ancient Gear Tank has activated!" Gozaburo suddenly announced. "Since it was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you receive 600 points of damage to your life points!"

A blast was fired at Anastasia, knocking her back a small distance (LP: 2600).

"Now, I'll play Ancient Gear Scrap Fusion!" continued Gozaburo, holding his final card out. "With it, I can fuse monsters from my graveyard and create a whole new one!"

As Anastasia slowly got back onto her feet, all four destroyed Ancient Gear monsters rose from Gozaburo's graveyard.

"The time has come for you to meet the newest member of the Ancient Gear family..."

The four ancient gear monsters fell to pieces and began to build together into something more new and powerful.

"What could it be?" Anastasia thought to herself.

"Gozaburo...!" Spencer thought to himself bitterly.

Over with the trapped Thomas...

"Emily... Take care..."

The construction of the new monster was soon completed, much to Gozaburo's delight...

"It's finished... my ultimate weapon..." The evil man whispered to himself, before raising his voice... "I present to you all... Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!"

Appearing to the field was a huge mechanical giant, even bigger than Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, with blue metallic fittings (Level: 10/ATK: 4500/DEF: 3000).

"And my monster is going to attack, now!"

"You can't!" objected Anastasia. "Your battle phase has come to an end!"

"Tsk tsk tsk... I'm afraid this Spell card begs to differ." sighed Gozaburo, holding up a card. He turned it over and revealed it to be... "Impact Revive!"

Anastasia gasped in shock when Airknight Parshath returned to the field.

"Parshath?!" The dark green-haired young woman exclaimed. "Why did you bring him back?"

"Impact Revive allows me to revive a monster that was destroyed in battle this turn with a 500 attack point bonus." explained Gozaburo. "But in return, I'm allowed to conduct another battle phase!"

"What?! Another battle phase?"

From the first effect of Impact Revive, Airknight Parshath grew slightly stronger (ATK: 1900 - 2400). Not like it really mattered though...

"With one attack-" The evil man went on, with his eyes glowing all golden yellow (pure madness). "-you'll be one step closer to defeat and an impending death! Get ready to lose it all, Princess Anastasia... You and Emily are doomed to die at the hands of the invincible Ancient Gear monsters!"

Gozaburo laughed maniacally as Chaos Ancient Gear Giant loomed over Airknight Parshath, Anastasia, and even an image of Emily. Can both of our heroines turn things around and defeat Gozaburo? Or would this be the first step to their defeat? Find out the answer next time!


	98. Long Live the Supreme Queen (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions, things weren't looking so good for Anastasia (in addition to Emily) at this exact moment...

"And now, Chaos Ancient Gear Giant, crush that fool Parshath for his betrayal and treachery!" commanded Gozaburo, having entered the battle phase.

The giant mechanical monstrosity lunged forward and grabbed Airknight Parshath with it's right arm and crushed him, causing him to scream in agony.

"CRASH OF DARKNESS!"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant lifted Airknight Parshath and began swinging it's arm across the chamber and smashing Airknight Parshath viciously against the chamber walls, severely damaging them in an instant, while Anastasia could only watch in horror as Airknight Parshath was being brutally attacked.

"Parshath!" The dark green-haired young woman called out, worried for her friend's safety.

Adding even more to the chaos, Spencer was having to frantically avoid being crushed by the falling debris.

"This is nuts!" thought Spencer, dodging another piece of debris. "If Gozaburo keeps this up, then eventually the entire castle will be destroyed with us along side it!"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant then finally let go of Airknight Parshath, by violently throwing him into the ground, shattering into shards of glass on contact. Unfortunately, it didn't even stop there... Chaos Ancient Gear Giant then took aim and fired a deadly laser blast from it's left arm cannon directly at Anastasia. Anastasia had no way of defending herself, so all she could was brace herself and prepare for the impact... Sadly, it was a futile attempt; for the moment the attack made contact with Anastasia, she was immediately launched back many feet in a stream of smoke.

"AARRGGHH!" Anastasia cried in agony, all while she felt the full force of the blast (LP: 500).

The impacting shockwave from the attack was so powerful that Spencer was being pushed back along the ground, while Thomas, stilled crucified to the pillar due to Restraining Sword of Impact, could only withstand the impact of the attack and helplessly watch as it hit Anastasia.

"Emily!"

Even after striking it's intended target, Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's attack continued on, blasting straight through the giant chamber doors...

(eleswhere...)

Meanwhile, Nathaniel was running through the castle hallways trying to find Thomas and the others before it was too late. He had heard the impacts from the currently ongoing duel, but had no idea who actually was dueling. Nathaniel tried to follow the sound of the impact in the hope of finding where the duel was taking place.

"Where are they?" he frantically thought to himself.

The black-haired young man then all of a sudden felt a tremor that was far more powerful than any previous one. The tremor caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. He was lucky that it had. Before Nathaniel could even think of what had happened, the entire hallway shook once again, as a giant laser beam pierced through one wall straight another with incredible power, just missing Nathaniel.

"What the hell was that!?" exclaimed Nathaniel in utter shock, as the laser continued to destroy everything in it's path until it finally began to die down... "Only one way to find out!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the main chamber, Spencer had managed to recover from the force of the attack, where he witnessed the full scale of the damage caused. The blast had drilled through the entire castle, forming a long and large tunnel of holes through the walls, and at the end revealing the outside of the castle. Spencer was stunned by how much damage was caused by one attack, but then he remembered something far more important...

"Emily?!" The silver-haired boy exclaimed, looking around.

As the smoke cleared away, it managed to reveal a barely conscious and alive, yet still severely injured, Anastasia lying on her back in a small crater.

* * *

 **Title: Long Live the Supreme Queen, Part 2**

* * *

Gozaburo, meanwhile, was quite pleased with his handiwork.

"And with that, I end my turn!" he said simply.

"Emily!" cried Thomas, trying harder than ever before to break free of the magical swords. "Dammit! Let me go!"

Down below, Anastasia slowly tried to get back up.

"How the mighty have fallen!" laughed Gozaburo. "Your so-called ' _Supreme Queen_ ' is gone, and your life points are at 500..."

"M-My...turn..." Anastasia barely managed to say while getting back up.

She slowly began to draw, but found herself unable to and collapsed to a knee.

"Ugh..."

"Emily!" cried Spencer, racing over to the young woman.

"BACK!" The voice of Anastasia commanded, making the silver-haired boy stop in his tracks. "I... I can't let... let you help...me..."

"What?"

Anastasia struggled to stand back up. "I... I must do this...on my...own..."

"Yessss, fight on..." encouraged Gozaburo. "The sooner you do, the sooner it will be all over."

Being gravely injured, Anastasia barely had the strength to try and draw. Suddenly, she felt someone touching her right hand.

"Huh?" The young woman blinked. "Who is-?"

"Mommy, let's save Daddy..." chirped a young voice (female).

Upon hearing familiar voice, Anastasia looked to her right and gasped when she saw...

"Iris?"

Yup, it was the brown-haired young girl, floating next to her real Mother.

"We have to keep fighting." Iris encouraged. "We have to keep fighting for the good of this world, along with everyone else living in it."

"Iris..." whispered Anastasia.

"I know that you may die in the process, and that it will break Daddy's heart again, but you've said so yourself... ' _ **Sometimes, we all have to make sacrifices to ensure that the people we love are safe**_ '."

The dark green-haired young woman listened carefully to her daughter's words.

"And I also know that Ms. Emily is worrying that she won't be able to come back if she dies again, and that Mr. Thomas will be heartbroken forever..." Iris went on, speaking rather wisely for someone her age. "But Ms. Emily is making a sacrifice to keep Mr. Thomas safe, like I did for him..."

The discussion was soon cut short...

"Hey!" interrupted Gozaburo, causing Iris and Anastasia to both look over. "Are you actually gonna draw anything? Or are you gonna waste time by speaking to that rotten, bratty child spirit?"

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter like that!" exclaimed Anastasia in anger, taking great offense to her daughter being insulted by that heartless monster.

"Heh! So, she's your daughter, eh? I guess I can see the resemblance somewhat."

Anastasia, closing her eyes, while feeling Iris's hand atop her own began to glow all white.

"It's OUR turn!" she announced.

Mother and daughter both drew a card from the deck, performing the all-familiar Destiny Draw.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Anastasia (LP: 500)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (1): ?

* * *

On cue, a facedown card materialized on the field (sideways).

"I place one monster in defense mode and end my turn!"

Gozaburo frowned. "So, that's it? There isn't anything more you can do?" he asked

"No." said Anastasia simply, looking and sounding surprisingly calm.

"Very well." Gozaburo nodded, drawing a card. "Consider this last turn your funeral!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Gozaburo Gresley (LP: 250)  
 **Deck** : 50  
 **Current Hand** (1): Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card.

"If I want to defeat you sooner-" The evil man continued, while slotting the drawn card into his Duel Disk. "-I'll need the correct cards to pull it off!"

The Pot of Greed Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And Pot of Greed will help me reach them..."

As Gozaburo said that, he drew two cards and looked at them. After a few seconds, a very evil smile crept onto his face...

"Here we are!" Gozaburo announced, before looking at the battered Anastasia (and the spirit of Iris). "I've drawn what I..."

Just then, before Gozaburo could speak on, the doors slammed open by someone...

"Hold it right there!" shouted the person (male) standing in the middle of the doorway.

"Is that-?" began the trapped Thomas.

"Nathaniel, what are you doing here?" came from Spencer.

The black-haired young man nodded. "I've come to offer my assistance."

"We thought you were dead after the attack destroyed the Hanger and crushed you!" cried Thomas, before realizing something... "Hang on a moment, if you've survived the explosion, does that mean...?"

"Yes, Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician both survived the attack, as well." confirmed Nathaniel.

"What?!" gasped Gozaburo.

"Heh! You don't look too happy to see me, Gozaburo." Nathaniel taunted, finally addressing the evil man. "Where's the love? Don't bother answering that, because I'm not gonna fall for anymore of your lies. You were the one who killed my adopted Mother and manipulated me into siding with the darkness, the one thing I'm fighting against!"

He then started to turn to look at Anastasia, thinking she was Emily.

"Emily, is everything-huh?"

The black-haired man saw that ' _Emily_ ' was suddenly a grown young woman and also wearing an outfit that looked to be a combination of royalty and a warrior.

"What's happened to you?" Nathaniel questioned, looking positively amazed. "You look so much different than ever before."

Anastasia silently glared at Nathaniel for what seemed like forever, while the spirit of Iris shyly peeked from behind her Mother.

"My name is Anastasia." said the dark green-haired young woman. "I have merged with Emily to become one being... She is my present day-reincarnation."

"Present day-reincarnation?" quizzed Nathaniel. "What do you mean by that?"

"Storytime will have to wait, I'm afraid." Gozaburo cut in, holding out one of his drawn cards. "Behold Tachyon Refresh! This allows me to banish Chaos Ancient Gear Giant and return it to the field just as quickly!"

Nathaniel blinked. "Why do something like that?"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant faded away into oblivion, but quickly returned to the field.

"I think I'm beginning to understand what my Grandfather is up to." said Spencer, walking up.

"What's he doing then? What good could it do to banish a monster then automatically bring it back?"

"Gozaburo first fusion summoned Chaos Ancient Gear Giant with its effects rendered uselness." The silver-haired boy explained. "But if it were to leave the field and return, then its effects would return and be active."

Nathaniel realized it, too. "Now I understand!"

"Yes, indeed!" acknowledged Gozaburo, just before entering the battle phase. "Chaos Ancient Gear Giant, attack with Crash of Darkness!"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant obeyed, throwing a punch towards Anastasia's facedown monster.

"When Chaos Ancient Gear Giant attacks a monster in defense mode-" explained Gozaburo. "-the difference comes out of your life points!"

The facedown card started shining all white as the new monster showed itself.

"And if you think that monster will help you because it might have a flip effect, think again! Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's next effect prevents you from activating any and all monster effects during the battle phase."

Anastasia smiled slowly. "Think again..." she said coolly.

"Huh?" Gozaburo blinked.

In a burst of light, the attacked monster was revealed to be...a young human female with long brown hair while wearing a pure white dress. She... she looked strikingly like Iris! And she was stopping Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's attack with all her might.

"W-What trickery is this?!"

"You've attacked my own daughter..." explained Anastasia. "Iris is far better known as...the ' **Supreme Princess** ', and her flip effect cannot be negated whatsoever!"

Gozaburo was not happy to hear that. "WHAT?!"

"Yes, indeed... Her flip effect increases my life points by 500 for every fairy-type monster in my graveyard." Anastasia went on (LP: 2000). "Thanks to Kuribon, Wingweaver, and Parshath each being in my graveyard, I've gained 1500 life points from the flip effect. Best of all? I can set Supreme Princess after she is destroyed, but my monster will be banished if attacked again."

Supreme Princess used her power to knock Chaos Ancient Gear Giant back a bit, just before turning back into a facedown card (sideways).

"Don't forget about Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's effect!" reminded Gozaburo. "It inflicts piercing damage when it attacks a defense position monster, so you're still about to lose the duel!"

The attack from Chaos Ancient Gear Giant suddenly continued on.

"NOW DIE!"

"Not quite!" Anastasia cut in, just as her Angelic Uprising Trap card emerged from the graveyard. "By banishing Angelic Uprising from my graveyard, all battle damage I take this turn is cut in half!"

Another explosion went off.

"So be it..." grumbled Gozaburo.

When the smoke cleared, Anastasia was still standing (LP: 300).

"But the attack hasn't ended there!"

"What?" gasped the injured Anastasia.

"Chaos Ancient Gear Giant has yet another effect." Gozaburo pointed out. "It is able to attack all monsters on the opponent's field." His cruel smile became even more cruel. "Since Supreme Princess was set, she counts as a newly summoned monster! That means..."

The giant monster charged up another attack.

"I'll attack her again! Who cares if you gain more life points and halve all battle damage? What matters is that you will NOT survive this attack once it hits!"

Anastasia could only watch in horror as a giant fist came in the direction of her daughter.

" **CRASH OF DARKNESS**!" roared Gozaburo.

Supreme Princess reappeared, but was unable to stop the attack this time and ended up destroyed and removed from the game. But then the fist came and struck poor Anastasia head-on.

" **AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH**!" she screamed in agonizing pain, being sent flying across the room (LP: 100).

"EMILY!" cried Thomas.

Anastasia flew back from the attack until she slammed into one of the pillars. From there, the dark green-haired young woman fell from a decent height until she landed facedown onto the floor. Unfortunately, it became much worse from here... The pillar, severely damaged and loosened from being slammed into like that, started to tumble and fall towards Anastasia; crashing down upon her with a loud ***BASH!***. The Supreme Queen herself had been buried by the debris!

"This can't be..." whispered Nathaniel.

"Emily..." added Spencer.

Gozaburo smiled. "Let's see the damage... and cause some more..."

Without wasting a second, Nathaniel and Spencer both rush over to the wrecked pillar and started moving chunks of rock off of the buried body of Anastasia. Soon, the two young men found the battered and broken body of the dark green-haired young woman and pulled her out of the remains of the destroyed pillar... Anastasia was bruised, bleeding, her clothing was slightly torn in some places, her eyes were closed, and a single limb from her body was not moving a muscle...

"Oh my God..." began Nathaniel, horrified to see Anastasia in such a state. "Is she-?"

Gozaburo cackled wildly. "She is!" he exclaimed insanely. "The so-called Supreme Queen is dead! That means not only do I win by default, but now the darkness will last forever!"

Thomas, who had been watching the whole scene from his spot on the wall, was beyond angered...

"You monstrous piece of $*#%..." he mumbled, as the familiar dark aura returned to him. "How dare...YOU!" On cue, the blue-haired boy had awoken yet again. "I'll kill you... I'LL KILL YOU!"

Gozaburo noticed this and smirked. "Just try it."

Enraged, Thomas (possessed) started struggling more and more to break free from the swords, but he was unable to do so.

"Let me go, LET ME GO!" screamed Thomas (possessed). "Dammit! Goddammit! **GODDAMMIT ALL TO HELL**!"

With the power of Diablon coming back, Thomas (possessed) was now growing so much stronger than ever before. As such, the swords were slowly starting to crack from his increasing fury and hatred towards Gozaburo. If the possessed blue-haired boy didn't calm down soon, he would break free completely, and then...

"Huh?" Spencer finally gasped, suddenly feeling a pulse (he was currently holding onto Anastasia's hand). "Could it be...?"

Slowly, Anastasia started to come around...

"So, she's still alive..." mused Gozaburo. "That attack wasn't enough to do her in..."

Yes, indeed... Anastasia was still alive, but only barely...

"I-Iris..." she weakly coughed. "Your sacrifice won't be in vain."

Slowly, with some help from both Nathaniel and Spencer, the dark green-haired young woman got back to her feet... before collapsing to her knees once more with her vision all blurry.

"Emily, you cannot continue!" protested Nathaniel. "If you keep this up, you won't survive!"

"Nothing...can stop that, now." wheezed Anastasia, managing to get to her feet again. "Besides... I HAVE to die."

"If you die-" argued Spencer. "-Diablon will take complete control of Billintion!"

"Spencer, I don't like doing this anymore than you don't like it-" Anastasia suddenly spoke with Emily's proper voice. "-but there isn't any other choice..."

"Emily..."

Weakly, Anastasia turned to looked at Gozaburo while still breathing hard. Despite her wounds, the dark green-haired young woman wasn't about to give up.

"This will be...my last...turn." she pointed out (now speaking with her own voice yet again), about to draw a card.

Gozaburo snorted, but said nothing. Finally, Anastasia drew a card...

"Thomas, Anakin..." The dark green-haired young woman thought to herself. "I know what I'm about to do will break your hearts, but I hope you will be able to find it in your hearts to forgive me once you understand WHY I'm doing this..."

"Need I remind you that you're going up against a monster with 4500 attack points?" Gozaburo pointed out, motioning to Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. "And, as I remind you yet again, you've lost your most powerful monster of all. How can you win against me without her or even Serapheem? Isn't it easier to just give it up?"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Anastasia (LP: 100)  
 **Deck** : 47  
 **Current Hand** (1): ?

* * *

Still breathing hard, Anastasia spoke up once again... "Supreme Queen of Angels... My ultimate monster will return!"

"Huh?" blinked Gozaburo in surprise. "What did you say?"

All of a suddenly, the nearby Unfinished Time Box began to crack as ribbons of light streamed out.

"W-What the-?!"

"On the second standby phase after Supreme Queen of Angels was removed from the field-" explained Anastasia. "-she automatically returns like nothing had happened to her!"

The Unfinished Time Box finally exploded open in a burst of light. There, standing in all of her angelic beauty, was Supreme Queen of Angels once again (Level: 12/ATK: 3750/DEF: 3450). Once again, seeing the beauty and calm nature of the monster managed to sooth Thomas (possessed) and allow him to return to normal...

"S-She's back!" winced Gozaburo. He then recovered and motioned his right hand to his facedown card. "Too bad the Queen herself will be gone again once I play my set Trap card!"

The set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Bottomless Trap Hole!"

A large hole appeared beneath Supreme Queen of Angels as hand came out in an attempt to grab and pull her down inside.

"Say goodbye!" shouted Gozaburo. "This is the true end of your so-called ultimate monster!"

"Are you sure about that?" Anastasia suddenly asked, speaking with Emily's voice.

Suddenly, Supreme Queen of Angels kicked the evil hand away, causing it and the hole to vanish.

"Impossible!" Gozaburo winced. "Bottomless Trap Hole has been destroyed!"

"That's too bad for you." teased Anastasia, still speaking with Emily's voice. "The effect of Supreme Queen of Angels prevents her from being destroyed by card effects when special summoned by her own effect this turn."

The evil man growled and cursed at this fact. "Even so, your monster has much lower attack points than my own!" he pointed out. "Not only that, but attacking will not activate Supreme Queen of Angels' effect in raising her attack power by the level stars of all monsters on the field due to the effect of Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant (ATK: 4500) and Supreme Queen of Angels (ATK: 3750) both squared off.

"No matter what you do, you cannot win against my Ancient Gear monsters!"

"We'll see about that." retorted Anastasia, entering the battle phase (and speaking with her own voice). "Supreme Queen of Angels, attack the Chaos Ancient Gear Giant and bring an end to Gozaburo Gresley's reign of terror!"

"WHAT?!" came from Nathaniel, Thomas, and Spencer.

"Are you mad?!" asked Spencer, with his eyes all bloodshot. "Are you TRYING to kill yourself?!"

Unfortunately, Supreme Queen of Angels obeyed the command and unleashed more light arrows. Before long, she open fired with them.

"You're a fool to attack me like this!" shouted Gozaburo. "Counterattack at once, Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!"

Chaos Ancient Gear Giant obeyed, charging and firing a laser in response. Both attacks were evenly matched, but one of them would win out in the end... Just then, Anastasia turned to speak to the trapped Thomas one seemingly last time.

"Thomas, before this duel ends-" she began, again speaking as Emily. "-let me ask you this question... Why do you think you and I met as children and slowly fell in-love with each other years ago?"

Thomas, feeling so surprised by the questioned, never answered it.

"Don't know the answer?" asked Anastasia (Emily). "Then allow me to answer it for you... It's because our true purpose was to successfully carry out the lives of Anakin and Anastasia from a brand new beginning... All in the hopes of making sure Diablon was never reborn in this modern era, and to fall in-love once again."

"Yes..." murmured Thomas, remembering everything years ago. "That's right... We did fall in-love at one point."

"The light and love in our hearts would have eventually extinguished Diablon from your own heart permanently. Our new lives together would have been wonderful! ...but something got in the way of that happening."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Clips of Young Emily being bullied by Young Gordon and Young James were shown, along with some clips of Young Emily bossing the other kids about and/or bullying them were shown.

"Because of Gordon and James's bullying-" narrated Anastasia (Emily). "-I had developed my own darkness... Eventually, I tried to end my own life when it became too much for me to bear..."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"But it was you who saved me from making that mistake." The dark green-haired young woman carried on. "Ever since that day, you would stop at nothing to protect me from harm."

"Protect you...from harm?" peeped Thomas.

"Don't you remember all of the other times you had to rescue me from the bad guys? That one time in the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament, for example... But I'm actually talking about years ago, shortly after I had returned to being who I truly am."

"You mean...when Arry and Bert both picked on you?" asked Thomas.

"Yes..." confirmed Anastasia (Emily). "There, I had returned to my true self, but my heart was still so badly damaged after being bullied by both Gordon and James, being abandoned by our friends, and almost commiting suicide... As a result, I was still very emotionally vulnerable to the point you always had to step in when I was being picked on..."

Thomas didn't get it. "But don't friends do that for each other?" he pressured.

"Yes, but you made me seem very weak as a person... It took you getting beaten up by both of the twins that I finally gained the confidence to rat on them..." Anastasia (Emily) pointed out. "Don't you remember?"

Another flashback began.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

In the schoolyard during lunch hour, Young Emily was eating lunch by herself when...

"I'll be taking that!" laughed the voice of Young Arry, snatching the dark green-haired young girl's sandwhich.

"Hey, give that back!" protested Young Emily, but was suddenly held back by Young Bert. "Augh!"

"Ha ha, little emerald girl in the middle!" The first young blonde-haired boy teased.

"You want this back?" Young Arry said to Young Emily. "Then fight for it back. Come on, hit me... I dare you!"

"N-No..." whimpered Young Emily.

"Ah ha ha! The emerald one is far too scared to do anything!" chuckled Young Bert. "I guess she's not so tough anymore."

Suddenly...

"OW!"

Someone had hit Young Arry in the back of the head.

"Leave Emily alone, you jerk!" warned the voice of Young Thomas. The younger boy didn't look to happy.

"Hey, it's Thomas!" growled Young Bert, letting go of Young Emily. "Stepping in to save your darling Emily again, aren't you?"

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Young Thomas angrily. "Friends protect each other. You give her back her sandwich right now, or I'll make sure you both never bully her again!"

This made Young Arry and Young Bert both very cross.

"You should've just stayed away." hissed Young Arry, tossing the sandwich back to Young Emily and rolling up is sleeves.

"But it looks like you need to be taught a lesson on interfering." added Young Bert, letting Young Emily go while rolling up his own sleeves as well.

With that said, the two devious twin boys attacked and began beating Young Thomas up... Young Emily could only watch in horror as her friend was being thrashed about. Young Thomas tried to fight back, but he was outnumbered and overpowered...

"Leave him alone!" Young Emily cried, almost bursting into tears.

"And what're you gonna do about it?" scoffed Young Bert. "Tell on us? Like a goody-good tattletale?"

Those words brought some bad memories back...

" _You? Tell on us? Did you hear that, Gordon_?" - (James)

" _You were right, she is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale_." - (Gordon)

" _No likes a tattletale...like you_." - (James)

Young Emily didn't want to get picked on once again, but she knew that if she didn't do anything soon, Young Thomas would be hurt even worse. Finally, gathering all her courage, she ran off to find a teacher. Now alone, Young Arry and Young Bert both thought they would get away with their behavior...

"The girl's gone..." Young Bert said to his brother.

"Now no one can rat us out." bragged Young Arry. He then turned to the unconscious Young Thomas... "Come on, let's beat on him some more!"

"I'm with you, brother!"

However, just before anything more could happen...

"ARRY AND BERT!" boomed the voice of Mr. Baldwin, the gym teacher.

"Uh-oh..." gulped the young twins, turning around to see Mr. Baldwin and Young Emily standing nearby. "We're in for it, now."

After a moment of talking, Mr. Baldwin took both blonde-haired boys towards the school, while Young Emily, with help from Young Edward, took Young Thomas to the Nurse's office.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended, and Thomas had listened carefully to the speech.

"I didn't want to step in out of fear of making things worse." explained Anastasia (Emily). "But I couldn't bare to let you suffer because of me. It was then I began to realize that I was relying on you so much to protect me, that I would never be able to protect myself if you were unavailable." She closed her eyes and allowed a teardrop to fall. "I was a burden to you."

"No... That's a lie!" protested Thomas, shaking his head in denial. "I never saw you as a burden!"

"No, it's the truth, and you know it. Besides, again, our enemies have also been using me as bait to draw you out so many times that I've began to realize that I was not only weak as a duelist, but also as a human being."

"Emily..." whispered Thomas.

"That's why I need this chance to grow stronger." went on Anastasia (Emily). "Not just to grow as a duelist, but to defeat the darkness in my heart and grow as an independent human being."

"But, Emily, you can't do something like this!" The blue-haired boy argued pointlessly. "I don't want to lose you! I NEED you! If you die now, Diablon will surely use my rage and sorrow to take complete control of my body!"

Sadly, the chat between the two got interrupted at this point...

"Nice story!" remarked Gozaburo, who had been silent throughout. "But I'm afraid the boy is correct; you will die once my attack punches through your own attack, Emily!"

It was true; Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's laser attack was beginning to overtake the arrows of light Supreme Queen of Angels was launching forth.

"I win!"

"Don't be so sure." interrupted Anastasia, now speaking once again.

Gozaburo raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"When Supreme Queen of Angels is successfully special summoned by her ability, her attack points...become doubled for the turn!"

"W-W-What?!" winced Gozaburo, now realizing he had fallen into his opponent's trap.

"Doubled?!" came from Spencer.

Supreme Queen of Angels glowed all gold-like as her attack points increased considerably (ATK: 3750 - 7500). Thus, her light arrows eventually began to overpower Chaos Ancient Gear Giant.

"If WE are destined to die-" declared Anastasia, speaking with BOTH voices. "-then WE are taking you down with us, Gozaburo Gresley! You will never hurt anyone in either world ever again!"

"N-No... I can't be defeated like this!" panicked Gozaburo. "Fight back, Chaos Ancient Gear Giant! Don't lose to someone like her!"

The attack grew fiercer, but Supreme Queen of Angels was unfazed as her master gave the word...

" **JUDGEMENT ARROWS**!" commanded Anastasia with such force.

But, alas, it was no good. Within seconds, the arrows of light pierced Chaos Ancient Gear Giant, making it roar in agony... Gozaburo could only watch helplessly as he was about to lose it all.

"My beliefs... " he murmured (LP: 0). "My ideas... Could I have been wrong?"

It got worse; Chaos Ancient Gear Giant had begun falling towards the ground...backwards! However, that was also towards a screaming Gozaburo Gresley (in addition to the Dark Extractor device). Soon, the device and demonic man were both crushed by the weight of the massive machine-type monster, while Chaos Ancient Gear Giant exploded shortly after. But it wasn't the usual explosions either... They were like...

 ***BOOM!***

 ***BOOM!***

 ***BOOM!***

 ***BOOM!***

 ***BOOM!***

Nathaniel and Spencer both braced themselves from the force of the almighty explosion, while Thomas merely looked away from it. Once all was quiet again, everyone looked to the spot where Gozaburo was crushed... All that was left was a pile of scrap and small fires...

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Anastasia wins!**

* * *

"Gozaburo...is gone..." whispered Spencer. "Dead at long last..."

"Such a monster of a human..." came from Nathaniel. He then remembered something... "Hold on... What about Emily?"

"Emily?!"

Over with the dark green-haired young woman, she was breathing hard as the holograms faded away.

"I've...done it..." Anastasia coughed weakly. "Gozaburo...is gone...for good." She smiled to herself. "I...win..."

Unfortunately for Anastasia, her wounds had finally caught up with her. Soon enough, the dark green-haired young woman collapsed on the ground (just as the spirit of Anastasia left before fading away), causing Emily to finally regain control of her own body and return to normal. Thomas, who was still attached to the wall from the Restraining Swords of Impact Trap card, was completely helpless to approach and help her.

"Emily!" Thomas wailed, struggling to break free from the swords. "Emily! Please get up! You can't die!"

Hearing the cries, Emily slowly, and weakly, opened her eyes as tears began to form in them. This was the part she had been afraid of most, and now there would be no going back...

"I'm so sorry, Thomas... I've won, but I'm afraid...this is goodbye."

"Stop screwing around!" screamed Thomas in utter defiance, as he started crying heavily. Emily, meanwhile, weakly struggled to bring her right hand towards her deck as her friend spoke some more. "I need you, Emily! I can't fight the darkness or Diablon without you!" The blue-haired boy's voice started to break even further. "I can't live without you, Emily... I love you!"

Emily finally looked upward in the direction of her friend with a brave, yet warm, tearful smile.

"Don't cry, Tommy..." she said softly. "You have to remain strong for everyone's sake... You're the last hope for not only the Duel Monsters spirit world, but our world, too..."

At last the weak and battered dark green-haired girl began fading away into particles of light, though the particles seemed to be entering Thomas's chest.

"No..." Thomas whispered helplessly. "Emily..."

Despite fading away, Emily continued to look at the crying Thomas with a warm smile on her face.

"Never... give in to the darkness, Thomas." whispered the dark green-haired girl, finally taking out and leaving her Swing of Memories card behind. "I...love you..."

With that said, Emily Sterling finally faded away into nothingness. Silence filled the restoration chamber, and no one left alive (Spencer and Nathaniel) dared to say a word about the event that had transpired. Finally, Thomas did manage to speak again—which was barely but a whisper...

"Em-ily..." he choked.

The broken Thomas had lost Emily, the one girl he was in-love with, forever; his worst nightmares had finally come true! ...and there would be no going back as of now. Darkness was soon beginning to overtake the poor blue-haired boy. He was...angry. Absolutely, truly angry. Diablon's strong influence over Thomas began to take effect.

" **NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO**!"

Full of despair, anguish, darkness, and rage, Thomas gave the mother of all screams of grief, managing to actually break himself free from the already weakened Binding Swords of Impact card with his now greatly enhanced/superhuman strength, allowing him to land firmly back onto the ground. Watching what was happening just now, Spencer and Nathaniel were both very surprised, and a bit terrified, at how incensed the poor blue-haired boy was. Thomas's eyes... they were demonic and shining red/yellow with malice (and the scar on his face didn't make it any better). Was something bad about to happen now that Thomas (possessed) was at the peak of his rage and despair? Well, let's see...

"I've lost Emily forever..." Thomas (possessed) whispered, finally falling to his knees surprisingly. "First I lost Anastasia... NOW her reincarnated vessal is gone..."

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer. "I..."

"That stupid prophecy... it was all meaningless... This world... it has no more meaning to me..."

The possessed blue-haired boy then started to cry yet again.

"Thomas, please..." began Nathaniel, beginning to walk over.

"STAY BACK!" ordered the voice of Thomas (possessed) through his sobbing.

The black-haired young man immediately stopped moving, just as a dark aura began to take hold of Thomas (possessed).

"Every time I try to be with the woman I love, something takes her away from me! It's not fair! **IT'S! NOT! FAIR**!"

Nathaniel and Spencer both felt more and more sorry for Thomas than ever before as he ranted, but then they heard that the sobbing from the broken Thomas was slowly becoming...laughter? And not just any laughter, but snapped, crazed, maniacal laughter... and it was getting louder by the second until he was laughing madly... Whatever sanity Thomas had left was completely gone...

"This world, it has no further purpose... The real world? I have no more need to return to it..." Thomas (possessed) went on, as his tone grew more and more insane sounding before he turned around with the most demented-looking smile on his face, and his eyes shining all golden yellow (pure madness). "So, I think...I'LL JUST DESTROY BOTH WORLDS AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THEM!"

"Billinton!" cried Spencer.

Surrounded by a burning dark aura, Thomas (possessed) was slowly beginning to turn back into Diablon.

"I will make everyone experience the same pain and suffering I myself have been forced to endure!" declared the possessed blue-haired boy, with his dark aura beginning to explode with greater power. "If I cannot live with love or happiness, THEN NO ONE ELSE SHALL!"

Three cards suddenly slipped out of Thomas's deck. The first card was shown to be...

"Is that-?!" gasped Nathaniel.

"Obelisk the Tormentor!" confirmed Spencer.

The second card was...

"Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

And the final card was revealed as...

"That's The Winged Dragon of Ra!" Nathaniel pointed out. "What's Thomas about to do with the three Gods of Egypt?"

"Oh, please!" boomed Thomas (possessed). "I don't need them! I have something so much better in mind!"

The possessed blue-haired boy raised his arm to the sky.

"With all my power, I shall infuse the three Egyptian God cards with the power of darkness in order to awaken the Sacred Beasts from their eternal slumber once more!"

A dark aura began to take over the three God cards, destroying them. Within seconds, the auras formed from the destruction of the three cards shot directly into Thomas (possessed)'s hand as three new cards began to form in place.

"Those are-!" began Spencer, but was too shocked to finish.

"The Sacred Beasts..." finished Nathaniel.

But that wasn't the worst bit... Thomas (possessed) was also transforming back into the form of Diablon. If that were to happen, then...

"Yes... YES!" rejoiced Thomas (possessed), slowly getting the body of Diablon back. "I'm regaining my original form once again! When I do, the time will... will..." Something suddenly began to happen... "W-What's-?!"

A golden light began to glow in the possessed boy's chest (where his heart was).

"What's going on?! What is this feeling in my..." ranted Thomas (possessed). From there... "RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGG!"

The pained screaming was beyond a scream a normal human could do. Thomas (possessed) felt that something was tearing away from his heart, and it was beyond painful for him to endure.

"What's...going on?" asked Spencer, looking shocked.

"I... I don't know..." answered Nathaniel, while Thomas (possessed) continued with his inhuman screams of pain.

Unfortunately, the surge of pain, power, and darkness was beginning to destroy the whole Castle of Dark Illusions.

"The castle's coming apart!" Nathaniel exclaimed. "We have to leave, now!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

The two duelists didn't even make two steps when the whole room got surrounded by a blinding light. Nathaniel and Spencer both cried out as the light overwhelmed the whole chamber...

(new location...)

When Spencer and Nathaniel reopened their eyes, they could not believe what they were seeing.

"Where are we...?" The two duelists questioned aloud.

The two duelists found themselves inside the ruins of an old castle. This castle seemed familiar to Spencer, but where did he even last see it?

"This castle..." whispered Nathaniel, who had never seen the likes of it before.

"It looks so familiar..." added Spencer in amazement.

The two duelists soon saw an unconscious Thomas lying near one of the destroyed pillars.

"Billinton!" cried Spencer, running over.

"No, wait!" called Nathaniel, reaching out in protest.

Spencer stopped and saw that the dark aura was still burning around the knocked out blue-haired boy.

"That dark aura..." The silver-haired boy mumbled. "Billinton still has it around him..."

"What was that glowing light in his heart?" asked Nathaniel, remembering something happening to Thomas earlier.

Spencer frowned. "I...don't know..." he admitted.

All of a sudden, the ruined room started to darken somewhat...

"Huh?"

"What's going on?" questioned Nathaniel, looking around.

The answer came with a roar. Both duelists turned around, looked up, and gasped in complete shock.

"It's them!" exclaimed Nathaniel. "The Sacred Beasts!"

That's right. The three Sacred Beasts themselves were revealed...  
-Raviel, Lord of Phantasms  
-Uria, Lord of Searing Flames  
-Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder

"The Egyptian Gods... They've turned into the Sacred Beasts..." whispered Spencer in a rare display of fright.

But that wasn't even the worst part... Standing nearby, in the exact same spot where Anastasia had died in Anakin's arms, was him...

"That's-!" Nathaniel began, but never finished.

It was Diablon in the flesh, eyes shining all crimson red (symbolizing anger and hatred), with his own body...


	99. The Supreme King Cometh

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of the Castle of Dark Illusions from a few minutes ago...

"Never... give in to the darkness, Thomas." whispered the dark green-haired girl, finally taking out and leaving her Swing of Memories card behind. "I...love you..."

With that said, Emily Sterling finally faded away into nothingness. Silence filled the restoration chamber, and no one left alive (Spencer and Nathaniel) dared to say a word about the event that had transpired. Finally, Thomas did manage to speak again—which was barely but a whisper...

"Em-ily..." he choked.

The broken Thomas had lost Emily, the one girl he was in-love with, forever; his worst nightmares had finally come true! ...and there would be no going back as of now. Darkness was soon beginning to overtake the poor blue-haired boy. He was...angry. Absolutely, truly angry. Diablon's strong influence over Thomas began to take effect.

" **NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO**!"

Full of despair, anguish, darkness, and rage, Thomas gave the mother of all screams of grief, managing to actually break himself free from the already weakened Binding Swords of Impact card with his now greatly enhanced/superhuman strength, allowing him to land firmly back onto the ground. Watching what was happening just now, Spencer and Nathaniel were both very surprised, and a bit terrified, at how incensed the poor blue-haired boy was. Thomas's eyes... they were demonic and shining red/yellow with malice (and the scar on his face didn't make it any better). Was something bad about to happen now that Thomas (possessed) was at the peak of his rage and despair? Well, let's see...

"I've lost Emily forever..." Thomas (possessed) whispered, finally falling to his knees surprisingly. "First I lost Anastasia... NOW her reincarnated vessal is gone..."

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer. "I..."

"That stupid prophecy... it was all meaningless... This world... it has no more meaning to me..."

The possessed blue-haired boy then started to cry yet again.

"Thomas, please..." began Nathaniel, beginning to walk over.

"STAY BACK!" ordered the voice of Thomas (possessed) through his sobbing.

The black-haired young man immediately stopped moving, just as a dark aura began to take hold of Thomas (possessed).

"Every time I try to be with the woman I love, something takes her away from me! It's not fair! **IT'S! NOT! FAIR**!"

Nathaniel and Spencer both felt more and more sorry for Thomas than ever before as he ranted, but then they heard that the sobbing from the broken Thomas was slowly becoming...laughter? And not just any laughter, but snapped, crazed, maniacal laughter... and it was getting louder by the second until he was laughing madly... Whatever sanity Thomas had left was completely gone...

"This world, it has no further purpose... The real world? I have no more need to return to it..." Thomas (possessed) went on, as his tone grew more and more insane sounding before he turned around with the most demented-looking smile on his face, and his eyes shining all golden yellow (pure madness). "So, I think...I'LL JUST DESTROY BOTH WORLDS AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THEM!"

"Billinton!" cried Spencer.

Surrounded by a burning dark aura, Thomas (possessed) was slowly beginning to turn back into Diablon.

"I will make everyone experience the same pain and suffering I myself have been forced to endure!" declared the possessed blue-haired boy, with his dark aura beginning to explode with greater power. "If I cannot live with love or happiness, THEN NO ONE ELSE SHALL!"

Three cards suddenly slipped out of Thomas's deck. The first card was shown to be...

"Is that-?!" gasped Nathaniel.

"Obelisk the Tormentor!" confirmed Spencer.

The second card was...

"Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

And the final card was revealed as...

"That's The Winged Dragon of Ra!" Nathaniel pointed out. "What's Thomas about to do with the three Gods of Egypt?"

"Oh, please!" boomed Thomas (possessed). "I don't need them! I have something so much better in mind!"

The possessed blue-haired boy raised his arm to the sky.

"With all my power, I shall infuse the three Egyptian God cards with the power of darkness in order to awaken the Sacred Beasts from their eternal slumber once more!"

A dark aura began to take over the three God cards, destroying them. Within seconds, the auras formed from the destruction of the three cards shot directly into Thomas (possessed)'s hand as three new cards began to form in place.

"Those are-!" began Spencer, but was too shocked to finish.

"The Sacred Beasts..." finished Nathaniel.

But that wasn't the worst bit... Thomas (possessed) was also transforming back into the form of Diablon. If that were to happen, then...

"Yes... YES!" rejoiced Thomas (possessed), slowly getting the body of Diablon back. "I'm regaining my original form once again! When I do, the time will... will..." Something suddenly began to happen... "W-What's-?!"

A golden light began to glow in the possessed boy's chest (where his heart was).

"What's going on?! What is this feeling in my..." ranted Thomas (possessed). From there... "RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGG!"

The pained screaming was beyond a scream a normal human could do. Thomas (possessed) felt that something was tearing away from his heart, and it was beyond painful for him to endure.

"What's...going on?" asked Spencer, looking shocked.

"I... I don't know..." answered Nathaniel, while Thomas (possessed) continued with his inhuman screams of pain.

Unfortunately, the surge of pain, power, and darkness was beginning to destroy the whole Castle of Dark Illusions.

"The castle's coming apart!" Nathaniel exclaimed. "We have to leave, now!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

The two duelists didn't even make two steps when the whole room got surrounded by a blinding light. Nathaniel and Spencer both cried out as the light overwhelmed the whole chamber...

(new location...)

When Spencer and Nathaniel reopened their eyes, they could not believe what they were seeing.

"Where are we...?" The two duelists questioned aloud.

The two duelists found themselves inside the ruins of an old castle. This castle seemed familiar to Spencer, but where did he even last see it?

"This castle..." whispered Nathaniel, who had never seen the likes of it before.

"It looks so familiar..." added Spencer in amazement.

The two duelists soon saw an unconscious Thomas lying near one of the destroyed pillars.

"Billinton!" cried Spencer, running over.

"No, wait!" called Nathaniel, reaching out in protest.

Spencer stopped and saw that the dark aura was still burning around the knocked out blue-haired boy.

"That dark aura..." The silver-haired boy mumbled. "Billinton still has it around him..."

"What was that glowing light in his heart?" asked Nathaniel, remembering something happening to Thomas earlier.

Spencer frowned. "I...don't know..." he admitted.

All of a sudden, the ruined room started to darken somewhat...

"Huh?"

"What's going on?" questioned Nathaniel, looking around.

The answer came with a roar. Both duelists turned around, looked up, and gasped in complete shock.

"It's them!" exclaimed Nathaniel. "The Sacred Beasts!"

That's right. The three Sacred Beasts themselves were revealed...  
-Raviel, Lord of Phantasms  
-Uria, Lord of Searing Flames  
-Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder

"The Egyptian Gods... They've turned into the Sacred Beasts..." whispered Spencer in a rare display of fright.

But that wasn't even the worst part... Standing nearby, in the exact same spot where Anastasia had died in Anakin's arms, was him...

"That's-!" Nathaniel began, but never finished.

It was Diablon in the flesh, eyes shining all crimson red (symbolizing anger and hatred), with his own body...

"How..." The demonic young man hissed in pain. "How was I split from Thomas? How was SHE able to do it?!" He immediately stopped grimacing and smiled darkly. "...not that it even matters..."

Spencer and Nathaniel both watched in horror as Diablon slowly returned to his feet and spread his arms out in welcome and triumph.

"Regardless of the answer-" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' shouted to no one in particular. "-I have finally returned to full power! And this time, nobody can stop me... Both worlds are about to meet their destruction at the hands of darkness!"

Maniacal laughter, along with roars from the Sacred Beasts, filled the whole throne room...

* * *

 **Title: The Supreme King Cometh**

* * *

Silence filled the whole throne room of the castle, with just the three Sacred Beasts glaring down at the two standing duelists with very evil intention. Diablon, on the other hand, merely smiled at Spencer and Nathaniel as he paced about.

"Well, now... Why do you both look so surprised?" The wicked demon asked coolly. "You should've expected that I would return to the living sooner or later... After all, it took the Supreme Queen's death to trigger the boy's mental breakdown."

"What?" questioned Spencer.

"Fine, I'll just spell it out for you and your primitive mind... If there's anyone to blame for my return, it's her for deliberately breaking Thomas's heart just as she did the same with my former, weaker self, Anakin."

"Anastasia and Emily both did what they thought was right." objected Nathaniel. "They would never do anything to harm their loved ones on purpose!"

"Liar!" snarled Diablon. "Anastasia was a cruel woman! She knew Anakin had no reason to live without her. She should have let him die and join her in the afterlife instead of forcing him to live on suffering for her sadistic pleasure!"

Suddenly, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, and Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder each started glowing before turning themselves into balls of energy and floating around the throne room like ghostly spirits before flying down towards Diablon and entering three cards the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' currently had out.

"And it's thanks to that ignorant woman-" Diablon went on, smirking once more. "-that both this world and the human world will be all mine to destroy!"

"Destroy?" repeated Nathaniel.

"Yes, destroy!" An aura of powerful darkness glowed all-around Diablon. "And this time, Autraius isn't here to stop me!"

"No."

Diablon stopped his rant. "What do you mean, no?"

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' was glaring at Nathaniel... It would seem that the black-haired young man was trying to defy easily the most powerful and dangerous being in the whole Duel Monsters spirit world. Heh... how amusing.

"We will NOT let you destroy these worlds!" declared Nathaniel. "Actually... ' _I_ ' won't let you destroy both worlds! As a fellow Guardian in The Sanctuary in the Sky, it's my duty to ensure that peace is kept in this world... and that includes stopping threats like you!"

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" questioned Diablon, not looking very pleased. "You believe you're a match for someone like me?!"

"Truth be told-" admitted Nathaniel, closing his eyes. "-not really." He then opened them fiercely and activated his Duel Disk. "But I'm at least willing to try!"

"Count me in!" added Spencer, about to join in.

"No, I want you to look after Thomas."

"Are you sure you'll manage alone?" The silver-haired boy asked with concern.

"I've faced Diablon once before, and managed to beat him." replied Nathaniel. "I ' _know_ ' I can defeat him once again..."

"Good luck trying!" sneered Diablon, making a black and purple-shaded Duel Disk appear on his left arm. "This time, I will send you to Hell!"

With that said, both duelists drew their opening hands and stared each other down with looks of hatred on their respected faces.

"Time to duel!" Diablon and Nathaniel both announced in unison (LP: 4000) x2.

From there, Diablon started glowing all purple as darkness gathered all around him. Nathaniel, meanwhile, started glowing all white as light gathered all around him.

"And so it begins..." Spencer thought to himself.

Indeed so...

"The first attack goes to me!" announced Nathaniel, drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Nathaniel (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Backup Gardna, Invalid Insensitive, Disgraceful Charity, Guardian Descent, Wicked-Breaking Flamberge - Baou, and Guardian Treasure

* * *

Readying his drawn card, The black-haired young man glared at his opponent.

"Get ready, Diablon..." he declared. "It's time for you to face my battle tactics!"

"Bring it on!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' dared.

On cue, the familiar Guardian Treasure Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"For my opening play, I activate Guardian Treasure to throw away five cards from my hand and draw two more cards! In addition, I can draw an additional card during the draw phase so long as Guardian Treasure stays face-up on my field."

Nathaniel discarded his hand and drew two cards, one of which was Pot of Greed (Spell card).

"Alright, Diablon-" Nathaniel went on, holding out his card. "-I'll add even more cards to my hand with Pot of Greed!"

The black-haired young man drew two cards. From there, a Spell card called Boogie Trap flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And one of those cards will be played now! Go - Boogie Trap!"

"Boogie Trap?" quizzed Diablon.

"By discarding two cards-" explained Nathaniel, discarding the two remaining cards in his hand to the graveyard. "-I can set one Trap card in my graveyard, and automatically activate it this turn."

On cue, the Disgraceful Charity trap card materialized face-up.

"I play Disgraceful Charity to add every card discarded to the graveyard this to my hand... Namely, six!"

Six cards were ejected out from Nathaniel's graveyard, and he added them into his hand.

"A smart move..." admitted Diablon begrudgingly.

"Next I summon Backup Gardna in defense mode!" continued Nathaniel, placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways).

The purple-skinned monster appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 2200).

"But I'm not even close to finishing yet." The black-haired young man held out yet another card. "This is a Continuous Spell card called Guardian Descent... What this does, is it allows me once a turn to banish one card from my deck to special summon one 'Guardian' monster from the deck so long as the Equip Spell card is listed on the selected monster's text is on my side of the field."

From there, yet another Continuous Spell card (Morale Boost) flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And following it is Morale Boost! Now whenever you or I play an Equip Spell card, the controller receives 1000 additional life points! ...however, if that Equip Spell card were to leave the field at any time, then the controller receives 1000 points of damage."

Diablon folded his arms. "Seems simple enough."

Suddenly, a card faded from Nathaniel's hand as he took and held up another card.

"I send a card from my hand to the graveyard to activate Wicked-Breaking Flamberge - Baou!" Nathaniel announced, receiving 1000 life points (LP: 5000). "And I will equip this weapon onto Backup Gardna."

A new type of sword materialized out of the blue in Backup Gardna's hand, making him grow slightly stronger (ATK: 500 - 1000). From there, Nathaniel drew a card and allowed it to fade away in a blue streak.

"Next comes the effect of Guardian Descent... I banish a card from my deck to special summon Guardian Baou to the field!"

Appearing to the field was a purple skinned fiend-like Guardian (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 400).

"With backup Gardna's effect-" continued Nathaniel. "-I transfer the effect of Wicked-Breaking Flamberge to Guardian Baou, raising my monster's attack points by 500."

The sword transferred from Backup Gardna to Guardian Baou, raising his strength even further (ATK: 800 - 1300).

"Finally I set this facedown." finished Nathaniel, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. A facedown card then materialized. "I end my turn."

Over with Spencer, he started to hear a moan...

"Ugh... My head..."

"Billinton?" gasped Spencer, turning to look down in his right. "Billinton, you're awake!"

Yes, indeed... It looked like Thomas was finally waking up from what he had endured.

"Why does..." groaned Thomas, clutching his chest. "Why does my heart hurt so much?"

"After Emily died-" explained Spencer, still feeling terrible for his friend/rival. "-you began turning into Diablon out of your grief and rage. But then something happened that pulled you and him apart..."

"You are correct." interrupted Diablon. "I don't know how it happened, but now I have a body of my own... Witness the power of the Supreme King in action." He drew a card. "It's my turn, draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck:** 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Fallen Angel(!)

* * *

His drawn card was a monster card called Fallen Angel. The sight of this monster card brought a smile onto the ' _ **Evil One**_ 's' face.

"I never thought I'd draw you..." he thought to only himself. Diablon then looked up at his opponent. "Get ready to face something you've never gone up against in your life!"

Nathaniel merely stood ready, watching as Diablon placed his drawn card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.

"I summon Fallen Angel in attack mode!"

A small dark cloud appeared high above the ceiling, just before a lightning bolt struck the ground before Diablon.

"What's going on?" questioned Nathaniel.

Diablon kept his smile. "Just wait and see..."

As the smoke cleared away, a young woman with long purple hair stood in place. Her outfit consisted of a light purple garment, which left much of her well-developed body exposed. She wore a low-cut bra, which exposed so much breast cleavage, a sleeve in only one of her arms, and a long open skirt. The skirt was decorated with red and purple feathers and bracelets. The female monster was smiling at the three male duelists in a sexy-yet sadistic way.

"Fallen...Angel?" whispered Nathaniel, looking a bit shaken.

"Yes." said Diablon. "This one card will lead me to victory against you."

Fallen Angel, meanwhile, giggled malevolently (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Your monster only has zero attack and defense points!" Spencer pointed out. "What was the point of summoning something like that?"

Diablon kept his smile. "Patience... But let me ask you something; doesn't this monster look strikingly familiar to each of you?"

The three male duelists looked closely at this female monster. Thomas, however, was the one who studied it the most carefully before reeling back in shock...

"It... it can't be possible!"

Fallen Angel's body and facial structure looked strikingly like Anastasia's. The only difference between them was that Fallen Angel had purple hair instead of brunette-colored hair, and wore MUCH skimpier clothing than Anastasia ever did.

"Your monster looks almost exactly like Anastasia!" Thomas blurted out.

"Correct!" confirmed Diablon. "This monster represents Anastasia's true colors during the time of Anakin's suffering, before he eventually became what you see standing before you!"

"True colors?" muttered Thomas to himself.

"Namely for what would happen if the so-called Supreme Queen actually fell down a dark path... This is the results!"

Thomas was badly shaken. "No... No, I don't believe you! You're just trying to trick me!"

"Call it a trick all you want-" Diablon went on. "-but you know it's true! And let me fill you in on a secret... Your darling Emily, if she stayed on her dark path years ago, would have eventually ended up like this also!"

"W-What?" spluttered Thomas.

"Yes, indeed..." nodded Diablon.

"That's a lie! She would have killed herself years ago before that chance would have come!"

Diablon chuckled. "Oh, really? Are you quite sure about that?"

"She was this close to killing herself after all she had endured by Gordon and James!" insisted Thomas. "I saved her life!"

"Hmph! Perhaps I've said too much already." Diablon huffed, before looking back at Nathaniel. "Let us continue the duel, shall we?"

"Yes, lets." agreed Nathaniel.

"Then I shall use my new monster to attack Guardian Baou!"

Fallen Angel, obeying the command, jumped into the air with her weapon.

"But my monster is so much stronger than yours!" protested Nathaniel.

"Fallen Angel's effect now activates!" announced Diablon, making the black-haired young man gasp. "I negate my attack and destroy your monster, inflicting damage to your life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack!"

The black-haired young man recoiled. "What?!"

"That's right... Whenever I declare an attack, or you attack Fallen Angel instead, I can negate the attack and destroy your monster and deal massive damage to your life points!"

As Guardian Baou tried to counter attack, Fallen Angel effortlessly stopped him before getting ready to finish him off.

"My monster and life points will remain safe!" declared Nathaniel, motuioning his right hand forth. "Continuous Trap - Invalid Insensitive!"

Guardian Baou managed to avoid being destroyed by Fallen Angel.

"What?!" demanded Diablon.

"For this turn-" explained Nathaniel. "-my monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects." He smirked teasingly. "Nice try, but my monster and life points are safe and sound."

The demon scowled at this taunt. "You dare to make a mockery of my lovely monster? I assure you she will be the end of you, Guardian Nathaniel!"

"Is there anything else you'd like to do this turn?"

Diablon shook his head. "I end my turn."

"He seems to be playing too lightly." thought Spencer, watching as the face-up Invalid Insensitive shattered into shards of glass. "What if he has something up his sleeve?"

Thomas thought so, too. "Could Fallen Angel have...another ability?"

"You're too soft, Diablon." smirked Nathaniel, drawing two cards and beginning his turn. "You say you're gonna defeat me, but all you did was play one monster card."

Diablon said nothing. Was he waiting for Nathaniel to fall into a trap or something? Or was he really low on options at the moment? No one knew what the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' was thinking about, right now...

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Nathaniel (LP: 5000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Card of Demise

* * *

On cue, the Card of Demise Spell card materialized face-up.

"I activate the Spell card Card of Demise!" said Nathaniel, drawing four new cards. "This powerful drawing card allows me to draw from my deck until I have five cards in my hand, and after five turns I must discard my whole hand."

Diablon grunted a response, watching as a Spell card called Shooting Star Bow - Ceal materialized face-up.

"Next I shall equip Backup Gardna with Shooting Star Bow - Ceal!" Nathaniel continued some more, gaining 1000 more life points (LP: 6000). "This Equip Spell card lowers his attack points by 1000, but allows him to attack you directly!"

Backup Gardna's attack dropped (ATK: 500 - 0).

"But that's not what I'm aiming for... The real use for my card is to summon another Guardian monster to the field." The black-haired young man placed another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth - Guardian Ceal!"

Appearing to the field was a male Guardian monster in a body as red as flames and a head and limbs white as smoke (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1400).

"One more time; I use Backup Gardna's effect to give Guardian Ceal the weapon Shooting Star Bow."

The bow left Backup Gardna and went to Guardian Ceal (ATK: 1700 - 700).

"Are you done yet?" yawned Diablon. "Your pointless summons are beginning to bore me..."

"I still have one card more to play." replied Nathaniel firmly, discarding another card to the graveyard while a Spell card called Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I discard another card to activate Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce!"

"Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce?"

"These swords decrease Backup Gardna's attack by 500, but allows him to make two attacks per turn!" The black-haired young man explained, just as two weapons appeared in his monster's hands and he received 1000 more life points (LP: 7000). "But now comes the effect of Guardian Descent!"

The face-up Guardian Descent started glowing.

"I banish another card from my deck to special summon a Guardian monster." announced Nathaniel, drawing a card and letting it fade away. "This one will complete my attack force..."

From there, a monster card called Guardian Tryce materialized face-up.

"Meet Guardian Tryce!"

Appearing to the field was a male Guardian monster with purple hair, and a shirt representing lightning (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1700).

"Backup Gardna, give your weapons to my new monster!" commanded Nathaniel.

Backup Gardna obeyed, transferring the swords directly to Guardian Tryce (ATK: 1900 - 1400).

"Three Guardian monsters..." remarked Diablon. "I must say I'm impressed... But if you try attacking with any of them, I can just negate the attack, destroy the monster, and deal you life point damage."

"That's where you're wrong." Nathaniel cut in.

"Huh?"

"Although this will cost me 1000 of my life points-" The black-haired young man went on. "-I can clear the field of your Fallen Angel... I activate the special ability of Guardian Ceal!"

Shooting Star Bow burst into flames.

"Wait! What're you doing with your weapon?" questioned Diablon.

"By sacrificing my bow-" explained Nathaniel. "-Guardian Ceal can destroy one card on your field!"

Guardian Ceal took aim with the enflamed bow.

"Open fire!"

A shot was fired towards Fallen Angel.

"Is this where that trick comes into play?" Thomas asked himself, watching as the arrow got closer and closer.

The arrow soon struck Fallen Angel in the middle of her chest, causing the female monster to scream in pain before exploding and clouding Diablon's side of the field.

"Your Fallen Angel is no more!" declared Nathaniel proudly, taking a life point hit (LP: 6000).

The smoke continued to cloud Diablon's side of the field, but then came the loud cry of rage from the ' _ **Evil One**_ '. Nathaniel was surprise to hear Diablon screaming like that. Why would he be upset over his monster being destroyed? As the smoke began clearing away, there were a pair of glowing red eyes...

"What the...?"

When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed that Diablon had a look of pure anger on his face.

"Nobody touches my Fallen Angel like that and lives to tell the tale!" he growled. "Most importantly... When she is destroyed at any time, I can play her final effect..."

"Final effect?" asked Nathaniel.

"Take a good look at her corpse!"

"Corpse?" asked Spencer.

Nathaniel did so... and gasped at what was happening...

"W-What?!" The black-haired young man exclaimed.

Lying on the other aside of the duel field was the supposed corpse of Fallen Angel, and something was happening to it...

"The Fallen Angel's remains will briefly revive and unleash a powerful wave of darkness that will hit all of your monsters." explained Diablon. "Once it hits, it will destroy all of your monsters and inflict life point damage to you equal to the combined attack power of each monster destroyed..."

"What?!" gasped Nathaniel, watching as the corpse started glowing all purple.

"It's true!" shouted Diablon. "Now, wipe out all of Guardian Nathaniel's monsters, my Fallen Angel!"

The corpse of Fallen Angel suddenly rose and let loose an angered scream as a wave of darkness took over the field, destroying all of Nathaniel's monsters one-by-one.

"My Guardians..." winced Nathaniel, taking massive damage to his life points (LP: 600).

"And let's not forget your Morale Boost." reminded Diablon, pointing forth. "Whenever an Equipment Spell card is destroyed, the owner of the card will receive a total of 1000 points worth of damage!"

"No!" Nathaniel cried out, realizing that his opponent was right.

"That means this duel is over and done with!"

Indeed so... With no way out of it, the black-haired young man turned towards both Thomas and Spencer...

"Forgive me, you two-" he began. "-but it looks like I've lost..."

"No use convincing those two." retorted Diablon, before thrusting his hand forth. "Now...DIE!"

The face-up Morale Boost Spell card exploded, sending Nathaniel flying into a nearly pillar and destroying it. The destruction of the pillar caused tons of ceiling debris to crumble and fall atop of the wounded black-haired young man, buring him (LP: 0).

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Diablon wins!**

* * *

Battered and bloodied, Nathaniel struggled his way out of the debris and looked over to Thomas and Spencer...

"Nathaniel!" The two duelists called at once, looking surprised by the young man's loss.

"I've...lost..." Nathaniel weakly murmured, with blood seeping down the side of his face. "Thomas... Spencer... This is the end of me... You...both must not let the darkness...win... or this world, and your world, will be in great danger... P-Please, you...must..."

Nathaniel never got to finish his sentence, as he finally closed his eyes, collapsed, turned into particles of light, and faded away... This left Thomas and Spencer both saddened by the death of the black-haired young man, while Diablon didn't feel very impressed with the performance of Nathaniel.

"The Sacred Beasts weren't worth using on someone like him..." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' scoffed, turning his back on the two teenage boys. "Is there anybody out there who could even provide the slightest challenge?!"

That did it... something had to be done about Diablon! With Thomas and Spencer both being the only duelists left standing, they both had to challenge Diablon and take him down, here and now! Could they even win against a seemingly invincible duelist?


	100. Conquer the Inner Demon (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of the ruins of Anastasia's old castle, Diablon had defeated, and killed off, Nathaniel with Spencer and Thomas both watching.

"The Sacred Beasts weren't worth using on someone like him..." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' scoffed, turning his back on the two teenage boys. "Is there anybody out there who could even provide the slightest challenge?!"

At long last...

"Damn you..." growled Spencer. "This is unforgivable!"

Thomas, however, had awoken yet again... "Your thoughtless and evil actions have gone far enough, Diablon!"

"For me-" insisted Diablon, slowly turning around to face his two greatest enemies. "-it's NEVER enough! I want everyone to suffer just as badly as I was forced to before my transformation! The darkness welcomed me when the light cast me aside, and I will do what I must to protect it!"

"If that's the case..."

As those words were said by Thomas (possessed), he and Spencer both activated their Duel Disks and got ready to face their enemy.

"WE CHALLENGE YOU!" The two teenage boys declared bravely.

"So I not only get to become one with the first, but I get to kill the other..." grinned Diablon, becoming very interested at the challenge. "Perfect."

Hearing part of the sentence caused Thomas (possessed) to ease up a bit.

"Wait, what?" he asked. "You want to become one with me?"

"Yes, indeed." confirmed Diablon. "By doing so, you and I can truly make this, and the real world, ours for the taking without destroying them outright."

"I would never do something like that!" argued Thomas (possessed).

"Emily and Anastasia both did so... Why can't you see that?"

"Anastasia had no evil intentions." protested Thomas (possessed). "She..."

"She merged with Emily just to be killed again!" ranted Diablon. "You've lost your love because of Anastasia's questionable decisions!"

"ENOUGH!" Thomas (possessed) boomed. "Let's settle this once and for all!"

With that said, all three duelists drew their opening hands (LP: 4000) x3.

"The Sacred Beasts will enjoy crushing the likes of you!" boasted Diablon, drawing a card. "And, if you don't mind, I want to take the first turn."

* * *

 **Turn One** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Spell Chronicle, Foolish Decision, Dark Bribe, Battle Fader, Last Trick, and Chaos Core

* * *

On cue, a monster card called Chaos Core materialized face-up on the field.

"Meet Chaos Core!"

Appearing onto the field was a purple winged fiend monster with a white core sphere in its chest (Level: 3/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"It looks weak, yes, but it has an effect that will be revealed in due time." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' pointed out, before slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "Next I set one card..."

A facedown card materialized on the field, which was followed by a Spell card called Spell Chronicle materializing face-up on the field.

"...and activate a Continuous Spell card called Spell Chronicle!"

"Spell Chronicle?" blinked Thomas (possessed). "What does that card do?"

"This allows me to select and banish five cards from my deck." explained Diablon, drawing and allowing five cards to fade away.. "Then every time either of you play a Spell card of your very own, this card gains one Chronicle Counter. When it has two in total, I can remove them and you get to select one of the banished cards I have to be added to my hand."

The cards shown getting banished were Akashic Record (Spell), Thousand Buster (Trap), Twin Bow Centaur (Continuous Spell), Grinder Golem (Effect Monster), and Grave Squirmer (Effect Monster).

"My turn is over!"

* * *

 **Title: Conquer the Inner Demon, Part 1**

* * *

The cards shown getting banished were Akashic Record (Spell), Thousand Buster (Trap), Twin Bow Centaur (Continuous Spell), Grinder Golem (Effect Monster), and Grave Squirmer (Effect Monster).

"My turn is over!" announced Diablon.

"Diablon summoned another monster with zero attack points." Spencer thought to himself. "Does this one have a deadly effect, too?" He spoke aloud while drawing his card. "It's my turn now, Diablon!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (4): Vanguard of the Dragon, Split Guard, The Melody of Awakening Dragon, Charm of Lamentation, Totem Dragon, and Three of a Kind

* * *

Spencer's hand consisted of Vanguard of the Dragon, Split Guard, The Melody of Awakening Dragon, Charm of Lamentation, Totem Dragon, and the just drawn Three of a Kind.

"Either way, Diablon will soon learn not to mess with professional duelists like Billinton and myself." Spencer took and placed a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Vanguard of the Dragon - come forth, and eliminate those who defy you!"

A blue-scaled dragon wielding a spear and shield appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1300). Spencer then held out a card (Totem Dragon) and sent it to the graveyard...

"By discarding a dragon-type monster from my hand to the graveyard-" he explained. "-Vanguard of the Dragon receives 300 attack points."

Vanguard of the Dragon gave a roar as he grew stronger (ATK: 1700 - 2000). This was followed by the Charm of Lamentation Spell card flipping face-up and revealing itself...

"And next comes Charm of Lamination!" The silver-haired boy went on, with two fingers braced onto a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "Now, as long as this card is face-up, I can draw a card whenever one of my monsters fails to destroy one of your monsters by battle."

Diablon smirked. "By playing a Spell card, you've added one Chronicle Counter to my face-up Spell Chronicle!"

"Makes no difference to me." scoffed Spencer, entering the battle phase. "Vanguard of the Dragon, attack Chaos Core, now!"

Vanguard of the Dragon obeyed and thrust his spear forth...

"Chaos Core's Special Effect activates, now!" cut in Diablon, holding up three cards. "First, I must send these three cards from my deck to the graveyard..." He turned the cards over... "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"

The spirits of the Sacred Beasts briefly appeared before turning to light.

"The Sacred Beasts?!" gasped Thomas (possessed). Suddenly... "GRRRHHH!"

The possessed blue-haired boy felt a sharp pain in his chest as he collapsed to his kness in agony. As the three Sacred Beasts floated around the field in their orb of light form, their roars echoed throughout like voices...

" ** _We will become one... We will become one... We will become one_**..."

"S-Stop it..." winced Thomas (possessed).

"What's going on?" questioned Spencer, seeing that his teammate was in pain. "I don't hear anything."

"Can you feel it?" asked Diablon, as his three monster spirits entered the graveyard. "The shadows want us to become one complete being, Thomas! Why fight try to it off?" He then held his right hand outward... "With the Sacred Beasts now sleeping in my graveyard, Chaos Core now receives three special Sacred Beast Counters!"

"Sacred Beast Counters?" quizzed Spencer.

Three balls of lights entered the sphere within Chaos Core's chest.

"By removing one of those counters-" Diablon explained, holding his right hand out. "-my monster is spared from destruction and I receive no battle damage."

The lance tried to hit, but was blocked by a protective barrier.

"Since my attack has failed to defeat your monster-" said Spencer, drawing a card. "-I'm able to draw a card from my deck."

A facedown card then materialized facedown behind Vanguard of the Dragon at that very moment.

"Finally, I'll play this card facedown and end my turn."

Thomas (possessed), meanwhile, was still on his knees in pain from the taunts he was seemingly getting from the Sacred Beasts...

"We will become one..." echoed the voices repeatedly. "We will become one..."

"Shut up!" Thomas (possessed) cried out in pain. "Shut up! Make it stop!"

"You have a choice on it..." called Diablon. "Either surrender now, or take your turn."

Thomas (possessed), struggling hard to fight the ruthless taunts and darkness, managed to finally draw his card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Dark Magician Girl, Sage's Stone, Soul Rope, Big Shield Gardna, Fiend's Sanctuary, and Swing of Memories

* * *

Upon opening his eyes, the possessed blue-haired boy saw what his drawn card was and gasped in complete shock.

"This... this can't be!" he croaked.

It was Swing of Memories, the card Emily had left behind. How did it get into his deck when he never saw it get put in? He started to have a few flashbacks about the Swing of Memories card...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Shortly after Emily blew her candles out, Thomas, meanwhile, was blushing almost crimson red as he nervously stood up and approached the dark green-haired girl with something behind his back.

"Um... Emily?"

Emily looked to the blue-haired boy. "Yes, Thomas?"

Thomas was shuffling his feet a bit bashfully as he struggled to find the right words.

"I, err, got this for you." he finally said, taking a small box from behind his back.

Curiously, Emily took hold of the box, unwrapped it, opened it up, and gasped.

"Oh, Thomas..."

Inside the box were two things; a Spell card called Swing of Memories, and a heart-shaped locket.

"Happy Birthday, Emily." said Thomas.

Emily curiously held the card up. "What is this card, Thomas?"

"It's called Swing of Memories." explained Thomas. "I found two of them in a booster pack, and I thought you would like one of them."

Emily had another curious look on her face. Thomas immediately cleared his throat and decided to explain something about that card... Not its effect... but something about it.

"This card actually represents the precious memories we've shared together." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "From we first met, and especially after you were saved from yourself."

"I...remember..." Emily muttered, recalling those good times.

Thomas smiled. "I've never forgotten those special times... and I bet you haven't either."

Emily smiled as she embraced Thomas in a hug.

"It's wonderful, Thomas." The dark green-haired girl said happily. "Thank you so much."

Thomas remained silent as he blushed harder than ever before.

(new scene...)

The flashback the shifted over to Anastasia's duel with Gozaburo...

"The time has come for the Supreme Queen to finally show herself..." announced Anastasia. "With this draw, I shall have the one card I need to call her forth! I will draw the Spell card Swing of Memories!"

With that said, the dark green-haired young woman drew her card, performing a draw like nothing anyone has ever seen before (even greater than a Destiny Draw). The colors and light from the draw was enough to harm the demonic Gozaburo.

"AUGH!" he hissed in pain.

The draw Anastasia performed was something called a Shining Draw. True to the dark green-haired young woman's prediction, the card she drew was the Swing of Memories Spell card...

"Swing of Memories..." Anastasia murmured, just before looking over to Thomas (possessed). The possessed blue-haired boy was still gazing hard at the dark green-haired young woman in wonder. "Thomas... Anakin... This move is for both of you..."

With that said, Anastasia turned back around and held her drawn card out.

"I activate Swing of Memories!"

Gozaburo was shocked. "WHAT?! You've actually drawn it?!"

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia, just as her graveyard lit up with light. "This allows me to special summon one normal monster from my graveyard for the remainder of the turn."

On cue, the Wingweaver monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Wingweaver - come forth!"

Within seconds, Wingweaver returned to the field.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashbacks came to an end.

"Swing of Memories..." murmured Thomas (possessed).

"Hey! Why are you staring at your drawn card like that?" Diablon suddenly called out. "You were the most hellbent in challenging me to a duel, and now you're suddenly stalling like that?" He let loose a cruel laugh. "You must be really upset that your so-called ' _angel_ ' is dead, and will never come back to comfort you..."

Further angered, Thomas (possessed) gave a loud scream as he released a powerful wave of darkness... This was because he remembered that Emily had suffered throughout and then died after defeating Gozaburo Gresley, and there wasn't a damn thing he could have done to save her from her fate... As so...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

At the end of the duel, Emily Sterling finally faded away into nothingness. Silence filled the restoration chamber, and no one left alive (Spencer and Nathaniel) dared to say a word about the event that had transpired. Finally, Thomas did manage to speak again—which was barely but a whisper...

"Em-ily..." he choked.

The broken Thomas had lost Emily, the one girl he was in-love with, forever; his worst nightmares had finally come true! ...and there would be no going back as of now. Darkness was soon beginning to overtake the poor blue-haired boy. He was...angry. Absolutely, truly angry. Diablon's strong influence over Thomas began to take effect.

" **NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO**!"

Full of despair, anguish, darkness, and rage, Thomas gave the mother of all screams of grief, managing to actually break himself free from the already weakened Binding Swords of Impact card with his now greatly enhanced/superhuman strength, allowing him to land firmly back onto the ground. Watching what was happening just now, Spencer and Nathaniel were both very surprised, and a bit terrified, at how incensed the poor blue-haired boy was. Thomas's eyes... they were demonic and shining red/yellow with malice (and the scar on his face didn't make it any better).

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end, as Thomas (possessed) started breathing hard from his scream of rage as he resumed staring at the Swing of Memories Spell card.

"Why is this card in my deck?" he thought to himself. "I don't remember ever finding or putting it in..."

Closing his eyes, Thomas (possessed) started remembering Emily's final words to him before passing on...

" _ **Don't cry, Tommy**_..." Emily's voice said softly. " ** _You have to remain strong for everyone's sake... You're the last hope for not only the Duel Monsters spirit world, but our world, too... Never... give in to the darkness, Thomas... I...love you_**..."

Suddenly, Thomas (possessed) felt himself being comforted while looking at the card and remembering Emily's final words...

"I know what I must do..." The possessed blue-haired boy thought to himself, closing his eyes. "I will keep this card in my hand... That way, I can remember Emily's words and encouragement and fight the darkness inside of me..." With that said, he opened his eyes and took another card from his hand. "I activate the Spell card Fiend's Sanctuary!"

A large magical circle began to form.

"This Spell card allows me to summon one Metal Fiend Token onto the field." explained Thomas (possessed), just as the familiar Metal Fiend Token emerged from the face-up Spell card. "From there, I will offer it as a tribute!"

Metal Fiend Token faded away in a blue streak.

"I summon Dark Magician Girl in its place!"

The female spellcaster appeared onto the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700).

"Dark Magician Girl, eh?" mused Diablon. "She is one of your ace monsters, if I'm not mistaken..."

"Yes." said the possessed blue-haired boy. "And is one of my closest friends." He then took and readied another card. "And now, I'll summon her teacher with this!"

Diablon scowled, watching as the Sage's Stone Spell card materialized face-up behind Dark Magician Girl.

"I activate Sage's Stone!"

The Dark Magician monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Since Dark Magician Girl is present on my field-" explained Thomas (possessed). "-I special summon one Dark Magician from my deck to join her!"

The purple-haired, male spellcaster appeared onto the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100). Since another Spell card was played, Spell Chronicle received another Chronicle Counter... Even then...

"DOUBLE DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"

The two spellcaster-type monsters combined their weapons together and fired magical blasts at Chaos Core.

"I remove the two Sacred Beast Counters on Chaos Core to stop it from being destroyed and reduce all battle damage to zero!" cried Diablon.

Chaos Core stopped both magical blasts from destroying it.

"Nice try, but my monster isn't going anywhere just yet."

"But, at least now your Chaos Core has nothing left to protect it!" declared Thomas (possessed), taking and slotting another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"We're in a good position, Spencer." Thomas (possessed) said to his friend/rival. "If nothing bad happens on Diablon's turn, we'll have a chance to get at his life points."

"Won't be a problem." nodded Spencer.

"We'll see about that!" declared the ' ** _Evil One_** ', drawing a card. "I draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (5): Foolish Decision, Dark Bribe, Battle Fader, Last Trick, and ?

* * *

"Since Spell Chronicle has two Chronicle Counters, I will remove them and reveal to you the five cards I had banished earlier."

The Spell Chronicle Spell card glowed as spirits of the banished cards appeared.

"Now choose which one you want me to keep." instructed Diablon. "As you can see, I have Akashic Record, Thousand Buster, Twin Bow Centaur, Grinder Golem, and Grave Squirmer."

The two duelists looked closely at the cards that were being shown.

"You can add Grave Squirmer." said Thomas (possessed).

The mentioned card immediately materialized into Diablon's hand.

"Thank you..." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' grinned, taking and placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "That's exactly what I wanted you to pick."

Thomas (possessed) was shocked. "What?!"

"You'll find out what I mean shortly... once it's out on the field! Grave Squirmer - come forth!"

Appearing onto the field was a monster wrapped in bandages like a mummy, with two wings on its back (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Another monster with zero attack and defense points..." whispered Spencer.

From there...

"Grave Squirmer, it's time for battle... Attack Dark Magician Girl, and pull her down into Hell!" commanded Diablon.

Grave Squirmer obeyed, charging at Dark Magician Girl in a pitiful attempt to take her down.

"Dark Magician Girl, count with Dark Burning Attack!" ordered Thomas (possessed), knowing that his own monster was way stronger.

Dark Magician Girl obeyed, firing a blast of magic at Grave Squirmer, destroying him.

"What was the point of doing that?" wondered Spencer, curious to know why Diablon would send a much weaker monster to attack a stronger monster.

"I activate a Trap card..." grinned Diablon. "From my hand..."

"Trap card?!" exclaimed Spencer.

"From your hand?!" added Thomas (possessed).

Materializing face-up on the field was a Trap card known as...

"This is called Foolish Decision, and it can be activated from the hand. If I were to take battle damage, then I don't take any."

"Then why attack me?" questioned Thomas (possessed).

"When Grave Squirmer is destroyed in battle-" explained Diablon. "-I can destroy one other card on the field... Like say...your Dark Magician Girl!"

Suddenly, Dark Magician Girl was becoming wrapped within bandages. In shock, she reached out to Thomas (possessed) for help before becoming fully wrapped up, shattering into shards of glass.

"Dark Magician Girl!" cried Thomas (possessed), before turning to Diablon. "I play a Trap card of my own!"

His set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"By spending 1000 life points-" The possessed blue-haired boy's life points took a hit (LP: 3000). "-Soul Rope lets me special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand or deck!" He took and placed a card from his hand onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "I special summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!"

The warrior with the massive shield appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 100/DEF: 2600). Unfazed, Diablon took and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I set one card and end my turn!" he announced.

A facedown card immediately appeared beside the first one.

"Now, show me what you've both got!"

"It would be my pleasure!" Spencer accepted, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (4): Split Guard, The Melody of Awakening Dragon, Totem Dragon, and The White Stone of Legend

* * *

"One more time... I'll use Vanguard of the Dragon's effect to send a dragon-type monster to the graveyard and increase his attack points by 300!"

He discarded his recently drawn White Stone of Legend card, causing Vanguard of the Dragon to grow even stronger (ATK: 2000 - 2300). Just then, Spencer's deck began glowing all white...

"With The White Stone of Legend sent to my graveyard-" The silver-haired boy pointed out, drawing a card and adding it to his hand. "-I can add one copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the deck to my hand."

"Makes no difference to me." shrugged Diablon. "You don't have enough monsters to summon it."

"Wait and see..." retorted Spencer, discarding the added card. "But first comes The Melody of Awakening Dragon!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up, just before a sort of guitar with the handles and base shaped like a Blue-Eyes' head came out of the card.

"By sending a card from my hand to the graveyard-" explained Spencer, taking his deck out of the Duel Disk and selecting two cards as the guitar played a tune on its own. "-I add two Blue-Eyes White Dragons from my deck to my hand."

"You've played a Spell card!" reminded Diablon. "Spell Chronicle receives another Chronicle Counter!"

The mentioned Continuous Spell card glowed. Was Spencer worried at all? Not even close...

"BATTLE!" announced the silver-haired boy, entering the battle phase. "Vanguard of the Dragon, attack Chaos Core again!"

Vanguard of the Dragon obeyed, throwing its spear towards the weaker monster.

"Unfortunately, I have something to get rid of your monster!" cut in Diablon, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "Watch as I play Chaos Burst!"

His first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"What?!" panicked Spencer.

"By tributing Chaos Core-" explained Diablon, just as his only monster faded away in a blue streak. "-your monster is destroyed... Not only that, but damage is also sustained to your life points equal to the attack of your destroyed monster!"

The face-up Chaos Burst card exploded, causing the destruction of Vanguard of the Dragon. Spencer grimaced as he braced himself from the force of the attack (LP: 1700).

"Vanguard of the Dragon's next effect shall now activate!" The silver-haired boy announced, just after recovering. "When destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon another monster from my graveyard to the field!"

His graveyard began to glow as light erupted from it, just before the Blue-Eyes White Dragon monster card materialized face-up.

"And what better monster to summon than my discarded Blue-Eyes White Dragon?!"

In a burst of light from the card itself, the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared with a roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"With no more monsters to protect you-" thundered Spencer. "-say goodbye to most of your life points!"

As Spencer spoke, Blue-Eyes White Dragon started charging an attack in its mouth.

"WHITE LIGHTNING ATTACK!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon obeyed, and let loose its signature attack! Unfortunately...

"I counter with Battle Fader!" declared Diablon, holding up a glowing card.

Spencer recoiled in shock. "WHAT?!"

Appearing to the field was a small fiendish creature with a clock pendulum on the bottom of it (LV: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). From there, Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack suddenly stopped...

"Why's my attack stopped?!" questioned Spencer. "What happened?!"

"If I'm about to be attacked directly-" explained Diablon. "-then I can special summon Battle Fader from my hand and halt the battle phase completely!" He smirked. "Too bad... You may have called the Blue-Eyes out, but it still wasn't able to scratch my life points."

"Tch! I end my turn!"

Thomas (possessed) was about to draw a card when the pain (and taunting) suddenly returned...

" ** _We will become one... We will become one_**..." echoed the voices.

Thomas (possessed) put a hand to his head, crying out in pain. The echoing words of the Sacred Beasts were not stopping with their taunting and demanding.

"STOP IT!" The poor boy screamed.

But then, Thomas (possessed) remembered that he had Swing of Memories in his hand... Remembering Emily's departing words carefully, the possessed blue-haired boy managed to resist the pain and taunting enough to draw a card and take his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 52  
 **Current Hand** (2): Swing of Memories and Pot of Greed

* * *

"I play Pot of Greed!"

Weakly, Thomas (possessed) managed to slot his drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk... On cue, the mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and reveal itself.

"I'm able to draw two cards from my deck thanks to this." said Thomas (possessed), drawing two more cards.

"And this gives Spell Chronicle yet another Chronicle Counter!" interrupted Diablon, smiling. "On my turn, I'll remove both Counters and add another banished card to my hand."

"It doesn't matter..." insisted Thomas (possessed), entering the battle phase. "Dark Magician, attack Battle Fader!"

Dark Magician obeyed and started twirling his scepter about before charging and firing a blast.

"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"

The blast struck, striking Battle Fader and shattering.

"I'm not impressed..." frowned Diablon. "Battle Fater's attack and defense were both zerp. Even Big Shield Gardna's attack was greater. You could have switched him to attack mode and made him attack it instead, thus allowing you to attack me directly with Dark Magician. Why didn't you do that?"

Thomas (possessed) cursed aloud, realizing that his opponent had a point. He then looked at the Swing of Memories card in his hand once more, closed his eyes, and spoke up...

"I... I have my reasons." The possessed blue-haired boy answered, before taking and slotting both of his drawn cards into the Duel Disk. "I place these two cards facedown and end my turn."

Two facedown cards materialized on the field.

"You have your reasons, eh?" questioned Diablon, now smiling. "Could it be because there is a small bit of you that wants to drag this match out and become one with me?"

"No, I don't!" insisted Thomas (possessed) stubbornly. "I want nothing to do with you, Diablon!"

"Ha ha ha ha! Right, keep telling yourself that..."

From there, Diablon drew a card and begun his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 44  
 **Current Hand** (2): Last Trick and Empress's Staff

* * *

"Since my card has two Chronicle Counters-" announced Diablon, as the four banished cards returned. "-I remove them and make you select one card I have banished and have it added to my hand."

Akashic Record, Thousand Buster, Twin Bow Centaur, Grinder Golem all reappeared. Spencer frowned, knowing that the remaining cards were powerful. Eventually, he made a choice on which card was to come back...

"I select Akashic Record." The silver-haired boy announced. "Because I did, you get to add that one card to your hand."

The mentioned card materialized into Diablon's hand, who then took and held it out.

"I will play it, right away!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' announced. "Akashic Record lets me draw two cards from my deck, but if they were cards played by anyone else during the duel, they get banished immediately."

He drew his two cards, looked at them, and then looked back at his opponents with a smug smile of some sort.

"Unfortunately, these cards have not been played by anyone in the duel... As a result, they are added to my hand."

Diablon added both cards to his hand, which now contained Last Trick, Empress's Staff, Phantom of Chaos, and Chaos Form. He had a plan, and now was the time to play it...

"Get ready, Thomas Billinton and Spencer Gresley..." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' grinned sinisterly, taking and placing a card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "This new monster will serve as a temporary replacement for one of the Sacred Beasts..."

A monster card called Phantom of Chaos materialized face-up on the field.

"Phantom of Chaos - show yourself!"

Appearing to the field was what looked like a sphere of darkness (Level: 4/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Phantom..." began Thomas (possessed).

"...of Chaos?" finished Spencer.

"This monster can't inflict battle damage to any of you." said Diablon, with his smile growing more evil-like. "But that doesn't matter... All that matters is me crushing every spark of hope you have!"

"How so?" demanded Spencer.

"Allow me to show you." Diablon then motioned his right hand forth. "I activate Phantom of Chaos's special ability!"

A card emerged from his graveyard; revealing it to be Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder.

"By selecting one effect monster card from the graveyard and banishing it, Phantom of Chaos, until the end phase, will have its name, attack, and defense points become that of the banished monster's name, attack, and defense, and it even gains the banished monster's effects."

Suddenly, Phantom of Chaos began to grow and transform into a shadowy duplicate of the Sacred Beast itself (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"The effect monster I banish...is the Sacred Beast Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" announced Diablon.

Soon, Phantom of Chaos had finished transforming itself into Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. From there, a raging wind and lightning storm began to hit the area.

"GWWWWWWAAAAHHHHHHHH!" screamed Thomas (possessed), as his heart felt yet another sharp pain coming from the power of the Sacred Beasts. "T-The Sacred Beasts...!"

"Billinton!" cried Spencer, turning back to look at Diablon. "What the hell are you doing to him?"

"I'm not doing anything." replied Diablon, knowing full well what was going on with Thomas (possessed). "It must be the voices in the boy's head." He then entered the battle phase... "Now enough talk! Phantom of Chaos, attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Phantom of Chaos obeyed, charging a blast. Thomas (possessed), still struggling with the pain in his heart, managed to recover enough to call something about...

"T-Trap card, open!"

The first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Attack Guidance Barrier!" announced Thomas (possessed). "This Trap card forces your monster to attack Big Shield Gardna, while also granting my monster 600 additonal defense points..."

A barrier formed in front of Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"We will have none of that!" shouted Diablon, just as his next set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Counter Trap - Dark Bribe!"

Suddenly, the barrier shattered.

"This Trap card negates the activation of a Spell or Trap card of your own and allows you to draw an extra card." explained Diablon. "Because of that, Attack Guidance Barrier has been shattered!"

The face-up Attack Guidance Barrier Trap card shattered into pieces of glass, with the barrier around Blue-Eyes White Dragon itself also destroying itself.

"With that, my attack may continue!"

Phantom of Chaos finally unleashed its blast, striking and destroying Blue-Eyes White Dragon. However, Spencer wasn't the one to feel the power and force of the attack... Actually, it was Thomas (possessed) who was feeling it and more...

"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" The possessed blue-haired boy wailed in agony. "Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"

The pain from the darkness, along with the continued taunting from the Sacred Beasts, was becoming increasingly hard for Thomas (possessed) to resist. Just then, a new, but familiar voice, spoke up...

" ** _Thomas-boy, are you having problems with this guy_**?" asked the cheerful voice (male).

Thomas (possessed) looked up. "D-Discord?"

(elsewhere...)

Thomas (possessed) soon found himself inside the world of darkness, where a spirit version of Discord J. Crawford had appeared to visit the troubled blue-haired boy.

"Nope, not the real one." The spirit of Discord chuckled merrily, before becoming serious. "But I am here to tell you you're not alone, Thomas-boy."

"I'm...not?" asked Thomas (possessed)

"You have your friends and allies to back you up." The spirit of Discord pointed out, just before motioning his right arm out. "As so..."

Spirits of many of Thomas's friends and allies met throughout the years and journey were shown in the endless darkness. They were as followed:  
-Edward  
-Henry  
-Gordon  
-James  
-Percy  
-Toby  
-Duck  
-Stanley  
-Rosie  
-Molly  
-Mavis  
-Lady  
-Ryan  
-Liz  
-Matt  
-Michael  
-Carlie  
-James R.  
-Zack  
-Ben  
-Spencer  
-Skiff  
-Mr. Gresley (Boxford)  
-Mrs. Gresley (Boxford)  
-Marik Ishtar  
-Odion Ishtar  
-Ishizu Ishtar  
-Maiden with Eyes of Blue  
-Maiden of the Aqua  
-Gilford the Lightning  
-Dark Magician  
-Dark Magician Girl  
-Kuriboh  
-Wingweaver  
-Kuribon

"Wow..." whispered Thomas (possessed), looking amazed.

The spirit of Discord chuckled. "And now... the best for last!"

Another very familiar spirit started to appear from the darkness. To the great surprise of Thomas (possessed), the spirit was...

"Emily!"

That's right... it was Emily herself... The sight of the dark green-haired girl managed to ease the pain in the possessed blue-haired boy's heart quite a bit.

"My friends... They are all counting on me to win..." Thomas (possessed) thought to himself, looking at the Swing of Memories card in his hand once more. "Emily especially..."

(elsewhere...)

Outside the world of darkness, Thoma (possessed) recovered from the pain and stood back up.

"Every time Hamon destroys a monster-" explained Diablon. "-the controller of that monster is hit with 1000 points of damage!"

Phantom of Chaos let loose a roar before charging and firing another blast; this time it was aimed towards Spencer!

"Take this, worthless trash!"

The silver-haired boy's eyes widened and went bloodshot as the attack got closer and closer until...it hit and caused him to scream in pain while being sent flying back across the throne room. Could this be the end of Spencer Gresley? Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	101. Conquer the Inner Demon (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the throne room of Anastasia's old castle, Spencer was screaming as he flew back a great distance until he slammed into the wall in the back of the grand chamber.

"S-Spencer!" called Thomas (possessed), looking very worried for the well-being of his friend/rival.

The silver-haired boy grimaced as he tried get back onto his feet.

"Because of the effect-" Diablon pointed out. "-you've taken 1000 points of damage to your life points."

"I'm...still not down..." grimaced Spencer (LP: 700).

"We'll see about that." Diablon then slotted two more cards into his Duel Disk. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Two facedown cards materialized on the field.

"With my turn now all over with, Phantom of Chaos will immediately return to its original form." continued the ' _ **Evil One**_ '. "Return to your standard form, Phantom of Chaos!"

Phantom of Chaos went from being Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder to back to being in his original form (ATK: 4000 - 0).

"M-My...turn..." groaned Spencer, trying to draw a card. He didn't get far before collapsing from the pain... "Ugh..."

"Spencer!" cried Thomas (possessed).

"Hmm... It would seem all of the pain you've been sustaining throughout this little journey of yours have begun to catch up..." remarked Diablon. "Anymore of it, and you might not live to see the sun rise again."

"Come on..." Spencer mumbled to himself, struggling to stand. "I've been through worse..."

"Spencer..." echoed a soothing voice (female).

The wounded silver-haired boy looked up to his right, and saw the spirit of Maiden with Eyes of Blue smiling kindly at him.

"M-Maiden with Eyes of Blue..." Spencer whispered weakly.

"I will aid you in this duel." The white-haired female monster offered.

With that said, Maiden with Eyes of Blue helped Spencer back up and prepared to help him draw a card from the deck.

"Thank you." Spencer said, managing a smile of his own. He then narrowed his eyes before glaring at Diablon. "Alright, Diablon... It's time for ' _our_ ' counterattack!"

"By all means." nodded Diablon, acting like he wasn't worried.

With that said, Spencer and Maiden with Eyes of Blue both draw a card, performing a Destiny Draw in the process.

* * *

 **Title: Conquer the Inner Demon, Part 2**

* * *

Spencer and Maiden with Eyes of Blue both drew a card, performing a Destiny Draw in the process.

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 700)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (4): Split Guard, De-Fusion, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Pot of Greed

* * *

"My first Blue-Eyes may be gone-" declared Spencer, adding the drawn card to his hand. "-but it will rise again soon!"

A monster card called Totem Dragon emerged from the graveyard.

"Because I control no monsters during the standby phase, I can special summon Totem Dragon from the graveyard to the field."

A small green dragon with a long neck appeared with a growl (Level: 2/ATK: 400/DEF: 200). Finally, Spencer took and held his drawn card out...

"Now I will add Pot of Greed in to draw two additional cards." continued Spencer. "I assure you they will be the start of your downfall."

Maiden with Eyes of Blue drew two more cards for the silver-haired boy. They were both Spell cards (White Dragon's Shard(!) and Silver's Cry).

"Another Spell card has been played!" called Diablon. "You know what that means..."

"Your Spell Chronicle gains another Chronicle Counter." muttered Spencer.

The face-up Spell Chronicle card started glowing; meaning it has earned another Chronicle Counter. Even then...

"I will now activate Totem Dragon's effect! It can count as two sacrifices for the tribute summon of a dragon-type monster in my hand."

The small green dragon vanished in a streak of blue, while Spencer held up a glowing card.

"I call forth my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" he announced triumphantly.

In a burst of light, a second Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field with a mighty roar (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500). Not being done just yet, Spencer took another card from his hand and slotted it into the Duel Disk.

"Next I play White Dragon's Shard!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"What does that card do?" asked Diablon, just before seeing that another card in his opponent's hand was glowing. "Huh? W-What's going on?"

"When I command a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on my field-" explained Spencer, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "-I can special summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand with no tribute!"

Within seconds, another Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared to join the other in roaring with triumph.

"Again you've provided me a Chronicle Counter!" jeered Diablon.

The face-up Spell Chronicle card started glowing; meaning it has earned another Chronicle Counter.

"It's time to kick things up a notch!" announced Spencer. "Blue-Eyes White Dragons, I command you to merge into one!"

The two Blue-Eyes White Dragons began to merge together.

"Appear and make our enemies tremble... Show yourself - Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!"

Appearing in a burst of light was the mighty two-headed Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"With my monster's ability to attack twice per battle-" boasted Spencer. "-you will not survive this attack!"

"If this works-" Thomas thought to himself. "-we'll win!"

The silver-haired boy entered the battle phase...

"Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!" commanded Spencer. "Attack Phantom of Chaos, now!"

Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon obeyed and started charging a two-way blast from both dragons' mouths.

"TWIN LIGHTNING ATTACK!"

The blast was finally fired at Phantom of Chaos. Unfortunately, it was not gonna hit...

"Not so fast!" declared Diablon, as his first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "In attacking, I will activate Chaos Form!"

"Chaos Form?" blinked Spencer.

"By equipping this card to Phantom of Chaos-" explained Diablon. "-its attack and defense can be equal to one random monster in my graveyard." He smiled wickedly. "And the random monster..."

A card ejected from the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' graveyard.

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"

Phantom of Chaos then morphed into a shadowy version of another other Sacred Beast (ATK: 0 - 4000/DEF: 0 - 4000). Unfortunately, with the presence of another of those monsters, Thomas (possessed) could feel the darkness in his heart and mind tearing him apart.

"No! Stop!" he wailed. "That's enough!"

"Too late!" laughed Diablon. "Counterattack Twin Burst Dragon, now!"

Phantom of Chaos began to charge a counter blast at the dragon.

"With only 700 life points left, you don't have a chance of surviving the attack."

"Billinton!" exclaimed Spencer. "If you have something helpful to play, better make it quick!"

As Thomas (possessed) tried to reject the pain and taunting in his heart, he looked at his hand and remembered Emily's Swing of Memories Spell card.

"BILLINTON?!"

At last, the possessed blue-haired boy looked back to his rival/friend. Realizing that Spencer was in danger, Thomas (possessed) finally did something about it...

"I play Ambush Shield!" he announced, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "By offering my Big Shield Gardna, I add its defense points to Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon's attack points!"

Big Shield Gardna vanished in a blue streak as Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragons' attack rose (ATK: 3000 - 5600).

"Pathetic!" remarked Diablon, as he took and held out a card from his hand... "I play, from my hand, Empress's Staff!"

The mentioned Trap card materialized face-up.

"The attack is negated, the battle phase ends, and you, Spencer Gresley, receive 500 points of damage!"

Spencer grunted as he took damage (LP: 200). This was getting annoying... So far, he and Thomas (possessed) haven't been able to inflict any life point damage to Diablon, and they had been receive various amounts of such damage.

"This guy..." The silver-haired boy growled to himself. He then took and held out his next card. "I split Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon with De-Fusion!"

In seconds, Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon was back to two Blue-Eyes White Dragons. From there, two facedown cards materialized on the field...

"Finally, I set two cards and end my turn." finished Spencer. In his thoughts... "Despite that setback, my plan to rid the field of Diablon's cards will succeed... As soon as Billinton begins his turn..."

"It's my turn!" declared Thomas (possessed), drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (2): Swing of Memories, ?, and Card of Sanctity

* * *

His drawn card was the Card of Sanctity Spell card. Just then...

"It's time for my plan to take effect!" announced Spencer. He then poksed a button on his Duel Disk "I first reveal the Quick-Play Spell card Silver's Cry!"

The silver-haired boy's first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"This allows me to revive one normal light attribute dragon from my graveyard... And I choose to revive my defeated Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The third Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared from a burst of light with a mighty roar. All three dragons, now that they were present at once, then roared at Diablon.

"Three Blue-Eyes..." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' mumbled.

"And now, for my ultimate trap!" continued Spencer, pleased to have his three ace monsters together once more. "When I control three of one kind of monster, I can play this Trap card..."

On cue, the next set card (from a few turns ago) flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Three of a Kind!"

"Three of a Kind?" questioned Diablon.

"If I control three monsters with the exact same name-" explained Spencer. "-I can target and destroy three of your own cards on your side of the field!"

"WHAT?!"

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons charged blasts of White Lightning like they were about to attack.

"Go, Blue-Eyes!" commanded Spencer. "Wipe out Phantom of Chaos, Chaos Form, and Spell Chronicle!"

The three legendary dragons obeyed, firing blasts at the designated cards and destroying them one at a time.

"My strategy..." mumbled Diablon (LP: 2500). "With Spell Chronicle also destroyed, I receive 500 points of damage per card still removed from the game..."

"So we've finally dealt some damage to you!" taunted Spencer. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?"

"And it's my turn to do some damage!" came from Thomas (possessed). In his thoughts... "Emily... please guide me..." He slotted his card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. The Card of Sanctity Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Card of Sanctity forces all players to draw until they hold six cards."

All three duelists drew from their respective decks...  
-Thomas (possessed) drew four cards.  
-Spencer drew six cards.  
-Diablon drew six cards.

"Alright!" Thomas (possessed) thought to himself. His hand now contained Swing of Memories, Lightforce Sword, Polymerization, Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord, Berserker Soul, and Break Away. "Get ready for some major payback, Diablon!"

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' said nothing. From there, Thomas (possessed) took and slotted one of his drawn cards into a Spell/Trap slot.

"I activate Polymerization!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up, followed by the appearance of Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord.

"I shall fuse Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord with my Dark Magician!" continued Thomas (possessed). "Come forth - Dark Magician the Dragon Knight!"

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord began fusing with Dark Magician. When the fusion sequenced ended, Dark Magician was riding on the back of a large, gray-scaled dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).

"My new monster is treated like ' _Dark Magician_ '-" The possessed blue-haired boy went on still. "-and you cannot target and destroy any Spells or Traps I potentially have on my side of the field!"

Diablon scowled, but remained silent. Unfortunately for him, Thomas (possessed) was not quite finished yet... How so? Because the Lightforce Sword Spell card materialized face-up before creating a sword of some kind...

"Next I use Lightforce Sword to remove one card from your hand for three turns!"

The sword flew at Diablon's hand before piercing one of his cards. The sealed card was another copy of Battle Fader...

"Before your Spell card leaves the field-" Diablon spoke up, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-I'll play Last Trick!"

His first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Thomas (possessed), before, to his shock, the Lightforce Sword Spell card soared over to Diablon. "What are you doing?!"

"Last Trick allows me to add the Spell card you played to my hand instead of having it go to the graveyard." answered Diablon. "I might have a use for that card later on, you know..."

"Like that even matters!" interrupted Spencer, as his next set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - Split Guard!"

"Split Guard?"

"As I control two or more monsters with the same name-" explained the silver-haired boy. "-each turn, when they're first about to be destroyed , they can't be!"

"And now, it's time for battle!" declared Thomas (possessed). "Dark Magician the Dragon Knight, direct attack!"

Dark Magician the Dragon Knight obeyed the command, charging a blast with his sword as the dragon charged a blast of its own. Eventually, both blasts were fired towards the seemingly defenseless villain...

"It's not over yet!" shouted Diablon, taking and holding out a card. "This Quick-Play Spell card will protect me!"

Suddenly, two monsters called Doomsday Tokens (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) x2 appeared on the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' side of the field. The blast from Dark Magician the Dragon Knight struck and destroyed one of the tokens.

"What?!" cried Thomas (possessed).

"The card I played was Fires of Doomsday." Diablon pointed out. "It special summons two Doomsday Tokens onto my side of the field, protecting me from your attack. One of them had been taken down, but I'm still safe for the time being..." He then laughed tauntingly. "Nice try, but this duel is not close to being over with."

"Damn it all!" The possessed blue-haired boy cursed, taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"Just in time for my turn." teased Diablon, drawing a card. "It's time for the Sacred Beasts to rise once more!"

Spencer and Thomas (possessed) both stood firm. Whatever their enemy had planned, they were sure they were ready to handle it...

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Diablon (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 37  
 **Current Hand** (5): ?, ?, ?, ?, and Dark Summoning Beast  
 **TURN UNTIL (Lightforce Sword) finishes** : 3 turns

* * *

His drawn card was a monster card called Dark Summoning Beast.

"I've just drawn the one card that can help me call forth the Sacred Beasts!" cackled Diablon.

"You have?!" gasped Spencer.

"It can't be!" added Thomas (possessed).

"Oh, but it can!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' insisted, just as his final Doomsday Token vanished. "I sacrifice my remaining token in order to summon forth Dark Summoning Beast!"

"Dark Summon Beast?" Spencer repeated.

"Yes! Dark Summon Beast! This one monster will call forth the Sacred Beasts for me... Now watch as it appears!"

Appearing onto the field was another fiend-type monster with wings, and a dark red cloak covering its bottom half (Level: 5/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"By offering this monster-" smiled Diablon. "-I can select one of each of the following from my graveyard; Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, special summoning them to the field while ignoring the summoning conditions!"

Dark Summoning Beast suddenly vanished away in a dark purple glow as the whole castle then began to shake. To make matters worse, Diablon's eyes were beginning to glow all golden yellow in response to the power of what was coming...

"It's time... Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder... and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms... I call upon each of you, and to use your power to destroy all who appose us!"

Three huge columns of color appeared behind him. When the columns of color faded, standing in their place was none other than the three Sacred Beasts themselves. It had been many years since they last saw some action, and now was the time for them to get in on it...

"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon..." whispered Spencer in awe.

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon let loose a roar (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder..." came from Thomas (possessed).

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder let loose a roar (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms..." smirked Diablon, smiling still.

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms let loose a roar (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"The three Sacred Beasts have finally arrived!"

Upon the Sacred Beasts roaring once more, Thomas (possessed) suddenly gripped his head in pain again.

"AUGH!" he screamed. "The pain... It feels like the pain is at its peak... I... I cannot..."

"You can feel and hear their demands." taunted Diablon, speaking directly to Thomas (possessed). "They want to you to become one with me... now!"

It was getting harder and harder to ignore it now, and it was getting to the point that Thomas (possessed) could not think straight...

"Want it to stop? Become one with me, and then destroy this world and the real world...as the new Supreme King!"

"Don't listen to him, Thomas!" called Spencer. "Fight the darkness!"

The possessed blue-haired boy was wincing so badly, and the pain was so intense, that he began to have a hallucination of some sort... Thomas (possessed) thought he could see Anakin standing right beside him with his eyes glowing all red.

"We... we will become one..." he said repeatedly.

The three Sacred Beasts then joined in with saying ' _ **We will become one**_ ', and finally Diablon joined in with saying it. The chants were growing louder (although Spencer could not see nor hear Anakin or the other chants), and the pain and torture became more and more unbearable for poor Thomas Billinton to take... He clutched the sides of his head and began to say the chant, as well... But, just before finishing the line for a third time, the mental pain and torture had finally taken their toll on him...

" **GAAAAHHHHHH**!"

The possessed blue-haired boy's cries of pain and helplessness over being mentally tortured actually caused him to release shockwaves, and his eyes even whited out entirely and began glowing red in color. The sight pleased Diablon greatly...

"Yes..." The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' grinned maniacally. "You know that resistance is futile... Embrace the darkness - it is your destiny!"

"Billinton!" called Spencer, trying his hardest to get through to his friend/rival. "Don't do it... Don't give into the temptation! You'd be making a big mistake!"

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work... Thomas (possessed) was still crying out and releasing shockwaves, while his eyes were still glowing all red...

"Damn! What can I do to help him?!"

Suddenly, the silver-haired boy remembered that there was still one person that Thomas (possessed) could try to think about... One who had given her life up to ensure that Gozaburo Gresley was defeated and paid for his evil actions...

"Billinton-" Spencer began slowly. "-do you remember Emily?"

Despite still screaming and releasing shockwaves, the possessed blue-haired boy did hear that name...

"E-E-Emily..." he mumbled weakly.

"Yes..." said Spencer, nodding softly. "Emily... The girl you went to hellish lengths to rescue... She fought the darkness until the bitter end... Emily fought to not only to defeat my Grandfather and prove herself as a True Duelist, but to try and save YOU!"

Thomas (possessed) stopped screaming long enough to look back at the Swing of Memories card in his hand and remember Emily's words...

" ** _Don't cry, Tommy... You have to remain strong for everyone's sake... You're the last hope for not only the Duel Monsters spirit world, but our world, too... Never... give in to the darkness, Thomas... I...love you_**..."

"E-Emily..." whimpered Thomas (possessed), staring at the card with his eyes still crimson red. "Help me..."

The Swing of Memories card began to glow.

"Don't you get it?!" Diablon suddenly cut in, sounding stern. "Emily CAN'T save you! She's dead, all thanks to Anastasia! Anastasia couldn't save ME when I needed her the most, and Emily is unable to even save you, now!" He then resumed his evil smiling. "You know what? I don't think you're being completely honest with your feelings... I want to become one with you, and I'm being truly honest with my feelings there."

From there, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' took a card from his hand.

"But we've wasted enough time as of now... On with the duel!" Diablon held the card out. "I equip Uria, Lord of Searing Flames with Eternal Reverse!"

The mentioned Equip Spell card materialized face-up and started glowing, causing Uria, Lord of Searing Flames to roar loudly...

"Eternal Reverse?" blinked Spencer. "What does that do?"

His answer came when the face-up Split Guard Trap card faded away and returned to being facedown.

"The effect of Eternal Reverse... Select one face-up Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls, and set it face-down. That set card cannot be activated for the rest of this turn." explained Diablon. "And now to play the effect of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames began charging a blast of fire.

"Roast the set card!"

The blast was fired, destroying Spencer's facedown card.

"No!" The silver-haired boy cried out.

A then facedown card materialized...

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." finished Diablon, before addressing Spencer... "As you can see, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames is the weakest of my Sacred Beasts. The power of your three Blue-Eyes White Dragons can easily defeat it..."

This obviously had to be a trap... Why else would Diablon make things look so easy for his opponents?

"That is true..." agreed Spencer, frowning. "But your two other beasts are much stronger... You would easily take that chance to finish me off on your next turn. Which is why I need to make my dragons stronger to be a true match for your great beasts!"

With that said, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Spencer Gresley (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (7): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Polymerization

* * *

Upon seeing his drawn card, Spencer snickered slowly before laughing loudly like a villain.

"It's over for you now, Diablon!" he declared. "The one card I've drawn will ensure our victory over you!"

Diablon raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"Go - Polymerization!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself, just as the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons let loose one final roar before merging together.

"I fuse my three magnificent dragons into the all-powerful Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" declared Spencer, again spreading both arms out in welcome. "Show yourself, my mighty dragon!"

The fusion sequence ended, and the three-headed Blue-Eyes White Dragon gave a massive roar (Level: 12/ATK: 4500/DEF: 3800).

"Could this be our chance to win?" Thomas (possessed) asked himself.

"The first effect of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms activates!" announced Diablon. "I special summon one Phantasm Token to the field in defense mode!"

A blue demon-like monster materialized in a defensive stance (Level: 1/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000). Did that stop Spencer? Not even close...

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon-" commanded Spencer. "-attack Uria, Lord of Searing Flame with Neutron Blast!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon obeyed the command, charging and firing a three-way blast from the mouths of the three dragon's heads.

"Say farewell!" declared Spencer.

Diablon...smiled. "My Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder...is in defense mode."

Suddenly, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder gave a roar as it moved in to take the blast instead.

"WHAT?!"

"The effect of Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder allows it to intercept an attack on a monster whenever it is in defense mode." explained Diablon, just as he motioned his right hand to his remaining set card. "And my Ghost of a Grudge Trap card will now activate!"

The ' ** _Evil One's_** ' set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"What does that do?" demanded Spencer. But then became shocked at what he was seeing next... "W-What?!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared in pain as it felt its extreme power dropping like a rock (ATK: 4500 - 0).

"My dragon's attack has been reduced to zero!"

"As you have eight or more cards in your graveyard-" explained Diablon. "-your so-called Ultimate Dragon's attack automatically becomes zero... That means once this attack connects, you will lose!"

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder was hit by the Neutron Blast attack, but shrugged it off like it was nothing. From there, it began to counterattack with a blast of its own.

"Say goodbye!" Diablon laughed some more.

"I don't think so!" declared Thomas (possessed), just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "I activate the Break Away Trap card!"

Diablon laughed harder. "I know of that card... By discarding a Spell card from your hand, you are able to negate the attack, end the battle phase, and render all monster effects useless until the end of the turn."

"Right!" confirmed the possessed blue-haired boy, about to take a card from his hand and discard it. "Now, I choose-!"

But before Thomas (possessed) could even discard the Berserker Soul Spell card, a sword suddenly pierced right through it!

"WH-WHAT?!"

"A real nice try-" sneered Diablon, holding the Lightforce Sword Quick-Play Spell card out. "-but I won't let you escape me that easily... Remember Lightforce Sword? I was saving it just for a moment like this..."

Thomas (possessed) was beyond stunned... This meant that now, the only Spell card he had left in his hand was Swing of Memories. He couldn't discard the one card Emily left him! ...but if Thomas (possessed) didn't do it, Spencer would lose the duel...

"What... what should I do?!" The (possessed) blue-haired boy thought to himself.

The attack got closer and closer to hitting Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon...

"Billinton..." Spencer thought to himself. "This is...goodbye..."

The silver-haired boy closed his eyes and prepared to accept his fate. Eventually, after some great hesitation, Thomas (possessed) cried out and sent his last card to the graveyard.

"GO, BREAK AWAY!" he boomed.

Within a second, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder's attack had stopped, much to the amusement of Diablon.

"So, you went through with it, eh?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' chuckled.

Thomas (possessed) was breathing and panting hard after making quite possibly the most difficult choice of his whole life. Spencer, meanwhile, was amazed...

"Billinton, you've... You've saved me..."

Suddenly, he heard Thomas (possessed) beginning to breakdown and cry over the choice he made just now.

"Huh?" Spencer blinked, turning to look at his friend/rival. "What's-?"

"What... what have I done?" Thomas (possessed) whispered, weeping hard. "Emily..."

He looked up and, in his imagination, saw what looked like Emily's spirit fading away into nothing. Before fading away, she looked positively betrayed by what the possessed blue-haired boy had done just now...

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"

"Billinton?" questioned Spencer, not getting what was going on. "Who are you talking to?"

"Emily left her Swing of Memories card behind before she died!" explained Thomas (possessed) through his sobbing. "I've been holding onto it to protect me from the darkness, and remind me of our relationship... It was the last and only piece of Emily that I have left in this world... But now... I've thrown her love away!"

Spencer was surprised, but said nothing. This allowed the broken blue-haired boy to resume speaking as best as he could...

"I've nothing left to fight for..." weeped Thomas (possessed), falling to his knees in complete despair. "I've nothing left to LIVE for... I wish I never existed at all!"

He continued to cry and apologize to Emily in a futile attempt, while Diablon began to laugh at how soon the duel would end.

"So, it would seem the mighty Thomas Billinton has given up." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' rejoiced, drawing a card. "With his turn officially skipped, I can take mine again!"

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Diablon (LP: 2500)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Break Stream  
 **TURN UNTIL** (Lightforce Sword) finishes: 2 turns

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Break Stream flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I play Break Stream!" announced Diablon. "By targeting one monster I control, I can prevent the opponent from activating any Spell and Trap cards when that monster attacks... Oh, and I get to destroy a Spell or Trap if I do attack." He then pointed at... "I select Uria, Lord of Searing Flames... NOW you, Spencer Gresley, are unable to activate any Spells and Traps when I attack!"

"No!" cried Spencer.

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder got into a battle ready position.

"I switch Hamon into attack mode." Diablon went on. "But the first to attack will be Uria, Lord of Searing Flames... Take down Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and finish Spencer Gresley off!"

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames obeyed, striking down Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with an almighty blast of fire. Spencer watched helplessly as his life points reached zero (LP: 0)...

"I've lost..." he mumbled, watching as the blast of fire got closer and closer until it completely overwhelmed him. "AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

As the blast of fire died down, Spencer was shown to be...gone. He was completely roasted alive by the power of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames... But Thomas was so devastated by what he had done, that he never even paid any attention.

"It would seem you are all that's left." Diablon remarked. "You are now truly alone... Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, attack Dark Magician the Dragon Knight!"

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder obeyed, striking down Thomas's only monster with a blast of lighting. But not even that would make the possessed blue-haired boy look up (LP: 2000).

"Each time Hamon destroys a monster in battle-" continued Diablon. "-you receive an additional 1000 points of damage!"

A bolt of lightning struck Thomas (possessed), but he wouldn't flinch or scream in agony (LP: 1000). He just kept his head low from sight...

"I... I don't want to live anymore..." Thomas (possessed) mumbled through his tears. "My life was all a lie... I'm nothing but a demon..."

But there was one Sacred Beast left to attack...

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms-" commanded Diablon. "-end this duel!"

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms obeyed, charging energy into its fist and shot out to punch Thomas (possessed). But still, the possessed-blue-haired boy kept his head down and waited for the end... The punch soon struck Thomas (possessed), sending him flying into the wall as a massive explosion went off (LP: 0)!

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Diablon wins!**

* * *

The holograms faded away as the smoke cleared away and revealed that Thomas (possessed) had been knocked into the wall, but was still alive. Unfortunately, there was something missing... His Duel Disk had been broken beyond repair upon the impact. The possessed blue-haired boy's deck had scattered onto the ground before each card slowly faded away into light.

"I'm...all alone..." Thomas (possessed) whispered in complete despair. "I'm truly alone..."

Poor Thomas Billinton finally stood back up. He had lost everything; because his cards had been destroyed, his Duel Monsters spirits were no longer able to contact him. All of his friends were dead. Even Emily (especially her) had fallen...

"I've...failed." muttered Thomas (possessed) quietly. "Now both worlds are going to be destroyed thanks to my darkness, and it's all my fault... I've let everyone down... I couldn't even save my friends from dying... I've lost my one true love... I have no reason to go on..."

He looked towards a pile of debris and found a sharpened bit of glass (the same memory when Emily tried to commit suicide at a young age). Slowly, the possessed blue-haired boy walked over and picked it up. It was clear from this movement that Thomas (possessed) was intending to stab himself with the glass and die. But before he could impale himself with the glass, the poor lad felt his arm freeze in place—almost like someone was grabbing hold to prevent him from dying.

"Let me die!" begged Thomas (possessed), as he struggled to take control of his limb. "Please! I have no reason to live on! Show mercy on my tortured soul and let me die!"

After a few seconds of struggling, the glass slipped from the possessed blue-haired boy hand and shattered on the ground.

"Don't be a fool, Thomas Billinton." scolded Diablon, being the one who froze his opponent and prevented him from trying to kill himself. "Why throw your life away when you can become one with me and obtain great power?"

"I will never join you!" hissed Thomas (possessed) defiantly, finally showing emotion rather than sadness, despair, and depression. "This is all your fault! Because of you, I've lost my closest friends, and the one girl I ever loved! You've ruined my life!"

"Did I?"

The possessed blue-haired boy's angry look evolved into one of confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"If I can recall-" said Diablon seriously. "-your friends had been warned how dangerous coming to this world would be. But they chose to come here anyway, even if it meant risking certain death. Everyone makes choices in life. And when they were given their chances to save themselves from death, they chose to die to protect you. Had they been any wiser, then they would have stayed back in the human world where they would have been safer. It was their pride and lack of common sense that killed them. I had nothing to do with any of it."

As much as Thomas (possessed) wanted to refuse to believe that wicked demon, the blue-haired boy knew that Diablon was correct. As of now, his broken heart was full of nothing but darkness, pain, and despair by all he had lost... Thomas was on the verge of a complete breakdown!

"Besides-" Diablon spoke up once more. "-wouldn't you like to see them again?"

With a snap of his fingers, the spirits of Thomas's dead friends appeared, unconscious, and chained to a wall of some sorts. Even Diesel and Dennis were both there, too. The only one who wasn't present was Emily...

"Together-" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' continued, making his offer. "-we could bring them back to life."

Thomas (possessed) said nothing. He only collapsed onto his knees and stared blankly at the ground. With another snap of his fingers, Diablon transformed the scenery around them until they were high in the air of a red sky. Down below was what looked like the Castle of Dark Illusions resting in the middle of the Island of Sodor. Before it was an army of Duel Monsters kneeling before what looked like Thomas, having become Diablon, in black battle armor. His eyes were now a dual color of red and blue. His friends, brought back to life, were now servants to him. And by his side, ruling as his Queen, was Emily, though now she was taller, older, and mature looking (while wearing the same skimpy outfit Fallen Angel wore), and more dark looking with her long hair all colored purple instead of its usual dark green (almost emerald) color, her skin pale, and her eyes all crimson red.

"With the combined powers of light and darkness-" Diablon went on with his speech. "-reality is ours to bend to our will. The dead can be brought back to life, those we despise will fall before us, and you will be able to have your friends back! Even your beloved Emily..."

Thomas (possessed) said nothing still—at least not until he started shaking from the overwhelming emotion he was feeling right about now. Before long, the blue-haired boy had pressed both hands to the sides of his temples, gazed upward, and gave the mother of all screams of dread, shame, agony, and sorrow, he could ever hope to give in his shattered life/lie of a life. Diablon could only smile softly in response to his defeated vessal's emotional breakdown as the vision ended and the scenery returned to the throne room of Anastasia's castle.

"Do you see, Thomas?" continued Diablon. "There's no such thing as good nor evil. There's only power, and those too afraid to seek it." He took a card from his deck, held it up, and revealed it to be the Super Polymerization Spell card. "Together, you and I will do extraordinary things! ...what do you say to it?"

The Super Polymerization Spell card began to glow a dark purple as it activated. Too broken to even refuse, Thomas (possessed) closed his eyes closed as the darkness in his heart slowly began to grow and eventually overwhelm him.

"Join with me... Let the darkness consume you... Reach deep within your core and set your spirit free... We will become one..."

Thomas (possessed) began to lose himself to Diablon's influence, and this time there was no way for anyone to save him. It was all over for the possessed blue-haired boy...

"Emily..." Thomas (possessed) said to himself quietly, just as a final teardrop fell from his eye and hit his Millennium Puzzle. "Farewell..."

As soon as the teardrop touched the Millennium Puzzle, it began to glow all gold.

"What?!" shouted Diablon, taking a step back in shock.

Suddenly, the darkness was forced back as the rest of Thomas (possessed) began to glow as well.

(new location...)

Thomas opened his eyes, and found himself in an outer space-like area all alone... Not only that, his entire body glowing and blurring all white (and the fact he had no clothes or underwear on).

"Where am I?" he asked mentally. "Am I all alone? Am I... worthless?"

"Thomas..."

The blue-haired boy began to look around for the sound of that voice.

"Who's there?" Thomas called out desperately. Suddenly, he could see more light forming before him. "That light...!"

When the light faded, there was Emily Sterling... and, just like Thomas, she was completely naked! ...with only her body glowing and blurring all white to conceal any womanly parts from being viewed.

"E-Emily?" Thomas blinked. "Emily, is that really you?"

"Yes, Thomas." smiled Emily. "It's me."

The two teenagers floated over to meet with each other.

"I thought I had lost you forever." said Thomas sadly. "I'm such a failure..."

Emily giggled. "No, you're not." she replied, placing a hand on the blue-haired boy's bare chest.

"What do you mean I'm no failure? I couldn't even save you."

"Whoever said you failed to save me? You've never been alone, Thomas." Emily wisely pointed out. "Have you forgotten? I've been with you all along. The Swing of Memories card I left behind for you helped you to stay strong against Diablon's darkness."

"But... I had to discard it to save Spencer from losing!" insisted Thomas, looking away shamefully. "Like it even helped..."

"That wasn't all I left behind. Do you remember the other gift you got me?"

Thomas gasped. He remembered now...

"The necklace!" The blue-haired boy exclaimed.

He suddenly felt the familiar locket materializing in his hand. Thomas opened it... and inside there was the familiar picture of him and Emily from several years ago.

"I told you, Thomas." Emily smiled some more. "You've never failed to save me... when I was with you all this time."

"But, I still don't understand..." said Thomas, still in complete shock over what was happening. "How can you be here with me? You're supposed to be dead!"

"You will understand what I mean soon enough." The dark green-haired girl answered, before her happy look became serious. "But as happy I am to see you, I am also very disappointed in you for giving up and trying to kill yourself."

The blue-haired boy wasn't convinced. "I felt like I had no other reason to live. This whole adventure was for nothing..."

"Nothing? What makes you say it was all for nothing?"

"Spencer and Nathaniel were both in better condition than you were." answered Thomas. "You should have let THEM fight Gozaburo while you rested from your injuries."

"It was ' _my_ ' fight, Thomas-" Emily insisted. "-not theirs."

"But at least you would still be alive!" The blue-haired boy argued some more, just as more and more tears began to trickle down his face. "Do you have any idea how much pain and suffering I've been forced to endure? I've watched every single one of our friends be killed, and I couldn't do anything to save them. All I wanted was to prevent you from meeting the same fate. But now you're dead too, Diablon's been revived, and both of our worlds are going to be destroyed!" Thomas's voice was beginning to crack as fell to his knees, sobbing. "Why did you throw your life away?!"

Suddenly, Thomas felt Emily's soft hands gently take the sides of his face, wiping his tears with her thumbs. He looked up to see Emily giving him a soft smile.

"Because I HAD to die, Thomas." The dark green-haired girl said kindly. "I sacrificed myself to save you."

"Save...me?" asked Thomas, feeling puzzled.

"When I died-" explained Emily. "-my spirit was able to enter your heart and force Diablon out. That way, you could fight him and finally conquer your inner darkness. I'm so sorry that Anastasia and I had broken your heart and made you feel like a failure, Thomas, but it was the only way to free you from that demon's influence."

"Well, it did no good to do that." muttered Thomas sadly. "Spencer and I fought him, but we've lost so easily."

"And do you know why you lost the duel?"

Thomas looked away in shame once more. "Because I was weak."

"You are NOT weak, Thomas Billinton!" objected Emily, becoming very serious now. "You lost that duel because you gave up your will to live. You were so full of despair from watching all of us die, that your heart practically shut down and kept you from staying focused on the match at hand. You couldn't even hear the voices of the spirits of our fallen friends and allies calling out words of encouragement to you during your duel with Diablon."

Thomas closed his eyes and began to calm his thoughts. Suddenly...

" ** _Thomas_**!" called a familiar voice (male)

"That... that's Percy." gasped Thomas quietly.

And indeed it was... Appearing before the two was the spirit of Percy, shortly followed by the spirits of their remaining friends (including allies like Nathaniel, Guardian Eatos, etc.).

"They... they were still with me even in death."

"And they always will." smiled Emily. "Just like me."

After what seemed like forever, the blue-haired boy finally began to smile once more.

"Yeah..." Thomas finally said. "You're right."

The cold vacuum of space began to shine with warm, white light. Thomas and Emily both then embraced as images began to flash before their very eyes. Memories of their previous adventures and all of their friends and even rivals were then shown.

"Our memories..." Thomas whispered. "Our friends... our families... our love for each other..."

"Those are things that can never be taken...away..." Emily finished slowly.

At last, the two teenagers brought their lips together in a passionate kiss as more and more light surrounded them.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the revival chamber, the darkness around Thomas finally shattered apart.

"Impossible!" cried out Diablon in horror. "No one can overcome the power of darkness!"

Thomas was now standing within a column of golden light.

"You should have become one with me!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' protested. Suddenly, to his further surprise and such, images of Thomas's friends - both human AND Duel Monsters spirits - surrounded him in an attempt to protect him from the darkness. "Wh-what is going on?"

"You and I, Diablon... We are alike." Thomas finally began speaking.

Diablon was surprised. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You and I are alike." continued Thomas. "We both share many traits... Our love for our loved ones..."

"Why don't you start making sense!" demanded Diablon. "What're you talking about?"

Thomas cut to the chase... "Just like you...I have grown to fall in-love with someone close to me. But when I was in terrible danger, she sacrificed herself to save me from harm, just as Anastasia sacrificed herself to save you."

"No, she didn't!" Diablon argued, growing highly infuriated. "She did it to torture me! She forced me to live while suffering day and night!"

"That's what YOU think has happened, but what about Anakin? Does HE think that?"

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' was really angry now. "SHUT UP! Don't you EVER mention that weak-hearted fool! He's dead, and I'm in his place!"

"I know he's still there." insisted Thomas, raising his left arm up as it began glowing all white. "For the sake of both Anastasia and Iris, I will bring him back out into the light!"

"And how, prey tell, do you intend to do that?" asked Diablon dismissively. "You've no cards left..." Finally, he saw that the light had stopped and gasped at what he saw. "B-But how?! It was destroyed along with your cards!"

Much to the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' shock, Thomas Billinton was shown to have a repaired Duel Disk and new deck in the holder. Without wasting a second, the blue-haired boy grabbed hold of his jacket and threw it off, now wearing it like a cape.

"Where did you get that Duel Disk?!"

Thomas never answered; he only remained silent as a Millennium Eye symbol appeared on his forehead. Diablon merely scowled at his enemy's defiance, before the blue-haired boy finally spoke once again...

"Diablon, let's settle this once and for all!" demanded Thomas. "God vs. Beast... Let's see who the Supreme King really is!"

"And what makes you so sure you can defeat me this time after I've already defeated you earlier?" snorted Diablon.

Thomas smiled in response. "Even in defeat lies the greatest of hope." he pointed out, remembering the words of an old friend (Lady Stone). "And as long as there is hope, there is always a chance to overcome any adversity!"

The answer remains—well, unanswered... Will Diablon accept this duel? And if so, can Thomas even win it? It will be a duel to determine the future for everyone in both worlds... Stay tuned for the answer!


	102. To Thine Own Self Be True (1)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

"Well then, a duel it shall be." accepted Diablon. "This is something I know I'll be able to win, just like before!"

Opening up inside the throne room of Anastasia's ruined castle, Thomas, having regained his deck and getting his faith and confidence restored, was standing ready with his activated Duel Disk.

"Deep down, I know Anakin is trying to break free and overpower you." said Thomas. "I will help him succeed!"

"Ha! I would like to see you fight my power!"

With that said, Diablon took and held the three Sacred Beast cards out for his opponent to see. Thomas, however, responded by holding out the three Egyptian God cards.

"Your Egyptian God monsters will be no match for my beasts!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' boasted. "But you're more than welcome to try using them to defeat my monsters..."

The spirits of the selected cards briefly appeared before each other. The Sacred Beasts (Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames) on Diablon's side, and the Egyptian Gods (Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra) on Thomas's side.

"All I have to say to you, Diablon-" began Thomas, just as the spirits of the Sacred Beasts and Egyptian Gods faded away. "-is that it's time to duel!"

With that said, both duelists shuffled their respective decks, slotted them into their Duel Disks, drew their opening hands and begun the final battle to determine the fate of both the real world and the Duel Monsters spirit worlds (LP: 4000) x2.

"The first turn will go to me!" announced Thomas, drawing a card. "It's my turn! Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn One** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and ?

* * *

After taking a second to look at his drawn card, the blue-haired boy immediately slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I place this facedown..."

Two facedown cards materialized (with one of them being sideways).

"...and summon a monster in defense mode!" Thomas finished. "My turn has ended."

"That's your opening move, is it?" taunted Diablon, thinking that what his opponent did just now was very weak. "Looks like your cards have gotten weaker."

Thomas remained silent and stern-looking.

* * *

 **Title: To Thine Own Self Be True, Part 1**

* * *

The duel between Thomas and Diablon had officially begun...

"It's my turn, now!" announced Diablon, drawing a card. "Get ready!"

* * *

 **Turn Two** : Diablon (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 54  
 **Current Hand** (6): Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Delta Barrier, Hand Destruction, Triangle Force, Dual Gate, and Delta Barrier

* * *

The ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' hand contained Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Delta Barrier, Hand Destruction, Triangle Force, Dual Gate, and another copy of Delta Barrier (drawn during the draw phase).

"Alright... It's time to show you just how fast I can summon a Sacred Beast..." smirked Diablon, taking a card from his hand. "I play a Continuous Spell card..."

On cue, a Spell card called Triangle Force materialized face-up on the field.

"Triangle Force! Since I've played this card, I can activate two more copies from my deck immediately!"

Two more Triangle Force Spell cards materialized face-up on the left and right side of the first copy.

"And now that I control three Spell cards-" Diablon went on, taking another card from his hand. "-it's time for you to meet one of the Sacred Beasts!"

The three face-up Triangle Force Spell cards faded away in blue streaks as the whole throne room began rumbling.

"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"

The clouds above turned dark as lightning flashed. Descending from the sky was the evil counterpart of The Winged Dragon of Ra (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder..." whispered Thomas, looking at his hand. It contained Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, and Damage Eater. "I must be careful against it..."

"I don't trust your hand." Diablon cut in, taking and holding out a Spell card called Hand Destruction. "So, I'll play Hand Destruction to make us both discard them and draw four cards."

"You have three cards, though." objected Thomas.

"Yes, I know... That means I draw three cards instead..."

With that said, both duelists discarded their hands and drew new cards.  
-Thomas: Four cards  
-Diablon: Three cards

"Unfortunately for you-" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' continued, just as his Field Spell zone opened up and he slid a card inside. "-my turn isn't close to being done just yet."

Suddenly, the whole castle started to change into a new area of some sort.

"I activate the Field Spell card Fallen Paradise!"

"Fallen Paradise?" quizzed Thomas, looking around the new surroundings. "What is going-?"

"This card prevents you from destroying or targeting my Sacred Beasts for any of your card effects." explained Diablon. "If you think your facedown card will be of any help in protecting your monster, guess again!" He then drew two cards. "Since I control at least one of the Sacred Beasts, I draw two more cards from the next effect of Fallen Paradise!"

The battle phase then began...

"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" commanded Diablon. "Attack and destroy Thomas's facedown monster, now!"

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder obeyed, firing a blast of lighting at the facedown monster.

"Your monster is about to meet its end!"

The blast struck the facedown card... But instead of the monster immediately being destroyed, appearing above the card was what looked like a huge marshmallow-like creature with eyes and a mouth.

"Meet one of the newest monsters of my deck." declared Thomas. "His name's Marshmallon, and he can't be destroyed in battle. And when he's attacked while facedown, you activate his flip effect and lose 1000 life points!"

Diablon grunted as he took damage (LP: 3000). "Is that even suppose to be a monster, or merely a dessert topping?"

"Insult it all you want, but I have a monster capable of defending my life points for the time being."

"But I do wonder how long will that last?" questioned Diablon, who then took and slotted another card into his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

A facedown card materialized on the field. Marshmallon, meanwhile, said ' _Marshmallon!'_ in a high-pitched voice, while Thomas looked at his new hand.

"Hopefully this will give me a big help in fighting the Sacred Beasts." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. His hand contained Silent Swordsman LV0, Obelisk the Tormentor, The Tricky, and Summoning Clock. "I've drawn Obelisk, and now I need a way to summon it to the field."

Finally, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Three** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)  
 **Deck** : 49  
 **Current Hand** (5): Silent Swordsman LV0, Obelisk the Tormentor, The Tricky, Summoning Clock, and ?

* * *

Immediately, a facedown card materialized on the field, followed by the appearance of a face-up monster card called Silent Swordsman LV0.

"I set one card, and normal summon Silent Swordsman LV0 in attack mode!"

Appearing onto the field was a very young looking warrior with bluish green hair (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000).

"Silent Swordsman?" blinked Diablon, before scowling at what it was. "That's a monster that gets stronger whenever it's your turn!"

"Correct." acknowledged Thomas, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "And to make sure no harm comes to him while his strength builds up, I'll activate one of my facedown cards... Continuous Spell card - Marshmallon Glasses!"

The set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. Suddenly, a pair of glasses materialized outside of the face-up Spell card...

"So long as this card is face-up on the field-" Thomas explained. "-the only monster you can attack is Marshamallon!"

"Grr... Lucky..." growled Diablon. He then drew a card... "My turn, draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Four** : Diablon (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 46  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and ?

* * *

"I play the effect of Fallen Paradise to draw two cards because I control a Sacred Beast monster!"

The ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' hand contained Immortal Class, Dimension Reversion, Resurrection Tribute, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, and Phantom Skyblaster (the last two were just drawn). A smile crept onto Diablon's face...

"It's time we kicked things up a notch." he declared, placing one of his drawn cards onto a monster field slot on the Duel Disk.

On cue, a monster card called Phantom Skyblaster materialized face-up on the field.

"Meet Phantom Skyblaster!"

Appearing onto the field was a green skinned fiendish creature with wings and two cannons on its back (Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 800).

"My monster has a special effect..." continued Diablon. "Allow me to demonstrate it!"

Phantom Skyblaster then began to...split apart?

"What's going on?" questioned a surprised-looking Thomas.

"My Phantom Skyblaster can bring forth a Skyblaster Token for every monster on my field." explained Diablon. "I control two monsters, so that means I can call forth two Skyblaster Tokens to aid my monsters in defeating you!"

Two extra Phantom Skyblasters joined the original and Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"And now, to activate another of my Skyblaster's abilities!"

Phantom Skyblaster began charging a blast of electricity. It looked like it was attacking, but it was really using its special effect...

"For each Skyblaster on the field-" explained Diablon. "-you lose 300 life points! Best of all; Skyblaster Tokens count as a Phantom Skyblaster!"

The Phantom Skyblaster open fired with its attack. Thomas was hit by the laser and got pushed back slightly, but wasn't badly hurt (LP: 3100). Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come...

"Huh?" blinked Thomas, watching as the three Phantom Skyblasters faded away in blue streaks. "What's-?"

Diablon readied another card. "The time has come to summon another Sacred Beast... I offer my three Skyblasters as a tribute!"

There was another rumble as the whole throne room shook from the powerful tremor.

"Whoa!" cried Thomas, trying to remain on his feet. "What is-?"

"Say hello to the second of the Sacred Beasts - Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!" announced Diablon, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Arise, and make my opponent tremble with fear!"

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms?!" whispered the blue-haired boy, which was also all he could say.

Suddenly, the ground cracked beneath the two duelists as the hand of a shadowed figure crawled out from the fissure.

"Yes!" rejoiced Diablon. "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"

At last, the evil version of Obelisk the Tormentor stood before Thomas and his monsters (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"My turn is over and done with..."

"He's summoned two Sacred Beasts already..." murmured Thomas, looking up at the two beasts in slight fear. "I have to find a way to summon Obelisk to the field and even the odds, now!"

With that thought on hand, he drew a card.

* * *

 **Turn Five** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3100)  
 **Deck** : 48  
 **Current Hand** (4): Obelisk the Tormentor, The Tricky, ?, and Pot of Greed

* * *

His drawn card was the Pot of Greed Spell card... But first...

"As it's now my standby phase-" Thomas pointed out. "-Silent Swordsman gets stronger... Increasing his level by 1 and attack points by 500!"

Silent Swordsman LV0 did grow stronger (Level: 0 - 1/ATK: 1000 - 1500). He was now called Silent Swordsman LV1... Not being done yet, Thomas slotted his drawn card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"And now, I'll play Pot of Greed!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field, allowing Thomas to draw two additional cards. From there, he discarded another card from his hand before placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk...

"I discard one card from my hand to introduce yet another new monster!" announced Thomas. "I special summon The Tricky in attack mode!"

A jester-like monster with ' _?_ ' marks on his torso and face materialized on the field (Level: 5/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1200).

"The Tricky?" quizzed Diablon. "What do you plan on doing with it?"

"It will aid me in the summon of a God!" answered Thomas. "But first... Doesn't one of your Sacred Beasts have an effect to play?"

"You're right... It does..."

Suddenly, a Phantasm Token appeared to the field. Clearly, this was from the effect of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms...

"Now you have three monsters present..." smirked Thomas, taking and holding out a Spell card called Tricky Spell 4. "This will allow me to play this - Tricky Spell 4!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized onto the field, causing The Tricky to glow white.

"By offering The Tricky, I can special summon as many Tricky Tokens based on the amount of monsters you control."

The Tricky split itself into three (Level: 5/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1200) x3. On cue, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms' effect activated again... Two more Phantasm Tokens joined Diablon's side of the field.

"But they won't be around for long." continued Thomas, holding up another card. "Because I'm sacrificing all three of my tokens!"

The three Tricky Tokens faded away into orbs of blue light, which soared around into the glowing card the blue-haired boy was holding up.

"I summon the first of the three Egyptian Gods - Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Blue particles emerged from the card itself and gathered about in the center of the throne room. Eventually... the full body of Obelisk the Tormentor was formed, and the blue Egyptian God let loose a booming roar to signal its arrival (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"Obelisk the Tormentor, eh?" remarked Diablon, not looking too worried. "It has the same attack points as both of my Sacred Beasts..."

"Which is why I'll attack your token monsters instead." Thomas stated, entering the battle phase. "Obelisk, attack one of the Phantasm Tokens with Fist of Fate!"

Obelisk the Tormentor obeyed, violently striking one of the Phantasm Tokens with its power-charged fist, destroying it.

"Your turn, Silent Swordsman LV1!"

Silent Swordsman LV1 obeyed, slicing another token in half.

"I will warn you now, Diablon-" continued Thomas, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "-the other Gods will rise soon enough..."

A facedown card materialized on the field.

"We'll see about that!" hissed Diablon, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Six** : Diablon (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 43  
 **Current Hand** (4): ?, ?, ?, and Mystical Space Typhoon

* * *

On cue, the Mystical Space Typhoon Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Marshmallon Glasses and render your other monsters a sitting duck for my attacks!"

A large cyclone blew across the field, shattering Marshmallon Glasses into pieces of glass.

"Reveal Trap card..." Thomas suddenly announced.

Diablon was shocked. "Huh?!"

One of Thomas's facedown cards flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Continuous Trap - Summoning Clock! This card activates when you've played your Spell card."

"But what does it even do?!" demanded Diablon.

"You'll find out soon enough." answered Thomas. "But first, you must finish up your turn..."

Growling, Diablon complied... "I activate Raviel, Lord of Phantasms' effect!"

The final Phantasm Token faded away in a blue streak.

"By sacrificing a monster or token on my side of the field, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms gains 1000 attack points!"

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms grew stronger (ATK: 4000 - 5000).

"Attack Obelisk the Tormentor!" commanded Diablon. "Make sure no Egyptian God is left standing!"

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, having grown much stronger, obeyed the command, charging a punch towards Obelisk the Tormentor.

"I play a Quick-Play Spell card!" shouted Thomas, just as his last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Turn Jump!"

Suddenly, a large Stopwatch appeared from out of the Spell card. The stopwatch began to move forwards in time as Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's attack was stopped momentarily.

"What's your card doing?!"

"Turn Jump jumps us ahead by three turns." explained Thomas. "As a result, your monster's effect wears off... Best of all, Silent Swordsman LV1 moves up in power."

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms' attack power returned to normal (ATK: 5000 - 4000), while Silent Swordsman LV1 became Silent Swordsman LV4 (ATK: 1500 - 3000).

"You bastard..." growled Diablon. Not being done just yet, he turned his attention to Silent Swordsman instead. "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, attack Silent Swordsman LV4!"

Thomas frowned, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save his Silent Swordsman LV4 from certain defeat...

"ATTACK!"

The attack struck Silent Swordsman LV4, destroying him.

"Silent Swordsman has fallen!" announced Diablon. "And now comes the effect of Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder..."

Thomas was hit by a bolt of lighting, taking more damage in addition to the battle damage he took just now (LP: 1100).

"When a monster you control is destroyed by Hamon, you receive an additional 1000 points of damage to your life points."

Thomas scowled as he stood on defiant. Finally, it was his turn...

"I can feel it..." he thought to himself. "I can feel the rest of the Gods calling out to me... Telling me that their power is mine to command..." The blue-haired boy spoke aloud... "The time has come for you to face all three Egyptian God monsters, Diablon!"

With that said, Thomas drew a card from his deck. All of a sudden, there was a tremor caused by the draw...

"That...power..." whispered Diablon. "The Egyptian Gods...are lending Thomas that power...!"

* * *

 **Turn Seven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 45  
 **Current Hand** (1): Card of Sanctity

* * *

Thomas motioned to his face-up Summoning Clock Trap card...

"First, I'll activate the effect of my Summoning Clock Trap card!" he declared. "During each standby phase it remains face-up, it gains a Turn Counter."

"Turn Counter?" blinked Diablon.

"Yes." said Thomas. "And as it's been up for three turns thanks to Turn Jump, it gains three Turn Counters... However, thanks to this turn, it now has four counters..."

On cue, the Card of Sanctity Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Next, I'll activate Card of Sanctity to force both of to draw until we hold six cards in our respective hands!"

Thomas drew six cards, while Diablon drew four cards. From there, the Summoning Clock card faded away in a blue streak...

"And now for Summoning Clock's final ability!" continued Thomas, readying two cards in his left hand. "I can send this card, along with one additional monster I control, to the graveyard and special summon as many monsters from my hand based on the Turn Counters Summoning Clock had before being tributed!"

Marshmallon faded away in a blue streak. On cue, both Queen's Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600) and King's Knight (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400) appeared on the field, ready for battle.

"And I will begin with Queen's Knight and King's Knight!" Thomas then took a card from his deck. "With both monsters out in the correct order, I now special summon the third of ' _ **The Three Musketeer of Face Card**_ s' from my deck to the field - Jack's Knight!"

Jack's Knight joined his two comrades (Level: 5/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000). But that wasn't all, for Thomas still had another monster to special summon...

"And to join them-" he boomed, taking and holding out another card. "-I call forth the second Egyptian God - Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

The ceiling of the castle's throne room burst open, revealing a stormy sky.

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

Descending from the sky—in the middle of thunder and lightning—was the red serpent-like dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 0 - 3000/DEF: 0 - 3000). Because Thomas had three cards in his hand, Slifer the Sky Dragon had 3000 attack and defense points... From there...

"Activate your affect, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!" Diablon suddenly called out to one of his monsters.

Several more Phantasm Tokens appeared to the field... Because three monsters were summoned, three Phantasm Tokens materialized on the field.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon!" called Thomas. "Lay waste to those summoned monsters!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon obeyed the command and charged an attack in its second mouth...

" **SUMMON THUNDER BULLET**!"

The blasts shot out from the second mouth, striking and destroying the Phantasm Tokens.

"My Phantasm Tokens!" grimaced Diablon, before scowling. "Your God monster... It has the ability to attack the monsters that are summoned..."

"That's right..." confirmed Thomas. "When you summon a monster, Slifer the Sky Dragon will attack with its second mouth, reducing your summoned monster's stats by 2000 points... But if the summoned monster's attack or defense hits zero by this effect, the monster is destroyed! That means Raviel can't grow stronger anymore so long as Slifer is in play!"

Far from finished, the three Poker Knights then crossed their swords together before fading away in a blue streak. It was a sign that ' _it_ ' was coming...

"I now sacrifice my three Poker Knights in order to call forth one more monster."

A large light shined from the stormy clouds as an object slowly descended. When the light faded away, floating in the ceiling in the middle of the throne room...was just a giant gold sphere of a sort.

"A sphere?" blinked Diablon. "You've wasted your three monsters to summon a giant sphere?"

"It's not just a simple sphere." insisted Thomas. "Inside is the third Egyptian God monster... To release it, I must recite the hieratic text written on the card."

"Hieratic text?"

Thomas closed his eyes and began to read an alternate version of the ancient chant...

" _ **Almighty protector of the sun and sky, I beg of thee, please heed my cry**_..." The blue-haired boy chanted. " _ **Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight... I beseech thee, grace our humble game... But, first I shall...call out thy name... WINGED DRAGON OF RA**_!"

Thomas opened his eyes and held his card up as the golden sphere glowed brightly as it began to change into another shape.

"Behold...the third Egyptian God... The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

By now, the sphere had transformed into the full battle mode of The Winged Dragon of Ra, who let out a loud roar. The third God monster soon joined the other two Gods in staring down the opposition. Yes... Thomas had successfully called the three Egyptian God monsters in less than four turns...  
-Obelisk the Tormentor (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)...  
-Slifer the Sky Dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000)...  
-The Winged Dragon of Ra (Level: 10/ATK: 5000/DEF: 4000)...

It was something nobody had ever done before... and Thomas actually pulled it off! NOW the blue-haired boy was the one who had the upper-hand in the duel, and was ready to take advantage of it...

"The three Gods...of Egypt..." thought Diablon, looking up in awe and slight fear. "What is this boy? How could he be able to command them like this?"

"Diablon!" declared Thomas, as the Millennium Eye glowed on his forehead. "Prepare to be defeated by the full power of the Egyptian Gods! The first to fall will be Raviel, Lord of Phantasms..."

As the battle phase has started, The Winged Dragon of Ra began to charge up an attack.

" **GOD BLAZE CANNON**!"

The blast of holy flames was fired towards Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. Was this the end of the first Sacred Beast monster? ...don't bet on it...

"As much as I want to congratuate you on summoning the three Gods of Egypt so quickly-" remarked Diablon, poking a button on his Duel Disk. "-my Delta Barrier Trap card will protect my monster!"

On cue, the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' facedown card flipped up and revealed itself.

"Delta Barrier?" asked Thomas.

Two cards ejected from Diablon's graveyard, and he showed them to the blue-haired boy with an evil smirk on his face.

"I can activate two more Delta Barriers from my grave." he explained. "And when I do this while a monster is on my field, I can protect my monster from being destroyed, and I take no battle damage!"

The Blaze Cannon attack struck Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. All of a sudden, the Sacred Beast strugged off the flames from The Winged Dragon of Ra...

"He stopped my attack!" thought Thomas. Finally, he entered the end phase... "I end my turn!"

"And in time for me to summon the final Sacred Beast!" chuckled Diablon, drawing a card. "This is it... Prepare to see it!"

* * *

 **Turn Eight** : Diablon (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (7): Immortal Class, Dimension Reversion, Chaos Form, Brutal Dread, Higher Dimension Guard, Twin Bow Centaur, and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames

* * *

His drawn card was the Uria, Lord of Searing Flames monster card.

"It's time..." Diablon laughed quietly to himself, just before speaking aloud... "I send all three copies of Delta Barrier to the graveyard..."

The three face-up Delta Barrier Trap cards faded away in a blue streak. Suddenly, part of the floor began to turn into bubbling lava!

"L-Lava?!" winced Thomas, taking a step back.

"Ha ha ha! This is for the summon of the third Sacred Beast!" laughed Diablon. "By sending all three Delta Barrier Trap cards to the graveyard, I can special summon the third Sacred Beast from my hand..." He placed the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Emerge from your slumber - Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"

From the ocean of lava came a huge shape in fire. The fire died down to show the evil version of Slifer the Sky Dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"They're here..." whispered Thomas. "The three Sacred Beasts... I'm actually about to face them with the Egyptian God monsters..."

Yes, indeed... The matchups were as followed:  
-Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000) and Obelisk the Tormentor (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000) faced each other...  
-Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) and Slifer the Sky Dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000) growled at each other.  
-Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000) and The Winged Dragon of Ra (Level: 10/ATK: 5000/DEF: 4000) both gazed at each other hatefully.

"Prepare yourself, Thomas Billinton!" declared Diablon. "Now we shall see who is indeed best!"

The battle of Sacred Beast and Egyptian God...was about to begin...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	103. To Thine Own Self Be True (2)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up somewhere in the Duel Monsters spirit world, all seemed to be quiet... until dark clouds started to form about (for an incoming storm of some sort)... Unfortunately, that wasn't the only spot to get clouds like those...

(elsewhere...)

In the Village of Amazons, Amazoness Sage was inside her hut doing some research when both Amazoness Scouts suddenly arrived with dire news.

"Amazoness Sage! Amazoness Sage!" The red-haired Amazoness Scout exclaimed wildly.

"We have an emergency on hand!" added the blue-haired Amazoness Scout, sounding extremely frantic.

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, you two..." soothed Amazoness Sage. "What is it?"

"It'd be best to come see for yourself." worried both Amazoness Scouts.

"Very well. Let's go see what is going on."

The two female scouts led Amazoness Sage outside the hut.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the hut, the sky had darkened with storm clouds. Many monsters were gazing into the sky, wondering what was happening. Amazoness Sage, however, knew what this was all about...

"The ' ** _Evil One_** ' has awoken along with the Sacred Beasts." she said aloud. "As of now, he's now doing battle with Thomas and the Egyptian Gods... One of the boy's final tests has begun..."

"Thomas..." whispered the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

(elsewhere...)

On the island of Neo-Spacians, Elemental HERO Neos and many Neo-Spacians were gazing up into the dark clouded sky.

"Goodness!" cried a Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.

"It has begun..." Elemental HERO Neos thought to himself. "The Sacred Beasts are about to fight the Egyptian Gods..."

A Neo-Spacian Grand Mole soon panicked. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

The other Neo-Spacians started scrambling around the village in raves of panic and horror. The only one who didn't follow suit was...

"Keep calm, everyone!" shouted Elemental HERO Neos, managing to stop the panicking monsters. "We must remain hopeful and strong! ...for the sake of this world, and for the sake of Thomas..."

The Neo-Spacians managed to slowly calm down and agree with their leader.

(elsewhere...)

At The Sanctuary in the Sky, repairs to the place had halted due to the dark clouds all around the area. Wingweaver and Kuribon both knew what this meant...

"The final battle has begun..." whispered Wingweaver, closing her eyes. "Can you feel it, Kuribon? The power coming from the ruined kingdom?"

Kuribon closed her own eyes and felt the surge of power, too.

"We must hope the boy and the Egyptian Gods can overcome the ' ** _Evil One_** ', and save...him."

(elsewhere...)

Rescue efforts in the capital city of the spirit world were still being conducted. The empire had taken a massive hit from the Court of Darkness' attack, and finding all of the survivors had not been easy. It had gotten much worse when the dark clouds formed around the city...

"What... what is happening?" gasped one Magician of Faith, looking up into the sky.

Many of the residents began to panic at the sight of the clouds, for they had a strong feeling behind the clouds... Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, while worried themselves, both knew that the final battle had finally came at long last...

"The Pharaoh is about to do battle with Diablon." said Dark Magician, looking serious. "He has successfully called the Egyptian Gods to face the Sacred Beasts."

"He will need all the support he can get." added Dark Magician Girl. In her mind... "Thomas... Please be safe..."

Indeed so...

* * *

 **Title: To Thine Own Self Be True, Part 2**

* * *

Back within the throne room of Anastasia's old kingdom, the Sacred Beasts (Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms) and Egyptian God monsters (Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra) faced each other, all ready for battle.

"Get ready!" cried Diablon (LP: 3000). "The true battle begins now!"

Thomas frowned (LP: 1100). "Yes, I know that... But by summoning a monster, you have activated Slifer's effect!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon immediately charged a blast in his second mouth.

" **SUMMON THUNDER BULLET**!"

The blast of lightning was fired at Uria, Lord of Searing Flames... But before the attack could hit the newly summoned Sacred Beast, the lightning blast...was absorbed by the monster?

"What?!" gasped Thomas. "Summon Thunder Bullet had no effect?"

"Ha ha ha ha... You seem to have forgetten the power of my Fallen Paradise." chuckled Diablon. "So long as a Sacred Beast is on the field when Fallen Paradise is in play, no card effects can harm or kill my ultimate beasts!"

Thomas frowned in disapproval.

"Now for the effect of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames... It receives 1000 attack points for every Continuous Trap card in my graveyard."

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames growled as its attack points rose (ATK: 0 - 3000).

"Slifer the Sky Dragon gains attack points for every card in your hand." Diablon went on. "But there's a catch... You can only keep six cards in your hand, so Slifer can never get any higher than 6000 attack points without the need of discarding any cards at the very end of your turn... But Uria actually grows much stronger for every Continuous Trap card in my graveyard, and there is no cap for it! You know what that means, don't you?"

"Yes, I know..." murmured Thomas. "That means Uria will eventually overpower even Slifer."

"Too bad you won't survive long enough to see that happen! Why? Because it's time for battle!"

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms turned its attention to Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!" commanded Diablon. "Destroy Slifer the Sky Dragon, now!"

"This can't be!" cried Thomas, about to lose his God monster.

Raviel, Lord of Phantasms obeyed the command, charging a punch towards Slifer the Sky Dragon. Just then, before the punch could connect, an electrical charge pushed the fist back.

"...or not!" Thomas suddenly smirked.

Diabnlon was shocked (no pun intended). "W-What has happened?!"

A card ejected from Thomas's graveyard, revealing to be Electromagnetic Turtle, much to Diablon's further surprise.

"Is that-?"

"That's right-" confirmed Thomas. "-this is Electromagnetic Turtle. When this card is sent to the graveyard at any moment, I can banish it to stop your attack and end the battle phase."

"Like now, I bet." seethed Diablon. Not done with his turn, he took and slotted three cards into his Duel Disk. "I place three cards facedown..."

Three set cards materialized, followed by Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder going into a defensive stance.

"And I'll switch Hamon into defense mode... That finishes my turn."

Thomas was puzzled by this play; why would Diablon switch one of his Sacred Beasts into defense mode? Was there a reason behind it? Alas, Thomas would have to think more of it later. Right now, it was his move...

"It's my turn now!" The blue-haired boy announced, drawing a card.

* * *

 **Turn Nine** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1100)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (3): ?, ?, and ?

* * *

"With three cards now in my hand, Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack climbs to 3000!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon's power rose (ATK: 2000 - 3000). From there, the battle phase began...

"And now, The Winged Dragon of Ra, attack Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" commanded Thomas. "God Blaze Cannon!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra obeyed, firing a blast of flame at its evil counterpart. To Thomas's surprise, the attack struck and...destroyed the Sacred Beast.

"I... I took it down?"

"So, it would seem you have destroyed Hamon." said Diablon, not looking very worried.

Deciding to worry about the fact the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was not at all concerned about the fact one of his Sacred Beasts had been destroyed later on, Thomas continued with his battle phase...

"It's your turn, Obelisk!" he called. "Attack Uria with Fist of Fate!"

Obelisk the Tormentor obeyed and threw a punch towards the weaker Sacred Beast, This time, Diablon did something about it...

"Not this time!" he declared, just as one of his three set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Higher Dimension Guard, banish Raviel, Lord of Phantasms and protect Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"

Suddenly, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms vanished as a barrier formed around Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. Obelisk the Tormentor's fist struck the barrier, and pushed the blue Egyptian God back like it was nothing.

"W-What?!" exclaimed Thomas. "My attack failed?!"

"By banishing Raviel-" explained Diablon. "-I was able to prevent Uria from being destroyed in battle."

"But your life points should decrease, right?"

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' laughed. "Hardly... When you destroyed Hamon while it was in defense mode, I take no damage for the rest of the turn."

Thomas scowled. So ' ** _that_** ' was why Diablon changed Hamon to defense mode earlier... Even then, Diablon wasn't done just yet...

"I will now play another Trap card!" The ' ** _Evil One's_** ' next facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Dimension Reversion!"

Suddenly, a large cut appeared in the sky.

"All banished monsters return to each respective duelists' decks!"

With that said Raviel, Lord of Phantasms and Electromagnetic Turtle both returned to their respective owners's decks.

"My battle phase has ended-" said Thomas, taking and holding a card out. "-but my turn is not over yet... I activate the Spell card Awakening from Beyond!"

The mentioned Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"This allows you to draw two cards while I add one monster from the graveyard to my hand." explained Thomas, taking a monster card from his graveyard. "So now, Diablon, draw your cards!"

Frowning, Diablon nodded and drew two cards from the top of his deck.

"My turn is now over!"

"Just in time for mine." grinned Diablon, drawing a card. "I assure you that the remaining Sacred Beasts will return to the field in due time."

Thomas stood firm in response.

* * *

 **Turn Ten** : Diablon (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 36  
 **Current Hand** (5): Chaos Form, Brutal Dread, Twin Bow Centaur, ?, and Dual Gate

* * *

On cue, a Spell card called Dual Gate materialized face-up.

"From my hand-" said Diablon. "-I activate the Spell card Dual Gate. By banishing it, as well as another Dual Gate from my graveyard, to draw two more cards!"

The face-up Dual Gate Spell card, along with a Dual Gate in the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' graveyard, faded away in a blue streak; allowing Diablon to draw two cards. From there, the Fallen Paraside card started glowing, because there was one Sacred Beast monster on the field...

"I now get to draw another two cards thanks to me controlling at least one Sacred Beast monster while having Fallen Paradise remain face-up!"

Thomas watched as Diablon drew two extra cards. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' sure was thinning his deck out to try and get a certain card...

"I have to find a way to beat him before he can break Raviel out again..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. He then saw two Monster Tokens called Grinder Tokens appear on Diablon's side of the field. "W-What are you doing?!"

"I special summon two Grinder Tokens onto my side of the field." answered Diablon, taking and throwing a card over to his opponent. "That way, I can special summon this onto your side of the field - Grinder Golem!"

Appearing to Thomas's side of the field was a large mechanical monster with a buzzsaw on its head (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 300).

"Because you've summoned two tokens-" cut in Thomas. "-Slifer's ability activates!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon's second mouth charged and fired off two of electrical energy.

"SUMMON THUNDER BULLET!"

The electric balls got closer and closer... Diablon, however, smiled wickedly...

"I activate, from my hand, Brutal Dread!" he announced, taking and holding a card out. "By sending it to the graveyard as fiend-type monsters were to be destroyed, my fiend-type monsters cannot be destroyed by battle for the remainder of the turn!"

The Summon Thunder Bullet attack fizzled out before it could land its mark. Thomas could not believe that Diablon had once again stopped Slifer the Sky Dragon's effect.

"Now, I summoned that monster onto your side of the field for a reason." continued Diablon, taking and slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "It's so I can play my secret weapon..."

On cue, a Continuous Spell card called Twin Bow Centaur materialized face-up.

"Meet my Twin Bow Centaur!"

On cue, two stone, headless centaurs emerged from the face-up Spell card.

"What are they for?" asked Thomas. His answer came quickly... "Huh?"

Grinder Golem and one of the Grinder Tokens moved to near the Twin Bow Centaur.

"During the main phase 1-" explained Diablon. "-I can select one monster I control, and one monster you control. From there, I flip a coin... If I call it right, the monster you control is banished and life point damage equal to the banished monster's attack points will be dealt to you! If I'm wrong, then my monster will be banished and I'll take damage instead... If I play the effect now, I cannot conduct my battle phase for the rest of the turn."

A fiendish-looking coin appeared in Diablon's hand.

"I select my first Grinder Token, and your Grinder Golem, for the effect of Twin Bow Centaur. Next, I'll flip my coin and call heads!"

The coin was flipped into the air, and soon landed in the ' _ **Evil One's**_ ' hand.

"I call heads!" announced Diablon, before looking to the coin and smirking widely with malicious intent.

It was heads.

"This means I win with one attack!" Diablon declared, pointing forth. "As you only have 1100 life points left, you won't survive to see my triumph!"

The second stone centaur turned to face Thomas while raising its bow and arrow.

"ATTACK!"

The arrow shot forth at Grinder Golem, shattering it before continuing on towards Thomas.

"I activate-!" The blue-haired boy began (LP: 1100).

He never finished; the attack struck Thomas in the chest and made him scream.

"It's all over for you, Thomas!" cackled Diablon in triumph. "I win!"

But when Thomas recovered from the attack, his life points...were at 4100 (LP: 4100).

"W-WHAT?! But...how?"

"One of the cards I discarded by Hand Destruction was a monster called Damage Eater." explained Thomas, breathing hard from the pain. "By banishing it from my graveyard, I was able to negate the damage and increase my life points by the total attack power Grinder Golem had."

Not done yet, the blue-haired boy took and held another card out.

"And because a card of mine was banished-" he went on. "-I can play this Quick-Play Spell card - Banish Reactor! Now I can add one Spell card from the graveyard to my hand."

A card slid out from Thomas's graveyard into his hand.

"I choose Card of Sanctity."

"So be it!" growled Diablon, poking a button on his Duel Disk. This caused his final facedown card to flip up and reveal itself... "I reveal Immortal Class! I can tribute my two tokens and special summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder from the graveyard to the fiend in defense mode while ignoring summoning conditions."

The two Grinder Tokens vanished as Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder returned to the field (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000).

"And Slifer cannot do anything thanks to Fallen Paradise STILL being in play."

Thomas said nothing... He only continued to watch as Diablon continued with his turn... A Spell card called Phantasmal Martyrs flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"And now comes Phantasmal Martyrs." continued Diablon, sending two cards from his hand to the graveyard. "By discarding two cards, I can special summon three Phantasmal Martyr Tokens to my side of the field."

The discarded cards were revealed to be Fallen Spell(!) (Counter Trap) and Chaos Form (Continuous Trap). With another Continuous Trap card sent to the graveyard, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames grew stronger (ATK: 3000 - 4000).

"Now... Arise - Phantasmal Martyr Tokens!"

Three fiendish tokens appeared to the field (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Thanks to Brutal Dread, Slifer the Sky Dragon still cannot target the summoned monsters with its effect."

Slifer the Sky Dragon seemed to growl from frustration. But the worst was still to come...

"And now I sacrifice my three tokens!" continued Diablon, placing a familiar card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Come forth again - Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"

In a powerful tremor, the remaining Sacred Beast reappeared in the middle of the throne room with a roar (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000), and Slifer still couldn't weaken it thanks to Fallen Paradise being in play. The three Sacred Beasts again faced off with the three Egyptian God monsters...

"My turn is over!" announced Diablon. He then smirked at his opponent. "So, Thomas, here we are... Back where we started..."

"Yes-" agreed Thomas, looking rather stoic. "-stalemates... Complete stalemates..."

"You know, your next turn could decide the whole battle of Beast vs. God."

Thomas looked to his hand... Currently, it contained Bond Between Teacher and Student, Kuriboh, and Card of Sanctity.

"My next draw will decide the whole battle." Thomas thought to himself. "I need to believe in the Heart of the Cards more than ever before..." He spoke aloud to Diablon... "What I draw next will decide the whole battle... Will you win it, or I win? Only the cards will answer the question!"

With that said, Thomas closed his eyes and drew a card (performing a Destiny Draw in the process).

* * *

 **Turn Eleven** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 4100)  
 **Deck** : 39  
 **Current Hand** (4): Bond Between Teacher and Student, Kuriboh, Card of Sanctity, and Hour of Judgement(!)

* * *

With an extra card drawn, Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack went up by another 1000 points (ATK: 3000 - 4000). But Thomas didn't even look at his drawn card before slotting it into his Duel Disk.

"I activate Hour of Judgement!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up. All of a sudden, thunder and lightning began to strike from the sky.

"W-What the hell?!" cried Diablon. "Hour of Judgement?"

"This is the final battle of Beast vs. God!" boomed Thomas. "First, thanks to my card's effect, every Spell and Trap card on the field besides Hour of Judgement is destroyed."

The face-up Fallen Paradise Field Spell card shattered into shards of glass as the scenery changed back to normal. Twin Bow Centaur (both monster and Spell card) also was destroyed.

"What?!"

"The next effect activates; since you and I control the same number of level 10 monsters-" Thomas went on. "-all of our monsters' attack points becomes equal to the attack points of the strongest monster on the field."

Diablon knew the strongest one was... "The strongest monster would be The Winged Dragon of Ra..."

Indeed... Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (ATK: 4000 - 5000), Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (ATK: 4000 - 5000), Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (ATK: 4000 - 5000), Obelisk the Tormentor (ATK: 4000 - 5000), and Slifer the Sky Dragon (ATK: 2000 - 5000) all made their attack points rise to that of The Winged Dragon of Ra's current attack points (ATK: 5000).

"This doesn't make sense!" objected Diablon. "If any of us even declares an attack, then the monsters would simply destroy each other!"

"Exactly my point!" interrupted Thomas. "As I've said before; this is the final battle of Beast vs. God! Finally, Hour of Judgement's next effect now activates..."

The three Egyptian Gods each gave a massive roar as they prepared for combat.

"All of our monsters are forced to do battle this turn; and card effects of any kind cannot be activated until the end of the battle phase!"

Diablon gasped. "B-Battle!?"

Due to the effect of Hour of Judgement, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder found itself being forced into attack mode. From there, all three Sacred Beasts were ready for the epic battle with their Egyptian God counterparts...

"If you wanna die fighting-" hissed Diablon, entering the battle phase forcefully. "-then so be it!"

Thomas went first. "Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack!"

"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, fight back!" Diablon commanded back.

" **THUNDER FORCE**!" / " **HYPER BLAZE**!"

The two monsters fired massive blasts at each other. They were both evenly matched, but the combined attack eventually got bigger and bigger until it overwhelmed both monsters and destroyed them in a massive explosion.

"Obelisk the Tormentor, battle the enemy!" boomed Thomas.

"Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, take the Egyptian God down!" thundered Diablon.

" **FIST OF FATE**!" / " **CELESTIAL RAVAGING FIST**!"

Obelisk the Tormentor punched through the side of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's face. Raviel, Lord of Phantasms then, with Obelisk the Tormentor's fist still embedded in the side of its face, used its left fist to strike back at point-blank range. Obelisk the Tormentor then uppercutted Raviel, Lord of Phantasms so hard that it not only punched through Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's jaw, it punched through its own arm that was still in Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's face and broke that arm off without feeling any kind of pain. Not to be outdone, however, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms launched one final Celestial Ravaging Fist attack and punched a bloody hole through Obelisk the Tormentor's chest. Finally, both monsters began leaking beams of light and dark from their respective bodies before exploding massively like both Slifer the Sky Dragon and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames before them.

(elsewhere...)

Outside the castle, the thunder and lightning strikes grew progressively worse as the power from the battle between Egyptian God monsters and Sacred Beasts got more and more intense and violent.

(elsewhere...)

"The Winged Dragon of Ra, envelope the opposition with all of your power!" ordered Thomas.

"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, do not allow yourself to lose the fight!" commanded Diablon.

" **GOD BLAZE CANNON**!" / " **LOST THUNDER**!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra and Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder both fired off their respective blasts at each other.

"Now, Ra!" pushed Thomas. "Become the Egyptian God Phoenix!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra obeyed, covering its body with some of its flames until it evolved into its devastating Phoenix mode.

"W-What?!" gasped Diablon. "But you cannot activate-!"

"I'm not using the effect." interrupted Thomas. "I'm having Ra become Egyptian God Phoenix in an attempt to overpower your Sacred Beast."

"Even then, they're still at the same attack points!"

Egyptian God Phoenix gave a mighty screech and dive-bombed towards Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. The firebird soon struck the Sacred Beast and set the whole duel field ablaze.

" **AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH**!" Diablon and Thomas both screamed, as they shielded themselves from the flames of Egyptian God Phoenix's attack.

(elsewhere...)

In the Village of the Amazons, the storm was currently taking effect and everyone there was trying their absolute hardest to keep calm and such.

"The storm's getting worse!" cried an Amazoness Paladin.

"Keep it together, everyone!" proclaimed Amazoness Sage. "We have to hold out until Thomas wins the battle and completes his trial!"

(elsewhere...)

On the Island of Neos-Spacians, the residents of the island were also holding out as best as they could.

"Easy does it, everyone!" called Elemental HERO Neos. "We must be strong if we want to survive!"

(elsewhere...)

In The Sanctuary in the sky, the storm had picked up all-around.

"Do not give up, everyone!" cried Wingweaver, holding onto a railing. "Thomas will pull through!"

Various monsters were gripping onto trees, railings, etc. to stay on their feet from the powerful gusts of wind. Poor Kuribon, however, was being blown about.

"KURIBI!" The female Kuriboh shrieked. She didn't like this, at all...

"Kuribon!"

Thankfully, Wingweaver managed to diver over and save Kuribon before crashing into the nearby wall, but the angelic-like monster was not hurt.

"Are you alright, little one?" Wingweaver asked softly, hugging the female Kuriboh tightly to protect her from the elements.

Kuribon made some soft ' _kuribi_ ' noises as she looked up at Wingweaver with teary-eyes. The female Kuriboh was feeling very scared right now...

(elsewhere...)

In the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, the storm had gotten just as bad there.

"Hurry!" called a Blade Knight. "We must keep this city safe!"

Homes were being boarded up to avoid the damage and keep the residents safe.

"The power... The power from the battle between the Sacred Beasts and Egyptian Gods has become so fierce!" cried Dark Magician Girl, rescuing a baby Watapon from being blown away by the wind.

"We must remain strong!" insisted Dark Magician, holding onto a lamp post. "We must also never give up hope that Thomas will pull through in this war!"

Were things gonna get better, or worse for the people and spirits of this world? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	104. To Thine Own Self Be True (3)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up in the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city, the storm was slowly beginning to wear itself out.

"The storm..." began Dark Magician Girl.

"It has suddenly passed..." finished Dark Magician. He then frowned... "Could this mean... Thomas pulled through and defeated the Sacred Beasts?"

Many of the city civilians emerged from their shelters and gazed up at the sky in concern. Were they now safe?

(elsewhere...)

Up in The Sanctuary in the sky, the storm seemed to have calmed there, too. While monster spirits gathered around to look at the higher sky, Wingweaver, still holding onto Kuribon, was thinking about one thing...

"Have the Sacred Beasts fallen?" pondered Wingweaver.

Kuribon didn't know either.

(elsewhere...)

On the Island of Neo-Spacians, it was also now calm there, as well.

"We're... WE'RE ALL GONNA LIVE!" rejoiced a Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (likely the same one from earlier).

The other Neo-Spacians began to cheer and celebrate at surviving such a dangerous storm. Elemental HERO Neos, however, seemed a bit unsure at the moment...

"Could the Sacred Beasts truly be gone?" he thought to himself. "Or will they return at one point?"

(elsewhere...)

In the Village of Amazons, all of the Amazonesses in the townsquare also noticed the calming weather and clearing sky.

"Has Thomas succeeded?" questioned the blue-haired Amazoness Scout.

"He must have." answered the red-haired Amazoness Scout. She then looked to the village shaman. "R-Right, Amazoness Sage?"

Unfortunately, Amazoness Sage said nothing at the moment. It was like she knew the answer, but felt afraid to say what it was.

* * *

 **Title: To Thine Own Self Be True, Part 3**

* * *

Inside the throne room of Anastasia's old castle, there was smoke everywhere from the fierce, destructive battle between the Sacred Beasts and the Egyptian Gods. Thomas and Diablon both had pushed each other to the absolute limit, and they were both tired out from the battling...

"So..." coughed Diablon (LP: 3000). "They were evenly matched..."

"Yes... Yes, they were..." agreed Thomas, breathing hard also (LP: 4100). "The resulting conflict destroyed and, by the next effect of Hour of Judgement, banished all of the attacking Gods and Beasts..."

Diablon sneered tiredly. "So, now we have to rely on our skills alone?"

"For the time being, at least." answered Thomas.

"What does that mean? If the Beasts and Gods were all banished, we can't have access to any of them for the remainder of the match!"

"The fifth and final effect of my Hour of Judgement card activates..." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "Depending on how many level 10 monsters were banished due to this card's effect, the banished monsters will return to the field during the end phase of the total number of summoned level 10 monsters after this card's activation. In addition, their effects will be rendered null."

"So, because we controlled three level 10 monsters apiece, the Gods and Beasts will return in six turns?" asked Diablon.

Thomas nodded slow, but said nothing else.

"No matter." declared Diablon. "For I guarantee that this duel will be over before it ever happens!"

With that said, he drew a card and began his turn.

* * *

 **Turn Twelve** : Diablon (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 31  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and Phantom Skyblaster  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : 6

* * *

On cue, the Phantom Skyblaster monster card materialized face-up on the field.

"Phantom Skyblaster - arise and attack Thomas directly!"

The familiar armed fiend monster appeared to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 800).

"Go, now!" commanded Diablon.

Phantom Skyblaster obeyed the order, firing off a blast that struck Thomas—who didn't flinch from the blow (LP: 3000).

"My turn is over!"

"It's my turn!" declared Thomas, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Thirteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 3000)  
 **Deck** : 38  
 **Current Hand** (4): Bond Between Teacher and Student, Kuriboh, Card of Sanctity, and Silent Magician LV0  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : 5

* * *

His drawn card was a monster card called Silent Magician LV0. And with Card of Sanctity also in his hand, this was gonna be very, very good...

"I call forth Silent Magician LV0!" The blue-haired boy announced, placing the card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Emerge at once!"

A female-like child wearing magician-like clothing materialized on the field, twirling her scepter about before posing for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000).

"Another monster that's like Silent Swordsman..." frowned Diablon.

"Next, I'll activate Card of Sanctity!" Thomas added, holding his card out. "Again, we draw from our decks until we hold six cards."

Diablon scowled and drew five cards. Thomas, meanwhile, drew four cards and smiled in triumph.

"Silent Magician, as you've drawn five cards, now goes up five levels and receives 500 extra attack points per card!"

Silent Magician LV0, having become Silent Magician LV5, grew into a teenager as she became even more powerful (ATK: 1000 - 3500).

"Attack Phantom Skyblaster, my monster!"

Silent Magician obeyed, firing a powerful blast at Phantom Skyblaster, destroying it, and causing Diablon to fly back as he took damage (LP: 600). Eventually, the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' crashed into the wall and destroyed bits of it...

"Ugh... D-Damn...you..." winced Diablon, slowly getting back up. "This isn't over...yet!"

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." said Thomas, slotting a card into his Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized on the field. Diablon, meanwhile, managed to finally get back to his feet despite being injured pretty badly.

"The time has come!" he hissed, drawing a card. "NOW!"

* * *

 **Turn Fourteen** : Diablon (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 25  
 **Current Hand** (7): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Fallen Angel  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : 4

* * *

Diablon's drawn card was the Fallen Angel monster card.

"As you've drawn another card-" Thomas reminded. "-Silent Magician's power grows even more!"

Silent Magician LV5, growing into Silent Magician LV6, became a beautiful young adult as her overall strength went further up (ATK: 3500 - 4000). Was Diablon even worried about that? Not at all... He started...to laugh in triumph.

"It doesn't matter how strong your monster continues to grow." cackled Diablon, placing another card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "It won't be enough to defeat me... Especially when I summon this!"

The Fallen Angel monster card materialized face-up on the field, and started releasing spores of darkness.

" **Fallen Angel**!"

Appearing to the field was the rather evil version of Anastasia (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). She glanced at her enemy and giggled in an evil—but sexy—way.

"She is weak, yes, but when she attacks Silent Magician LV6... YOU'RE the one who will be defeated!"

Thomas scowled as he waited for the attack...

"Fallen Angel-" commanded Diablon. "-attack Silent Magician LV6, now!"

Fallen Angel, obeying the command, jumped into the air with her weapon. Silent Magician LV6, being the far stronger monster, prepared to fight back when...

"Alright, Fallen Angel, activate your effect!"

Silent Magician LV6's right arm got grabbed by Fallen Angel as the enemy monster glared and smiled evilly, much to the female monster's horror.

"Silent Magician LV6!" cried Thomas. He had a bad feeling what was going to happen next...

"My attack has stopped." said Diablon. "And, now, your attacked monster is destroyed, causing you to take damage equal to the attack points of the monster that bit the dust!"

Fallen Angel raised her scepter and prepared the finishing blow...

"DO IT!"

...and Fallen Angel used her weapon to violently slice Silent Magician LV6 in two (separating the top half of her body from the lower half), causing both halves of her body to shatter into shards of glass.

"4000 attack points is what your monster had..." whispered Diablon. He then pointed forth. "Prepare to take that much damage to your life points!"

Fallen Angel charged and fired a blast from her weapon towards Thomas.

"I activate my Trap card!" declared the blue-haired boy, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Prevent and Draw!"

The blast still hit Thomas hard and sent him flying across the room until he landed on the ground as his life points dropped...to 1000 (LP: 1000).

"Prevent and Draw-" Thomas coughed, weakly looking up. "-cuts the damage in half, and lets me draw an extra card."

Rather than look angry that his victory had been stopped, Diablon merely smiled at his monster...in a kind, loving way. Thomas immediately saw the look...

"Huh?"

It became even more surprising when he heard the ' ** _Evil One_** ' spoke warmly to his monster loud and clearly...

"You did good, Fallen Angel... I'm very proud of you..." he said with more kindness in his tone than anyone had ever heard of.

Diablon then walked over to his only monster, took Fallen Angel's hand and kissed it.

"Ani..." whispered Fallen Angel, speaking with Anastasia's voice.

Thomas slowly started to return to his feet at long last. In addition, he had finally begun to figure something out about Diablon...

"I think I get it now..." he murmured.

Fallen Angel and Diablon both looked over to the injured blue-haired boy.

"Hmm?"

"Your Fallen Angel is a representation of your love for Anastasia." said Thomas, drawing his card from the effect of Prevent and Draw. "You could never forget her, even as you try to."

Diablon frowned, but said nothing.

"Unlike the rest of the cards, including the Sacred Beasts, in your deck-" Thomas went on with his speech. "-you treat this one with the greatest of care... It is almost as if she really was Anastasia... You couldn't truly believe that she purposefully wanted you to suffer without her... Admit it!"

Diablon closed his eyes as a lengthy flashback sequence from long ago began...

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Diablon walked through the halls of the Castle of Dark Illusions towards his private chambers. His army was preparing for a full-scale attack on the town of Schwank. Before then, however, Diablon needed some time to prepare himself. As he approached his private chambers, his second-in-command, Vampire Lord, was waiting for him outside the room.

"Lord Diablon," said the Vampire-like monster, bowing respectfully to his master. "The preparations for our next attack are underway and running swimmingly... We will soon be ready to begin our assault on your command..."

"Very good, Vampire Lord..." replied Diablon. "Now, see to the army... I wish to prepare for this invasion privately."

"At once, my Lord," Vampire Lord obeyed, bowing once again, before taking his leave.

Now alone again, Diablon entered his personal chambers to begin his regular meditation, to channel the darkness within him and strengthen his ties to it. Diablon stood there, thinking of what had become of his life, how it had all come down to this and how it felt wrong. To the world, royal knight Sir Anakin, 'the hero with no fear', had died alongside his wife, Princess Anastasia, at the hands of the demon known as Diablon. And to some extent, that was true...

"Anakin is dead." Diablon said to himself. And yet, if not for the events in their old castle, Anakin would be the one sitting now on the King's throne, his wife by his side, their child in his arms. "He is never coming back..."

Instead, upon looking at it from his modern-day perspective (where he was currently dueling Thomas), Vampire Lord's plan could not have been more flawlessly executed. He had won it all... The war, the world, the fealty of one warrior who carried the hopes of the people of his kingdom for peace... The perfect revenge of the Vampire-like monster had been complete, and, though he was their King and ruler, Diablon had been merely a pawn in Vampire Lord's grand plan... The public face of the Court of Darkness...

While the ' ** _Evil One_** ' retained his knowledge and skills of his early combat training, he felt uncertain about his place in the world, and while he had taken his first steps toward awakening the power of the darkness that had been dormant within him for his entire life, Diablon felt uncertain about his ability to sustain that power. How far he might have been now, had fate not intervened and strip him of almost everything he possessed as a means of ' _remaking_ ' him. Or, of humbling him, as the King of that kingdom had been humbled before him.

Where Vampire Lord had gained everything, Diablon had lost everything, including, for the moment at least, the self-confidence and unbridled skill he had demonstrated as Anakin. And the fact that now, many centuries later, after being reborn as Thomas and learning the truth, he could see all the manipulations Vampire Lord had done to him, and the uncertainty it caused him with his place in the world after becoming the Supreme King, showed just the level of depression Diablon had, to have trusted him when he gave him the opportunity to lead the Court of Darkness in the war. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' really had no one else, so therefore he trusted Vampire Lord... Well, until eventually he learned the truth that the Court of Darkness leader was responsible for orchestrating Anastasia's death, and murdered him like a savage animal.

Finally, Diablon took his place on his throne and begin his meditation. From there, after a few brief minutes, he entered into the deepest reaches of his consciousness and mind, which was truly a most terrifying image... Within the deepest corners of his mind, Diablon felt himself levitating above a raging ocean. With purple lightning in the background, symbolizing a certain uneasiness to meet the extremely high tide and rough seas of the ocean as he levitated above it. The swirls of continuing negative energy; sorrow and hatred, circulating his body, extending from him like parasitic tentacles reaching out at random to the sky, as if these tentacles were growing and constantly expanding, reaching out for more.

In this meditative state, Diablon's face was black, darker than the rest of his body. This was because he didn't know who he was anymore. His whole life as Anakin; the boy with no memories, the soldier, the bodyguard, and now, having destroyed everything and everyone he ever knew, turned into a demonic figure of darkness. He didn't even know who or what he was anymore, representing a face of black. Darkness. Questions. Unsure. Consumed by the darkest of things. But the most symbolic image of all were the blue glowing butterflies flying around him. Why, in such an image of carnage and brooding evil, would there be such peaceful, fluttering little butterflies giving off light in such a contrast of white and blue, in an otherwise dark red and dull gray sky full of clouds and lightning?

These butterflies were the remaining pieces of Anakin that never died, and would later come to regain control of his body on numerous occasions after defeating Anastasia in their duel. Diablon opened his demonic crimson eyes and looked up at the butterflies and used his tentacles of pure evil to zap them out of existence. However, he was unable to hit even one of them. No matter how much tried, Anakin was still floating around, somewhere inside the skies of lightning and evil, regardless of how dark and twisted Diablon had become, he still wasn't completely consumed by the darkness...

As Diablon continued and failed to eliminate the glowing butterflies, his mind was beginning to wander to the distinct memories of Anastasia... He would end up doing this every time he meditated, despite his attempts to bury the past behind him...

(Vision)

Anakin and Anastasia both laid in bed together, naked under the bed covers. What had started as Anastasia being forced by her Father to attend to Anakin's new scars, which he sustained after almost beating the prince of another kingdom to death after that perverted manchild attempted to rape Anastasia out of a jealous rage, had quickly taken a turn when Anastasia admitted her feelings for Anakin, which lead to their first kiss... However, from there, they went even further with it, and thus, for the first time in their lives, made love to each other... It had been an unexpected turn of events for the two young adults, and it was something that could never be undone after it happened. But it was something that they would never regret. Even if it was improper, they knew they were in-love, and nothing would ever change that.

Anastasia was cuddled up against Anakin while resting her head on his muscular chest... She gently ran her fingers across the fresh, red scar on the black-haired boy's chest, taking as much care as she could not to hurt him, while Anakin gently brushed his fingers through her long brunette-colored hair. He could not believe he was holding her on top of him. Their first time was not perfectly executed, the pace of it may have been awkward at various times, but none of that mattered to them. As Anakin kept running his fingers through her silky hair, the beautiful princess suddenly shifted slightly on top of him and propped herself up on one shoulder to look at him. Anakin beamed and began caressing her bare skin with his hands. He ran his fingers all over her, across her right thigh, up to her tight stomach (tickling it lightly and making her giggle at the feeling), and finally over her chest, both of the adults loving the feeling of the contrast of their respective skin.

As you could see, Anakin's hands were rough, hard, and scarred from many years of brutal years of intense training and combat on the battlefield, and yet, despite the roughness of them, his hands were warm and comforting. Anastasia's entire body was the most incredibly soft, delicate, and smooth surface Anakin had ever laid his hands upon, and both lovers loved the feeling of his hard, rough hands on her soft, smooth skin. As Anakin's hands reached Anastasia's chest once again, he gave one of her breasts a gentle, playful pinch, loving how soft and large they were.

"Hmm..." The black-haired boy thought to only himself.

Despite the scene of him touching one of his lover's private parts, Anakin wasn't actually a pervert like that prince was. He truly loved Anastasia for her soul, for who she was as a person, rather than simply wanting her for her body like the prince did. However, despite that, Anakin would be the biggest liar in the world if he said that he secretly didn't crave for Anastasia's body, and now that he had a full view of her fully exposed, the black-haired boy felt himself loving her even more.

The word ' _beauty_ ' failed to describe Anastasia. Her tight calves ted to long, toned, shapely legs which originated from round, womanly hips, above that her body gracefully curved beautifully into a lovely waist that fit perfectly in Anakin's arms. Her figure was an hourglass unlike any other that Anakin had ever seen on any young women. And then, the brunette-haired young woman's waist led all the way to a large bust; two perfectly rounded and soft breasts with small, rosy nipples blessing her chest. Anastasia's breasts were not exaggeratedly large per say (especially in comparison to some of other young women he once met), but they were just the perfect shape and size for Anakin's eyes. He truly thought from the moment he first laid his eyes on her that she was an angel. But now that they were both adults, Anakin thought that Anastasia was even more beautiful than that... She was a Goddess.

"Hmm... Ah!"

Anakin then smirked in amusement as Anastasia didn't even attempt to hide her moans of pleasure as the black-haired boy placed both of his hands over the brunette-haired young woman's breasts, holding onto them and beginning to playfully squeeze them softly-but sexually.

"Ohhh, Ani, that feels soooo good..." Anastasia groaned seductively, loving the feeling of her lover's rough hands squeezing her chest.

Before long, Anakin wrapped his arms around Anastasia's waist and pulled her tightly towards him for a passionate kiss. Once it was finished, Anastasia again rested her head on Anakin's chest while smiling pleasantly from the experience.

"Oh, Ani... that was so beautiful..."

Anakin smiled and gently stroked her bare back. "Yeah, it was..." he agreed.

The black-haired boy really didn't know how he could ever describe such an experience. Anastasia then lifted herself up slightly to straddle her lover, before she started wincing as she had stretched her legs too far apart.

"Are you okay?" Anakin asked, worried that he might have hurt her in some way. "I... I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No... I'm fine, Ani..." Anastasia reassured, managing to recover a bit before looking down at a spot inbetween her legs. "Just a little sore down there... It happens when a girl loses her virginity..."

Anakin smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry if I was a little rough with you."

"I'm not sorry for it, at all." Anastasia pointed out mischievously, laying herself back down atop of Anakin and pressing her whole body against his own body again. "I wouldn't change a thing about our lovemaking."

Anakin let out a brief sigh as he felt the brunette-haired young woman's breasts pressed against his own chest, loving the feeling of it... It was especially soothing against his scar, which was still stinging slightly from the attack earlier that evening.

"Then I won't be sorry either."

Anastasia stared into Anakin's cobalt blue eyes as she gently stroked the fresh scar across the left side of his face. Her emerald eyes were observed the deep vertical cut that went straight through the black-haired boy's eye, and the second horizontal cut that intervened with the vertical one just underneath his eye, together forming a large cross. The brunette-haired young woman knew it would take some time for her to grow fully accustomed to both of these scars on his face and chest, but these scars would never alter her feelings for him.

"Oh, Ani..." thought Anastasia. She closed her eyes and kissed his scar with as much care as she could. When she let go, her eyes began to water, and tears started to run down her cheeks. "I..."

"Anastasia... are you sure I didn't hurt you too much?" Anakin asked in concern once again.

"No, Anakin..." replied Anastasia, managing to prevent herself from crying. "I'm truly fine... It's just...I love you..." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I love you so much... I've never been more happy than I am, right now..."

Anakin's concerned expression melted away and turned into a warm, loving smile as he heard his princess say the magic words that he wanted to hear her say for so many years. He felt himself begin to tear up...

"I love you too, Princess Anastasia. You're the light that keeps me going forward in life. You're the most precious thing I have. I love you more than anything else..."

They embraced and held each other tightly and shared a deeply passionate, intimate kiss. The young lovers were overwhelmed by happiness and joy as they lay in the afterglow of their passionate lovemaking.

(End Vision)

As the intimate memory of their first time making love to each other finally came to an end, Diablon was almost overwhelmed by the sheer sadness and pain of remembering the pure love and happiness he once felt, and it wasn't the last time he and Anastasia had made love to each other. This wasn't the first time during his meditations that the ' ** _Evil One_** ' allowed himself to become lost in his thoughts about Anastasia. In fact, it happened every time he meditated. Every time Diablon did this, it allowed him to fantasize about Anastasia. He would think of the past with Anastasia or fantasize about what the future might have been like. Despite the denial on his part, Diablon was still Anakin deep down. His love for Anastasia was the sole reason he committed all of his unforgiving sins. Without her, the demon felt he had no purpose in life and no reason to live. She was the one thing that kept Diablon from going insane from all of the torture and suffering he had been dealt with due to her Father's abuse.

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' then remembered the numerous times afterwards where they spent many long passionate nights making love, hearing her blissful and/or seductive moans and cries of pleasure as he thrust his lower body into between the young woman's legs or simply played with her body in a surprisingly playful—but still sexual—way, with each time their lovemaking becoming even more and more passionate than the last as they expressed their love in the most intimate way possible. Eventually, their long hours of love and passion brought the young couple the blessing of upcoming parenthood...

(Vision)

Anastasia lay on the bed of her and Anakin's temporary accommodations, crying to herself. It had been many, many months ever since Anastasia had discovered she was pregnant with her lover's first child. Not only that, she and Anakin had also successfully tied the knot and gotten married. The princess was currently in her thirty-first week of the pregnancy, which was almost seven months to be exact... Still on the journey to visit the outlying kingdoms, Anastasia and Anakin both had arrived at the next kingdom in order to negotiate a peace treaty with it. As of now, Anakin was currently at the grand feast that the ruler of the kingdom had prepared in honor of their new peace treaty, while Anastasia had excused herself and retreated to her and Anakin's private quarters for their brief visit - before starting to cry.

Despite being her thirty-first week, Anastasia's growing stomach was protruding outwards pretty far. Her stomach pains, which added to the bouts of morning sickness, and food cravings had thankfully become slightly less frequent than usual, but the princess's breasts, which were already fairly big for a young woman of her age, were also swelling up and slowly growing even bigger (although only slightly) in order to produce milk for the baby when it was born. Not making things any easier for her was the fact that she and Anakin were both also feeling more sore than usual after a long night's sleep. Poor Anastasia was plagued with worries about her baby, especially concerning how her parents would react to her being pregnant with Anakin's child - especially since she conceived outside of wedlock and was supposed to marry that perverted prince. Anastasia knew for sure that her Mother would most likely support her and Anakin in this sort of situation, but she was beyond terrified of what her Father would do when he found out about it...

The King would probably have Anakin killed or banished for breaking the strict law of only a person of royalty having the authority to marry another royal citizen. With Anakin merely being a knight, Anastasia's Father would surely kill him or kick him out of the kingdom for taking his daughter's virginity and making her pregnant outside of marriage. As for the punishment she would receive for breaking royal tradition and engaging in sexual acts with a mere peasant as opposed to the prince to whom she was arranged to marry, losing her Anakin forever, being separated from her newly born child, and being forced to marry that disgusting, perverted ogre of a prince were by-far the worst punishments Anastasia could ever imagine happening to her.

"I can't lose my Ani..." The brunette-haired young woman weeped to herself. "I can't lose our baby..."

Anastasia held no regrets about starting a relationship with Anakin (and eventually marrying him), and she especially had no regrets about making love to him; those were the happiest and most incredible moments of her life. The young princess loved Anakin with all her heart, and nothing was ever going to change that. In fact, she would forever be damned if her Father ever forced them to be separated from each other, forever. Anastasia merely wished that she and Anakin didn't have to worry about her Father and just live a happy life together, with just them and their baby.

At that moment, she felt something in her tummy move... It wasn't a case of morning sickness or stomach pains, it was something else... It took a moment for her to realize what it might have been, so Anastasia remained perfectly still and lifted up her nightgown, exposing her growing stomach. Her eyes were glued to her tummy, watching carefully as she concentrated on all her internal functions, trying to pinpoint what it was that she just felt. It felt like a slight pain towards her lower stomach, as if somebody had poked her with a needle. And then, the young princess finally saw it... In one area, the skin on her stomach suddenly rose and then fell along with a tiny jolt of pain in the same general area.

Gasping loudly, Anastasia placed her hand over the area on her stomach, firmly pressing down, and waited for a response. Once again, she felt something smacking against the inner wall of her stomach against her palm. The brunette-haired young woman felt fresh tears welling up in her eyes and rubbed that one spot. She reached for one of the pillows behind her and cried into it, just as Anakin finally returned to the room and was surprised to see his pregnant lover crying into the pillow.

"Anastasia? What's wrong, why are you crying?" he asked moving next to her on the bed and taking the pillow away from her face. To his surprise, Anastasia was shedding tears of joy... "You're... you're happy?"

"I've felt it, Ani!" The brunette-haired young woman weeped happily, before embracing her lover.

"What? You've felt what?" asked Anakin, still confused.

"I felt the baby move inside my stomach." Anastasia answered, smiling through her joyous tears. All of the fears she had about what her parents would even think had been washed away and replaced with nothing but pure happiness. "You know what that means?"

Anakin was obviously surprised and his eyes widened. "Y-You...felt the baby move?"

"Our baby is alive, Ani! It's alive, perfectly healthy, and moving about!" exclaimed Anastasia. She had been afraid that something would go terribly wrong during the baby's development and something would happen to it, or even worse, suffer a miscarriage. But no; the baby was kicking up a storm upside of her... "I'm so happy!"

Anakin was still speechless. The baby was really alive and moving? He had to see for himself...

"You are absolutely sure you felt the baby move? How so?"

"It kicked my stomach out." Anastasia replied, unable to contain her excitement anymore. "Three times in a row. I'll admit that it was kinda painful, but I actually can feel it."

"C-C-Can I feel it move?" Anakin asked curiously.

"You don't need my permission; we ARE married now, after all." smiled Anastasia playfully, lifting her nightgown once more and taking hold of Anakin's hand and guided it to wherever on her growing stomach she felt the kick or punch. "Just...feel it."

Eventually, the brunette-haired young woman felt the baby respond and kick her again. Anakin flinched as he felt it kick against his hand and Anastasia simply kept her wonderful smile as she felt him pressing his hand down harder, with the baby smacking against him once again, and Anastasia could tell that Anakin was soaring through the clouds at that moment. Anakin still couldn't believe what he had felt. Their baby, alive and well, kicking away inside its Mother's stomach. The black-haired boy was so overwhelmed by happiness that he didn't know what to say about it.

"W-Wow..." That was all he could finally say, before chuckling a bit. "It really packs one hell of a kick."

"It has its Father's strength." teased Anastasia through her tears.

"And I'm sure it will have its Mother's beauty." concluded Anakin. "Oh, Anastasia, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Anakin." replied Anastasia, before the loving young couple embraced in a loving kiss.

For the rest of the evening, the upcoming parents kept feeling their baby kicking and punching away inside her Mother's tummy. At one point, it had even punched, or kicked, Anakin in the face, much to Anastasia's amusement (even Anakin laughed a bit). The young couple couldn't have been more happy together... Even with the tragedy that was, unknown to them, ahead...

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end, just as Diablon opened his eyes at long last.

"I... I don't know what you're even talking about." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' said at long last, setting three cards facedown.

"Yes, you do." insisted Thomas, drawing a card. "You show Fallen Angel the same affection you used to show Anastasia, and I will prove it!"

* * *

 **Turn Fifteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 32  
 **Current Hand** (7): Bond Between Teacher and Student, Kuriboh, Bounce Spell, Monster Reborn, Black Illusion, Rainbow Veil, and Gold Sarcophagus  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : 3

* * *

His hand contained Bond Between Teacher and Student, Kuriboh, Bounce Spell, Monster Reborn, Black Illusion, Rainbow Veil, and the drawn Gold Sarcophagus.

"It's time for my ace monster to rise again." The blue-haired boy announced, taking and slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. "I activate Monster Reborn!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"Be reborn - Dark Magician!"

Within seconds, the mighty Dark Magician appeared to the field with his arms folded (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).

"With the Gods gone temporarily gone-" frowned Diablon. "-you're resorting to your Dark Magician strategies, aren't you?"

Ignoring the comment, Thomas took and slotted another card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk. On cue, an Equip Spell card called Rainbow Veil materialized face-up.

"I equip my Dark Magician with Rainbow Veil! With this equipped onto my monster, your own monster can't use its effect when it battles the monster equipped with the power of Rainbow Veil!"

Diablon winced. "W-What?! My monster-!"

"Dark Magician-" called Thomas to his ace monster. "-destroy Fallen Angel with Dark Magic Attack!"

The purple-haired, male spellcaster obeyed the command... He aimed his scepter up, charged a blast of black magic, and fired it off towards Fallen Angel.

"D-Dammit!" seethed Diablon to himself. "Fallen Angel cannot stop the attack, right now..." He then spoke aloud... "I play my set card!"

The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be...

"Continuous Trap - Fiend Rose!"

A dark rose appeared in Fallen Angel's hand, creating a barrier that protected her. The blast of black magic hit its mark, but it didn't even phase the evil-like monster.

"What?!" cried Thomas.

"Fiend Rose serves like an Equipment card." explained Diablon. "It protects my Fallen Angel from being destroyed, and it reduces all damage inflicted on my life points to zero." He then clenched his fist fiercely. "I won't allow you to harm her!"

Thomas and Dark Magician both kept a stoic, neutral look on their respective faces as the ' ** _Evil One_** ' continued to rant...

"I've lost her once before, and I will not let it happen again!"

Silence filled the whole throne room... Eventually, however, a new, but familiar, voice had spoken up...

"Anakin... Thomas..." echoed the voice (female)

Thomas looked up in surprise. Did... did Fallen Angel call out to him?

"Are you... you calling out to me?" Thomas asked quietly to the nearby monster.

Indeed, she was calling out to the blue-haired boy... Fallen Angel was looking at Thomas—though her expression had softened to that of the original Anastasia.

"Thomas, you must keep fighting." Fallen Angel (Anastasia) began. "You must bring Anakin back into the light."

"Anastasia..." whispered Thomas.

"I've always known that he was alive, and wanted to return to the light again... But, his guilt for everything he has done as a being of darkness is preventing him from attempting to return..."

A tear rolled down Fallen Angel (Anastasia)'s cheek as she realized her mistakes. Thomas actually felt sorry for the demon-like woman...

"It's my fault he ended up this way..." The demon-like woman whispered. "I died trying to protect him, made him live on suffering, and now he's like this..."

"Anastasia..." mumbled Thomas. "Is there a way to bring Anakin back into the light?"

Fallen Angel (Anastasia) looked up with a serious look on her face. "There is a way... He has to forgive himself for all the terrible things he did, and he has to know that his own wife and daughter both still love him very much."

After a moment of silence, the blue-haired boy got a determined look on his face as he nodded.

"I'll do what I can." confirmed Thomas, making a solemn promise. "I promise you that..."

Quick question... How was he gonna defeat Fallen Angel AND Diablon? Was there a possible answer? Unfortunately, the answer was going to have to come in due time, as the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was busy having another flashback...

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	105. To Thine Own Self Be True (4)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the hallways castle of Anastasia's old kingdom, all was bright, colorful, and bustling with activity and excitement... Wait, what? Everything was bright, colorful, and bustling with activity and excitement? Sure, it was like that when Anastasia's Father ruled the kingdom, but the castle was supposed to be in ruins after Anakin lost his wife and unborn child to the strict and ruthless ruler, and the poor black-haired boy went insane and killed everyone else in the kingdom. Surely there had to be a reason for it, right? Well, there was an answer...

(elsewhere...)

Inside the throne room of the castle, the reason seemed to have been shown... Anakin had been crowned the new King of the whole empire, while Anastasia, holding her newborn baby girl (who had been named Iris) in her arms, had been crowned the new Queen. Within the audience, Anastasia's Mother (the previous Queen of the kingdom) could been seen looking very happy and proud for her daughter and adopted son. Eventually, the previous Queen walked towards the young couple, turned around to face the audience, and spoke to them...

"People of our fair kingdom, I give you our new King and Queen!" she pronounced. "Sir Anakin, and my own daughter Princess Anastasia! The former being the first King in our history to be crowned while not being born of royalty... Please give both of them a big round of applause!"

The whole audience obeyed and began cheering and clapping for the new King and Queen of the kingdom in form of a standing ovation. Truthfully, many of the people present were deeply happy that Anakin managed to defeat the previous King in combat and sentence him to execution... Maybe now, there would be no more wars and ruthless leadership...

"I still can't believe you were able to win against Father even when it looked like he had overpowered you, Ani." said Anastasia, still holding baby Iris in her arms.

"Neither can I." admitted Anakin, scratching the back of his head. "I... I guess it was merely pure luck that time. To try and explain how I knew, I had a dream last night where you had sacrificed yourself in that fight just before I was able to counter him, driving me into depression and insanity."

"What matters now is that Father is dead, and you're the first King in history to not be of royalty."

The black-haired boy smiled. "And I won't be the last either."

With that said, Anakin stood up from the throne and approached the audience with a big announcement...

"People of the kingdom..." he began officially. "I promise to all of you here that things will be much different than when the previous King was alive... I will rule with fairness and treat you all with kindness. And we will remain at peace with all kingdoms of this world!"

Anastasia stood up and spoke... "And one day, Princess Iris here will grow up and become the latest Queen... All in all, our kingdom's future shall remain as bright as ever before!"

The crowd cheered loudly, while the previous Queen burst into tears of happiness. Unfortunately, the good atmosphere came to an end when one Blade Knight burst into the throne room all frantic-like.

"Y-Y-Your Majesty!" he panicked. "E-Emergency!"

"What's wrong?" asked Anakin, looking concerned.

"An army...of darkness is...heading for the kingdom!"

"Army of Darkness?" questioned Anastasia.

The Blade Knight nodded. "It's the same army that attacked the kingdom years ago! We've also discovered who their leaders are... The Court of Darkness!"

The audience gasped with horror at another possible war on the horizon... Anakin, sensing and seeing the looks of distress on his people's faces, immediately issued a command to the Blade Knight...

"Ready the troops!" declared Anakin. "I'll deal with them at once!"

"Sire!"

The Blade Knight left the throne room, just as Anakin turned to face his wife and newborn child.

"Do not worry, my love-" The black-haired boy said kindly, gripping onto his wife's shoulders. "-I will return to you and Iris...alive and well."

"Take good care, Ani." prayed Anastasia, standing up and kissing her husband.

Anakin then took and gently hugged Baby Iris. "I assure you I will come back, Iris... I will see to it that you grow into a wonderful Queen..."

Baby Iris giggled as she hugged her Daddy goodbye. Anakin allowed a teardrop to fall from his eye as he spoke to Anastasia one last time...

"Anastasia... You're the only one who has kept me sane over the years... I swear I'll protect you, our baby, and our home."

(End Vision)

"Please keep me sane..." murmured Diablon, still inside his personal chambers while almost crying on the inside it would seem.

As yet another fantasy of his wife came and went by, Diablon felt his rage and sadness intensify sharply as he remembered the pain he suffered by watching his wife and their unborn child being killed by that monster of a ruler... Anastasia's Father; the King of that empire. If it wasn't for him (the King), his wife and child would be alive today! Diablon felt his anger boil as his thoughts once again fell onto his unborn child, unaware that eventually his child would be given a second chance at life. Suddenly, his thoughts were then interrupted...

"Lord Diablon." echoed a familiar voice (male).

Diablon opened his eyes as he recognized the voice that spoke to him.

"What is it, Parshath?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' asked quietly, without changing his direction.

Behind Diablon's throne stood Airknight Parshath, kneeling respectfully in his master's presence. Airknight Parshath was the only light attribute monster of the Court of Darkness.

"Forgive me for intruding on your meditation, master, but the preparations for our attack on the village of Schwank are complete. We are ready to proceed forward on your command."

Naturally of course, Diablon remembered his times together with Airknight Parshath back when he was still Anakin. He and Anastasia had quickly bonded with the centaur-like monster, but after Anastasia's death and Anakin's transformation, Airknight Parshath had been informed by his allies in the Sanctuary in the Sky that both Anastasia and Anakin had been killed and he was desperate to find a way from bring them back, thus leading to his eventual meeting with Diablon and joining the Court of Darkness in the hopes of reviving his friends. Of course, Airknight Parshath had no idea that Diablon was truly Anakin all along, nor did he know that Diablon was actually lying about having the ability to revive the dead. If the ' ** _Evil One_** ' truly did possess that power, then he would have been able to save Anastasia the moment she was killed. Diablon simply told Airknight Parshath those lies to get him to join him and centaur-like was desperate enough to agree to it.

However, Diablon had his concerns on whether Airknight Parshath would eventually realize that he was actually Anakin. When the first met after he became a demon, Airknight Parshath momentarily seemed to recognize Diablon as Anakin, but afterwards he didn't seem to notice the similarities between him and his original self. Still, Diablon was always wary of whether Airknight Parshath would ever begin to question Diablon's resemblance to Anakin, or, if he already had realized that he really was Anakin and simply chose not to bring it up.

"Very good, Parshath..." Diablon simply replied. "I will join you all shortly..."

"Yes, my Lord." obeyed Airknight Parshath, but he didn't leave. The centaur-like monster had another question to ask... "If you will excuse my asking, I couldn't help overhear you speaking to yourself?"

"That is none of your concern, Parshath!" growled Diablon, sounding dangerous. "Never ask me that again... Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Y-Yes, Lord Diablon. Forgive me, master." Airknight Parshath apologized, before turning and exiting his master's private chambers.

Once the centaur-like monster had left the room, Diablon slowly rose from his throne and began to think about his upcoming attack on the town of Schwank. The plan was simple; kill any and all civilians, men, women, not even children would be spared. Especially not the children. In his mind's eye, Diablon saw his and the Court of Darkness's march to the capital city gates. Their wrathful attack, the mad moments of bloodlust the darkness unleashed in all of its crimson fury. Some moments he remembered more clearly than others. Outclassing numerous Marauding Captains and impaling multiple Blade Knights... And, of course, the ' ** _Evil One's_** ' cold extermination of all the children, and with them, the future of the Duel Monsters spirit world. He had wondered beforehand; could he actually do it? Still new to the darkness, the demon wondered if he would be able to call upon it's power to guide his hand. In answer, the darkness had whispered the following...

"They are orphans. They are without family, or friends." The voices of the dark echoed. "There is nothing that can be done with them. They are better off...dead."

Children represent the future. The next generation. The future that had been taken away from Diablon. The future where he, his wife and child lived together as one happy family. Instead, fate had that future cruelly stripped away from Diablon, and for that, he would inflict upon the world the same pain and suffering that he was forced to bare after losing his wife and child, his family, and prevent anybody else from experiencing joy or happiness. He would trap everyone in a never-ending Hell, just like the one he was trapped in. Diablon knew that he had to kill all children, because if he didn't then they would grow up to hunt him down and possibly kill him later down the road. So the best thing to do was to kill them all then and there, so as to leave no stone unturned, before he would rally his troops and lead them to the next kingdom to repeat the same heartless and cruel procedure.

As Diablon was about to leave, he could feel genuine tears swell in his eyes, and a stream running down his cheek, right along his cross scar. He still did have emotions and they all pointed towards Anastasia; the core of his pain and the reason for his ever growing power... The answer was so simple - Diablon missed her so much. The ' ** _Evil One_** ' closed his eyes and gave a quiet, desperate plea for the dead princess...

"Keep me sane, my love..."

* * *

 **Title: To Thine Own Self Be True, Part 4**

* * *

The flashback came to an end, and Diablon closed his eyes and allowed a teardrop to fall down his cheek. Thomas never saw it come, because he was too busy taking and holding another card from his hand out.

"I activate Bond Between Teacher and Student!" The blue-haired boy announced. "With this, I can special summon Dark Magician Girl from my deck in defense position!"

The female spellcaster-type monster appeared on the field and joined her master in preparing to fight Diablon and Fallen Angel (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700). Still not being done with his turn, Thomas slotted another card into his Duel Disk...

"Next I'll play another Spell card - it's called Gold Sarcophagus!" he announced, just as the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field and a large golden box with a Millennium Eye-like symbol emerged from the ground. "Using this powerful card's effect, I'm required to banish one other card from my deck and place it inside this mystical box..."

Thomas took a card from his deck and allowed it to fade away into oblivion. Suddenly, the chosen card appeared without showing what it was and got placed into the Gold Sarcophagus, which sank into the ground once it closed.

"At the end of my second standby phase after playing this card, the banished card will return and be added to my hand."

From there, two facedown cards materialized behind both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl.

"Finally, I set these two cards and end my turn." finished Thomas.

"It's my turn!" announced Diablon, drawing a card. "Draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Sixteen** : Diablon (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 24  
 **Current Hand** (6): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Akashic Record  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : 1

* * *

His drawn card was the Akashic Record Spell card. Without wasting a second, the ' ** _Evil One_** ' took and slotted it into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

"I play Akashic Record!"

The mentioned Spell card materialized face-up on the field.

"This card-" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' began to explain, but got cut off.

"Stop right there!" Thomas suddenly shouted, as his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Go Bounce Spell!"

"What?!" gasped Diablon, watching as his face-up Akashic Record Spell card fizzled out before fading away. "My Spell card!"

Suddenly, the Akashic Record Spell card reappeared face-up on Thomas's side of the field.

"What did you do?!"

"Bounce Spell, a Quick-Play Spell card, allows me to use your Spell card's effect as if it were my own." explained Thomas, as he then drew two more cards. "Based on Akashic Record's second effect; if the cards I've drawn have been played at any time, they must be banished." He looked at the cards and smiled. "Thankfully, the two cards haven't been played by either one of us, so they're added to my hand."

"Well, aren't you lucky..." scowled Diablon, taking and slotting another card into his Duel Disk. "Too bad your luck won't help you once I've played this!"

An Equip Spell card called Diabolic Rage(!) materialized face-up on the field.

"I equip Fallen Angel with Diabolic Rage! This devastating Equip Spell card can only be equipped to Fallen Angel, and it allows her effect to target all monsters my opponent controls instead of just one! Meaning, I can attack ALL of your monsters and use Fallen Angel's effect on them at once!"

"No!" cried Thomas.

Fallen Angel, as a burning dark aura formed all around her, cried out in pain as her eyes turned crimson red and she began to launch an attack.

"Attack Dark Magician Girl!" commanded Diablon, entering the battle phase. "When you do, activate your special effect and target every single one of Thomas's monsters!"

Fallen Angel obeyed, making her way towards Dark Magician Girl while armed with her weapon.

"Trap card, open!" cried Thomas, just as his last facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Black Illusion!"

Suddenly, just before Fallen Angel had the chance to strike, Dark Magician Girl phased right through the ' _evil_ ' Anastasia's weapon. In addition, Dark Magician also started to become transparent to all other attacks and such.

"B-Black Illusion?" blinked Diablon. "And my attack...won't hit either target?"

"Correct... That's the power of Black Illusion." confirmed Thomas. "Until the end of this turn, all dark-attribute spellcaster-type monsters with 2000 or more attack points I currently control can't be destroyed by battle, their effects are negated, and are also unaffected by the opponent's card effects."

On cue, a Spell card called Nightmare Shuffle flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"In that case, I'll play Nightmare Shuffle!" declared Diablon. "To begin, I select one random card in my graveyard and set it in one of my Spell and Trap card zones. During my next standby phase, I must send the selected card to the graveyard and select another random card in my graveyard, which will be set facedown. If I want to activate the card selected by the effect of Nightmare Shuffle, I must send Nightmare Shuffle to the graveyard. If I don't meet the activation requirements for the selected card when it is activated, I must to send every card in my hand and on the field both directly to the graveyard."

Thomas stood firm, watching as a facedown card materialized on his opponent's field.

"With a random card selected-" Diablon went on, just before entering the end phase. "-I end my turn!"

"What could the card be?" Thomas thought to himself. "Will it protect Fallen Angel if I do find a way to take it down?" Ultimately, he drew a card and took his turn. "Only one way to find out..."

* * *

 **Turn Seventeen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)  
 **Deck** : 29  
 **Current Hand** (6): Kuriboh, ?, ?, ?, ?, and Dark Magic Inheritance  
 **END PHASES LEFT** : Now  
 **Gold Sarcophagus** : 1 Standby Phase

* * *

His drawn card was a Spell card called Dark Magic Inheritance.

"I activate the Spell card Dark Magic Inheritance!" announced Thomas, holding the card out while a hologram of the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up before him. "By banishing two Spell cards from graveyard, I add one Spell or Trap card that specifically lists 'Dark Magician' or 'Dark Magician Girl' in its text from my deck to my hand."

Both the Bounce Spell Spell card and the Turn Jump Spell card emerged from the graveyard before fading away into oblivion.

"This is the card I've chosen..." continued Thomas, holding up a card from his deck. He turned and over and revealed... "Dark Burning Magic!"

"Dark Burning Magic?" repeated Diablon.

"With both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl out on the field, all cards on your side of the field are targeted and destroyed!"

As the mentioned Spell card materialized face-up behind them, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both crossed their weapons together in preparation to attack and take down Fallen Angel.

"This attack will end the duel!" declared Thomas. "Once Fallen Angel is down, I will attack you directly for the win!"

The combined blast was finally fired... Unfortunately...

"I will save my monster!" cried Diablon, just as his face-up Nightmare Shuffle Spell card shattered into pieces of glass. "I send Nightmare Shuffle to the graveyard to activate my set card!"

The set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be...

"Counter Trap - Fallen Spell!"

"What?!" grimaced Thomas, watching as his face-up Dark Burning Magic Spell card shattered into shards of glass.

"I've told you before; I've lost her once, and I will not lose her again!" growled Diablon, clenching his fist. "Fallen Spell can only be activated when Fallen Angel is on my side of the field... When the opponent plays a Spell card, I can activate this Trap card, negate your Spell card, and destroy it."

"How did you get that card into your graveyard?"

Diablon smirked. "That's easy..."

A flashback ensured.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Earlier in the duel, Diablon was shown sending Fallen Spell(!) (Counter Trap) and Chaos Form (Continuous Trap) both to the graveyard.

"It was by Phantasmal Martyrs' effect." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' narrated. "That was how I was able to randomly select it for the use of Nightmare Shuffle."

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback came to an end.

"And that's that." finished Diablon. He then resumed his little rant. "Anastasia is the only person in my life who has kept me sane ever since that damn Father of hers abused me for his own goals!"

"Even though you claim she died to make your life miserable?" scoffed Thomas. "Sounds rather hypocritical to me."

"Shut up!"

Thomas kept the frown on his face. "Then it would seem that I was right... You are constantly, and desperately, trying to protect Fallen Angel from any and all harm I throw at her by any means possible, even using that Fiend Rose Trap card, a symbol of love to protect her... All because you don't simply treat Fallen Angel as a monster or slave like the Sacred Beasts, but as Anastasia herself."

Diablon remained absolutely silent at this... This allowed the blue-haired boy to proceed with his speech...

"You've been going to such extreme lengths to protect Fallen Angel, all because you still loved Anastasia with all your heart! If you were to let her be destroyed, you would feel as though you have lost Anastasia once again after failing to save her from death once again."

The ' ** _Evil One_** ' yet again said nothing.

"There will come a time where you won't be able to protect her." Thomas went on, taking a card from his hand. "When that happens, what then? What would you do about it?"

Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both faded away in a blue streak.

"What are you doing?!" demanded Diablon, surprised to see a tribute summon happening. "What has happened to both of your monsters?"

"This, Diablon, is my true trump card!" answered Thomas, holding up a card. He turned it over and revealed... "I sacrifice both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl to tribute summon one of my newest ace monsters!"

Appearing before the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' was a large, black-scaled dragon with several red beams all over its body (Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). The new dragon-type monster let loose a roar so massive that Diablon had to brace himself from being pushed back.

" **Gandora the Dragon of Destruction**!"

"Gandora...the Dragon of Destruction..." Diablon mumbled slowly. He then shook his head. "It has zero attack and defense points... I don't see any point of summoning something like that to try and battle Fallen Angel."

"Then allow me to shed some light onto you." The voice of Thomas cut in.

"Huh?"

And so, Thomas began to make his big comeback. "By giving up half of my life points-" he explained, taking a life point hit (LP: 500). "-I can destroy and banish as many other cards on the field as possible!"

"Destroyed and banished!?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' gasped, before becoming greatly panicked and enraged. "No... No, you can't! I won't allow it! I have to protect Anastasia from dying, no matter what you do! I refuse to let her die again!"

"Then try to stop this attack if you can... Gandora, activate your effect! **BOUNDLESS GIGARAYS**!"

Gandora the Dragon of Destruction obeyed as its body began charging its red beams in an attempt to attack and rid the field of Diablon's cards.

"I activate the final effect of Diabolic Rage!" Diablon cut in. "By getting rid of it, I can prevent Fallen Angel from being affected by your card effects for the rest of the turn!"

The beams of destruction from Gandora the Dragon of Destruction were finally unleashed, striking everywhere on the duel field. The only card to be destroyed was the face-up Fiend Rose Trap card.

"Gandora's effect now continues!" continued Thomas. "For every card on your field that got destroyed, my monster gains 300 attack points."

Gandora the Dragon of Destruction's attack power went up slightly (ATK: 0 - 300).

"It matters not!" retorted Diablon, looking pleased. "My angel is safe once again!" When he looked towards his monster, his look of triumph instead became one of pure horror. "Huh?!"

Fallen Angel was shown lying on the ground... and was dying...

"What's happening to my monster?!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' demanded. He then remembered another effect of his Trap card... "' _ **If Fiend Rose is removed from the field, destroy the monster this card is equipped to**_ '... NO!"

Thomas watched as Diablon ran over and craddled Fallen Angel in his arms.

"Please don't die! I can't lose you again! I need you! You keep me sane..."

Alas, it was too late to save her... Fallen Angel's eyes closed as she suddenly changed her form into that of Anastasia...

"No... not again..." Diablon thought to himself, having a flashback to when Anastasia had been killed by her Father. "This... this can't be happening again!"

Apparantly, only the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' could see Fallen Angel as Anastasia. Eventually, the female monster faded away into the darkness, thus causing Diablon, falling into despair, to look up to the ceiling and let loose a scream of devastation and anguish. He had once again failed to protect Anastasia from death and lost her...

"Diablon..." whispered Thomas.

A long silence ensured... Eventually...

"How dare you..."

Thomas gasped from the rage and hatred-filled voice, watching as Diablon finally slowly returned to his feet... His anger was at its ultimate apex...

"Son-of-a-bitch..." The ' ** _Evil One_** ' snarled. "This isn't over; not by a longshot... I play Fallen Angel's final effect! All monsters you control are destroyed, and damage will be sustained to your life points equal to the combined attack of each monster destroyed..."

The spirit of Fallen Angel reappeared and let lose an angered scream as a wave of darkness got unleashed and approached Gandora the Dragon of Destruction.

"DIE, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH! DIE FOR TAKING ANASTASIA AWAY FROM ME, AGAIN!"

The wave of darkness struck Gandora the Dragon of Destruction, destroying the mighty dragon in one swoop. The powerful shockwave then struck not only Thomas, but also Diablon. Both duelists were sent flying across the throne room until they hit a wall. When everything finally settled down, Thomas slowly made his way back to his feet.

"Ow..." he groaned (LP: 200).

When the smoke began clearing, a pair of golden yellow eyes could be seen coming from it.

"Why did you take her from me?" A voice (male) shouted from within the smoke. "Why did you take Anastasia from me?!"

When the smoke cleared, Diablon, angrier than he had ever been, emerged with his iris' glowing luminous golden and his sclera's (white of the eyes) crimson red. This actually frightened Thomas a bit; he had never seen Diablon look this enraged and terrifying before.

"ANSWER ME, YOU BASTARD!"

"It was by your own doing..." winced Thomas, managing to get back up. "It was...your Trap card...that... des-"

"SHUT UP!" roared Diablon, with more and more darkness gathering around him to his already peeked anger. "It was YOUR monster's fault! It was all YOUR fault! I tried to protect her, but you tricked me! You've made it so that Anastasia would die no matter what I did to try and save her!"

All Thomas could do was take and slot a card into his Duel Disk, causing a facedown card to materialize on the field. With it now being the end phase, the final power of Hour of Judgement finally took effect...

"With six end phases having gone by, the Sacred Beasts return to the field! Welcome back, my ultimate beasts!"

The whole ground began to shudder violently, briefly causing Thomas to fall onto the ground.

"Here they come..." The blue-haired boy thought to himself. "Diablon's using all of his power, anger, and hatred to call the most powerful beasts of darkness back..."

The ground finally split before the two duelists as the three Sacred Beasts—Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames—rose from the fissure. Far from finished, Thomas raised his right hand into the air...

"I special summon the Egyptian God monsters back to the field!" he declared.

Within seconds, the three Egyptian Gods—Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra—returned to the field, as well. Currently, the standings went as followed:  
-Thomas (LP: 200)  
-Obelisk the Tormentor (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)  
-Slifer the Sky Dragon (Level: 10/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)  
-The Winged Dragon of Ra (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)  
-Diablon (LP: 600)  
-Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, Hamon (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)  
-Lord of Striking Thunder (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)  
-Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (Level: 10/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

"The Sacred Beasts and Egyptian Gods have returned..." remarked Thomas.

"But this time-" said Diablon, still seething with great rage over Fallen Angel's death. "-the darkness will prevail over the Egyptian Gods!"

With that said, he drew a card and begin his turn...

* * *

 **Turn Eighteen** : Diablon (LP: 600)  
 **Deck** : 23  
 **Current Hand** (4): Diabolic Supremacy(!), Pseudo Space, ?, and Dimension Fusion Destruction

* * *

The ' ** _Evil One's_** ' drawn card was a Spell card called Dimension Fusion Destruction. Deciding to use it later, he selected another card and slotted it into his opened Field Spell zone.

"I activate Pseudo Space!"

The mentioned Field Spell card materialized face-up.

"Once per turn-" explained Diablon. "-I may banish one Field Spell card in my graveyard and treat Pseudo Space as that Field Spell card and replace its effect with the banished Field Spell card's effect."

The Fallen Paradise card slid out of the graveyard.

"I banish Fallen Paradise to allow Pseudo Space to copy my banished Field Spell card! Now my Sacred Beasts cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects until the end phase!"

The scenery began to change again.

"Not this again..." thought Thomas, looking around the transforming throne room.

Unfortunately, things were about to get much worse for him from there on out...

"Now, I shall activate another card..." continued Diablon, taking a glowing card from his hand and holding it out. "Dimension Fusion Destruction!"

The whole chamber started to shake violently once again... This time, the tremors were even stronger than ever before...

"What's happening?!" gasped Thomas, struggling to stay on his feet.

"The time for playing around has ended... It's time for the Sacred Beasts to unveil their true form and power..." whispered Diablon, before raising his voice into a shout... "...so that you will pay for killing Anastasia!"

The Sacred Beasts growled fiercely as they became enveloped in a dark aura before merging together and shooting into the sky.

"Thomas Billintion, meet Armityle the Chaos Phantom..."

Descending from the sky was perhaps one of the biggest Duel Monsters Thomas had ever faced in his life; the same creature he had seen in his visions. It looked like a full combination of all three Sacred Beasts; Uria, Lord of Searing Flames's head for the left arm and snake-like half at the bottom with Hamon, Lord of Striking and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's top halves merged well (Level: 12/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Armityle the Chaos Phantom..." whispered Thomas, looking frightened because the Egyptian God monsters were about the size of the new monster's lower body.

"This will be the last monster you will ever face!" bellowed Diablon. "One attack from my beast, and you will die!"

"But your monster has zero attack and defense points!"

Diablon hissed in response. "Poor, naive fool... Not only can Armityle not be destroyed by battle, but thanks to Pseudo Space still using Fallen Paradise's effect, my monster is unaffected by Slifer the Sky Dragon's Summon Thunder Bullet effect due to it also being a Sacred Beast monster... In addition, Armityle has 10000 attack points during my turn only!"

"1-10000 attack points?!" Thomas spluttered in shock. "T-That much?!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom roared loudly as its power rose tremendously (ATK: 0 - 10000). Slifer the Sky Dragon attempted to use its effect in a futile attempt to try and weaken/destroy the newly summoned monster, but as Diablon pointed out it didn't work, at all (Summon Thunder Bullet only bounced off Armityle the Chaos Phantom's chest like it was nothing)...

"Again, thanks to the effect of Fallen Paradise still lingering about, your efforts to take my monster down with Slifer has failed!" boomed Diablon. "As soon as I declare an attack, you will be defeated!"

Thomas grunted in seeming defeat. Was this really the end for him? Had he failed to protect both worlds? Had the blue-haired boy failed to live up to his promise to help Anastasia save Anakin? Finally, the battle phase came about...

"This is the end!" Diablon declared in triumph. "Armityle the Chaos Phantom... Show no mercy, and attack Obelisk the Tormentor with everything you have!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom obeyed the command willingly; charging a blast with its dragon-headed arm.

"LAND WIDE OBLITERATION - TRANSMIGRATION WAVE!"

The blast was at last fired from the dragon-headed arm... It got closer and closer until it was about to strike and destroy Obelisk the Tormentor, and that meant if Thomas didn't do something within the next few seconds, he would lose the duel and his life! But how could the blue-haired boy stop or defend against a 10000 attack point monster? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **To be Continued!**


	106. To Thine Own Self Be True (5)

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up within the throne room of Anastasia's old castle, the Sacred Beasts growled fiercely as they became enveloped in a dark aura before merging together and shooting into the sky.

"Thomas Billintion, meet Armityle the Chaos Phantom..." announced Diablon as quietly as possible.

Descending from the sky was perhaps one of the biggest Duel Monsters Thomas had ever faced in his life; the same creature he had seen in his visions. It looked like a full combination of all three Sacred Beasts; Uria, Lord of Searing Flames's head for the left arm and snake-like half at the bottom with Hamon, Lord of Striking and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms's top halves merged well (Level: 12/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).

"Armityle the Chaos Phantom..." whispered Thomas, looking frightened because the Egyptian God monsters were about the size of the new monster's lower body.

"This will be the last monster you will ever face!" bellowed Diablon. "One attack from my beast, and you will die!"

"But your monster has zero attack and defense points!"

Diablon hissed in response. "Poor, naive fool... Not only can Armityle not be destroyed by battle, but thanks to Pseudo Space still using Fallen Paradise's effect, my monster is unaffected by Slifer the Sky Dragon's Summon Thunder Bullet effect due to it also being a Sacred Beast monster... In addition, Armityle has 10000 attack points during my turn only!"

"1-10000 attack points?!" Thomas spluttered in shock. "T-That much?!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom roared loudly as its power rose tremendously (ATK: 0 - 10000). Slifer the Sky Dragon attempted to use its effect in a futile attempt to try and weaken/destroy the newly summoned monster, but as Diablon pointed out it didn't work, at all (Summon Thunder Bullet only bounced off Armityle the Chaos Phantom's chest like it was nothing)...

"Again, thanks to the effect of Fallen Paradise still lingering about, your efforts to take my monster down with Slifer has failed!" boomed Diablon. "As soon as I declare an attack, you will be defeated!"

Thomas grunted in seeming defeat. Was this really the end for him? Had he failed to protect both worlds? Had the blue-haired boy failed to live up to his promise to help Anastasia save Anakin? Finally, the battle phase came about...

"This is the end!" Diablon declared in triumph. "Armityle the Chaos Phantom... Show no mercy, and attack Obelisk the Tormentor with everything you have!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom obeyed the command willingly; charging a blast with its dragon-headed arm.

"LAND WIDE OBLITERATION - TRANSMIGRATION WAVE!"

The blast was at last fired from the dragon-headed arm... It got closer and closer until it was about to strike and destroy Obelisk the Tormentor, and that meant if Thomas didn't do something within the next few seconds, he would lose the duel and his life! But how could the blue-haired boy stop or defend against a 10000 attack point monster? Stay tuned for the answer!

* * *

 **Title: To Thine Own Self Be True, Part 5**

* * *

As Armityle the Chaos Phantom's attack was about to hit Obelisk the Tormentor, Thomas sent a card from his hand to the graveyard. From there, a massive explosion clouded the whole field and Thomas braced himself from the force of the attack whilst crying out in agony.

"I win..." whispered Diablon, smiling to himself in triumph. Suddenly, he heard a faint ' _ **kuribi**_ ' noise coming from Thomas's side of the field. "Huh?"

When the smoke began clearing, it was revealed that each of the three Egyptian God monsters had been spared from destruction. In addition, Thomas was shown to have survived the seemingly unsurvivable attack of Armityle the Chaos Phantom (LP: 200)... Diablon was greatly surprised.

"T-That's impossible! Y-You've survived?"

"I...had a little help." answered Thomas, as a card emerged from the graveyard. He took hold and showed that it was his Kuriboh monster card. "When you attacked Obelisk, I simply discarded Kuriboh to protect my monster and make all battle damage become zero."

The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' immediately recoiled. "K-Kuriboh, you've said?!"

"Yes, and that means I'm still in the game." The blue-haired boy answered, confirming the question with a nod.

Not being done with his turn just yet, Diablon angrily took and slotted one final card into his Duel Disk.

"You may have survived a devastating attack like that-" he growled, glaring hatefully at his opponent. "-but good luck trying to live through this play!" On cue, an Equip Spell card called Diabolic Supremacy(!) materialized face-up on the field. "I activate Diabolic Supremacy!"

Suddenly, Armityle the Chaos Phantom gave a roar as it had its power raised back to what it had during the attack (ATK: 0 - 10000).

"Not only does Armityle the Chaos Phantom gain its attack power it has during my whole turn-" explained the ' ** _Evil One_** '. "-but it also is unable to attack... But you, my friend, MUST attack it during your next turn, or else you automatically lose the duel at the end phase."

"What?!" gasped Thomas.

"And I'm not done still... I play Armityle the Chaos Phantom's next effect; giving you control of my monster!"

In a surprising moment, Armityle the Chaos Phantom vanished—but reappeared to Thomas's side of the field, much to the blue-haired boy's further surprise.

"Wait! Why are you giving me your monster?" he questioned.

Thomas never got his answer...

"I set one more card and end my turn." said Diablon, slotting a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.

A facedown card materialized on the field... Just then...

"Now, Armityle, take 'em down!" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' suddenly commanded. "Wipe out the three Gods of Egypt once and for all!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom opened all of its mouths and struck the three Egyptian God monsters with a blast of fire... Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra each gave roars of agony before melting away...

"The Gods!" exclaimed Thomas. "They're...gone..."

"That's Armityle's final ability." explained Diablon, just as Armityle the Chaos Phantom rejoined its master. "At the end of the turn after he changes sides, it banishes all other monsters on your field before coming back to its true master - me."

With the end phase rooming around, the effect of Fallen Paradise wore off. This caused the scenery to return to the ruined castle.

"You have no chance of beating me, Thomas." Diablon continued. "The Egyptian Gods are gone, none of your monsters are remotely powerful enough to defeat Armityle the Chaos Phantom... Why not just give up now and become one with me?"

Thomas looked on fearfully, but said nothing in response. A True Duelist never surrenders... no matter what the situation is like.

"No final words? Very well then... Just hurry up, and make the last turn you'll ever make in your life!"

At last, Thomas spoke...

"Diablon, you're right..." he began. "This will be the last turn I will ever make... But..."

Diablon raised an eyebrow. "But, what?"

"But it will be the turn that decides the fate of everything!" The blue-haired boy continued, drawing a card. "My turn, draw!"

* * *

 **Turn Nineteen** : Thomas Billinton (LP: 200)  
 **Deck** : 27  
 **Current Hand** (2): ? and ?  
 **Gold Sarcophagus** : Now

* * *

Suddenly, the box from Gold Sarcophagus began to open.

"It has been two turns since I played Gold Sarcophagus." explained Thomas, just as a third card materialized in his hand. "Now the card I banished gets added to my hand!"

"Not like it'll help." retorted Diablon, dismissing the fact that the card his opponent now had wouldn't be able to help him. "Even then, you'll have to attack sooner or later."

But Thomas wasn't done... "Next I reveal my Trap card..." From there, his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "Return from the Different Dimension!"

A beam of some sort shot from the card towards the ceiling.

"With the cost coming from half of my life points-" explained Thomas, as he took a life point hit (LP: 100). "-I can bring all my banished monsters back to the field for the remainder of the turn!"

Three fireballs emerged from the hole in the ceiling, shooting down towards the ground before becoming the Egyptian God monsters. First appearing was Obelisk the Tormentor, followed by Slifer the Sky Dragon, and finally The Winged Dragon of Ra.

"The Gods!" gasped Diablon. "They're back again!"

"That's right." declared Thomas. "And they will aid in your impending defeat! To start, I will offer both Slifer and Ra to activate Obelisk's special ability!"

Obelisk the Tormentor raised his hands up and started to absorb the powers of both Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra... Unfortunately, Diablon was not stupid enough to let something like that happen...

"I reveal my Trap card!" he shouted, just as his facedown flipped up and revealed itself to be... "Supreme Retribution(!)!"

Suddenly, Obelisk the Tormentor stopped the activation of its effect, thus Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra both remained on the field.

"What happened?!" asked Thomas, shocked that his monster's effect stopped.

"Nice try..." smirked Diablon. "I had a sneaking feeling that you'd try using Obelisk's Fist of Fury effect to take Armityle the Chaos Phantom down and deplete my Life Points, so I went and played this Continuous Trap card - Supreme Retribution! Now, if you want to use a monster effect, you must pay 500 life points... The bad news is you cannot afford that little cost with only 100 life points now, can you?"

Thomas knew Diablon was right... Obelisk the Tormentor's effect was the only way to attack and take Armityle the Chaos Phantom, now that chance was gone entirely... But even then, the blue-haired boy had another way to try and defeat Diablon...

"I'm not finished yet..." he muttered, looking at his hand. "I still have one final card to play... One that will decide everything!"

Diablon frowned, but decided to wait and see what the play will be... From there, Thomas took and slotted a card from his hand into a Spell/Trap slot on the Duel Disk.

"This is the card I had selected for the effect of Gold Sarcophagus..." The blue-haired boy began, just as the card in question flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "The True Name!"

The mentioned Spell card created a large aura of light.

"The True Name?" blinked Diablon. "What does a card like that do?"

"It allows me to guess what the top card of my deck is and draw." explained Thomas. "If the drawn card is the one I guessed, then I am allowed to not only add the drawn card to my hand, but I can also add a divine-type monster card from the deck into my hand... But if I'm wrong, I must send the card to the graveyard and end my turn immediately."

"You're willing to risk both worlds, the entire duel, and even your own life, based on one, lone card?" The ' ** _Evil One_** ' questioned, just before sneering. "Heh! I don't know if you're desperate or foolish enough to rely on the draw of a card to enable you to defeat Armityle the Chaos Phantom."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." insisted Thomas, closing his eyes. "Deep down, I know I'm making the right decision..."

"Very well... Make your draw, and hope that it's a good one."

Thomas, with his eyes still closed, slowly placed two fingers onto his deck in preparation to draw his final card.

"Everyone..." he thought to himself, thinking of all his human and Duel Monsters friends. "Guide me... Autraius... Please lend me your strength to finish what you've started before, and end this darkness once and for all." The blue-haired boy then had one final thought in his mind... "Emily... Let's finish this...together..."

A fading image of Emily suddenly appeared and stood beside him. Finally, Thomas opened his eyes fiercely as he said this...

"The card we will draw...will be Swing of Memories!"

Finally, Thomas and the image of Emily both finally drew a card, performing the Shining Draw the latter had used during her duel with Gozaburo.

"AUGH!" cried Diablon, wincing and covering his eyes.

Slowly, Thomas brought the drawn card to his vision, looked at it, and smiled.

"It would seem, Diablon, that I was..." He showed that card was...the Swing of Memories Spell card. "...right!"

"What?!" gasped Diablon, before recovering. "It doesn't matter... There are only three divine-type monsters in creation. And they happen to already be on your side of the field!"

"That's where you're wrong!" declared Thomas as the Millennium Puzzle began to glow.

"W-What? What do you mean by that?"

To show what he meant, Thomas held out an open hand as some of the light began to create a black card within it.

"There is but one creature that can outmatch Armityle the Chaos Phantom..." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "One that can overpower even the almighty Exodia the Forbidden One... And one that is even mightier than the Gods themselves..."

Suddenly, the three Egyptian God monsters began to glow in light as Thomas finished his sentence as so...

" ** _Obelisk, Slifer, Ra, combine your powers into one! In the name of the Pharaoh... Atem_**!"

The three Egyptian Gods obeyed, rising to the ceiling as they began combining themselves into one being. The power was so great, that it caused the light to grow even brighter and disturb Diablon greatly.

"T-This light-!" he winced. "What are you creating?!"

"The most powerful being in Duel Monsters." answered Thomas, as his eyes started glowing all blue. "The one being born from the Gods of Egypt... The one true God of this land..."

Diablon couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it all true? Or merely a bluff...

(elsewhere...)

In the capital city of the spirit world, everyone was busy gazing up into the sky—which had went from blue and sunny to filled with white light.

"What's going on?" questioned a Magician of Faith.

"I can feel it." whispered Dark Magician.

Dark Magician Girl closed her eyes. "I can, too..."

"What?" quizzed a Blade Knight. "What can you both feel?"

"Thomas is summoning...' _her_ '..." answered Dark Magician Girl.

Kuriboh, with his eyes closed, could feel it, too.

(elsewhere...)

"Thomas is...summoning ' _her_ '!" Wingweaver gasped suddenly, while Kuribon reacted accordingly.

Withinn The Sanctuary in the Sky, many of the light and wind attribute monsters were all looking around with looks of amazement on their faces as the whole temple began glowing yellow and all that stuff.

"What could the boy be doing?" questioned one Mystical Elf.

(elsewhere...)

On the Island of Neo-Spacians, everyone in the village was looking up at the brightened sky.

"Amazing..." whispered a Neo-Spacian Black Panther.

"This is..." came from a Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin.

"It kinda feels nice..." remarked a Neo-Spacian Grand Mole. "It's a kind light..."

"Yeah... It's warm..." agreed a Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird.

Elemental HERO Neos knew what was coming... "It has to be ' _her_ '..."

(elsewhere...)

In the Village of the Amazons, Amazoness Sage smiled to herself as she and the rest of her people looked up into the shining sky.

"Thomas has finally done it..." The village chief said to herself.

"What?" quizzed the red-haired Amazoness Scout.

"What are you talking about, elder?" The blue-haired Amazoness Scout added.

"The boy has succeeded in summoning ' _her_ '... The true form of the three Gods of Egypt..."

The villagers were all further amazed by what they heard Amazoness Sage say.

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the throne room of Anastasia's castle, Diablon continued to display a look of unmatched shock as the light in the ceiling continued to grow stronger as Thomas began a summon chant in a God-like tone...

" _ **From the three Gods of Egypt, the most powerful protector of this land will shine through and forever eradicate the forces of the wicked and of the damned! UNITY SUMMON**_!"

The light in the ceiling grew more and more powerful, further disturbing Diablon as he winced and covered his eyes.

" ** _Appear before the forces of darkness - Holactie the Creator of Light_**!" commanded Thomas, with his eyes glowing all golden yellow (but not of pure madness).

At last, the light burst through the ceiling as a human, female figure began to form from it. She grew bigger and bigger until she was the same height of Armityle the Chaos Phantom.

"H-Holactie...?" whispered Diablon, managing to recover and look upward. This was perhaps one of the few times where the ' ** _Evil One_** ' was actually shown to be very afraid of something. "Is there really such a monster...?"

"Why don't we find out then?" suggested Thomas, eyes still glowing. "Holactie, show yourself!"

The light surrounding the new monster faded, revealing a huge, majestic, pale-skinned woman wearing a golden headdress and wings similar to The Winged Dragon of Ra's, as well as an Egyptian-like gown (Level: 12/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). Holactie the Creator of Light and Armityle the Chaos Phantom both faced each other.

"Diablon, there's something I need to tell you..." began Thomas. "As of now, the duel has finally ended."

"What?!" exclaimed Diablon. "Ridiculous! My monster has 10000 attack points, and your monster, while I'll admit was an impressive summon, has a measly zero attack points!"

"Then allow me to introduce her special ability."

"Are you deaf?!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' snapped. "Did you already forget about my Supreme Retribution Trap card? 500 life points must be paid up to use a monster effect!" Suddenly, Holactie the Creator of Light fired a blast of light from her hand, nullifying and destroying Diablon's face-up Supreme Ritribution Trap card. "W-What the-?!"

"All other card effects are canceled out when Holactie has been summoned." explained Thomas. "But that's not all!"

Holactie the Creator of Light glowed in light as she grew even stronger (ATK: 0 - ∞/DEF: 0 - ∞).

"When summoned successfully, I automatically win the duel!"

"WHAT?!" screamed Diablon in horror. "NO! I can't lose to you! I can't lose to anybody! Armityle the Chaos Phantom, attack Holactie the Creator of Light, at once!"

Armityle the Chaos Phantom obeyed the desperate command, firing a blast of darkness at Holactie the Creator of Light.

"Your attack is nothing." criticized Thomas, before giving the final command... "Holactie, cleanse the darkness with your light!"

Holactie the Creator of Light gazed at the blast of darkness coming towards her without flinching or batting an eye, and just raised a hand to stop it from even touching her.

" **Djeseru**!" she commanded, speaking in Ancient Egyptian.

With that said, she charged and fired off an extremely powerful blast of light from her hands, destroying the blast of darkness. Diablon, with feelings of fear and rage building within, could not believe it; was this really the end of him? Had he truly lost the duel? Unfortunately, it was looking to be true...

" **DAMN YOU**!" The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' screamed out. Suddenly, two more balls of light began to appear. "Huh? Who...?"

The balls of light got closer to Diablon and seemed to speak out to him.

"Anakin..." began the first voice (female).

"Daddy..." finished the second voice (female).

"A-Anastasia?" asked Diablon, not believing who was talking. "Iris?"

Indeed, both balls of light formed into the spirits of Anakin's dead wife and daughter.

"Please, come back to us..." begged Iris. "Let go of all your feelings of anger and hate..."

"Deep down, you're not a demon..." added Anastasia. "We both know that you're hurting from losing us long ago..."

Diablon shook his head, hard. "N-No... No, it's too late for me to be saved, for I can never be redeemed for all of the destruction, deaths, and all of the other crimes I alone have commited in this lifetime! I'm the physical embodiment of darkness, and nothing you say could ever change that or redeem me... In fact, you both should hate me, right now!"

The two dead spirits didn't say a word at first... After what seemed like forever, they floated over and hugged the ' _ **Evil One**_ ' tightly.

"We will never hate you, Daddy!" protested Iris. "Even after everything you've done, we would never hate you."

"You're not to blame anything that has happened, Ani." added Anastasia, placing her left hand onto the scar on her husband's chest as tears of remorse and shame streamed down her cheeks. "This whole mess was ' **my** ' fault entirely. Long ago, when I died, your heart became filled with nothing but pain and misery... But instead of letting you die so as to end that pain, I forced you to live through it, all because I wanted you to live on and keep our legacy alive. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was only making things worse without realizing it..."

"The three of us can still live together happily, just as you and Mommy had wished for all those years ago!" Iris then concluded her sentence with... "...as a family..."

Diablon, closing his eyes, could feel all of the darkness and despair deep in his heart being removed painlessly, and it got even better when Anastasia and Iris both said one final phrase to him...

"I love you, Anakin/Daddy."

Tears began to stream down Diablon's cheeks through his closed eyes. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, his eyes opened and revealed they were no longer crimson red or anything... They were now blue like once before...

"Iris... Anastasia..." Diablon—now back to Anakin—weeped (LP: 0). "I'm so sorry... Please... please forgive me..."

Finally, Holactie the Creator of Light made her light attack grow more and more dangerous. As it got closer to Armityle the Chaos Phantom, Anakin, still a demon, embraced his dear wife and daughter while still crying.

"I...love you both..."

At last, the blast of light struck Armityle the Chaos Phantom, causing it to screech in agony as it was incinerated by the pure light.

* * *

 **DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!**

* * *

The powerful force of light didn't seem to stop coming, and was now about to hit Anakin. The black-haired boy, just as Anastasia and Iris both faded away from him, didn't even attempt to try and avoid the attack; he allowed it to strike and send him flying back, crashing through one pillar before violently slamming into the wall, fatally wounded.

"I... I've...won..." groaned Thomas, collapsing to his knees.

All of a sudden, Holactie the Creator of Light turned to the exhausted blue-haired boy and spoke directly to him...

"The ' _ **Evil One**_ ' has finally been defeated for good." she declared, kneeling to Thomas. "You have done well, my Pharaoh."

"Th-Thank you..." gasped Thomas, as he tried to catch his breath. The blue-haired boy, once he recovered, then became deeply saddened... "But... but at what cost? I couldn't save any of my friends from being killed. Not even the Millennium Puzzle could heal them and save their lives like it did for Emily in my duel against Marik's dark side."

"I am sorry for your loss... Truly, I am... But do you remember Amazoness Sage's words?"

Thomas remembered them well...

"She... she said that I had to endure a trial of great suffering to supposedly make me stronger." he said, but only became and more and more upset. "But it's still not fair. What did I do to deserve this? I'm just a kid."

Holactie the Creator of Light picked Thomas up gently in her hand and brought him closer to her face.

"That maybe, but this was still very important for you to do..." The giant Goddess pointed out. "Because of you succeeding in your mission, you will now be rewarded with your most desired wish."

"My... my most wanted desire, you say?"

Holactie the Creator of Light smiled kindly as her eyes glowed blue. "Observe..."

Suddenly, Thomas felt the body of someone being materialized into his arms. The body was that of a female with long dark green, almost emerald, hair. Thomas gasped in complete amazement when he discovered who it was...

"E-Emily?" The blue-haired boy spluttered. "She... she..."

That's right... Emily Sterling had been brought back to life by the power of Holactie the Creator of Light. Soon, the dark green-haired girl's eyes began to flicker open...

"Oh... Hm... Where..."

She looked up and saw, once her vision came back, who was holding her in his arms... Emily couldn't believe it; was it really him...?

"T-Thomas?" The teenage girl quietly asked. "Is that...you?"

"Emily!" cried Thomas, immediately embracing her. "Oh, Emily... You're actually alive! I was so devastated when you died fighting against Gozaburo, that I... I..."

He tried his best to hold his tears back, but was failing big time on it. Emily, however, immediately hugged her friend back in an attempt to console him.

"Shh, Thomas, it's alright... I'm here now... Shh, shh! Everything will be fine, now..."

Thomas slowly began to calm down, just as Holactie the Creator of Light laid both teenagers back onto the ground as they continued with their tearful reunion. Finally, Thomas and Emily both looked into each other's eyes...

"Emily..." began Thomas.

Emily looked up. "Thomas..."

At last, they both said what they've wanted to tell each other for so long...

"I love you..." The two teenagers said in unison.

Finally, Thomas and Emily moved in...and shared their true first kiss; thus completing the exact same relationship Anakin and Anastasia both had when they were alive. Finally, Holactie the Creator of Light spoke up once more...

"There was another reason you were required to face the trials of suffering, Thomas." she said wisely. "It was to teach you the lesson you had stubbornly rejected your whole life."

"My life?" questioned Thomas, as he and Emily both looked up at the giant Goddess.

"What do you mean by that?" added Emily.

"Do you remember what you said to Spencer about those you care for dying?" asked Holactie the Creator of Light.

"Y-Yes..." Thomas nodded slowly. "I...remember..."

"You believed that once someone you cared for died, they would be lost to you forever. These trials were meant to prove that even in death, they would always be with you. How else do you think Percy's Ultimate Fusion card found its way into your deck?"

Thomas realized this... "Y-You're right..."

"Diablon was becoming fully aware of what was happening." The Creator of Light continued on. "He knew that if you were to learn that you were never truly alone, all hope he would have of taking complete control of you would be dashed. So he used his dark influence to make you believe your friends were truly gone. If it hadn't been for Emily's sacrifice, his plan would have ultimately succeeded."

Thomas looked to Emily, who nodded silently. The blue-haired boy then looked back up towards Holactie the Creator of Light, who continued speaking...

"Do you also remember when Diablon took control of you during your first duel with Vampire Lord?"

Nodding, Thomas said... "It wasn't truly Diablon, but more of Anakin..."

"Well, when this happened-" Holactie the Creator of Light went on some more. "-the puzzle became tainted by darkness... And because of that, most of its light magic had been sealed off... That's why you were unable to use its power to heal Iris..."

"Anakin and Anastasia's daughter..." Emily said, looking at Thomas. "' _Our_ ' daughter..."

"Did the sealed magic return once Diablon was forced out of me?" asked Thomas.

"Yes." answered Holactie the Creator of Light. She then held out her other hand as a vision began to appear.

It was the same vision Diablon had seen years ago of his alternate happy future (the same one Diablon seemed to envision whenever he was alone).

"Is that... is that Anakin, Anastasia, and Iris?" Thomas asked once more.

"This is how their future could have been if Anastasia hadn't sacrificed herself." explained the Creator of Light. "During Anakin's battle with Anastasia's Father, it looked as though he was about to die. But in fact, he would have won the fight and become the new ruler of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Anastasia loved Anakin so much that she let her fear of losing him cloud her judgement... Similar to your actions during Thomas's duel with Sailor John, Emily."

"I remember that..." gasped the dark green-haired girl, just as she lowered her head in shame. "I should have trusted my instinct that Thomas would be able to survive that attack, but I was too scared to take that risk."

"But I'm pleased to say that you both have done very well in getting this far." smiled Holactie the Creator of Light. "Emily has finally conquered the darkness that has plagued her heart for years and became greatly independent... And Thomas..."

"Yes?" blinked the blue-haired boy.

"After all these years, you've finally learned your lesson. However, there's still one last thing that must be done before you can fully conquer your own darkness."

Thomas was worried. "Huh? What is it?"

"I'll explain what I mean later." said Holactie the Creator of Light. Once Thomas and Emily were both put down onto the ground, she stood up to full height. "but first, there are things that must be done." The giant Goddess closed her eyes as her whole body glowed with light. "I shall now undo all of the damage done to this world and the human world from this war, and revive all who have fallen."

Using all her power, Holactie the Creator of Light released beams of light from her hands and out of the castle.

(elsewhere...)

In the Sanctuary in the Sky, one ray struck the middle of the courtyard and materialized Nathaniel. Wingweaver and many other monsters had witnessed the reborn of the black-haired young man.

"Nathaniel?" gasped Wingweaver.

Nathaniel started to return to his feet... He was feeling dizzy after being revived like that.

"What...happened?" groaned Nathaniel, but was surprised at the warm welcome he was getting from his allies. "Everyone...?"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the middle of Knapford City on the Island of Sodor, Diesel and Dennis were both lying in the middle of a street when a couple walking down the street stopped when they saw the two unconscious teenage boys.

"Oh my goodness!" freaked out the woman. "Look at those poor boys!"

"We'd better get these two to a hospital!" said the man, taking out his mobile phone and dialing for an ambulance.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the Sterling residence, Mrs. Sterling was currently crying and Mr. Sterling was busy trying to console his wife. You see, it had been days since Thomas and the others left the real world to go to the Duel Monsters spirit world, and they were starting to believe that their daughter was never coming home...

"We've lost our daughter forever..." sobbed Mrs. Sterling.

"Oh, honey..." soothed Mr. Sterling, even though he was just as devastasted.

All of a sudden, many balls of light started to appear in the living room... Once they touched down onto the floor, they revealed Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Rosie, and Molly... They were all unconscious, but were definitely alive...

"Goodness gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Sterling.

"They're back!" added Mr. Sterling. "But... where's...?"

A question that will come with an eventual answer... Why can't we answer now? Because there was a very important scene to go through, that's why!

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the throne room of Anastasia's castle, Holactie the Creator of Light finally stopped glowing and opened her eyes.

"Your friends are alive once again." she said at once. "I've also returned them to the real world."

"Thank you, Holactie..." bowed Thomas, who was followed by Emily.

"But now, you must go see Anakin."

Thomas and Emily looked at each other. "Anakin!" They both said at once.

Almost immediately, the two teenagers ran over to where Anakin had crashed into... The black-haired boy was still in the form of Diablon, but he was currently dying.

"Anakin!" cried Emily. "Hang in there!"

Anakin regained consciousness. "Don't bother... There isn't anything that can stop my impending death..."

"Don't say that!" objected Thomas. "Even you don't deserve to die!"

"Heh... All I ever wanted in our duels...was for you or someone else to defeat and kill me..." Anakin laughed bitterly. "I honestly don't expect you or anyone else to forgive me for my crimes, nor am I asking for anyone like you to forgive me..." He then managed a weak smile. "At least I will finally join my wife and daughter...in the afterlife..."

Slowly, Anakin's demonic form began to crumble away, revealing some of his human form... Even his scars were slowly beginning to disappear...

"Anakin's anger, anguish, and hate have faded away." explained Holactie the Creator of Light. "By finally forgiving himself, he's regained his human form."

At that point, Anakin looked to his two former enemies and spoke to them...

"Emily... You will eventually grow into a beautiful young woman... The Supreme Queen herself..." The black-haired boy weakly said.

"Anakin..." Emily whispered softly.

"And you, Thomas-" continued Anakin. "-you will grow strong and brave into a Supreme King yourself... But until then, you still must do...one last...thing..."

Thomas didn't respond back, thus allowing Anakin to speak some more...

"You must... must achieve what I was never able to do; fully control and...influence the darkness at your own will. Unless you do... do this, you... you..."

With that said, Anakin relaxed as he closed his eyes and finally died; his body turning into particles of darkness and fading away. Emily wiped a teardrop from her eye, while Thomas remained silent on the matter.

"He's right." Holactie the Creator of Light spoke up. "You must successfully tame the darkness in your heart without becoming a demon." She held up her left hand. "I have harnessed all of the darkness that formed Anakin's body."

"But I thought I was meant to destroy the darkness." pondered Thomas.

"In order to truly overcome the darkness in your heart, you must learn to harness that power and learn to fully control that darkness." The Creator of Light explained. "You must tame the darkness without the need to turn into a demon - you need to succeed where your original self had failed."

It was then that Thomas remembered something he had heard earlier about light and darkness...

"One cannot exist without the other."

"Precisely." agreed Holactie the Creator of Light.

With that said, the Goddess formed the gathered darkness and shot it into the sky. The darkness then shot back down towards Thomas like a tornado.

"Thomas, look out!" called Emily.

"Thomas must take it, Emily." insisted Holactie the Creator of Light, using her power to hold Emily back. "It's the only way."

The tornado engulfed Thomas. The blue-haired boy struggled as he tried to resist being overwhelmed by the darkness.

"If I'm... if I'm to succeed..." Thomas thought to himself, feeling the pain in his heart growing stronger. "I must...overpower my darkness...!"

He began to remember all of the hardships he had endured throughout his adventure... Some such words were as followed...

" _ **Fun?! FUN?! You call bullying someone until they become a jerk fun?! This is all your fault**_!"

" _ **Thomas, knock it off**_!" bellowed the voice of Gordon. " _ **We're sorry for**_ -!"

" _ **SHUT UP**_!" screamed Thomas's voice. " _ **THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT**_!"

Thomas winced as he remembered losing his temper on his friends like that. Alas, more memories played in his mind...

" _ **Thomas, listen up**_!" began the voice of James. _**"Throughout this whole journey you've slowly grown either depressed or more and more reckless and bitter. Not even caring that a good friend of yours got badly hurt just now**_!"

" _ **There are far more important problems to worry about, right now**_!" bellowed the voice of Thomas, reaching his rage breaking point. " _ **Emily has escaped from the Castle of Dark Illusions and is being hunted down by a member of the Court of Darkness! She's in more danger than she ever was before! Why can't any of you just realize how serious this is and how much this means to me**_?!"

Thomas knew that that what he was thinking about was one of his worst memories...

" _ **Every since she went back to being her old, caring, selfless self after those two long, hard years of being bullied by James and Gordon, I've made a solemn vow that I would always do whatever it took to protect Emily from any and all harm, no matter how hard or painful it was, even if I had to die if it meant she was safe and sound. Emily's in grave danger now because I failed to protect her! It's my fault she was captured**_!"

The blue-haired boy shut his eyes tightly as the memory continued...

" _ **Emily is the sole reason why I live. I can never live without her! So that's why I will stop at nothing to get her back from the darkness**_!" Thomas's voice continued to rant. " _ **You can all worry about Stanley for all I damn well care, but I only came to this world for one reason only; and that is to save the most important person in my life from losing herself to the darkness once more! And I swear... if any of you guys try to stand in my way of rescuing her, then I won't hesitate to take you down just as I did to everyone else I've taken down in this godforsaken world**_!"

" _ **T-Thomas, you can't be**_ -" The voice of Percy tried to protest.

" _ **Some friends you all turned out to be**_." Thomas's voice coldly said.

That memory hurt worse than the first one... Unfortunately...

" _ **Now, I activate - The Field of Dark Graves**_!" shouted the voice of Thomas (possessed).

This certain memory made tears begin to form in Thomas's eyes. That was one of the worst things he ever did, and it eventually cost him the duel and almost his life.

"Playing that wicked card was something I will never forgive myself-" The blue-haired boy suddenly started screaming as the pain grew worse. "AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

"Thomas!" cried Emily from outside. She really wanted to try and help her lover, but this was something he needed to do by himself. "Please take care..."

As he screamed in pain, Thomas began to have a flashback to easily THE worst memory he ever had.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

The duel between Gozaburo and Emily/Anastasia had ended with the former's death, and the latter was exhausted from the battle.

"I've...done it..." Anastasia coughed weakly. "Gozaburo...is gone...for good." She smiled to herself. "I...win..."

Unfortunately for Anastasia, her wounds had finally caught up with her. Soon enough, the dark green-haired young woman collapsed on the ground (just as the spirit of Anastasia left before fading away), causing Emily to finally regain control of her own body and return to normal. Thomas, who was still attached to the wall from the Restraining Swords of Impact Trap card, was completely helpless to approach and help her.

"Emily!" Thomas wailed, struggling to break free from the swords. "Emily! Please get up! You can't die!"

Hearing the cries, Emily slowly, and weakly, opened her eyes as tears began to form in them. This was the part she had been afraid of most, and now there would be no going back...

"I'm so sorry, Thomas... I've won, but I'm afraid...this is goodbye."

"Stop screwing around!" screamed Thomas in utter defiance, as he started crying heavily. Emily, meanwhile, weakly struggled to bring her right hand towards her deck as her friend spoke some more. "I need you, Emily! I can't fight the darkness or Diablon without you!" The blue-haired boy's voice started to break even further. "I can't live without you, Emily... I love you!"

Emily finally looked upward in the direction of her friend with a brave, yet warm, tearful smile.

"Don't cry, Tommy..." she said softly. "You have to remain strong for everyone's sake... You're the last hope for not only the Duel Monsters spirit world, but our world, too..."

At last the weak and battered dark green-haired girl began fading away into particles of light, though the particles seemed to be entering Thomas's chest.

"No..." Thomas whispered helplessly. "Emily..."

Despite fading away, Emily continued to look at the crying Thomas with a warm smile on her face.

"Never... give in to the darkness, Thomas." whispered the dark green-haired girl, finally taking out and leaving her Swing of Memories card behind. "I...love you..."

With that said, Emily Sterling finally faded away into nothingness. Silence filled the restoration chamber, and no one left alive (Spencer and Nathaniel) dared to say a word about the event that had transpired. Finally, Thomas did manage to speak again—which was barely but a whisper...

"Em-ily..." he choked.

The broken Thomas had lost Emily, the one girl he was in-love with, forever; his worst nightmares had finally come true! ...and there would be no going back as of now. Darkness was soon beginning to overtake the poor blue-haired boy. He was...angry. Absolutely, truly angry. Diablon's strong influence over Thomas began to take effect.

" **NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO**!"

Full of despair, anguish, darkness, and rage, Thomas gave the mother of all screams of grief, managing to actually break himself free from the already weakened Binding Swords of Impact card with his now greatly enhanced/superhuman strength, allowing him to land firmly back onto the ground. Watching what was happening just now, Spencer and Nathaniel were both very surprised, and a bit terrified, at how incensed the poor blue-haired boy was. Thomas's eyes... they were demonic and shining red/yellow with malice (and the scar on his face didn't make it any better). Was something bad about to happen now that Thomas (possessed) was at the peak of his rage and despair? Well, let's see...

"I've lost Emily forever..." Thomas (possessed) whispered, finally falling to his knees surprisingly. "First I lost Anastasia... NOW her reincarnated vessal is gone..."

"Billinton..." whispered Spencer. "I..."

"That stupid prophecy... it was all meaningless... This world... it has no more meaning to me..."

The possessed blue-haired boy then started to cry yet again.

"Thomas, please..." began Nathaniel, beginning to walk over.

"STAY BACK!" ordered the voice of Thomas (possessed) through his sobbing.

The black-haired young man immediately stopped moving, just as a dark aura began to take hold of Thomas (possessed).

"Every time I try to be with the woman I love, something takes her away from me! It's not fair! **IT'S! NOT! FAIR**!"

Nathaniel and Spencer both felt more and more sorry for Thomas than ever before as he ranted, but then they heard that the sobbing from the broken Thomas was slowly becoming...laughter? And not just any laughter, but snapped, crazed, maniacal laughter... and it was getting louder by the second until he was laughing madly... Whatever sanity Thomas had left was completely gone...

"This world, it has no further purpose... The real world? I have no more need to return to it..." Thomas (possessed) went on, as his tone grew more and more insane sounding before he turned around with the most demented-looking smile on his face, and his eyes shining all golden yellow (pure madness). "So, I think...I'LL JUST DESTROY BOTH WORLDS AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THEM!"

"Billinton!" cried Spencer.

Surrounded by a burning dark aura, Thomas (possessed) was slowly beginning to turn back into Diablon.

"I will make everyone experience the same pain and suffering I myself have been forced to endure!" declared the possessed blue-haired boy, with his dark aura beginning to explode with greater power. "If I cannot live with love or happiness, THEN NO ONE ELSE SHALL!"

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

The flashback ended.

"But...I will carry the sins on..." The blue-haired boy winced on, finding himself slowly becoming a demon. "The crimes of my past self; I will live on despite them... Yes! I will continue to bear the memories of Anakin and all of the crimes he commited as Diablon, because the darkness has no control over me!"

The whirlwind of darkness started crackling as Thomas gave another scream; this time it was of determination and fierce commanding. It was as if he was trying to absorb the darkness with his own light to try and tame it.

"Holactie, what's he doing?!" Emily demanded, looking up to Holactie the Creator of Light.

"He is beginning to control the darkness." said the Egyptian Goddess. "I have never seen somebody do it like this before, though..."

"Thomas..."

Back within the tornado of darkness, Thomas found himself beginning to turn back into his normal, human self as he began to slow-but surely-tame the dark.

"Alright, come on!" The blue-haired boy dared fiercely, speaking directly to the darkness covering him. "All your anger and hatred, aim it at me! All the people's darkness in the world, let it rest on my shoulders!"

The dark whirlwind eventually died down until Thomas was left standing, tired-but triumph.

"Thomas?" began Emily, hoping that her lover had succeeded.

"I've...done it..." breathed Thomas, falling to his hands and knees.

Holactie the Creator of Light managed a smile; knowing that the blue-haired boy had succeeded.

"Thomas has passed his trial... He has successfully tamed the darkness in his heart."


	107. Dark King, Light Queen

This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author **AaronCottrell97** for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Once again, this story will be entirely rated M for moments of extreme violence, bloody moments, sexual themes, and some nudity. Viewer discretion is completely advised.

* * *

Opening up inside the Sterling residence, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were both shocked to find Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Rosie, and Molly all in the living room.

"Everyone!" cried Mr. Sterling. "You're back!"

Percy was the first to wake up... "Oh... What... what exactly happened to us?"

"We're alive, that's what!" Rosie announced, standing up while looking at herself.

"And we're back home again!" added Henry.

"On the Island of Sodor, that is!" put in James.

Gordon was busy kissing the floor. "I am NEVER going anywhere else! The Island of Sodor is more than enough for me!"

"Wait, what about Thomas?" questioned Toby.

"And Emily!" put in Mavis.

The remaining friends looked around. Both Thomas and Emily were not in the living room.

"Shouldn't they have come back with us?" asked Molly.

Stanley had a nasty feeling in his stomach. "You don't think...?"

Everyone else, now getting the same feeling, bowed their heads in sadness, thinking that their two friends were never coming home.

(elsewhere...)

Inside the ruined castle of Anastasia's old kingdom, Thomas and Emily were both still speaking to Holactie the Creator of Light.

"Since you've revived all who have fallen-" questioned Thomas. "-shouldn't our Duel Monsters allies return to life, as well?"

Unfortunately...

"I am sorry, but monster spirits can never be revived." sighed Holactie the Creator of Light. "If that happened, then it would be possible for the Court of Darkness to also return, and that cannot happen."

Thomas was devastated. "Then... Maiden of the Aqua, Gilford the Lightning..."

"...and Guardian Eatos... They're...gone?" added Emily, looking just as upset.

The giant Goddess sadly nodded in confirmation.

"But it's not fair!" protested Thomas. "Why should they be robbed of a second chance at life?"

"Thomas..." soothed Emily. "That's just the way it is..."

"Indeed, it is..." agreed a familiar voice (female).

Thomas looked up. He saw something that immediately made him gasp in surprise.

"Anastasia! Iris!"

Indeed so... The brunette-haired young woman and the brown-haired young girl were both floating beside Holactie the Creator of Light.

"Hello, Mr. Thomas." Iris greeted cheerfully.

"Iris... Iris, please forgive me for being unable to save you from death..." begged Thomas, becoming greatly saddened. "I wanted you to live, but I failed to-"

"Easy, Thomas..." soothed Anastasia, floating down. "It's okay..."

"I'm now with Mommy and Daddy." added Iris, not being upset with Thomas. "Our family is reunited once again!"

Just then, a third spirit seemed to join the two female ones, and it was...

"No way!" Emily gasped in surprise.

"Anakin!" came from Thomas.

* * *

 **Title: Dark King, Light Queen**

* * *

Yes, indeed... It was Anakin... He was not only fully back in his human form, but all of his scars had been healed fully; thus restoring him to the way he used to look before that fateful night years ago.

"Thanks to your efforts, I'm back to how I was." smiled Anakin, just as Iris and Anastasia both embraced him lovingly. "Not only that, but I have reunited with my beloved family after so long... My Supreme Queen... and even my Supreme Princess..."

"Glad we could help." bowed Emily.

Suddenly, Anastasia floated down towards the dark green-haired girl and took hold of her hands.

"Before we go, we wish to give you both a going-away present." The brunette-haired young woman said.

Emily was confused. "A going-away present?"

"What sort of going-away present?" came from Thomas, just as Anakin floated down and took hold of his hands.

The two teenagers got their answer when they, along with Anakin and Anastasia, suddenly began glowing all blue. It wasn't painful at all; it was actually soothing and all that good stuff. When the glowing stopped, Anakin and Anastasia let go of their respective reincarnations and smiled.

"Both of you have been infused with our power and memories." explained Anakin.

"Memories?" quizzed Thomas. "And power?"

"Yes." confirmed Anastasia, just before winking. "Emily now has the full power of the Supreme Queen; which also makes her a highly skilled fighter in battle."

"I have given you, Thomas, all of the power of the Supreme King." added Anakin. "Not only are you now an extremely powerful warrior, but you also command the power of darkness for your own use."

"Thank you." bowed Thomas. "Because I have tamed it successfully, I will ensure that I use it to make you proud."

"It is now time for one last farewell." Holactie the Creator of Light spoke up, white making her hands glow. "You and Emily will meet with every ally you've ever met for one a final time..."

Thomas and Emily braced themselves as everything faded to white while they cried out in surprise.

(elsewhere...)

When the two teenagers opened their eyes, they were standing on a platform outside the castle of the Duel Monsters spirit world's capital city before a huge crowd of monster spirits cheering for the two.

" _ **All hail Thomas and Emily! Long live the Supreme King and Supreme Queen**_!" cheered the Duel Monsters spirits.

Emily waved happily to the crowd. Thomas was about to start waving when he was tackled to the ground by a certain someone...

"Oh, Thomas! You're alive, you're alive, you're alive!" wailed the happy, energetic voice of...Dark Magician Girl.

Thomas managed a weak chuckle as Dark Magician Girl hugged and nuzzled him. "Ha ha, I'm glad to see you too, Dark Magician Girl."

From there, Dark Magician, Kuriboh, Wingweaver, Kuribon, and Nathaniel all approached the two victorious teenagers.

"We're so glad you two came out alright." said Wingweaver

"Right." nodded Thomas in agreement, after Dark Magician Girl finally let go of him.

"Already the monsters sent by the Court of Darkness into your world are disappearing." reported Dark Magician.

(elsewhere...)

Back in Knapford City, an unconscious Spencer, who was also alive, was lying on the rooftop of the Sterling residence. Soon, however, he began to awaken.

"Am I..." The silver-haired boy began, slowly standing up. "Am I...back home?"

Spencer looked around, wondering why he was back on the Island of Sodor... Then he remembered something...

"Could this mean that Billinton...won?" Spencer asked himself, sounding hopeful.

Deciding to find out, Spencer entered the apartment to see if Thomas's friends were around again.

(elsewhere...)

Inside a room within Knapford Hospital, Diesel and Dennis were both asleep in separate beds when they started to wake up...

" _ **WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY**_?!"

Neither of them had the foggiest memory of what they had done in the spirit world. It was almost as if their memories of ever going there had been erased upon being revived.

"Where the heck are we?" quizzed Diesel, looking around.

"It looks like we're in a hospital." answered Dennis. "But the question is... how did we even get here?"

Diesel tried to figure the reason out, but it only ended up hurting his head.

"I can't think of a thing." he complained, rubbing the side of his head. "It's like we passed out and suddenly ended up here."

Just then, the two Smelter Teens had a thought on who put them there...

"Thomas...!" thought Diesel.

"Percy...!" fumed Dennis.

Without another thought, Diesel and Dennis both dove out of their respective beds and raced out of the hospital in search for the two Tidmouth Teens.

" _ **YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS**_!"

(elsewhere...)

Inside the living room of the Sterling residence, Percy and the others were watching TV when an important message in the United States came on...

"This just in!" came the male reporter. "President Douglas Crump is about due to give a speech about the monster sightings in America."

"Douglas Crump?" quizzed Percy.

"Must be that jerk of a rich man..." huffed Gordon. "I've heard of him... He probably had his people rig the voting system to ensure he won and became President instead of Kimberly Hamilton..."

"We are now live outside the White House in Washington." said a female reporter. "The President is giving his speech. Let's see it."

"Change the channel." James suggested suddenly. "If Crump is gonna insult us British people in his speech, then I don't wanna hear it."

"I do, though!" cut in a familiar voice (male).

Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Rosie, and Molly, along with both Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, all turned to near and saw...

"SPENCER?!"

The silver-haired boy smirked. "What, is that all? No warm welcome? And I thought we were all friends."

"How'd you get here?" asked Gordon.

"Easy... After I was defeated by Diablon, I got killed. Eventually, however, I woke up on the rooftop of this apartment."

(elsewhere...)

Over in Washington D.C., Douglas Crump fixed his tie before finally speaking to the ground as the capital city of the entire United States laid in ruin.

"I can't express how much trouble we've had with the Boxford Corp." The pompus man began. "To think it all began with the lies of that crooked Kimberly Hamilton... And now with all these monsters about, all the damage, all the..." His voice trailed off when he saw the damage all the monsters had inflicted disappear and whatever buildings that had been damaged were magically restored. "What in the world...?"

"Wow..." breathed one man in the crowd.

"Beautiful light..." added one woman.

Once the golden light was gone, Douglas Crump was stuttering nonsense at what just happened.

"T-Th-This... This..."

"Sir?" asked a White House staff member. "Are you alright?"

"Well, Mr. President?" came a cheeky voice. Coming from the crowd was Discord J. Crawford. "What do you have to say to what happened just now?"

For the first time in his life, Douglas Crump was at a loss for words... Eventually, he got an extremely angry look on his face as the man became full of denial over the situation.

"This has to be the work of Boxford Corp!" The pompous President shouted in stubborness. "It just has to be!"

"And just what makes you think THEY'RE responsible?" asked Discord innocently. "Besides, even if they are responsible for the monsters going away and the town being restored, shouldn't you be thanking them for cleaning up ' _their_ ' mess?"

Douglas Crump seethed further. "Y-You...! Just-!"

"Furthermore-" continued the creator of Duel Monsters. "-I've just discovered a little secret you have been hiding from the public. While you claim that Duel Monsters is a menace to our fair country..." He took out something from his coat. "Let's just say this picture here proves something else."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Douglas Crump.

Discord tossed the picture over to one of the nearby reporters. Upon looking at the picture, the male reporter gave an angry gasp.

"The President... He secretly plays Duel Monsters!" he shouted.

It was true, I'm afraid... The picture showed the US President inside his office, and he was, despite him having claimed that Duel Monsters was a menace to the country, happily looking over a bunch of Duel Monsters cards he had bought from a hobby shop a while back.

"But you said Duel Monsters was evil!" protested another man from the crowd.

"And you were the one calling Kimberly Hamilton a liar through out!" came from a second man in the crowd.

"Douglas Crump is a hypocrite!" came a third man from the crowd.

More protests and boos ensured from the angry crowd. Regardless of his situation, Douglas Crump tried to retain control.

"People! People!" he cried out in panic. "There's an honest explanation for all of this!"

Unfortunately, the US President's troubles were about to get a whole lot worse; an FBI vehicle, followed by several police cars, came screeching into the White House lawn.

"Oh, now what?"

Two FBI agents emerged from the vehicle, and they were looking very serious right about now.

"Douglas Crump..." began one agent. "As of now, you are no longer the President of the United States."

"WHAAAAT?!" bellowed Douglas Crump. "What the devil are you talking about?!"

"You are hereby under arrest." said another agent.

"Under arrest?!" The US President spluttered. "Whatever for!?"

"We have uncovered evidence that you and your party conspired with an outside party and cheated during the election. While it took us some time to find out how, we eventually dug up enough concrete proof that you had rigged the voting system to your favor."

To prove their point, one FBI agent pulled out several document papers from his coat pocket. A reporter walked over and read the papers... just before holding them up in great anger.

"It's true!" The male reporter announced. "Douglas Crump DID cheat and betray our country!"

This made the already angry crowd boo even more. Douglas Crump, sweating nervously, immediately began to make a run for it! ...but was intercepted by Discord before he could even get anywhere.

"Not so fast, Douglas-boy." The creator of Duel Monsters grinned. "You're not going anywhere."

Douglas Crump, knowing he was ultimately beaten and exposed, closed his eyes and sighed heavily in defeat. Very quickly, the police cuffed the ex-President and started to take him away.

"But I was just trying to help make America great again!" wailed Douglas Crump.

"Two wrongs don't make a right." said an FBI Agent. "Cheating in an election while conspiring with another country to win is one thing... And blaming British people for incidents only makes things worse. Perhaps some time in jail will help you think about what you've done."

"In addition to your whole fortune being donated to various charities and shelters." added a police officer.

And thus, the disgraced Douglas Crump was loaded into a car and taken away... The male reporter immediately turned to speak into the camera...

"Well, well, well... In a rather shocking turn of events-" he said in surprise. "-President Crump has just been arrested and forcefully removed from office."

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Sterling residence, the reporter continued to speak on TV...

"And with this, all charges against Boxford Corp have been officially been dropped."

"Hey, did you hear that, Spencer?" asked Percy, smiling. "Boxford Corp won't be having anymore problems! Isn't that great?"

"About time." agreed Spencer, but then frowned. "Unfortunately, it's probably too late, now..."

"Huh?"

"What does that mean?" came from Rosie.

"Given all of the lies that man has spread about my company-" explained Spencer, looking upset. "-as well as the trouble my Grandfather caused, it will probably take a long time to fully restore Boxford Corporation's reputation."

"Maybe we can help?" offered Toby.

"Your family is mine as well." added Gordon.

Unfortunately...

"As kind as those offers are-" admitted Spencer, turning to leave. "-this is a problem I, Skiff, and my parents must solve on our own."

With that said, the silver-haired boy walked out of the Sterling residence. Well, here's hoping that he and his family manage to get things sorted out and remain as successful as ever before.

(elsewhere...)

Back within the capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Thomas and Emily were both speaking to their most important allies one last time before deciding it was time to return home.

"It was an honor to help you all." said Thomas. "I hope we can come back here again someday."

"Thomas Billinton, Emily Sterling-" spoke up Nathaniel. "-we are all forever in your debt."

"What about you, Nathaniel?" asked Emily. "With Guardian Eatos, your adopted Mother, dead, what will you do, now?"

"I will continue to live in this world and carry out my promise to her that I become a Guardian." The black-haired young man answered. "It's what she would have wanted me to do."

"I know you will make your adopted Mother proud, Nathaniel." smiled Wingweaver, putting her arm around Nathaniel's shoulders.

"Yeah!" agreed Emily, sounding positive.

"Thank you." whispered Nathaniel, taking a card out of his coat pocket. It was the Guardian Eatos monster card. "Mother... may your light continue to guide me while even if you're in death..."

Finally, the light in the sky began to shine, causing everyone in the area to look upward in surprise.

"What's that?" asked Dark Magician Girl.

Emily smiled. "Our ride home."

"Our quest is finally over." added Thomas. "We can finally go back to the Island of Sodor."

Dark Magician approached the two teenagers. "This world will miss you."

"However, this doesn't mean goodbye forever." winked Dark Magician Girl. "Just remember; if you ever need our help, you know where to find us... Right in your decks!"

Kuriboh and Kuribon both spoke in their ' _Kuriboh_ ' language in unison, agreeing with what the female spellcaster-type monster had said.

"Thank you...for everything." Thomas muttered quietly, just as he and Emily both approached the light. "Farewell, Duel Monsters spirit world..."

"Goodbye!" called Emily, waving to everyone.

With that said, the two teenagers vanished in the light. Everyone within the capital city of the Duel Monsters spirit world continued to chant ' _ **All hail the Supreme King and Supreme Queen!**_ '. Yes, this will be one adventure nobody will be forgetting anytime soon... Especially not Thomas or Emily, especially since they both had the biggest life changer out of them all...

"See you later!" called Dark Magician Girl to the fading light.

(elsewhere...)

Back in the Sterling residence, everyone was still watching TV while thinking about poor Thomas and Emily...

"I can't believe they're gone forever..." mourned Henry.

"What will Thomas's parents and sisters say when we tell them their son is gone?" added James.

"Oh, the indignity..." finished Gordon, buring his hands into his face.

"So, despite both worlds now being safe again, this whole adventure really WAS all for nothing, wasn't it?" sighed Rosie.

"Thomas..." whispered Stanley.

"Emily..." added Mavis.

Suddenly, a light began to grown in the living room, surprising everyone present.

"Fizzling Fireplaces!" gasped Percy.

"What's happening, now?" came from Toby.

When the light faded away, there standing before the bewildered crowd, were two familiar teenagers. One was male with short blue hair, and the other was female with long dark green, almost emerald, hair.

"It can't be!" gasped James.

"Could it?" came from Molly.

"EMILY!" cried both Mr. and Mrs. Sterling.

"THOMAS!" cried Percy. "YOU'RE BOTH ALIVE!"

Before either Thomas or Emily could say anything or figure out what was going on, the two of them found themselves being crushed by the hugs from their friends and Emily's own parents.

"Thank the heavens!" sobbed Molly.

"We thought we had lost you forever!" came from Mrs. Sterling, also crying—but out of happiness.

Once the reunion came to an end, Emily finally made the special announcement to her friends...

"Everyone, I have wonderful news." The dark green-haired girl happily began. "Tommy and I... We have officially become boyfriend and girlfriend."

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

"About time!" cheered Percy, jumping up happily.

"We all knew this was bound to happen sooner or later." agreed Toby.

"Heck yeah!" put in Gordon, smiling for his two younger friends.

Sadly, the good mood atmosphere came to a short end when...

"Wait, Tommy? Are you referring to Thomas as ' _Tommy_ '?!" James blurted out. "What, is that supposed to be a nickname or something?"

"Yes, it is." confirmed Emily. "Is there a problem with that?"

James started laughing. "Oh, that is rich! What a nickname... Tommy! Where have I heard that one before?"

This earned the red-haired boy some nasty glares from pretty much everyone else in the living room.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing..." frowned Gordon, before grinning. "...Jimmy."

"Wha-?"

This alone caused everyone else (except for Thomas) in the room to start laughing at James's own embarrassment.

"Don't call me that!" snapped James.

Gordon snickered. "And why not?"

"Jimmy's a wimpy name."

"Hey, aren't we forgetting something?" asked Percy, trying to change the subject about. "The world has been saved from a demon bent on destroying it and everything we hold dear! We have to celebrate our victory!"

James perked up. "Party at the Pizza Palace! My treat!"

"Then the Knapford Waterpark afterwards!" added Rosie.

"We'll be more than happy to take you kids." offered Mrs. Sterling. "You all have saved the life of our only daughter, so it's the least we can do!"

As everyone started to leave the apartment, Percy and Edward both noticed that Emily and Thomas both were not moving a muscle.

"Thomas? Emily?" blinked Edward.

"Aren't you two coming?" added Percy curiously.

"You go on ahead." said Thomas, beginning to sound depressed. "Emily and I need some alone time."

"But we'll catch up later." Emily promised.

"You sure?" Toby asked, now looking worried.

"Go on, we'll join you guys soon."

"Well, okay..." shrugged Percy, but he was sounding a bit worried now.

With that said, the remaining group set off with Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, thus leaving both Thomas and Emily alone in the apartment.

(elsewhere...)

Back within the Duel Monsters spirit world... Inside the throne room of the ruins of the old castle, the spirits of Anakin, Anastasia, and Iris were each looking around the place.

"We should restore this castle to its former glory." said Anastasia, looking to her husband. "Neither of us will ever get the chance to rule the kingdom, but at least it can look good if someone new were to try and take the throne."

"We may be spirits-" came from Anakin. "-but we still can ensure that peace is kept around here. And besides-" He then place his arms around Anastasia's shoulders and Iris' back. "-if you're both in my life, I'll never have to fear falling back into darkness ever again."

"Oh, Ani..." cooed Anastasia lovingly, embracing her husband.

"We love you, Daddy..." added Iris, hugging her Father.

"I love you both, too." smiled Anakin.

"Could we perhaps be of assistance?" came another voice (male)

The family looked back to see two more spirits joining them... It was both Autraius and Maiden of the Aqua! Anakin felt initially startled to be facing against his other half again after so long...

"So... you must be Anakin" said the blue-haired boy, approaching his black-haired half. "At long last, we properly meet face-to-face."

"Yes-" sighed Anakin. "-I was the one who turned into Diablon. Know that I had never intended for any of this to happen. I just wanted to bring my wife and daughter back to life after they were killed."

"I truly understand your reasons, now." Autriaus nodded carefully. "Throughout the boy Thomas's journey, I was able to imagine all that you had been forced to live through before becoming a demon... I forgive you for everything that you've done, and I'm truly proud to call you my Twin Brother."

Anakin smiled and shook hands with the blue-haired boy, finally putting the two spirits on good terms.

"I just love happy endings." smiled Maiden of the Aqua, wiping a teardrop from her eye.

Yup, it looks to be a happy ending for the family... What about Thomas and Emily? Let's go see...

(elsewhere...)

Up on the rooftop of the Sterling residence, Thomas and Emily were both watching the sunset. While Emily was smiling at it, Thomas looked rather...down...

"Isn't this sunset beautiful, Tommy?" Emily asked lovingly, cuddling into her lover.

"Sure." said Thomas quietly. "It's lovely."

Emily grew worried. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy that we're a couple at last?"

Thomas didn't answer; he merely brought a hand to the scar on his face and grew more and more solemn and depressed.

"I'll never be the same again..." The poor blue-haired boy whispered. "I, now, have to retain the memories of how Anakin became Diablon, how he had committed so many horrible crimes as a demon, and lots of other unpleasant memories I had recently experienced in the Duel Monsters spirit world..."

"Oh, Thomas..." said Emily, feeling for her lover.

"The scars I've endured, both physical and emotional, will never go away..."

Emily then spoke up seriously. "Thomas, you and I are the reincarnations of Anakin and Anastasia, yes?"

Thomas looked to the dark green-haired girl and nodded.

"Because I also experienced such trama in the Duel Monsters spirit world, I will share the emotional pain with you for always and always. You and I are the Supreme King and Supreme Queen, and thus we must remain strong. You know that, right?"

"I just wish Holactie could have healed my scars completely before sending us home." Thomas groaned wearily. "Now everyone else will be asking questions or think I'm a freak."

"Not everything can be healed like that..." explained Emily. "I'm sure the scars will heal slowly, but I'm afraid they'll mostly remain with you forever... Besides..."

She then took off Thomas's shirt and placed her left hand onto, and slowly stroaked, the troubled lad's bare chest (where the other scar was) with a seductive smile on her face.

"...I bet there's nothing like a little bit of a woman's touch to try and help heal those wounds, right?"

Rather than smile and blush at feeling the dark green-haired girl's soft hand moving around and touching his chest, Thomas instead looked over to his friend/lover with a questioning look on his face...

"Emily, I need to ask you something important." he began.

Emily said nothing, but instead allowed Thomas to speak on...

"If you had died during my duel with Sailor John-" The blue-haired boy spoke up. "-how were you able to come back to life after I defeated him?"

Frowning unresponsively, Emily took her hands back and looked down over the railing at the streets below.

"I... I really don't know..." The dark green-haired girl answered. "It was as if...another presence was the one who brought me back..."

Thomas sighed once more. "I guess there are many questions we'll never be able to find the answer to."

"I think I have an idea on how to cheer you up a bit."

"Hmm?" Thomas looked to his new girlfriend. "How so?"

Emily's answer came in the form of a long, passionate kiss. Initially taken by surprise from it, Thomas quickly began to enjoy it as the new couple continued to make out on top of the apartment building before the setting sun. Where will their new relationship take them? That, my friends, is for me to know, and you all to find out. The Supreme King (Thomas) and the Supreme Queen (Emily) still had many adventures ahead of them... And no matter what happened along the way, they had not only their friends by their side, but each other to rely on for support. Isn't that right?

* * *

 **Duel Monsters Spirit World Arc**  
 **The End**


End file.
